catbrigade
-
Posts
24 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Classifieds
Posts posted by catbrigade
-
-
On 11/17/2023 at 3:40 PM, Scoutdad57 said:
Anyone know what is going on with this repeater? it's located in Huber Heights, Ohio. It's listed twice on mygmrs.com. Both listings show the same frequency and tones, but they show different owners. I used to be able to hit the one shown owned by WRUX822 on my HT with a stock antenna, but now I can't hit it.
Hmm, I'll have to try and see if I can hit it from my mobile. HT from my place would be pushing it. It used to have a voice ID'er on it, come to think of it I haven't heard that in a while.
-
10 hours ago, quarterwave said:
SWORGMRS announced yesterday that it would have an onsite repeater.
462.650
146.2
Question is, is that an open repeater or "members only" like the rest of their system?
-
I would guess you may be hearing people using FRS radios that are required to be narrowband. If your receiver is set to wideband the audio from someone transmitting narrowband will sound low.
-
On 4/30/2023 at 2:22 AM, WRQK455 said:
Dayton700 repeater is open. Contact Gordon thru the site.
Miamisburg 675 is open w/permission from Drew thru site
Jamestown650 is open but not fully functioning yet. Waiting on a new duplexer. Contact Jason when you hear him.
Tipp City625 Contact Dave the owner thru the site
Wilmington550 Contact Kevin when you hear him.
Good info. I didn't know there was a repeater in Wilmington.
I don't know if Gordon checks requests here, but he's got his phone number in the listing. I gave him a call late last year to request permission.
-
On 4/21/2023 at 8:59 AM, Lscott said:
I'm going to the Hamvention in Xenia Ohio next month. I was looking to see if there are any usable open GMRS repeaters in the area. The closet one seems to be in Tipp City. One of our potential members going to the event only has his GMRS license. The rest of use have our Ham licenses.
https://mygmrs.com/repeater/4895
The Hamvention site at the fairgrounds looks like it's right at the edge of the coverage zone. I was wondering if there are any unlisted ones that could be used with good coverage in the area.
If anyone is interested in meeting up there send me a PM and I'll let you know what frequency and tone we will likely be using on 70cm analog for group communications. We might even use digital, DMR or NXDN. Two of us have radios for those modes.
The Dayton 700 repeater https://mygmrs.com/repeater/2093 has wide area coverage. Its listing sometimes doesn't show up here for whatever reason, but it is on the air. Just call the owner at the phone number in the listing to request to use it.
The owner of the Tipp repeater says he's been able to hit it from a HT in the Nick's restaurant parking lot near the fairgrounds, so it may work for you as well.
There's an unlisted repeater near Xenia that I have heard occasionally but it's been off recently.
If you have DMR radios in your group and need a repeater to use here is the website for the DMR repeater nearest to Xenia. http://tim-yvonne.com/ham/dmr/index.htm
-
I heard that chip issues played into Kenwood discontinuing or at least stopping production on some of their ham gear.
-
-
Like anything, it's a mixed bag. The folks I've talked to on the local GMRS repeaters have all been pleasant. I got my ham license not long ago and discovered a good community there too locally. Many of the local GMRS users and the repeater owners also have ham licenses and I found out I work with quite a few hams as well. As for MURS, I don't think there is as much a community around it, but I found that it is useful for outdoor simplex comms in the woods away from town where you won't find the band busy with business users.
However, in the next town over there's a group running a bunch of linked repeaters on GMRS requiring paid membership and the impression I get from the outside is that they would put the sad hams to shame.
-
19 hours ago, WRVG593 said:
So I was hiking the other day with a group of friends who all have 2 radios. (Emergency and General Coms). As a general rule we all stick to GMRS as it is more common to use. (Non repeater, just RTR). The other day we were convinced to have a 3rd radio, only about 20 bucks each. A cheap MURS radio. So we used it... and man is it better or what. I didn't think that the lower frequency would change that much. But its traveling farther, though trees better and everything.
Does anyone else who uses their radios to do outdoor activities find the same conclusion if they've tried it? Or am I over hyping the change? I mean we saw differences and the murs were 2W vs the 5W GMRS.
Back in the fall I got some MURS radios for my wife and I to use at a Scout camp because I thought they might work better than GMRS due to the wooded and slightly rolling terrain. The place has lots of trees and the leaves were still on at that point. I didn't get a chance to do an A/B test vs. GMRS radios but did get some anecdotal evidence from another family who had some GMRS radios and said they had found some dead spots. We didn't find any dead spots with our radios.
-
2 minutes ago, MichaelLAX said:
All GMRS channels are now FRS channels, too!
yes, yes, except for the Repeater transmit channels, but you knew that already!
Yeah, I meant the low power (<=0.5w) channels 8-14.
-
My kids aren't old enough to have the maturity for proper handling of "real" GMRS radios, so I keep my good ones locked up. They have a couple of little blue radios that run about a quarter watt at most, and I keep them on the FRS channels only.
-
On 12/12/2022 at 10:28 PM, MichaelLAX said:
So much for your ability to be able to "open up" your Wouxun for Technician use.
I'm not too worried about that. I've picked up a different Kenwood radio for the ham bands that can be "opened up" but it will be some time before I have time to get it installed in the car. Have to run power for it, the Wouxun has a smaller draw and can be run from the lighter plug.
-
6 hours ago, WRPG818 said:
So I tried just about all of the radios. I would pick the Wouxun KG-XS20G over everything else including Midland. It's built better. It also puts out more power. Just my two cents.
I recently picked up one as well and have been very happy with it so far.
-
On 12/4/2022 at 11:00 PM, WRUU653 said:
So far I only hear Walmart and the occasional voice recording saying “alert zone one” alarm coming from a nearby care facility. I believe it’s a door alarm so someone with dementia doesn’t wander off. The first time I heard it I thought it said “alert someone” and was wondering anyone specific?
Around here when I'm in town there is activity near the Walmart stores and something that is transmitting an electronic chiming doorbell like noise on one of the channels. I'm guessing that's either a wireless doorbell or driveway alarm.
When I was out away from town all of the channels were completely quiet.
-
8 hours ago, Sshannon said:
There is no set limit specifically for GMRS HTs as far as I can tell. They might inherit the 50 watt limit of mobile stations.
But I agree with @KAF6045that SAR exposure limits would create a practical limit. In reading through an ARRL article about exposure limits, 5.3 (I think) watts is the calculated max power for a 70 cm handheld in order to maintain a safe exposure level.
I seem to recall one of the manufacturer reps saying somewhere (can't remember where) that they couldn't do much more than 5 watts and meet SAR limits.
- AdmiralCochrane, WRUU653 and Sshannon
-
3
-
8 hours ago, Lscott said:
Take a look at the example code plug. Shows how to setup the memory channels for zones.
I have two zones setup for GMRS/FRS. One is set for wide-band, normal GMRS. The other is set for narrow band to talk normally to those with FRS type radios.
It also has some Ham stuff in it too. Since the radio is not front panel programmable, and you don't have a real VFO mode. I sort of cheated by using one zone for Ham simplex and used the frequency as the channel name. That way when you flip through the memory channels it looks like you have a VFO with a 25KHz step. You don't need to enter in every 25KHz frequency step in the band because there are only several sections recommended for simplex only so that keeps the required number of channels down while providing good coverage.
The 450MHz-520MHz band split you can "push" down out of band to around 440MHz, maybe lower, and it will work. Two out of the three Ham simplex sub-bands are between 440MHz and 450MHz along with the repeater section. Now you have one radio that will work for most of the Ham 70cm band, GMRS and is Part 95 certified. Not a bad deal.
You'll also see I have some Part 90 frequencies in several zones for monitoring use. I like to go for walks at some of the local malls when not at the gym so I monitor the local shops and mall security frequencies etc. It's legal so long as you don't TX on them. The TX function is inhibited by leaving the TX frequency entry empty for those.
If you get the 400MHz-470MHz band split, harder to find and are not Part 95 certified either, are usable over both the complete Ham and GMRS bands if you aren't worried about the certification issue.
Thanks, that's good info. I'm planning to go to an exam session Saturday morning to get my Technician license. I've worked as an EE for 15+ years now and the practice exams online that pull from the current question pool were easy for me. The 400-470 MHz range radios are hard to find. I'm kicking myself for not snapping up the one I saw at auction that had the full DTMF keypad as well.
I didn't think to put an all narrowband zone in for FRS but that makes sense. If we go somewhere where the kids have radios I'm giving them the cheap FRS only ones which are narrowband only anyway. I have a couple GMRS zones set up, one with just the plain channels, another with some tones, and a third with tones and Fleetsync turned on to show the radio ID's I assigned.
I did set up a zone that has some local freqs of interest (police dispatch, fire dispatch, and channels used by my kids' grade school and their transportation department for bus dispatch. For all of those I left the TX side blank so they can't be transmitted on inadvertently.
-
I've been happy with the Wouxuns that I have. I got some of the KG-805M MURS radios and used them for family comms during a Scout camping event back in the fall. I figured the VHF might cover better with all the trees around. We had no coverage issues and the audio was very good on those radios. I did also catch the KG-935G's on sale around the same time frame and picked up a pair. I've been using them for scanning mostly.
I did get a couple Kenwood TK-3180 radios recently and like those as well. I might use them at the next Scout event since the limited keypad ones are simple and the LCD's are easier to read in the sun than the 935G screen. Also the wife might get lost with all those buttons on the 935G. I've gotten pretty familiar with the Kenwood programming software but need to work out configuring scan groups on those radios.
-
On 11/21/2022 at 7:12 PM, Coffeemaker said:
TippCity625 is a good repeater without much traffic. I have been able to hit it as far south as I-75 and Needmore Rd with a 5 watt HT. Seems like the operator told me the antenna was on a silo, so it's not really tall. That makes it susceptible to the small hills in the area.
That makes sense, I was monitoring it driving from Beavercreek to Xenia and I could definitely tell when there was terrain in the way. I got permission to use it but I haven't tried to hit it yet while out and about. He also suggested I should request the Dayton 700 repeater which I have heard very little traffic on at all.
-
Scanning the GMRS/FRS and MURS frequencies, I've heard traffic flaggers on a couple of the GMRS/FRS channels. My area has a bunch of fiber deployment work going on and I think I have heard those crews too, talking about other utilities in the area they were doing directional boring. On the nearby restaurant and shopping strip I have heard rapid-fire Spanish near the Mexican restaurant and heard hotel housekeeping comms. I've also picked up kids playing around outside and in the neighborhood across from my place there's at least one family that uses GMRS/FRS to check in on the kids riding around on their bikes.
Over on MURS I have not picked up anything at all except near one of the local Wal-Mart stores. I've not heard a peep anywhere else.
The school district here has a Part 90 license with several frequencies. I've found the bus driver dispatch frequency to be pretty useful for finding out if there's some issue on the local surface streets off the highway.
-
On 10/30/2022 at 11:00 PM, WRKC935 said:
Connersville 650 is the closest repeater to Dayton that's a linked machine.
I don't believe that you can reach the Johnstown 600 but you are welcome to try.
I know I can hear it on and off near Springfield from a mobile. If you have the height and the antenna get it a try.
PL is listed on here. Next closest is Indy though. Not sure if you can make that or not. Be mindful of the PL in use on both repeaters. If you want to experiment try the Johnstown 675 repeater. It's not linked but has the same coverage footprint. If you can make that you will make the 600.
I don't know what the PL is for Indy. Hoping it's not the same as mine.
If you have a decent location for a repeater, let me know and we can look at getting a linked repeater in your area.
Minimum of 100 foot of antenna height, Internet access. Little or no cost for access.
My house is on a nice high spot terrain wise, but I can't get you 100 feet of antenna height as I don't have a tower. I do take care of a low power FM radio station that's on a city owned tower with reasonable rental cost.
-
On 10/30/2022 at 8:42 PM, WRUZ627 said:
I apologize if redundant....I'm new to GMRS and searching in vain for repeaters. I'm one of the those Ham radio licensee (Extra Class) guys that's expanding my interests. I'm not a know it all or a jerk by any measure. Retired Military Wounded Warrior and Dad... I hear plenty of repeaters in my area of Huber Heights (45424) but there is very few listed on this site. The two i found are a ways out but i secured permission to use them...i really want to find the local 650 repeater so i can participate on the nets i hear..(family fun net ect)..sadly, i cant find any info on it or ask for permission to use ;-( I also have a large family here in town but spread out. Ideally i would also want to use a repeater as an alternate communication tool for emergencies...any thoughts? WRUZ627
Welcome fellow Dayton area resident! I'm in the Beavercreek area and have gotten back into GMRS after getting some radios as well as MURS units for Scout camp communications. I'm intending to take the technician level ham exam at some point soon since I have enough know how to pass it easily. I'll need to study more to get the higher classes.
With a radio in scan mode I can hear the Tipp 625 repeater well in my area. I've heard very little out of Dayton 700 at all and have never caught the MIA-675. I was getting some digital mode on that freq a few weeks ago but have heard nothing since. At some point I will put in some requests for permission for the local repeaters.
-
On 1/25/2022 at 11:50 PM, fremont said:
I loaned a pair of KG805M's to a buddy who lives near where we hunt. In the winter, he and his wife are out frequently to XC ski, snowshoe, etc. My email back from him about 5 days after receiving my care package: "We bought two MURS radios." And, this was with the stock antennas, not the Smiley 5/8 155-tuned antennas I sent along as well.
My wife is a Scout den leader and we went as a family to a fall campout. The Scout camp has pretty spotty cell reception and in the past we've had trouble getting calls to each other when needing to coordinate the "divide and conquer" with the two kids being in two different groups traveling around different areas of the camp. I picked up a couple of the KG805M's thinking that MURS being VHF would cover better than GMRS due to the amount of woods and slightly rolling terrain at the camp. I was impressed with the audio quality and we had clear signals the whole time just using the stock antennas. I programmed them with a couple copies of the 5 channels using different CTCSS and DCS just in case there was other traffic on the channels but they were completely quiet. Being so far out of town we were nowhere near a Wal-Mart or anyplace else of the sort.
I do have a GMRS license and have a pair of KG935's as well as a couple of Kenwood TK3180's programmed for GMRS, but never tried GMRS out there to get a comparison of how well it would work (wasn't going to try to talk the wife into carrying two different radios). I did run into two other families that had GMRS radios, one had some sort of bubble pack radio and I never got to talk to him to ask how well it was working, and the other group had Baofengs for the adults and something simpler for the kids, maybe a Retevis. The dad said they had encountered some dead spots there at the far corners of the camp.
In any case, I thought using MURS for this particular application worked out very well and felt like the KG805M's were a cut above some of the cheaper stuff out there. I did buy a BTech MURS-V1 but wasn't thrilled with it and will probably just sell it off. The programming capability in it was very limited compared to the 805M's which I was able to program with some extra receive-only channels I figured might be useful, namely the local NOAA weather radio and Skywarn 2m repeaters in case the weather got dicey.
This Is Why I Hate Fedex!!
in General Discussion
Posted
You'll be lucky if it arrives in one piece. They beat the crap out of anything I have had shipped through them.