New to GMRS

[dchemphill1]

I have been using my Midland MX275 for a few years mostly for Jeep trail communication.  I am now wanting to learn more about using repeaters and engaging in conversation 

1.  I have reached out and gained access to two repeaters, I have set tone. If I want to communicate do I set my channel to the correct repeater frequency channel and then announce my presence?  The reason I ask is that channel 17 I hear chatter and I here same conversation on 17rp. Sorry I don't have all the frequencies and channels associated yet.  I rely on charts

2. How do you get into conversations with other users?  I know I am to announce my call signal and say listening or monitoring.  I understand you can call for radio check, but beyond that, what is the gmrs protocol for conversations. 

I am sure I will have more questions as I dig into gmrs realm. 

Thanks

[OffRoaderX]

1: YES - you also have to add the correct "TX" or Transmit tone .. The RX/Receive tone is optional

2: GMRS is not primarily intended to "get into conversations with others" - but if you insist, just call out and ask if anybody wants to talk to you. There is no protocol other than talking normally and using your GMRS callsign at least once every 15 minutes.

[WRQC527]

12 minutes ago, dchemphill1 said:

what is the gmrs protocol for conversations

There isn't one. If you want to chat on a repeater, throw out your call sign and say you're listening or monitoring or ask for a signal report. Asking for a radio check is what you do when you want to buy a radio but you need money from your wife. Maybe someone is there, maybe not. But the age-old saying about GMRS that has been rehashed here many millions of times is that GMRS is a bring-your-own-contacts service. Like your cell phone. Amateur radio is the big one for making random contacts and meeting new people to talk to.

[Sshannon]

38 minutes ago, dchemphill1 said:

The reason I ask is that channel 17 I hear chatter and I here same conversation on 17rp

Channel 17 and channel 17rp both receive on the same frequency.  That's why you hear the same chatter on both channels. But the channels marked rp differ in their transmit frequencies.  They are for specifically configured for repeater use.

A radio set to channel 17 receives and transmits on the same frequency, 462.600 MHz.  That's referred to as a "simplex channel."

A radio set to channel 17rp receives on 462.600 MHz, but transmits on 467.600 MHz. That's the 5 MHz offset Randy (@OffroaderX) mentioned.

The repeater receives on 467.600 MHz and is designed to simultaneously transmit what it receives on 462.600 MHz.  Transmitting and receiving at exactly the same time is called duplex.  

 

 

[WSAZ658]

Dumb question, is it technically “.5 or just 5.0 mhz ?.

 

[Sshannon]

10 minutes ago, WSAZ658 said:

Dumb question, is it technically “.5 or just 5.0 mhz ?.

 

5 MHz.  And the certified 95e mobile and portable radios all have 5.000 MHz programmed in.

There’s no regulation that says it must be exactly 5.000 MHz but the regulations limit radios to transmit on the 467 MHz Main channels to repeaters and limit repeaters to transmit only on the 462 MHz Main channels.  So the difference is almost always about 5 MHz

Some repeater owners complied with the regulations but deliberately selected channels that are not exactly 5.000 MHz apart.  That effectively blocks radios that are 95e certified, forcing a person to either use an unlocked ham radio or commercial radio.

[WRXP381]

6 minutes ago, Sshannon said:

There’s no regulation that says it must be exactly 5.000 MHz …… 

Yes there is.  If it’s anything except 5.0000mhz then it would not be one of the 30 gmrs frequencies.  Gmrs is not a band of frequencies. Gmrs is a set of 30 specific frequencies.  So even if some guy sets his repeater at 5.0001 it is out of legal gmrs frequency and there for not allowed with a gmrs license. So yes it MUST be 5.0000 to be within regulations. 

[Sshannon]

12 minutes ago, WRXP381 said:

Yes there is.  If it’s anything except 5.0000mhz then it would not be one of the 30 gmrs frequencies.  Gmrs is not a band of frequencies. Gmrs is a set of 30 specific frequencies.  So even if some guy sets his repeater at 5.0001 it is out of legal gmrs frequency and there for not allowed with a gmrs license. So yes it MUST be 5.0000 to be within regulations. 

An offset of 5.0001 MHz would indeed be out of compliance, but that’s not what people are doing.

The FCC established 30 specific frequencies, but not specific pairs that must be used with each other.  As long as a person sets their repeater to receive on one of the established 467 MHz Main frequencies and transmit on one of the established 462 MHz Main frequencies, they’re legal, even if the difference isn’t exactly 5.000 MHz.

[GreggInFL]

While GMRS is a bring-your-own-contacts service you can bump into strangers.  It's not like amateur radio but it can still be amusing.  I'm new to this and when I first connected to a local repeater my radio check was picked up right away by a trucker who uses HAM, GMRS and CB. He was legit in his usage but also ID'd with his handle; “This is XXXX123, a.k.a. 'Roadrunner,'” or something similar.

Since my HT was fresh out of the box the roger beep was on and he gave me the Sad Ham treatment about it.  “I'm gonna call you Mr. Roger Beep.”  I replied, “Yeah, I've heard that some people don't like the roger beep.”  He came back, “Hey, I've seen that 'Some People' guy.  He's good!”

Roadrunner: Hey, Mr. Roger Beep.  You out there?
Me: WRYP592, a.k.a. Mr. Roger Beep monitoring.  Rested and ready to beep.

And we're off...

[WRQC527]

2 hours ago, WRXP381 said:

Yes there is.  If it’s anything except 5.0000mhz then it would not be one of the 30 gmrs frequencies.  Gmrs is not a band of frequencies. Gmrs is a set of 30 specific frequencies.  So even if some guy sets his repeater at 5.0001 it is out of legal gmrs frequency and there for not allowed with a gmrs license. So yes it MUST be 5.0000 to be within regulations. 

In theory, and if my math is correct, if you wanted to throw a 36 inch Harbor Freight pipe wrench in the gears, you could run an offset of as much as 5.175 Mhz, as long as the repeater is receiving and transmitting on authorized main channels, and be within the rules. The only restriction I see is that a repeater can't invert the offset (transmitting on the 467 frequencies and receiving on the 462 frequencies.) I'm no expert on how many type-accepted GMRS radios let you alter the repeater offsets, but that would be the wrench.

[Sshannon]

2 hours ago, WRQC527 said:

In theory, and if my math is correct, if you wanted to throw a 36 inch Harbor Freight pipe wrench in the gears, you could run an offset of as much as 5.175 Mhz, as long as the repeater is receiving and transmitting on authorized main channels, and be within the rules. The only restriction I see is that a repeater can't invert the offset (transmitting on the 467 frequencies and receiving on the 462 frequencies.) I'm no expert on how many type-accepted GMRS radios let you alter the repeater offsets, but that would be the wrench.

Exactly right!