SteveShannon Posted August 9 Report Posted August 9 45 minutes ago, WSEB794 said: Hello from Louisiana. Just got my License and a couple cheap radios to play with. My main purpose in doing this is, small town emergency com and travel with family. If I enjoy it long term, I may move on to ham. We shall see. Welcome!! WSEB794 1 Quote
WSEG304 Posted August 19 Report Posted August 19 Hi everyone, new GMRS user here. WSEG304 Granite Falls, NC. My radios are BTech GMRS Pros., and I look forward to learning another from you all. GP62 and WSFA358 2 Quote
SteveShannon Posted August 19 Report Posted August 19 13 minutes ago, WSEG304 said: Hi everyone, new GMRS user here. WSEG304 Granite Falls, NC. My radios are BTech GMRS Pros., and I look forward to learning another from you all. Welcome! WSFA358 and GP62 2 Quote
WSDD519 Posted August 19 Report Posted August 19 2 hours ago, WSEG304 said: Hi everyone, new GMRS user here. WSEG304 Granite Falls, NC. My radios are BTech GMRS Pros., and I look forward to learning another from you all. Welcome! WSFA358 1 Quote
WSEF841 Posted August 19 Report Posted August 19 Hello.. New here as well. WSEF841 out of SGV in LA Co. Working with an Ailunce HA1G.. Looking forward to expanding my knowledge GP62 1 Quote
TrucksNCoffee Posted August 21 Report Posted August 21 Howdy from Oklahoma City. I'm a retired truck driver who has used CB radio (legally, of course) for decades. My adult son and I were recently discussing alternate communications for the day when internet and cell phones go dark. My investigations led me to the world of GMRS, something about which I knew nothing until a couple of weeks ago. I sent the FCC $35, and in return they kindly gave me a call sign (WSEG265). A pair of TidRadio TD-H3 GMRS hand held units arrived from Amazon five hours ago. So, here I am, starting from scratch and trying to learn whatever I can about this strange, new world. WSEI278, WSFA358, WRUU653 and 2 others 5 Quote
SteveShannon Posted August 21 Report Posted August 21 14 minutes ago, TrucksNCoffee said: Howdy from Oklahoma City. I'm a retired truck driver who has used CB radio (legally, of course) for decades. My adult son and I were recently discussing alternate communications for the day when internet and cell phones go dark. My investigations led me to the world of GMRS, something about which I knew nothing until a couple of weeks ago. I sent the FCC $35, and in return they kindly gave me a call sign (WSEG265). A pair of TidRadio TD-H3 GMRS hand held units arrived from Amazon five hours ago. So, here I am, starting from scratch and trying to learn whatever I can about this strange, new world. Welcome! WSFA358 and WRUU653 2 Quote
BoxCar Posted August 21 Report Posted August 21 8 hours ago, TrucksNCoffee said: Howdy from Oklahoma City. I'm a retired truck driver who has used CB radio (legally, of course) for decades. My adult son and I were recently discussing alternate communications for the day when internet and cell phones go dark. My investigations led me to the world of GMRS, something about which I knew nothing until a couple of weeks ago. I sent the FCC $35, and in return they kindly gave me a call sign (WSEG265). A pair of TidRadio TD-H3 GMRS hand held units arrived from Amazon five hours ago. So, here I am, starting from scratch and trying to learn whatever I can about this strange, new world. Welcome, and let me unpack a little of what I believe are your thoughts and concerns. How far apart are you and your son? You can't count on two handheld radios being able to communicate with each other for more than a half mile. Of course, there will be times when the distance will be further but, I said guaranteed being able to communicate. Just as with CB, you both will need to be on the same channel in order to talk whether or not it is a simplex channel or through a repeater on the repeater pair. Right out of the box, the two radios will be able to communicate over the simplex channels but probably not over any repeater. You will most likely need to include tones on your repeater transmit channels to access (unlock) any repeaters which may or may not be in your area. Additionally, you will need to upgrade the antennas used on your radios to improve the distance over which you can talk. Antenna improvement is a deep subject I'm not going to get into but I will state height ground is the major factor. The next item you may want will be mobile radios which can be used in your vehicles or as home base stations. There are a great number of brands available and, like CB, they all will talk to one another. My advice here is don't overspend. Home-based units will need a separate power supply, and again, don't overspend. I use power supplies from Mean Well (also Meanwell) available on Amazon for a third of the price asked for "radio" power units. Many public safety agencies also use these supplies rather than the manufacturer's units or other "radio" supplies. A home based unit also means an antenna and coax. The coax cable needed is not the same one for CB. You will need coax that meets the same specifications as Times Microwave LMR-400 or better. Buying LMR-400 quality cable from Amazon is more miss than hit. Other than that, welcome to the rabbit hole. TrucksNCoffee, SteveShannon, Socalgmrs and 1 other 2 1 1 Quote
WSEI278 Posted August 28 Report Posted August 28 Greetings, New member and licensee, I carried radios most of my adult life (retired peace officer) from the bricks of the 80’s to modern day. Never cared how they worked before and now I’m in learning mode. Really appreciate all the great videos out there and this forum which I intend to read through in detail. I’m Northeast San Antonio area and have a pair of TidRadio H3 to start with. WRUU653 1 Quote
SteveShannon Posted August 28 Report Posted August 28 1 minute ago, WSEI278 said: Greetings, New member and licensee, I carried radios most of my adult life (retired peace officer) from the bricks of the 80’s to modern day. Never cared how they worked before and now I’m in learning mode. Really appreciate all the great videos out there and this forum which I intend to read through in detail. I’m Northeast San Antonio area and have a pair of TidRadio H3 to start with. Welcome! I hope you enjoy it here. WRUU653 1 Quote
WSEI509 Posted August 29 Report Posted August 29 Greetings! I'm located in Schaumburg, IL and just received my GMRS license! I got into kayaking recently and discovered if you're more than 50 feet away from the wife or kids, no one can hear each other. Arrive, three GRMS radios. So I placed one of my three handhelds on the kitchen table, went outside and my first broadcast was to my wife who she immediately reply transmitted, "You're a dork". Hopefully I'm in good company here... WRXB215, WRUU653 and SteveShannon 3 Quote
WRWE456 Posted August 29 Report Posted August 29 Welcome! Now you are on your way to becoming a "radio dork". WRUU653 1 Quote
WRXB215 Posted August 29 Report Posted August 29 @WSEI278 welcome. There are lots of repeaters around San Antonio. @WSEI509 welcome. That's a great story. Sounds like my wife. WRUU653 1 Quote
BoxCar Posted August 29 Report Posted August 29 3 hours ago, WSEI278 said: Greetings, New member and licensee, I carried radios most of my adult life (retired peace officer) from the bricks of the 80’s to modern day. Never cared how they worked before and now I’m in learning mode. Really appreciate all the great videos out there and this forum which I intend to read through in detail. I’m Northeast San Antonio area and have a pair of TidRadio H3 to start with. Greetings from a former resident of The Great Northwest along Culebra Rd. Left SAT in 89 for Florida, then to DC and the MD 'burbs before retiring to NC. You'll be busy for a while trying to get your head around all the information here and on the 'net. Quote
SteveShannon Posted August 29 Report Posted August 29 2 hours ago, WSEI509 said: Greetings! I'm located in Schaumburg, IL and just received my GMRS license! I got into kayaking recently and discovered if you're more than 50 feet away from the wife or kids, no one can hear each other. Arrive, three GRMS radios. So I placed one of my three handhelds on the kitchen table, went outside and my first broadcast was to my wife who she immediately reply transmitted, "You're a dork". Hopefully I'm in good company here... You’re in great company and it sounds like we’d like your wife too! Welcome! WRUU653 1 Quote
WRUU653 Posted August 29 Report Posted August 29 Welcome to the forum and GMRS @WSEI278 and a welcome to @WSEI509 as well. You are in good radio dork company! Quote
WSET747 Posted October 2 Report Posted October 2 Hey Everyone, Just got my License about 2 weeks ago. WSET747 located in Middletown Pa. I work in IT but never got into the communication side of things. I'm looking forward to this adventure! SteveShannon and WRXB215 2 Quote
SteveShannon Posted October 2 Report Posted October 2 21 minutes ago, WSET747 said: Hey Everyone, Just got my License about 2 weeks ago. WSET747 located in Middletown Pa. I work in IT but never got into the communication side of things. I'm looking forward to this adventure! Welcome! WSET747 and WRXB215 2 Quote
GreggInFL Posted October 6 Report Posted October 6 On 10/2/2024 at 4:14 PM, WSET747 said: Hey Everyone, Just got my License about 2 weeks ago. WSET747 located in Middletown Pa. I work in IT but never got into the communication side of things. I'm looking forward to this adventure! Welcome. You're in the right place. I'm new at this as well and have found the forum to have some scary-smart folks who are very helpful. Quote
WSEY982 Posted October 8 Report Posted October 8 Hello, I am like most here. I just got my license and installed a midland MX115 in the truck and I have two small HTs that were a gift a few years ago. The reason for me getting GMRS was CBs seem to be phasing out and GMRS is what all my friends run. Plus after watching the fiasco in NC I want a redundant communication system to reach local family. I am located near Mattoon IL. SteveShannon 1 Quote
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