WSAN780 Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 Hello Everybody, hope everyone is well this morning. I just received my GMRS license yesterday at 3:59am I have 2 Baofeng GM-15 Pros (also a UV-5R coming in the mail) for my wife and I. I'd like to explore others as well but these were fairly cheap to get us started. So... The other day I was scanning channels and my radio landed on 16 and there was plenty of conversation going on. I was amazed that one gentleman said he was transmitting from Ontario, not sure where but Kingston is the closest to me at 150 miles. I switched to frequency mode and come to find out after checking myGMRS that 16 is a local repeater for me. So I guess my question is, should I avoid using 16 with my wife? I wouldn't want to upset anybody or break any rules. I also enjoy reading and was wondering if you had some suggestions on books related to radio, GMRS, etc? Is there a "For Dummies" book? Haha. Anyhow, I'm pumped that I finally got around to getting some radios and excited to learn all about this stuff. Take care, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OffRoaderX Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 Welcome to the exciting and dynamic world of GMRS radio! 29 minutes ago, WSAN780 said: I guess my question is, should I avoid using 16 with my wife? I wouldn't want to upset anybody or break any rules. I also enjoy reading and was wondering if you had some suggestions on books related to radio, GMRS, etc? Is there a "For Dummies" book? Nobody on the repeater is going to be bothered by you making sexy-talk with your wife from your handhelds, but you will likely be bothered by them, so you may want to avoid Ch16 just so they dont upset you. As for books, there are probably a lot, but you can probably learn everything you know by just reading through the old topics here.. and of course, by watching the Youtubes. WSAN780, Sshannon, WSAA652 and 4 others 4 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lscott Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 1 hour ago, WSAN780 said: Hello Everybody, hope everyone is well this morning. I just received my GMRS license yesterday at 3:59am I have 2 Baofeng GM-15 Pros (also a UV-5R coming in the mail) for my wife and I. I'd like to explore others as well but these were fairly cheap to get us started. So... The other day I was scanning channels and my radio landed on 16 and there was plenty of conversation going on. I was amazed that one gentleman said he was transmitting from Ontario, not sure where but Kingston is the closest to me at 150 miles. I switched to frequency mode and come to find out after checking myGMRS that 16 is a local repeater for me. So I guess my question is, should I avoid using 16 with my wife? I wouldn't want to upset anybody or break any rules. I also enjoy reading and was wondering if you had some suggestions on books related to radio, GMRS, etc? Is there a "For Dummies" book? Haha. Anyhow, I'm pumped that I finally got around to getting some radios and excited to learn all about this stuff. Take care, Matt I would avoid using the repeater channels as "simplex", transmitting on the repeater output frequency directly to another radio, if possible. It's not illegal to use them as such but it can cause problems. Transmitting on the repeater output frequency may result in you jamming another station that's trying to listen to the repeater's output. Also very likely the station transmitting to the repeater can't hear you and will simply jam your communications. I've gotten rid of a few kids using FRS radios on the local GMRS repeater's output frequency a few times. When the 50 watt repeater got used, only about 4 to 5 miles away, the kids got the message and disappeared real quick. WSAN780, WRXB215, WRXJ635 and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSAN780 Posted February 2 Author Report Share Posted February 2 42 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said: Welcome to the exciting and dynamic world of GMRS radio! Nobody on the repeater is going to be bothered by you making sexy-talk with your wife from your handhelds, but you will likely be bothered by them, so you may want to avoid Ch16 just so they dont upset you. As for books, there are probably a lot, but you can probably learn everything you know by just reading through the old topics here.. and of course, by watching the Youtubes. Thanks! Hey, you look familiar... Some people might even say you look like a certain Youtuber... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lscott Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 1 minute ago, WSAN780 said: Thanks! Hey, you look familiar... Some people might even say you look like a certain Youtuber... I'm not on YouTube. WRUU653 and WSAN780 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYS709 Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 4 minutes ago, Lscott said: I'm not on YouTube. You are not required to have a YouTube account to watch them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lscott Posted February 2 Report Share Posted February 2 Just now, WRYS709 said: You are not required to have a YouTube account to watch them I know. I do use an ad blocker. YouTube for a while now is hiding the yellow dots in the time progress bar showing where all the ad's are in the video. I see too many dots I just don't watch it. Now you can't tell, thus the ad blocker. It's so nice not to get ambushed by stupid ad's every few minutes. WRXB215 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYS709 Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 11 hours ago, Lscott said: I know. I do use an ad blocker. YouTube for a while now is hiding the yellow dots in the time progress bar showing where all the ad's are in the video. I see too many dots I just don't watch it. Now you can't tell, thus the ad blocker. It's so nice not to get ambushed by stupid ad's every few minutes. What do you use specifically to turn off ads? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSAN780 Posted February 3 Author Report Share Posted February 3 7 hours ago, WRYS709 said: What do you use specifically to turn off ads? I've used uBlock Origin for many years. Only one I've found that seems to block everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYS709 Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 2 hours ago, WSAN780 said: I've used uBlock Origin for many years. Only one I've found that seems to block everything. Doesn't that destroy YouTube's business model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lscott Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 14 hours ago, WRYS709 said: What do you use specifically to turn off ads? I run Firefox. One of the ad-ons is AdBlocker for YouTube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lscott Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 3 hours ago, WRYS709 said: Doesn't that destroy YouTube's business model? Not my problem. WRWE456 and Sshannon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrci350 Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 On 2/2/2024 at 11:28 AM, Lscott said: I've gotten rid of a few kids using FRS radios on the local GMRS repeater's output frequency a few times. When the 50 watt repeater got used, only about 4 to 5 miles away, the kids got the message and disappeared real quick. Do you yell at them to stay off your lawn, too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lscott Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 1 hour ago, wrci350 said: Do you yell at them to stay off your lawn, too? Why would I do that? When I need to use the repeater, or another station, it’s not like the repeater can just flip a knob and change channels. At the time it was the ONLY operational repeater in the area. The kids just had to move. GMRS is a licensed service, FRS isn’t, and that’s what the kids were using, no call signs were ever used. My understanding is the licensed service has priority. WRXB215 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrci350 Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 7 minutes ago, Lscott said: My understanding is the licensed service has priority. I do not believe that's the case. I've never seen anything in Part 95 that suggests GMRS has priority over FRS. I'm curious how you even knew they were on the frequency. Did the repeater not have a transmit tone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lscott Posted February 3 Report Share Posted February 3 9 minutes ago, wrci350 said: I do not believe that's the case. I've never seen anything in Part 95 that suggests GMRS has priority over FRS. I'm curious how you even knew they were on the frequency. Did the repeater not have a transmit tone? The FCC generally gives preference to the licensed service. After all they paid money to use the spectrum. I generally never use RX tones. I want to hear all the traffic on the frequency. WSAN780 and WRXB215 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSAN780 Posted February 4 Author Report Share Posted February 4 21 hours ago, WRYS709 said: Doesn't that destroy YouTube's business model? I suppose it does but most of the time I watch YouTube on my Roku TV so I see plenty of ads. Like the one for adult toys that keeps popping up haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYS709 Posted February 4 Report Share Posted February 4 6 hours ago, WSAN780 said: I suppose it does but most of the time I watch YouTube on my Roku TV so I see plenty of ads. Like the one for adult toys that keeps popping up haha I don't understand: there are two technologies? One can watch YouTube without commercials on a non-Roku TV, but you must watch adult toy ads on YouTube on Roku TV? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSAN780 Posted February 5 Author Report Share Posted February 5 22 hours ago, WRYS709 said: I don't understand: there are two technologies? One can watch YouTube without commercials on a non-Roku TV, but you must watch adult toy ads on YouTube on Roku TV? Well on my phone and computer when I watch YouTube, Firefox w/ uBlock Origin blocks the ads, cookie notices, social media links, etc. On my Roku "Smart" TV there's no way to install an adblocker (at least that I know of). I could use my router w/ a VPN or DNS that blocks ads but I haven't as my wife says no because she works from home and "can't have me screwing with her internet!". WRYS709 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sshannon Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 On 2/4/2024 at 4:50 AM, WSAN780 said: I suppose it does but most of the time I watch YouTube on my Roku TV so I see plenty of ads. Like the one for adult toys that keeps popping up haha YouTube is owned by Google. The advertising you see is usually targeted based on your online history. No wonder your wife doesn’t want you messing with her internet. WSAN780 and WRUU653 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSAN780 Posted February 5 Author Report Share Posted February 5 2 hours ago, Sshannon said: YouTube is owned by Google. The advertising you see is usually targeted based on your online history. No wonder your wife doesn’t want you messing with her internet. Ha.. Ha.. Ha.. lol no really that's a good one. I'll have to ask later what she's been up to. Ooooh that's funny I just checked the google account we use for YouTube and such and "Personalized ads" are turned on. You may just be right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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