Questions From a Newbie (kinda)

[Guest WRZP212]

Hello,

I am trying to get some ideas on what to do right now, as I'm unsure myself. So, a little back story. I've always been really interested in radio communications. I've listened to and programmed scanners for over 10 years. I wanted to venture into the transmitting side of radios. I recently bought the tried and true Feng UV-5R, turned off transmit in Chirp and just listened like a scanner. (yes, I know I can listen to GMRS and HAM on a scanner)

My initial plan was to study for a HAM license, however when I listened to the Feng, I was disappointed by the lack of activity on the amateur bands. I could hear the closest amateur repeater to me only to hear conversations from much older men (sorry) that I was in no way interested in. I figured it would be pointless in pursing this further with this current setup.

I then decided to get my GMRS license just a few days ago, and I purchased a Talkpod A36plus. I attempted to make contacts a few times, to no avail.  I am more interested in making long distance contacts compared to local ones.

To sum it all up, here are my questions.

• Should I invest in a 25-50 Watt GMRS base/mobile radio to make those long distance contacts?  For example, I can receive an Arizona GMRS net in Louisiana on some nights.  What would I need to make contact with them? Would I need to connect to a repeater even on 50 Watts?
• Or should I get a HAM license and get an HF base station just for making contacts? (simple contacts is what mainly interests me)
• Or should I do both?

Thanks in advance!

[SteveShannon]

The kind of contacts you’ve described are typically done using an HF radio on the ham bands.  VHF and UHF (like GMRS) are really not great at making long distance contacts and for the most part the GMRS service is really not intended to make long distance contacts, although there are a few people who get on some of the networked repeaters on GMRS.

If you just want to make quick contacts without actually talking to someone you might enjoy one of the digital modes, like FT8, where your computer decodes a list of incoming calls and you attempt to connect, just long enough for your two computers to exchange signal reports.

If you actually wish to talk to someone HF phone or a digital handheld and a hotspot might be more interesting.  There are a lot of us old men (I’m not offended at all, I’ve heard some conversations that really do nothing to attract others to the hobby) but not everyone is an old man, and with a little persistence you can find others who share your interests.

[nokones]

5 hours ago, Guest WRZP212 said:

I can receive an Arizona GMRS net in Louisiana on some nights.  What would I need to make contact with them? Would I need to connect to a repeater even on 50 Watts?

• Or should I get a HAM license and get an HF base station just for making contacts? (simple contacts is what mainly interests me)
• Or should I do both?

Thanks in advance!

If you're hearing traffic from Arizona on a GMRS channel, more than likely you are hearing the traffic on a nearby GMRS repeater that is linked with the Southwest Community Radio System (SWCRS). On Sunday the Net entertains an on-the-air discussion on various topics and on Wednesday the Net has an on-the-air discussion on the topics of anything radio whereas you can ask technical questions. The Southwest Regional Net is networked with repeaters in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and has been expanding into other States.

If the nearby repeater that you hear this traffic from is an open repeater you can join in by following the Net protocol. I'm not sure if the nearby repeater to you is associated with a GMRS Club but you can checkout the Net rules on the SWCRS website at www.swcrs.org

All you need is a radio capable of hitting the repeater and have the subject freq/tone info for access. If the repeater is a closed repeater than you must seek permission from the repeater owner or if the repeater is a Club repeater, you may need to be a member of that respective Club.

By searching this website you can find out what are the repeater particulars.

[WRQC527]

7 hours ago, Guest WRZP212 said:

• Or should I do both?

Thanks in advance!

Do both.

You're welcome.

WRQC527 / K6ITR

[WRYZ926]

I agree to have both GMRS and amateur licenses. I suggest getting a general class license since it opens up all of the HF bands that technicians can't access. 

[AdmiralCochrane]

Do both.  (Is there an echo in here, in here, in here?) 

[OffRoaderX]

For making contacts and talking anonymously with strangers, you should also look into the Grindr app for your phone.

[Guest WRZP212]

15 hours ago, Sshannon said:

The kind of contacts you’ve described are typically done using an HF radio on the ham bands.  VHF and UHF (like GMRS) are really not great at making long distance contacts and for the most part the GMRS service is really not intended to make long distance contacts, although there are a few people who get on some of the networked repeaters on GMRS.

If you just want to make quick contacts without actually talking to someone you might enjoy one of the digital modes, like FT8, where your computer decodes a list of incoming calls and you attempt to connect, just long enough for your two computers to exchange signal reports.

If you actually wish to talk to someone HF phone or a digital handheld and a hotspot might be more interesting.  There are a lot of us old men (I’m not offended at all, I’ve heard some conversations that really do nothing to attract others to the hobby) but not everyone is an old man, and with a little persistence you can find others who share your interests.

Thank you for your response. I will do some more research into what you recommended.

[Guest WRZP212]

11 hours ago, nokones said:

If you're hearing traffic from Arizona on a GMRS channel, more than likely you are hearing the traffic on a nearby GMRS repeater that is linked with the Southwest Community Radio System (SWCRS). On Sunday the Net entertains an on-the-air discussion on various topics and on Wednesday the Net has an on-the-air discussion on the topics of anything radio whereas you can ask technical questions. The Southwest Regional Net is networked with repeaters in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and has been expanding into other States.

If the nearby repeater that you hear this traffic from is an open repeater you can join in by following the Net protocol. I'm not sure if the nearby repeater to you is associated with a GMRS Club but you can checkout the Net rules on the SWCRS website at www.swcrs.org

All you need is a radio capable of hitting the repeater and have the subject freq/tone info for access. If the repeater is a closed repeater than you must seek permission from the repeater owner or if the repeater is a Club repeater, you may need to be a member of that respective Club.

By searching this website you can find out what are the repeater particulars.

Gotcha. I have been having a difficult time understanding repeaters and their tones. From making a quick look, it appears that most of the largest output repeaters in my area are for members only. I'm not 100% on this though. I guess I will need to find YouTube videos to better explain the process of connecting to repeaters. Thank you.

[Guest WRZP212]

10 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

For making contacts and talking anonymously with strangers, you should also look into the Grindr app for your phone.

I was waiting for this . I don't have many friends, especially ones that want to talk on the radio Randy!

[WRQC527]

On 11/26/2023 at 3:08 PM, AdmiralCochrane said:

Do both.  (Is there an echo in here, in here, in here?)