10 MHz Split vs. Filter Technology

[Jones]

...  In how much of the country is channel 14 being used?

 

 

A few hundred stations are currently on Channel 14, and will be more after the re-pack of TV channels is completed in a few more years.

Two different lists (with some overlap):

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_14_digital_TV_stations_in_the_United_States

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_14_low-power_TV_stations_in_the_United_States

[berkinet]

...  In how much of the country is channel 14 being used?

 

In addition to @Jones comments. If the channel 14 frequency spectrum was used in even just one area of the country, the FCC would, with good reason, never allow the spectrum to be used for another service that did not have geographic restrictions in its licensing. Eg. GMRS.

[WRAF213]

Adding T-Band spectrum to Part 90 use comes at a huge cost to broadcast services, which is why T-Band is only available where necessary. Broadcast spectrum won't be released unless the buyer can afford to give the FCC the money that spectrum's worth.

 

Whitespace devices are Part 15 and have several restrictions on their operation to reduce broadcast interference; they aren't high-power, fixed-frequency narrowband voice solutions. Lately the telecom industry has been leading a crusade against 'underutilized spectrum', eyeballing 9cm, 6cm, and 3cm Amateur bands along with the bottom of 70cm in hopes of getting free 'whitespace' spectrum (which is subject to the fundamental flaw of the hidden-node problem, particularly on duplex links). In October, 462.5375 and 462.7375 became available for allocation with a 4K00 mask or narrower per FCC-18-143.

 

Those licensees are paying far, far more money for that spectrum than we are, and our use case barely justifies what we have now (see FRS 22-channel expansion). We aren't going to get more than we already have.

[Ian]

Okay, so it's time for some necromancy...  

 

The Retevis RT-97 that's motivated this thread is available now in eight different versions, and two of them are tuned to your spec (UHF and VHF versions)!

 

The boneheaded thing is that the split is backwards.  This thing can only be programmed with the Tx above the Rx.  So progress, perhaps, but the lunchbox repeater isn't ready for us yet.  Personally, it looks kinda nice, given that Kenwood 820s on eBay lately have all been broken, were missing buttons, or have occasionally had their controller boards removed and replaced with plugs for an external controller.  The GR1225s are routinely in better shape, but none of this has been in the budget for me lately, alas.  (I keep hoping I'll get lucky at an estate sale or something.)

[berkinet]

...The GR1225s are routinely in better shape, but none of this has been in the budget for me lately, alas.  (I keep hoping I'll get lucky at an estate sale or something.)

 

Well, from what I see on ebay for GR1225 UHF repeaters, there are several at or below the $399 price tag for the Retevis RT97. On a good (I.e. lucky) day you could even get an MTR2000 under $400.

 

BTW, should you decide to go for the GR1225, make sure you get a guarantee that the final PA is good. These radios have a nasty habit of either blowing or desoldering the final if run at too high a duty cycle, or too high power output. You should also ask to have the duplexer tuned for you.

 

However, if you run a GR1225 at 50% duty cycle and 1/2 power, it will give you excellent service and is small enough to be portable.

[coryb27]

Well, from what I see on ebay for GR1225 UHF repeaters, there are several at or below the $399 price tag for the Retevis RT97. On a good (I.e. lucky) day you could even get an MTR2000 under $400.

 

BTW, should you decide to go for the GR1225, make sure you get a guarantee that the final PA is good. These radios have a nasty habit of either blowing or desoldering the final if run at too high a duty cycle, or too high power output. You should also ask to have the duplexer tuned for you.

 

However, if you run a GR1225 at 50% duty cycle and 1/2 power, it will give you excellent service and is small enough to be portable.

 

You cant go wrong with an MRT2000, this lunchbox repeater idea has been beat to death and tried with mostly poor results by many. I have not seen a single lunchbox or ammo can repeater outperform simplex. I currently own many MTR2000's with 5 of them in GMRS service at this time. I have also built and sold several others as turn key repeaters for people without a single complaint. I looked into this retevis RT97 and it has no FCC certification, its intended market is HAM or out of the country use.

[Ian]

Oh, I'm well aware it's a ham repeater at the moment.  I'm just pleased that someone's working on something that could be adapted to legal, off-the-shelf GMRS use for under a grand, new.

 

Emphasis new.

 

Sooner or later, the surplus will either run out, or get priced out of affordability as it gets scarce.

 

Hopefully this sort of thing will be available before that happens.

[Logan5]

Since VHF low has been freed up from TV broadcast, I had hoped the FCC would get aggressive and force some movement. Even if they did there would be little to no consideration for GMRS/FRS/CB expansion. Only commercial use. wonder what they are going to do with 54mhz to 88mhz?

[coryb27]

Oh, I'm well aware it's a ham repeater at the moment.  I'm just pleased that someone's working on something that could be adapted to legal, off-the-shelf GMRS use for under a grand, new.

 

Emphasis new.

 

Sooner or later, the surplus will either run out, or get priced out of affordability as it gets scarce.

 

Hopefully this sort of thing will be available before that happens.

 

I have to know, why are you so set on a repeater like this? Unless a Manufacture knows its going to sell 100's of units its not going to put the time and money into this. Even construction sites that only need a repeater for a few blocks install full size repeaters simply for the duty cycle and reliability. Now in the part 90 world you can have your self a Motorola SLR1000 these do analog or DMR and are made to be tower mounted. This is all deal breakers for your wish list, its not part 95 and it will set you back $1900 but hey it is "new". I have state of the art SLR5700's in use on a business system and many 15 year old MTR 2000's in use on GMRS. For the record the SLR5700's I own (2 @ $2200 each) have given me more issues in 2 years than 10 USED MTR2000 have in 4 years. In fact one needs to go back to the depot for repair again! NEW is not always better, the list price on a NEW MTR2000 was upward of $8000 so I am more then happy to run a USED $8000 repeater I got for $800 bucks or less vs a NEW machine I paid $800 to $1000 for.

 

In your price point and requirement of off the shelf and legal I envision this big lunch box size FRS/GMRS radio with a 4' telescopic center loaded antenna and a rechargeable battery inside. I'm sure adding a solar panel and maybe a dynamo crank to charge the battery, a local mic, weather channels, maybe even a flashlight and an AM/FM radio will help sell more to the masses. This all sounds good (ha ha) but an off the shelf turn key repeater marketed as part 95 for GMRS is just a bad idea. Last thing we need is 100's of unlicensed repeaters all over the place with kids on them causing interference to real repeaters that people invested time and money into. If you need an example just look at all the FRS/GMRS combo radios that never got a licence and the FCC just made them licence by rule, again not good for GMRS. This unicorn you have been hunting will work about as good as simplex without an antenna at significant height above ground. 

[Jones]

Since VHF low has been freed up from TV broadcast, I had hoped the FCC would get aggressive and force some movement. Even if they did there would be little to no consideration for GMRS/FRS/CB expansion. Only commercial use. wonder what they are going to do with 54mhz to 88mhz?

 

This is a myth. There are still a LOT of TV stations using low band with ATSC digital transmisions, and there will continue to be.  What was freed up is everything above UHF channel 36.  All of that area has been re-assigned - mostly to cellular services.  TV channels 2-6, 7-13, and 14-36 remain unchanged in frequency allocation.

[coryb27]

Saw this on YouTube.... 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EBJasGAymY

[BoxCar]

I purchased Mr. Marten's GMRS J-Pole and it's working great.

[Ian]

I have to know, why are you so set on a repeater like this? Unless a Manufacture knows its going to sell 100's of units its not going to put the time and money into this. Even construction sites that only need a repeater for a few blocks install full size repeaters simply for the duty cycle and reliability. Now in the part 90 world you can have your self a Motorola SLR1000 these do analog or DMR and are made to be tower mounted. This is all deal breakers for your wish list, its not part 95 and it will set you back $1900 but hey it is "new". I have state of the art SLR5700's in use on a business system and many 15 year old MTR 2000's in use on GMRS. For the record the SLR5700's I own (2 @ $2200 each) have given me more issues in 2 years than 10 USED MTR2000 have in 4 years. In fact one needs to go back to the depot for repair again! NEW is not always better, the list price on a NEW MTR2000 was upward of $8000 so I am more then happy to run a USED $8000 repeater I got for $800 bucks or less vs a NEW machine I paid $800 to $1000 for.

 

In your price point and requirement of off the shelf and legal I envision this big lunch box size FRS/GMRS radio with a 4' telescopic center loaded antenna and a rechargeable battery inside. I'm sure adding a solar panel and maybe a dynamo crank to charge the battery, a local mic, weather channels, maybe even a flashlight and an AM/FM radio will help sell more to the masses. This all sounds good (ha ha) but an off the shelf turn key repeater marketed as part 95 for GMRS is just a bad idea. Last thing we need is 100's of unlicensed repeaters all over the place with kids on them causing interference to real repeaters that people invested time and money into. If you need an example just look at all the FRS/GMRS combo radios that never got a licence and the FCC just made them licence by rule, again not good for GMRS. This unicorn you have been hunting will work about as good as simplex without an antenna at significant height above ground. 

 

If this is a hobby, I can't afford it.  If this is a utility, I can't justify those prices.  Based on my personal cash flow, occasional capital expenses are more tolerable than subscriptions, but scraping up $400 to buy a Drobo was a feat.

 

I graduated into a ruined economy with a degree that isn't worth nearly so much as my college advice said it should be - would have been, if not for 2008 and the incredible vanishing prosperity.

 

Combine that with the utter lack of chatter on the radio in Florida, and lowering the barrier to entry starts to seem reasonable to me.  There are no repeaters reliably in range of my home, though atmospherics can do interesting things -- last week I opened a Jacksonville repeater from Cape Canaveral pretty reliably.  Still, I'm elated when I hear a 5 year old talking to her grandmother on channel 3, because it's the only traffic I've heard on the airwaves that I didn't put there in six months or more.

 

The purpose of GMRS is to talk to people on the same license.  The purpose of CB is to talk to people on different licenses.  They both stink, for one reason or another, at doing that down here.  (Last thing I heard on CB was a year ago, a random contact imploring all listeners to "smoke weed every day".  They didn't reply when I tried to respond.)

 

The service is dead down here, and frankly so are all the other ones.  Puerto Rico may see the point of off-grid comms, and K4SAT may see the point, but central Florida is generally a wasteland, both on simplex channels and repeater, too.

 

Edit:  Just in time to make me a liar, the CB finally lights up.  Contact, but completely un-understandable.

Edited July 12, 2019 by Ian

[marcspaz]

Please keep in mind, this is not meant to be belittling or to start an argument, but more to help you find something that will help with a hobby.

 

 

If this is a hobby, I can't afford it.  If this is a utility, I can't justify those prices.  Based on my personal cash flow, occasional capital expenses are more tolerable than subscriptions, but scraping up $400 to buy a Drobo was a feat.

 

I graduated into a ruined economy with a degree that isn't worth nearly so much as my college advice said it should be - would have been, if not for 2008 and the incredible vanishing prosperity.

 

At one point, I was homeless.  I spent years on welfare with a young family.  I can relate to being tight on cash and don't look down on or judge people based on their income.  However and unfortunately, hobbies are for people with expendable cash and free time.   Your career options based on your degree and the state of the economy are not really relevant to that fact. We have to adjust our spare time and entertainment into what we can afford.  If getting $400 together is tough for you, I would recommend staying away from anything beyond an inexpensive radio that operates on a spectrum that is in use around you.

 

Combine that with the utter lack of chatter on the radio in Florida...

 

The purpose of GMRS is to talk to people on the same license.  The purpose of CB is to talk to people on different licenses.  They both stink... 

 

The service is dead down here, and frankly so are all the other ones...

 

Florida is generally a wasteland, both on simplex channels and repeater, too...

 

I have to disagree with a good portion of this.  Especially about the "purpose" of CB and GMRS.  Depending on what service you are talking about, the purpose is non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, "radio sport", contesting, and emergency communication.  Meaning, these services are provided for users to incorporate a common communications platform into your life and life activities, such as the aforementioned.

 

If lack of radio contact is truly your experience, its not the bands or the service you are using.  There is a very high likelihood that there are some significant flaws in your radio and/or antenna setup, and I will explain why.

 

I live in Virginia most of the year, but I own a home in Hollywood and have family all over all over Florida, including Jacksonville, Daytona, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Winter Springs, Tampa, St. Pete, and Clearwater.  CB and amateur radio are alive and well.  I can't speak to GMRS yet, as I haven't been down there since I got my license, but I will be there to check on my house and visit family very soon... so we'll see.

 

In fact, CB is doing so well in Florida that, while I am in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, I talk to guys all over Florida.  (one skip hop is about 1,200 miles)  When I am local, there is no shortage of people to chew the rag with while cruising down i-95, RT 301, i-4, etc.

 

My best recommendation would be to get online and join local clubs.  Find people who are close to you and are in the hobby.  This will give you a new group of friends with like interests and likely introduce you folks that are technically skilled and able to help you get the most out of your equipment.

 

Also, many radio clubs in and around each other have events that are like flea-markets, but its all two-way radio related.  You can find great deals on some equipment that will run fine.  I flip radios all the time because I get board with them or they don't have some feature I thought they did when I bought it.

 

Just my humble opinion.  Hopefully some of the things I mentioned will help you find the camaraderie with some local folks and help you enjoy the hobby.   

[berkinet]

...The purpose of GMRS is to talk to people on the same license. The purpose of CB is to talk to people on different licenses. They both stink, for one reason or another, at doing that down here. (Last thing I heard on CB was a year ago, a random contact imploring all listeners to "smoke weed every day". They didn't reply when I tried to respond.)

 

The service is dead down here, and frankly so are all the other ones. Puerto Rico may see the point of off-grid comms, and K4SAT may see the point, but central Florida is generally a wasteland, both on simplex channels and repeater, too.

I will limit my comments since @marcspaz has for the most part already said what I would have said.

 

Assuming, for discussion's sake, your assessment of GMRS and CB is correct, it seems the real issue is your expectations and understanding of the radio services available to hobbyists. By your own definition, if GMRS is for talking to people on the same license, and nobody in your area has that need, what is the issue? If you have that need, then go ahead and setup those on your license with appropriate equipment to meet that need. But, don't claim GMRS stinks just because others aren't using GMRS in your area. (With the caveat, as @marcspaz notes, that you do not have some equipment issues). BTW, even if there were GMRS users in your area with the desire to talk to people on the same license, what makes you think they would or should want to talk to you?

 

As for CB. Again assuming you are correct in stating the purpose of CB is to talk to people on different licenses, while CB has the ability to skip and allow communications over fairly large distances, it is generally intended for communications with others in the local vicinity and is particularly adapted for mobile communications. If you are in an area where there is no CB traffic, then that's just how it is. That is not, per-se, a problem, it is a fact.

 

But, there is another option: Amateur Radio. This service would seem to check all of your boxes - in particular, a very active community and lots of options to join in. Depending on your choice of equipment, you can communicate around the block or around the world. The technicians license is not at all hard to get, and would give you a wide range of local communications options. The general license is a bit harder, but would, literaly, open up the world to you.

 

My suggestion, stop bemoaning the way things are and asking the world to change and go find a way to change yourself (and maybe your expectations).

[kidphc]

But, there is another option: Amateur Radio. This service would seem to check all of your boxes - in particular, a very active community and lots of options to join in. Depending on your choice of equipment, you can communicate around the block or around the world. The technicians license is not at all hard to get, and would give you a wide range of local communications options. The general license is a bit harder, but would, literally, open up the world to you.

 

My suggestion, stop bemoaning the way things are and asking the world to change and go find a way to change yourself (and maybe your expectations).

 

Pretty much how I look at it. Wife has been preaching to me for years about change yourself, you can't change anyone but that.

 

Side story:

 

In the D.C. area it is pretty much dead for simplex/repeaters on 2m and 70cm bands also with GMRS and CB, well at least up by Rockville. Spoke to a ham in my neighborhood for about an hour. Asked him if ham was really dead. He turned on a radio onto 70cm and started scanning simplex, turned on another radio and started scanning all the memory repeaters. 45 minutes of scanning and nada while we talked. Before I left he turned on a DStar radio it was just constant talking. His words were basically, it's not that we aren't out there. A lot of us are on different modes. Adjust your frame of thought a bit. The hobby is still alive and kicking just FM in our area is pretty quiet.

 

 

I should add the Technician test is pretty easy. I personally, think I could of taken the test with about 3 days of study. Unfortunately, couldn't match any test times. Which resulted in a 3 week study time.

[Ian]

On the contrary, simplex has managed to turn screaming-at-each-other into smooth trips to the grocery store while caravanning, so I've gotten the utility out of GMRS I hoped for!

 

Diabetes leads to "hangry" turns quickly to domestic abuse.  I've managed to defuse at least three screaming sessions because UHF, so I've gotten my money's worth.  Still, I remember hurricane Charlie, and when Verizon was the only network with generators on their towers… since then they've given me two hurricanes worth of disappointment, and my family switched.  T-Mo is still crap in a pinch, but at least they can be bothered to ring my phone when I'm home!

 

Okay, two big messages, I'll try to be thorough, but I appreciate the input!

 

 

I have to disagree with a good portion of this.  Especially about the "purpose" of CB and GMRS.  Depending on what service you are talking about, the purpose is non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, "radio sport", contesting, and emergency communication.  Meaning, these services are provided for users to incorporate a common communications platform into your life and life activities, such as the aforementioned.

That's paraphrasing the FCC's justification for services.  My justification is simple -- avoid getting screamed at.  That's solved, but I could do better.  (Though I've had to pull the Midlands out of service due to malfunction in at least one of them; one of the mag-mount antennas literally fell apart!  I'm disappointed with customer service so far.)

 

 

If lack of radio contact is truly your experience, its not the bands or the service you are using.  There is a very high likelihood that there are some significant flaws in your radio and/or antenna setup, and I will explain why.

Truly is.  I have to scowl at your luck with CB on I-95 -- what channel are you on?  I tend to prefer night driving to daytime, to dodge traffic, personally, but even day traffic is pretty silent.  GMRS is silent, but the SARnet repeaters are lively, and are motivating me to get my ham ticket.  (Close…)  I'll try and join the UCF hamfest when feasible, but I just buried my grandfather and my time is an ugly mess lately, so club meetings are a distant fantasy for the next couple months.

 

Thing with ham is that the screaming diabetic family members are also dealing with "just buried my grandfather" and are short on "bandwidth" (and I quote).  It'd be nice to be able to use the cheap radios, but I have some personal issues to deal with, and the rest of my family has more responsibility to the estate, so we'll see how it goes.

 

 

 

BTW, even if there were GMRS users in your area with the desire to talk to people on the same license, what makes you think they would or should want to talk to you?

Ouch.  That stings!

 

I'm working on my ham ticket, but it's not likely that I'm going to inherit my grandfather's Japanese-built WW2 VHF gear.  Florida seems to be all in on UHF, though, so no large loss.

 

 

I should add the Technician test is pretty easy. I personally, think I could of taken the test with about 3 days of study. Unfortunately, couldn't match any test times. Which resulted in a 3 week study time.

Agreed on all points, alas.

 

Thoughtful edit:  If we sprung, as a family, for newer iPhones which supported the 600 MHz band, maybe we wouldn't have comms blackouts and I wouldn't have been screamed at for long enough to buy a radio license and hundreds of dollars of mobile and handhelds (MURS and GMRS) but then I'd never have discovered the amateur satellite field, which I'd be poorer for.

 

Also I can't change other people, but I still need to communicate with them.  That leaves not a lot of high-performing options, and I think I can't afford an itinerant license on, say, Red Dot.

[berkinet]

...I should add the Technician test is pretty easy. I personally, think I could of taken the test with about 3 days of study. Unfortunately, couldn't match any test times. Which resulted in a 3 week study time.

 

BTW, a slightly belated congratulations on passing your exam.

[kidphc]

BTW, a slightly belated congratulations on passing your exam.

Thanks.. More of a sweat fest because of the mentatility going in. Took longer to get test session setup them me actually taking the test.

[berkinet]

.... BTW, even if there were GMRS users in your area with the desire to talk to people on the same license, what makes you think they would or should want to talk to you?

...

 

...

Ouch.  That stings!

...

Florida seems to be all in on UHF, though, so no large loss....

 

Sorry if that sounded like it was directed specifically at you, it wasn't. I just meant other users might not be interested in talking outside their own user group. This is particularly true for family based groups where the communications tend to be limited to immediate practical matters (pick up some tomatoes while you are at the market...).

 

BTW, A quick look at the RepeaterBook page for Florida seems to show a lot of activity on 2M

 

Good luck with your ham ticket.

[marcspaz]

My condolences on the loss of your grandfather.  That is tough for many of us, for sure.

 

You put some pretty personal stuff out there... and I appreciate that.  It helps me understand what you are going through.  Knowing those things puts some light on what and why.  Also, makes it so I wish you success and wanting to point you in a good direction even more.

 

Truly is.  I have to scowl at your luck with CB on I-95 -- what channel are you on?  I tend to prefer night driving to daytime, to dodge traffic, personally, but even day traffic is pretty silent.

 

Most of my time on CB is pretty evenly spent on 19 and 28, but 6, 11, 19, 22, and 28 are all usually pretty busy.  However, night time it is almost completely dead.  Recreational users are mostly day-time and the OTR truck drivers are usually just looking for some quite time at night.

 

 

I wish you the best of luck.  If I can think of anything else positive to contribute, I'll let you know.

[n4gix]

I disagree that GMRS is only for talking to family members on the same license. Here in NW Indiana most activity is licensed user to licensed user...

[Ian]

I disagree that GMRS is only for talking to family members on the same license. Here in NW Indiana most activity is licensed user to licensed user...

That isn't the stated purpose of the radio service, but I think it's a better use of the band too.  I've reached out to random contacts, but usually they just stop transmitting.  D:

 

My condolences on the loss of your grandfather.  That is tough for many of us, for sure.

 

You put some pretty personal stuff out there... and I appreciate that.  It helps me understand what you are going through.  Knowing those things puts some light on what and why.  Also, makes it so I wish you success and wanting to point you in a good direction even more.

 

 

Most of my time on CB is pretty evenly spent on 19 and 28, but 6, 11, 19, 22, and 28 are all usually pretty busy.  However, night time it is almost completely dead.  Recreational users are mostly day-time and the OTR truck drivers are usually just looking for some quite time at night.

 

 

I wish you the best of luck.  If I can think of anything else positive to contribute, I'll let you know.

I wasn't doing anybody any favors dancing around the issues.  I'm aware my desires are idiosyncratic, and I'm sometimes prickly.  I look forward to devising clever solutions to my weird problems, sharing for the world to see, and making friends with the people who have similar problems.    I'm really tempted to put another Midland 275 in the family ragtop, after the 100 freaked out.  I'm super not impressed with their mag-mounts, and I'm trying to get Sti-Co to talk to me after early negotiations; I want a fender-mounted antenna that doesn't require any new holes for each of our cars, but they went silent when I pointed out that the sales agent was looking at roof-mount "sharkfin" antennas and I wanted their higher-gain fender mount.  Irritiating, but unsurprising.  Given the family friction, reversible mods are definitely favored over drilling holes, which is me-having-a-long-sigh motivating, but it is what it is.  Fortunately, Ozzie UHF-CB enthusiasts have embraced the handheld control head with 8p8c jacks -- ethernet.  So I'm looking for a good way to hang a few handheld control heads in a Tacoma's cab, and moreso a late model Miata.  Midland's mic hangers are too deep, and give the weight too much leverage to rip the sticky off; command strips with hooks and "buddy hooks" were quickly winning, but in flor-I-duh, the heat and humidity will melt command strips too!  Not quite back to square 1, but it's frustrating.  At least the buddy hook lets me stash the speaker-mic on the E-brake while driving, but you really can't see the display from above (stupid calculator display!)

 

I'll probably try to get the rest of my "minimally-licensed" radios bought or installed, and I've got like three cubic meters of the lights and luminaries of genre fiction competing with the ham study, which is the real limiting factor once I get done with estate work.  I'm leaning toward Uniden CMX-560 and 760 radios, but I really resent that you can't get a SSB CB in a handheld controlhead form factor.  It's stupid, but it's a big reason I hesitate.  Given the resemblance between the HHCH radios from Uniden on CB and Midland on GMRS, I really have to suspect a common cheap-chinese-radio source behind them, and wonder if I should go there.

 

Speaking of estate work?  My grandfather had one heck of a run, a long and happy life, and a short illness at the end - just enough time to come to terms with it.  Ideal, in most people's estimation, but I still miss the man.  Can't say he didn't do it all right along the way, though.

 

Sorry if that sounded like it was directed specifically at you, it wasn't. I just meant other users might not be interested in talking outside their own user group. This is particularly true for family based groups where the communications tend to be limited to immediate practical matters (pick up some tomatoes while you are at the market...).

 

BTW, A quick look at the RepeaterBook page for Florida seems to show a lot of activity on 2M

 

Good luck with your ham ticket.

it stung at first, but the more I tried to reach out to contacts, the more I realized that most of them were FRS users who were freaked out by sharing a channel than GMRS users trying to make contact.

 

I've got a ... (goes out to garage)  Midland 70-1336b 2m rig waiting for some love.  (It'll need a lot of bias resistors replaced to access the A range; the B range is very much business only, if my memory is correct)

 

Thank you!  Just need to find some me-time where my brain hasn't been reduced to runny jello first to polish off the studying and take the silly test already!

 

Anyway, I'm out of brutal honesty, and need some sleep.

 

Edit:  Oh, Berkinet?  GMRS isn't really dead in Florida, I just live in a big hole in repeater coverage, and those I can hear are boring to listen to.  I gotta believe they're run by snowbirds, who only use them seasonally.  Otherwise, it's hard to understand why tower leases are maintained while everything's abandoned.  I look forward to our resident mad scientist and his Oviedo project. 

[Jones]

I've got a ... (goes out to garage)  Midland 70-1336b 2m rig waiting for some love.  (It'll need a lot of bias resistors replaced to access the A range; the B range is very much business only, if my memory is correct)

 

 

I've got several 70-1336b units, and you don't need to do any major mods to them to get them on 2 Meters. You just need to re-tweak the RX and TX VCO trimmers until they go into PLL lock, and they work great.

 

Just program a low frequency into RX and TX on one channel, such as 144.300, then reset the radio.  It might RX just fine, and if so, then OK.  If it beeps and shows Error 3 on the display, then adjust the RX VCO until it quits beeping.  Next, hold down on the transmit button, (make sure to have a dummy load connected). You will get the beeping and Error 3 again. While holding down the transmit button, adjust the TX VCO until it quits beeping, and starts transmitting. 

 

Now, go back and program your favorite 2 Meter repeaters and simplex frequencies into the 8 channels. (If you have hacked software, you can actually put up to 24 channels in some of newer models of these radios, and most all of them will hold at least 10 channels.) That is all the mods needed to get a 1336b on 2 Meters.

[Ian]

Nice!  Now I have to bug my uncle to renew his amateur license since he's got a 2m rig gathering dust...