New to GMRS

[DanW]

Hello, I'm fairly new to GMRS and primarily purchased it for superior communications to CB radio, mainly when exploring or off-roading in my Jeeps.

 

I've got a million questions, but I'll get to them slowly, starting with this.  I was scanning on my Midland MXT275 tonight and heard a conversation that was very clear between a couple towns that were not too far off.  One person was in Camby, Indiana and another was in Indianapolis.  I was in Danville.  The furthest distance was to the person in Indianapolis, which would have been 18 to 20 miles from me.  They came through crystal clear.  I had my repeater setting off.  (I know nothing about repeaters yet, so I haven't turned on that setting.)  So I'm not sure they were using repeaters.  But they sounded as good as if they were 1 mile away.  Then another guy jumped in and said he was in Gary Indiana.  That's easily 130 miles away!  I've read that repeaters can get you 30-50 miles, depending on variables.  So how was this guy getting so far?  And he also sounded like he was 1 mile away.  Perfectly clear.

 

Thanks, and I look forward to learning a great deal here!  

 

 

 

 

[mbrun]

A repeater that has a large coverage area is often referred to as a “high-profile” repeater. 25, 50 miles and more are all practical and possible under the right conditions. You will read experiences on this forum of 75 + miles. Distances are the radius from transmitter to repeater and vice versus. So a repeater with a radius of 50 miles can mean 50 miles in all directions from repeater (or a 100 mile diameter). The best GMRS repeater in Cincinnati has about a 40 mile (radius) range or more.

 

Repeaters transmit on the 8 of the same frequencies that your radio uses for simplex. So even if you are not in repeater mode you can hear transmissions from both repeaters and simplex users.

 

If you are hearing transmissions from persons separated by great distances you can bet you are listening to them from a repeater.

 

The quality of an FM signal is fantastic throughout the majority of its usable transmission range under any given set of circumstances. Ever notice how the quality of an FM commercial radio broadcast is so good until you get near the edge of its coverage range? Quality falls off very quickly as you are approaching the edge of its usable coverage range.

 

Also, some repeaters are linked. This means that repeaters in some cities are linked to repeaters in other cities. This allows a repeater in city A to pick up a user around city A and the signal will be transmitted in both city A and in City B.

 

Sunday night is a night in which some nets are active. If you are listening to repeaters connected to a net, do no be supervised to here conversations between folks coast to coast. On two occasions I personally spoke from Cincinnati to New Jersey, upstate Indiana, Chicago, Wisconsin, Iowa and Los Angeles.

 

Spend time reading the zillions of posts in this forum and you will learn lots.

 

Welcome, and enjoy the journey.

 

Michael

WRHS965

KE8PLM

 

 

Hello, I'm fairly new to GMRS and primarily purchased it for superior communications to CB radio, mainly when exploring or off-roading in my Jeeps.

 

I've got a million questions, but I'll get to them slowly, starting with this. I was scanning on my Midland MXT275 tonight and heard a conversation that was very clear between a couple towns that were not too far off. One person was in Camby, Indiana and another was in Indianapolis. I was in Danville. The furthest distance was to the person in Indianapolis, which would have been 18 to 20 miles from me. They came through crystal clear. I had my repeater setting off. (I know nothing about repeaters yet, so I haven't turned on that setting.) So I'm not sure they were using repeaters. But they sounded as good as if they were 1 mile away. Then another guy jumped in and said he was in Gary Indiana. That's easily 130 miles away! I've read that repeaters can get you 30-50 miles, depending on variables. So how was this guy getting so far? And he also sounded like he was 1 mile away. Perfectly clear.

 

Thanks, and I look forward to learning a great deal here!

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[DanW]

A repeater that has a large coverage area is often referred to as a “high-profile” repeater. 25, 50 miles and more are all practical and possible under the right conditions. You will read experiences on this forum of 75 + miles. Distances are the radius from transmitter to repeater and vice versus. So a repeater with a radius of 50 miles can mean 50 miles in all directions from repeater (or a 100 mile diameter). The best GMRS repeater in Cincinnati has about a 40 mile (radius) range or more.

 

Repeaters transmit on the 8 of the same frequencies that your radio uses for simplex. So even if you are not in repeater mode you can hear transmissions from both repeaters and simplex users.

 

If you are hearing transmissions from persons separated by great distances you can bet you are listening to them from a repeater.

 

The quality of an FM signal is fantastic throughout the majority of its usable transmission range under any given set of circumstances. Ever notice how the quality of an FM commercial radio broadcast is so good until you get near the edge of its coverage range? Quality falls off very quickly as you are approaching the edge of its usable coverage range.

 

Also, some repeaters are linked. This means that repeaters in some cities are linked to repeaters in other cities. This allows a repeater in city A to pick up a user around city A and the signal will be transmitted in both city A and in City B.

 

Sunday night is a night in which some nets are active. If you are listening to repeaters connected to a net, do no be supervised to here conversations between folks coast to coast. On two occasions I personally spoke from Cincinnati to New Jersey, upstate Indiana, Chicago, Wisconsin, Iowa and Los Angeles.

 

Spend time reading the zillions of posts in this forum and you will learn lots.

 

Welcome, and enjoy the journey.

 

Michael

WRHS965

KE8PLM

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thank you, Michael!