What's missing from myGMRS.com?

[rdunajewski]

We have several projects planned that are in various stages of development, but I'm trying to figure out priorities based upon what the members want (and some things that I haven't thought of yet).

 

I think we can all agree that Problem #1 is outdated listings that never got removed but are no longer on the air for one reason or another. We have plans to address that, but it requires a major redevelopment of the site. In the meantime we have the toggle switches on the map that allow you to hide anything that hasn't been updated in the last year, as it could be stale.

 

So, what do you think myGMRS needs? What do you personally wish we had that we don't?

 

Here's some projects that are being considered or are already in the works:

1. Finish working on the mobile apps. We have a beta version of the iOS app that has some issues before it can be released to everyone. That effort needs to be revived soon. The Android version has been released but there are new features that we want to add (and will also be in iOS).
    
2. A complete site redevelopment. Much of the code powering myGMRS is over 10 years old. It's the main reason new features aren't being added -- we need a fresh modern platform to work with. Some early experimentation has been done and we think we have the right combination of technology, but need to build it. Then we can begin adding new features once we have covered all the current functionality.
    
3. Launch of our store and securing reseller arrangements with various suppliers. This has been a small success already that we're hoping will grow with time. Most of my energy has been spent here lately, trying to get products that our members are likely to want to purchase. We're always looking for suggestions on products we should add, so please let us know.
    
4. Expand our repeater linking project. We have had success with adding systems to our myGMRS Network over the past few years but we haven't pushed to expand very hard. Interested parties have come to us asking to join and we have approved them on a case-by-case basis. It's time, I think, to ramp up the project and try to get more high-quality repeaters on board across the country. There is a lot of work involved in making this something that can scale up without taking huge amounts of my time, however. 
    
5. Upgrade the forums. We're using an older version of the IP.Board software, and I want to migrate to the latest version soon. We'll have to migrate all the accounts and topics over, but hopefully it won't be such a tough process.

I also have a really cool project in mind that I'm going to remain tight-lipped about. It would be an app which would be of interest to the entire two-way radio community, not just GMRS and Amateur operators. I'm working on a proof of concept that could expand into a whole side business if successful.

 

So again, what do you think this site is missing? What kinds of features do you think would be worth paying a small subscription for? The core features of the site will remain free. Since incorporating, we have had to look for ways to monetize the site so it pays its own bills and can grow with time. One example might be an ad-free experience for paid subscribers. Another could be advanced tools for helping to compile a list of repeaters along a trip or commute. Dream up some ideas and hopefully we can launch them all!

[coryb27]

Whats the chance we can get a chat room? Is that even a thing anymore? I like the idea of ad supported, and yes I would pay 5 bucks a month to not see them!

 

1. Expand our repeater linking project!

[6040]

How about a classified section?

I second the chat room....

[rdunajewski]

Whats the chance we can get a chat room? Is that even a thing anymore? I like the idea of ad supported, and yes I would pay 5 bucks a month to not see them!

 

1. Expand our repeater linking project!

 

We had a chat on this board before, but I didn't renew the license for it. Nobody was using it. Instead, we could use a service like Slack or Discord to hold discussions. Then we would get notifications on our mobile devices if we so choose. I think a chat on the forum means everyone needs to be logged in and sitting on the chat page, which is exactly why nobody used it.

[rdunajewski]

If anyone wants to try out Slack, I created an account for myGMRS. Here's the link to join:

 

[Link removed, moved to Private Discussion]

I recommend putting your callsign after your name in the "full name" field (first name only is okay if you prefer).

[gortex2]

Id like to see more on the linking stuff. As you said fixing the out dated repeater listings is a large task. I tend to come here only for GMRs stuff which i like. Most of the other online forums for radio stuff is all over the place. I know this is mostly GMRS so i tend to come here daily.

 

One thought i did have and maybe its been done but a spot on "license" encouragement would be nice. I wish places like midland would do thia also but they want to sell a product and not deal with this. having a page spelling out the reasons and how to get a license, with a link to start would be cool.

[rdunajewski]

Id like to see more on the linking stuff. As you said fixing the out dated repeater listings is a large task. I tend to come here only for GMRs stuff which i like. Most of the other online forums for radio stuff is all over the place. I know this is mostly GMRS so i tend to come here daily.

 

One thought i did have and maybe its been done but a spot on "license" encouragement would be nice. I wish places like midland would do thia also but they want to sell a product and not deal with this. having a page spelling out the reasons and how to get a license, with a link to start would be cool.

 

I'm open to guest authors who want to help out with articles like that. 

 

Articles in general are one thing I want to add that has been missing. The site is functional for looking up repeaters, but lacking in substantive content that will drive traffic to us.

[wayoverthere]

Id like to see more on the linking stuff. As you said fixing the out dated repeater listings is a large task. I tend to come here only for GMRs stuff which i like. Most of the other online forums for radio stuff is all over the place. I know this is mostly GMRS so i tend to come here daily.

 

One thought i did have and maybe its been done but a spot on "license" encouragement would be nice. I wish places like midland would do thia also but they want to sell a product and not deal with this. having a page spelling out the reasons and how to get a license, with a link to start would be cool.

not to rain on this idea, as i think it's a good one.

 

i WILL give midland a little credit, though, as they DO actually have an article on the licensing topic (and include "license required" in the product descriptions, at least for the micromobiles, though you have to "read more" to see it), and reasons to get licensed.  as you said, though, their primary focus is selling product, so it isn't particularly easy for the average person to find.  i did a lot of digging and reading before i pulled the trigger on radios, and stumbled across it.

 

https://midlandusa.com/why-do-i-need-a-gmrs-license-how-do-i-get-it/

 

i definitely think there's still room to expand on the topic, and make the information a lot more accessible than they have (get it more up-front), also know it's a balance being careful not to "borrow" or end up too similar to theirs. this site (and forum) are one of the places i did a lot of reading before jumping in.

 

 

on the main thread topic, though, one small idea that comes to mind...maybe i missed it, but i didn't see an actual designated spot for "(New) Member Intros", just a few scattered in the general discussion and the private discussion areas.

[mcallahan]

>What's missing from myGMRS.com?

 

A dark theme!

[berkinet]

I would suggest an addition to the repeater listings that would allow some degree of crowd sourcing of current status. In other words, let users add something like a QSL card or signal report. It could be simply binary as did or did not work. Or, it could be more detailed. Location at the time of the report, signal strength, etc.

 

Then, "last verified access" could be added to the repeater report page and, possibly, people could search on, reported active in the last: 30, 60, 90 days, etc.

 

In the signal report it might also be possible to report if anything differed from the listing, like Frequency, PL, or location. The specific information would not be given, except in the case of a fully-open repeater. But, at least other users would know there had been a change.

 

And, finally. The owner could receive an, optional, email each time a signal report was received.

 

In any case, the basic point is even if the owners do not update their listings, other users could help a bit.

[Lscott]

How about some how to, or tutorials, on basic topics. GMRS is mainly aimed at non technical people who simply want a good means of communications and don't have much interest in the theory or radio as a hobby. For that there is Ham Radio.

 

For example one wants a mobile installation. Basic info on how a mobile radio should be wired up for electrical safety, battery connections, fuses etc. What type of coax cable to use, cable connectors, antenna location and antenna mounts. Recommended mobile radios, antenna manufactures and models. Some sample photos of other people's installations for ideas to go along with the written material.

 

Another would be for portable radios. Recommended manufactures and models. Issues with using a portable radio in a mobile setting, speaker microphones, heat sets, battery types, battery eliminators, cable adapters from the portable radio to mobile antenna. Again some sample photos.

 

Repeater operation. What are they used for. What specific channels are reserved for them. Explain why there are two frequencies used and in general how this is programed in to the radio. Explain what a "PL" tone is used for and why it's typically required.

 

The how to's should be kept at a low simple technical level. The idea is to help somebody setup a functional radio installation without getting mired in a lot of theory. After the system is up and running there is plenty of time and people who can provide additional info for those that have the interest.

[coryb27]

How about some how to, or tutorials, on basic topics. GMRS is mainly aimed at non technical people who simply want a good means of communications and don't have much interest in the theory or radio as a hobby. For that there is Ham Radio.

 

For example one wants a mobile installation. Basic info on how a mobile radio should be wired up for electrical safety, battery connections, fuses etc. What type of coax cable to use, cable connectors, antenna location and antenna mounts. Recommended mobile radios, antenna manufactures and models. Some sample photos of other people's installations for ideas to go along with the written material.

 

Another would be for portable radios. Recommended manufactures and models. Issues with using a portable radio in a mobile setting, speaker microphones, heat sets, battery types, battery eliminators, cable adapters from the portable radio to mobile antenna. Again some sample photos.

 

Repeater operation. What are they used for. What specific channels are reserved for them. Explain why there are two frequencies used and in general how this is programed in to the radio. Explain what a "PL" tone is used for and why it's typically required.

 

The how to's should be kept at a low simple technical level. The idea is to help somebody setup a functional radio installation without getting mired in a lot of theory. After the system is up and running there is plenty of time and people who can provide additional info for those that have the interest.

 

 

I hope to write some of these at some point, just waiting for the site rebuild

[Jones]

Minor nit-pick here...

 

When I go to the shop area on MyGMRS.com, I seem to be stuck in there, as in there is nothing to click on to return to the main root page of mygmrs.com.  Clicking on the HOME link returns me to the shop home page, as it should, but clicking on the MyGMRS.com logo on the top of the page also returns me to the shop/mygmrs.com page.  I think that clicking the main logo from the shop home page should return to the main site page rather than shop home again.

 

Same with forums as well.  while clicking on the top logo from a thread page, it is nice to go back to the forum home, but clicking the main logo from the forum home page should return to the main mygmrs page.  Right now, clicking the logo from the forum home page goes nowhere, just re-loads the forum home page.

[wrcy378]

1. Toward the topic of linked repeaters.  It would be nice if there was a note as to where the networked repeaters are located prior to clicking on the link.  There is no way to tell what state or city the linked networks are in if it's not in the name and there are many to click on only to find out that there are plenty in Texas, but none near me.

 

2. Perhaps a way to add a repeater that you do not own but have found.  There are several in the area that I come across while scanning the GMRS frequencies, but can't find on the website to get a tone for or permission to use because I don't know who to contact.  If someone could add, for example, " Found: 550 repeater near Center City Philadelphia.  Tone 141.3"

[berkinet]

[--snip--]

2. Perhaps a way to add a repeater that you do not own but have found.  There are several in the area that I come across while scanning the GMRS frequencies, but can't find on the website to get a tone for or permission to use because I don't know who to contact.  If someone could add, for example, " Found: 550 repeater near Center City Philadelphia.  Tone 141.3"

 

Personally, I like this idea. However, I suspect it will be controversial. May I suggest that rather than adding this to the official repeater listing, you could create a thread in the Private Discussion topic to report member discoveries.  In that case, other members with more information, like the owner does not want it used by others, or it is officially open, etc. could also contribute.

[coryb27]

1. Toward the topic of linked repeaters.  It would be nice if there was a note as to where the networked repeaters are located prior to clicking on the link.  There is no way to tell what state or city the linked networks are in if it's not in the name and there are many to click on only to find out that there are plenty in Texas, but none near me.

 

2. Perhaps a way to add a repeater that you do not own but have found.  There are several in the area that I come across while scanning the GMRS frequencies, but can't find on the website to get a tone for or permission to use because I don't know who to contact.  If someone could add, for example, " Found: 550 repeater near Center City Philadelphia.  Tone 141.3"

 

https://link.mygmrs.com/map

[JeepCrawler98]

One of the things that seems to be fairly prevalent in the repeater listings are paper repeaters - those who are listed, but not longer online or usable. It would be nice if there was some sort of process for removing these - either by vote, requesting a review, flagged as "reported offline," or something like that.

 

We have a few of these in the Tucson area; their owners at times haven't logged in in almost a decade and/or their licenses expired.

[JJM]

The name of the state that the repeater network is in shown on the list of networks would be nice.

 

So I don’t click on “hill country” thinking it’s Texas hill country when it is not.

 

Just add one more column to show the state the network is located in.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[WRAF213]

One of the things that seems to be fairly prevalent in the repeater listings are paper repeaters - those who are listed, but not longer online or usable. It would be nice if there was some sort of process for removing these - either by vote, requesting a review, flagged as "reported offline," or something like that.

 

We have a few of these in the Tucson area; their owners at times haven't logged in in almost a decade and/or their licenses expired.

And with the current system of 'hide offline repeaters' and 'hide outdated listings', a lot of the repeaters that have been around for a long time get hidden by those settings and mixed in with the dead repeaters. There absolutely needs to be a user-reported repeater status function.

 

Perhaps a way to add a repeater that you do not own but have found.  There are several in the area that I come across while scanning the GMRS frequencies, but can't find on the website to get a tone for or permission to use because I don't know who to contact.  If someone could add, for example, " Found: 550 repeater near Center City Philadelphia.  Tone 141.3"

Most of the repeaters in my area aren't actually listed on MyGMRS, and those that are listed are inactive or offline. It makes frequency coordination an absolute pain. I'd consider the output tone 'public' information as well since it typically identifies a system uniquely within an a particular area and channel, and gets transmitted along with the carrier. Keeping that information hidden when reading a 'found repeater' report makes it hard to tell if that reported repeater is actually the one you're hearing. This could also help with people claiming ownership of repeaters they do not actually own.

 

When I first got my repeater, I used a particular frequency and tone that was in use nearby. Due to California's highly variable topography, I couldn't hear the incumbent user's repeater when I was doing frequency surveying, but the coverage area overlap was a serious issue. I had to reprogram the repeater and several radios, and get the cavities re-tuned to a different pair, because the only people currently allowed to report a repeater's existence are the owners.

 

Many repeater owners don't want their repeater's existence or site location to become public knowledge. I do believe it's against public interest to enable that behavior, since the 8 GMRS channels are all accessible to the public and there is no right to privacy on what information is sent over the repeater's output channel. However, there needs to be limitations on access to what specific information can be seen by other users. Frequency, output tone(s), general location, and CWID (if any) can all be narrowed down quickly with a receive-only station or two, and it may also be possible to determine whether a repeater is open or not (only the owner can give the final verdict). The user-reported repeater entries should be marked separately from owner-reported entries since there's no way to attest to the accuracy of the information, and there needs to be some inquiry as to whether there's an abuse potential for such a system that would make the risks outweigh the benefits. Personally, I think there's much more benefit than risk, and Repeaterbook uses a similar system for their ham repeater listings. Over there, change history isn't made public (allowing non-public information accidentally contributed to be removed), and the repeater owners can hide all information beyond frequency, callsign, public/private system, and on/off-air status. Unlike ham bands, there's heavy frequency reuse on GMRS because 8 channels is a lot less than several hundred channels, so there needs to be a more granular way of identifying repeaters beyond using the frequency alone. I think it could also be worth allowing 'found repeater' reports to include general comments, such as hangtime duration, activity level, or peculiarities with the repeater; but anything suggesting the input tone should be censored.

[yakovich]

I think the ability to bookmark people, repeaters and networks on the website would add greatly to how functional it is. 

[Ian]

I'd like to be able to see the map with __all__ coverage circles __at the same time.__ Should make it much easier to tell where repeater coverage is required!

[BoxCar]

Don't assume the coverage shown on the map display in My GMRS is accurate. It's a generalization based on assumptions such a antenna height, efficiency and generally flat terrain. Software that uses more accurate Longley-Rice propagation models are very expensive and those do include terrain modeling showing coverage holes used by hills and ridges.

[kidphc]

And with the current system of 'hide offline repeaters' and 'hide outdated listings', a lot of the repeaters that have been around for a long time get hidden by those settings and mixed in with the dead repeaters. There absolutely needs to be a user-reported repeater status function.

 

Most of the repeaters in my area aren't actually listed on MyGMRS, and those that are listed are inactive or offline. It makes frequency coordination an absolute pain. I'd consider the output tone 'public' information as well since it typically identifies a system uniquely within an a particular area and channel, and gets transmitted along with the carrier. Keeping that information hidden when reading a 'found repeater' report makes it hard to tell if that reported repeater is actually the one you're hearing. This could also help with people claiming ownership of repeaters they do not actually own.

 

This is true, Alexandria 675 is hidden. It is very much in use. I actually posted bitching about not knowing which repeater was in use. Till I found the setting. It is very much alive. Maybe a setting to say when the repeater was last heard to keep a repeater that is alive showing on the map. I found it hard to contact the repeater owner, not sure if it traded hand or the e-mail went into oblivion.

[Glider]

Can you make the myGMRS.com logo



at the top of 

https://mygmrs.com/
https://forums.mygmrs.com/
https://shop.mygmrs.com/

a direct link back to the main site (myGMRS.com) from all of these?

Sorry if I am missing something as I am not computer literate and lucky I got this far.   

Glider

[mbrun]

Allow controlled, organized, authenticated information for all FCC type-certified transceivers legal for use on GMRS. Embed product data-sheets from manufacturer, and links to official FCC ID information for each product; provide a managed post with key product info for each model. Then, provide links from this official product information post to the following: A) an official Pros-Cons thread for each model where the public can post their comments and to an official thread where third party member test data can be posted.

 

Open to further private discussions on how to make this happen.

 

Michael

WRHS965

KE8PLM

 

 

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