GMRS in South Texas

[WRVY822]

I am brand new to GMRS. I'm hoping to find some repeaters in my area that will extend my range.

My main goal for getting a license and buying radios is to have a way to communicate with family and close friends locally in an emergency situation as well as listen for information during an emergency.

How is GMRS in South Texas?  

[MichaelLAX]

https://mygmrs.com/map

[WRUE951]

13 hours ago, WRVY822 said:

I am brand new to GMRS. I'm hoping to find some repeaters in my area that will extend my range.

My main goal for getting a license and buying radios is to have a way to communicate with family and close friends locally in an emergency situation as well as listen for information during an emergency.

How is GMRS in South Texas?  

you have close to 150 GMRS Repeaters in the state of Texas.. You can narrow down what is near you using the Query Tools on this web site..  

[MichaelLAX]

34 minutes ago, WRUE951 said:

You can narrow down what is near you using the Query Tools on this web site..  

In my experience with large states such as California and Texas, there is no Tool that limits Repeaters geographically, like the Map does (or am I missing something?).

Also I always turn on Show Offline Repeaters and Show Stale Repeater in the circular widget in the upper left corner of the map.

[WRVY822]

According to that map, it looks like the closest repeater to me is over 30 miles away. Doesn't seem like I a 5W radio is going to get me that far.

I'm hoping there are some repeaters that are closer that are not listed on this website map.

[MichaelLAX]

Which radio do you have?

Here’s what I do when I go repeater hunting:

Scan the 8 output chnnels until you hear conversations. 

Make notes which Channels have activity. 

Then listen on the Input frequency for those active frequencies: for example, 467.675 and if you can hear them, you are close to that operator and maybe the repeater. 

[SteveShannon]

21 minutes ago, MichaelLAX said:

Which radio do you have?

Here’s what I do when I go repeater hunting:

Scan the 8 output chnnels until you hear conversations. 

Make notes which Channels have activity. 

Then listen on the Input frequency for those active frequencies: for example, 467.675 and if you can hear them, you are close to that operator and maybe the repeater. 

Also, at that point when you are hearing the input channel, some radios allow you to scan for tones.

[WRUE951]

7 hours ago, MichaelLAX said:

In my experience with large states such as California and Texas, there is no Tool that limits Repeaters geographically, like the Map does (or am I missing something?).

Also I always turn on Show Offline Repeaters and Show Stale Repeater in the circular widget in the upper left corner of the map.

I agree the a U.S. Map reflecting the repeater sites with appropriate data would be a great tool but this site does not have that as of yet..  Maybe they are working on it?

[SteveShannon]

16 minutes ago, WRUE951 said:

I agree the a U.S. Map reflecting the repeater sites with appropriate data would be a great tool but this site does not have that as of yet..  Maybe they are working on it?

Maybe I’m misunderstanding your comment. This site does have a U.S. Map of repeaters. You have to zoom in for detail of course. 

[WRUE951]

Crude and rude and amazingly slow.   I’m taking like open source street map or better yet, Google Earth.   I have my own version, but I can’t share it ‘Yet’. Working on that.maybe soon 

[SteveShannon]

Just now, WRUE951 said:

Crude and rude and amazingly slow.   I’m taking like open source street map or better yet, Google Earth.   I have my own version, but I can’t share it ‘Yet’. Working on that.maybe soon 

Premium members can download a list of all repeaters. Maybe I should put those in Arcview.

[WRVY822]

MichaelLAX, I have two Btech GMRS Pros.

What do you mean by "scanning" the 8 output channels? Does that mean just listening to one for a little while and then switching channels? I have listened some, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Does anyone have my radio that could help me with some of the settings?

I'm hoping my area is not a dead zone for GMRS

[SteveShannon]

24 minutes ago, WRVY822 said:

MichaelLAX, I have two Btech GMRS Pros.

What do you mean by "scanning" the 8 output channels? Does that mean just listening to one for a little while and then switching channels? I have listened some, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Does anyone have my radio that could help me with some of the settings?

I'm hoping my area is not a dead zone for GMRS

Most handheld radios have the ability to automatically scan through several channels looking for a signal. The channel switching and pausing when a signal is detected is automatic.  For some you have to create a “scan list”.  Some others simply scan all channels.

[WRVY822]

Steve,

Thanks for the clarification. I still haven't figured out how to do some of that on the radio. This is my first rodeo with GMRS.

[MichaelLAX]

4 hours ago, WRVY822 said:

MichaelLAX, I have two Btech GMRS Pros.

What do you mean by "scanning" the 8 output channels? Does that mean just listening to one for a little while and then switching channels? I have listened some, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Does anyone have my radio that could help me with some of the settings?

I'm hoping my area is not a dead zone for GMRS

 

gmrs-pro_cmk1_may-25.pdf

[Borage257]

8 hours ago, WRUE951 said:

Crude and rude and amazingly slow.   I’m taking like open source street map or better yet, Google Earth.   I have my own version, but I can’t share it ‘Yet’. Working on that.maybe soon 

Have you used the map portion of this site? It does load slow on some machines, but it is pretty much google maps with an overlay

If you switch to “colored streets” or “out doors” the map will respond faster.

I have yet to find a better repository of GMRS repeaters online.

[WRUU653]

7 hours ago, WRUE951 said:

Crude and rude and amazingly slow.   I’m taking like open source street map or better yet, Google Earth.   I have my own version, but I can’t share it ‘Yet’. Working on that.maybe soon 

Crude and rude? Slow? It seems to work good for me. Your own version? And where would the data come from? Certainly not here.  As @Borage257 points out have you used the map portion here? It is like Google maps. How about a little appreciation for the site you’re on… or am I missing something?

[WRVY822]

The map tool on here looks great and it works good for me. I just don't see much in my area (Corpus Christi). Looks like the closest repeater is over 30 miles away from me.

I sent a message to a local Amateur Radio club in my area. Hopefully they know of some repeaters that may not be listed on this map.

[WRUE951]

4 hours ago, WRUU653 said:

Crude and rude? Slow? It seems to work good for me. Your own version? And where would the data come from? Certainly not here.  As @Borage257 points out have you used the map portion here? It is like Google maps. How about a little appreciation for the site you’re on… or am I missing something?

if you have any experience from the GIS world, you get spoiled and tend to appreciate the tools that work so much better,,,  Especially when most of the best GIS tools are Open Source (Free to use)  Like i said, the map tool here is rude and crude and defiantly has much room for improvements and so easily..  Just sayin...    “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” 

[WRUU653]

13 minutes ago, WRUE951 said:

if you have any experience from the GIS world, you get spoiled and tend to appreciate the tools that work so much better,,,  Especially when most of the best GIS tools are Open Source (Free to use)  Like i said, the map tool here is rude and crude and defiantly has much room for improvements and so easily..  Just sayin...    “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” 

Okay you can do it better... Always going to be someone who can. You didn't answer the question. Where are you getting the data for all the repeaters for your "better version" (not open source, not free to use)? Are you just planning on stealing it from @rdunajewski or are you going to get permission from where it is required (the owners of all those repeaters)?  I'm all for improvements it just seems like bad form, I would go so far as to call it rude to be disparaging the free site on which you have the privilege of using. Just sayin...  

[MichaelLAX]

I've measured them both and @rdunajewski's is longer! 

Although not any shown on the Texas GMRS Network for Corpus Christi, shoot them a membership email and see if they have plans for your area.

[WRVY822]

MichaelLAX, thank you for that suggestion. I sure hope there is something. Otherwise, I just purchased an expensive pair of walkie talkies with about a 1 or 2 mile range.

[MichaelLAX]

It's been said before on this Forum, but it bares repeating:

If you are looking for "hobbyist" communication with strangers, it is worth the effort to gain a Technician Class Ham Radio license and use similar HTs to chat over their Repeaters, which are generally more prevalent. And with Digital modes available to you there, chat all over the world with your Digital HT.

If you are trying to expand your family's range on GMRS, then yes, you need to find a repeater.

Having just reread your OP:

On 1/25/2023 at 9:21 PM, WRVY822 said:

My main goal for getting a license and buying radios is to have a way to communicate with family and close friends locally in an emergency situation as well as listen for information during an emergency.  

Maybe a modest contribution among family and friends and you could establish your own repeater.

Have you tried hours of scanning your local 8 GMRS Repeater channels and see if there is any activity?

[WRVY822]

I have spent a few hours scanning from my house with the stock antenna. I have channels 1-7, and the 8 repeater channels set to scan. I probably should drive around a little while scanning to see if I can pick up anything close by.

[MichaelLAX]

29 minutes ago, WRVY822 said:

I have spent a few hours scanning from my house with the stock antenna. I have channels 1-7, and the 8 repeater channels set to scan. I probably should drive around a little while scanning to see if I can pick up anything close by.

Before you drive around, just let it sit and scan a few evenings and mornings while you are doing something else and see what pops up!

Looks like you are closest to these repeaters:

https://mygmrs.com/repeater/5330

https://mygmrs.com/repeater/6460

https://mygmrs.com/repeater/5671

Of which only the first one, Ingleside TX, seems to be open and the other two require permission (so go to their map pages linked above and ask permission).

Then go drive by the first one and see if you can "hit" it and if you can, announce your call sign and ask for information about that repeater.

The first one (Ingleside) has these notes: