Welcome!

[mbrun]

Howdy, everyone!
 
I'm Mark from Oregon, and I just joined after receiving my callsign a few days ago (WROT443). I am new to radio, but am finding what I am learning to be wonderfully interesting! I am looking forward to reading more, and I am excited that there is an old school forum like this to interact and learn from. I mainly wanted a way to communicate with my partners while in the woods, which is most weekends.
Thanks for having me!
 

Welcome to the forum. Enjoy GMRS and the knowledge you’ll gain here.


Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

[PACNWComms]

1 hour ago, NorthWind said:

Howdy, everyone!

 

I'm Mark from Oregon, and I just joined after receiving my callsign a few days ago (WROT443). I am new to radio, but am finding what I am learning to be wonderfully interesting! I am looking forward to reading more, and I am excited that there is an old school forum like this to interact and learn from. I mainly wanted a way to communicate with my partners while in the woods, which is most weekends.

Thanks for having me!

 

Welcome, and yes, GMRS is great for use in the woods, even though UHF and pine needles do not necessarily mix well together. I am further north in WA State, but still manage a mile or so in the woods with handhelds, but also carry Motorola 1 Watt DTR410's as some places in my area, everyone is using FRS/GMRS. Welcome again.

[PACNWComms]

On 10/5/2021 at 6:52 PM, abbysdaddy said:

New to GMRS (all radio actually) and in an area with no repeaters so I’m not really sure what I’m doing but on my my way in to San Antonio I was able to listen in on a convo. Very exciting!  I got a repeater check too, but my reception was bad. I’m getting there though!  
 

Roy

WRMW320

 

Welcome to the site. San Antonio has a lot of UHF radio traffic. I administer a radio network in that city that will be expanding, but in the commercial UHF band and Motorola Trbo series radios. On the note of Trbo series Motorola radios, they also work well for GMRS use, but require the programming software and higher price of entry.

[SteveShannon]

I’m WROM258 from Butte, Montana. I’m a retired engineer. My name is Steve. I’m into high power rocketry. We use Garmin Rino GMRS radios to communicate when we’re out on the range recovering rockets.  I’m working on getting my ham license as well. 

Thanks for letting me learn!

[PACNWComms]

13 hours ago, Sshannon said:

I’m WROM258 from Butte, Montana. I’m a retired engineer. My name is Steve. I’m into high power rocketry. We use Garmin Rino GMRS radios to communicate when we’re out on the range recovering rockets.  I’m working on getting my ham license as well. 

Thanks for letting me learn!

Welcome to the site. Current engineer here, and also worked on ICBM's for a while. Still use Garmin Rino 120's and 530's for various outdoor activities. However, my first use of the Garmin Rino 120 was in Afghanistan, in a sort of intra-team radio role, and to double check the AN/PSN-11 Rockwell GPS receiver, that did not have a map installed (or capable of showing one). What kind of range are you getting from the Rino's in rocketry recovery use?

[SteveShannon]

18 hours ago, PACNWComms said:

Welcome to the site. Current engineer here, and also worked on ICBM's for a while. Still use Garmin Rino 120's and 530's for various outdoor activities. However, my first use of the Garmin Rino 120 was in Afghanistan, in a sort of intra-team radio role, and to double check the AN/PSN-11 Rockwell GPS receiver, that did not have a map installed (or capable of showing one). What kind of range are you getting from the Rino's in rocketry recovery use?

It really depends on the terrain, of course.  When we’re in the Black Rock desert or some other dry lake bed we get miles of coverage.  In the hills of our Montana launch site we lose contact when we’re half a mile away on opposite sides of a hill.  I’m thinking about trying an inexpensive Retevis RT-97 based man portable temporary repeater on a hill to the east, the crest of which I believe is visible from most of the gullies to our north.  I’m curious to see if the location information will be passed through the repeater.

That’s interesting about your use of the Rino in Afghanistan. Did you have to load special maps or did Garmin have ones that were sufficient?

[PACNWComms]

You ill have to update on the Garmin Rino position data going through the repeater or not. As for Afghanistan, the included map data was sufficient, but I was often on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, and with commercial GPS receivers only receiving the un-encrypted signal (anti-spoofing and selective availability have been turned off/broke for years) they were not as accurate as the AN/PSN-11. Now the new receivers have mapping, receive even GLONASS and other constellations, and generally work like a larger rugged Rino, but connect to a Harris AN/PRC-152 series radio through a connection cable.

[Bugkiller]

Hey folks.
Brand spanking new to radio. Have not even made my first transmission. (Reason below)
This adventure started out with us trying to back to the rig into a campsite without cell service (again!). I was then determined to get a set of “walkie talkies”.
After a bit of research, abandoned the idea of getting FRS and now on to GMRS!
I have my NIB Wouxun kg905g.
I have a 9g pro on back order, which explains the lack of transmission.
Looking forward to learning here. Most forums I’m on, I’m the self appointed person in charge of asking dumb questions, I expect that role to continue here. Be patient with me, please.

[PACNWComms]

Welcome to the site and forums. My only recommendation is to do a search first, as many questions have been answered before, as some sites also do not like old threads to be brought back to life months later. I only recently joined this site, but have been in radio professionally for almost thirty years now, and there is still more to learn, so do not be afraid to ask too.

[MichaelLAX]

On 12/24/2021 at 9:25 AM, Bugkiller said:

Most forums I’m on, I’m the self appointed person in charge of asking dumb questions, I expect that role to continue here. Be patient with me, please.

Welcome!

There are no such thing as "dumb questions."

Only, dumb answers! 

[WRPB409]

Just got my GMRS license and a couple of HT's.  Thought this might be a good place to navigate the confusing world of radio jargon.  I bought a Baofeng UV-9G and a Wouxun KG-UV9G Pro.  I'll be using them for hunting comm's and in SHTF scenarios we all hope we don't ever see.  

Have managed to talk to one of my old FRS radios, but there's a lot to learn.  Hope you all are patient.

[BoxCar]

Welcome to the group. You will find a lot of information regarding your radios and their programming.

[mcardenal76]

Hi, 

GMRS rookie here.

Just got my FCC license and radio about 7 days ago and just finished installing it. I really want to test it and talk to someone.

Still figuring it all out.

[mbrun]

Hi, 
GMRS rookie here.
Just got my FCC license and radio about 7 days ago and just finished installing it. I really want to test it and talk to someone.
Still figuring it all out.

Welcome to myGMRS. Enjoy the forum, learn, then pay it forward to the next members.


Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

[Wesgo66]

Hi everyone,

My wife got me a Midland MXT275 for my birthday a week or so ago. So, I am here to drink from the well of knowledge here at mygmrs.com.  Thanks for letting me aboard.

Bill

WRPD523

[mbrun]

Hi everyone,
My wife got me a Midland MXT275 for my birthday a week or so ago. So, I am here to drink from the well of knowledge here at mygmrs.com.  Thanks for letting me aboard.
Bill
WRPD523

Welcome. Enjoy the forum.


Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM

[WROZ560]

New to the Forum also.  Recently installed a MTX275 in my Jeep for when I do occasional trail rides with a local group.    Still figuring things out.  Thanks for the resource.  

Walt

WROX560

[WROU959]

Hi!  New to GMRS.  I got a BTECH GMRS-50X1 with a Nagoya NMO-200C on an RB-50 mag mount.  Just wanted to say hi from north Alabama.

[marcspaz]

3 hours ago, WROZ560 said:

New to the Forum also.  Recently installed a MTX275 in my Jeep for when I do occasional trail rides with a local group.    Still figuring things out.  Thanks for the resource.  

Walt

WROX560

 

2 hours ago, WROU959 said:

Hi!  New to GMRS.  I got a BTECH GMRS-50X1 with a Nagoya NMO-200C on an RB-50 mag mount.  Just wanted to say hi from north Alabama.

 

 

Welcome!  There is lots of good info here.  If you have any questions and can't find the answers in existing threads, start a new one and we will do what we can to help.

 

Have Fun!

[MichaelLAX]

2 hours ago, WROU959 said:

Hi!  New to GMRS.  I got a BTECH GMRS-50X1 with a Nagoya NMO-200C on an RB-50 mag mount.  Just wanted to say hi from north Alabama.

Welcome! And looks like a good GMRS setup. 

I just wanted to note that solar propagation is dramatically improving, finally, and yesterday, on 10 Meters Ham SSB from Los Angeles, I had a nice chat with a Ham in Trinity Alabama!

You only need a Tech class license to do SSB on 10 meters. 

Good luck and enjoy GMRS!

[WRPN389]

Hello everyone from West Texas. New to the forum and GMRS. Have my license and Wouxun KG-935G should arrive today. Looking forward to the wealth of knowledge here! I’m also working towards Ham licensing. Something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and finally pulled the trigger 

 

-Bryan

WRPN389

[WRPU408]

Hi everyone!

I am newly-licensed and waiting for my first radio to arrive. I am retiring in a few weeks and look forward to devoting a lot of time to this and other hobbies.

I am anxious to learn and possibly meet up with other GMRSers. Also interested in the best sources of info for this newbie: books, videos, etc.

Thanks in advance for this great forum and its members!

[SteveShannon]

Welcome!  The most dynamic source of information on GMRS is YouTube. There are lots of videos, including some from a person or two who frequent these pages.  

But if you want to learn about radio, study educational content that has been created for amateur radio.  All the technical information about how radio works is directly applicable. Of course licensing as well as the rules and regulations for GMRS are different.

[WyoJoe]

On 3/19/2022 at 8:23 PM, WRPU408 said:

Hi everyone!

I am newly-licensed and waiting for my first radio to arrive. I am retiring in a few weeks and look forward to devoting a lot of time to this and other hobbies.

I am anxious to learn and possibly meet up with other GMRSers. Also interested in the best sources of info for this newbie: books, videos, etc.

Thanks in advance for this great forum and its members!

I don't want to burst your bubble, so to speak, but I do want to make you aware of some of the realities of GMRS. Many, but not all, GMRS users only want to talk to their family members on the radio. If you hear them on the radio and try to contact them, they may not be interested and may not answer you, or they may have their radio set to only open the squelch when the proper code or tone is used.

GMRS differs quite a bit from amateur (ham) radio in this regard, since most hams get on the air to talk to other hams. Hams are generally looking for someone else to talk to, while GMRS users mostly want to talk only within their group.

[wayoverthere]

1 hour ago, WyoJoe said:

I don't want to burst your bubble, so to speak, but I do want to make you aware of some of the realities of GMRS. Many, but not all, GMRS users only want to talk to their family members on the radio. If you hear them on the radio and try to contact them, they may not be interested and may not answer you, or they may have their radio set to only open the squelch when the proper code or tone is used.

While this is true for a lot of areas, it's far from all. Mine is one of those that's very limited, but there are a few, while others have a lot more "enthusiast" presence...I think of it as some treat it as "FRS+", while the enthusiasts (and the dual licensed hams) are more a "ham-lite" mentality. Don't let it discourage you from trying, but do go into it with realistic expectations.

I'm one that initially started in GMRS and then added ham as well..a lot of the concepts are common between the two, UHF stuff especially.