What's with the repeater drama?

[SvenMarbles]

2 hours ago, WRYB563 said:

The broader point.  From my limited experience on GMRS, talking about radios is not uncommon - either from hams who are interested in radios, or new non-ham GMRS operators who want to learn more about their new hobby, and non-hams GMRS operators who enjoy using their radios and want to learn more about ham radio.  I agree with Steve, that behavior is independent of radio service, so how are hams negatively impacting GMRS? 

Obviously we’re all spread apart across the country and every area isn’t going to be exactly like another. Anecdotally, I’ve had instances where my wife got on the mic from her car and tried to raise me on the radio at home and had her get chastised about “interrupting the current conversation” even though she said “691 traffic”. I heard the whole thing. She got a little bit bullied by the local circle of hams that like to be on GMRS for some reason. 

The point is. What we were doing is actually what THIS IS FOR. If you want to just be hobby radio guy, no problem, but YIELD. Ham radio is 22 megahertz south. Same properties as the 462 if you just like that band for some reason. Even though, frankly it sucks and VHF is better and I’m jealous of it. I’d do a goofy dance if the day came that the FCC announced  that MURS spectrum became more channels on GMRS. Coax losses up here are brutal. 
 

Hams have nice little slices across all of the favorable bands. Just go there..

[WRYB563]

29 minutes ago, WSAK691 said:

What we were doing is actually what THIS IS FOR.

I think there may be a misunderstanding of what GMRS is for - it's for any kind of conversation, not just intra-family communication.  The two operators having a discussion had just as much right to be talking on that frequency as your family.  Now, if your wife had emergency traffic, that's a completely different situation, but otherwise it's first come-first served.  It would have been considerate to allow your wife to break in, but not obligatory.  There is no requirement to limit the duration of a conversation on GMRS, only that a station must identify every 15 minutes.

 

39 minutes ago, WSAK691 said:

Hams have nice little slices across all of the favorable bands. Just go there..

Wow.

[SvenMarbles]

7 minutes ago, WRYB563 said:

 

 

I agree. I think there’s been this MASSIVE misunderstanding about what GMRS is for. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that GMRS is “family radio service adjacent” and that the licensing is “for a family”. 
 

I believe if we took the both of our disagreement here to the Supreme Court, we’d get a 9-0 in my favor . 
 

Saying “wow” is saying nothing at all. 

[WRYB563]

1 hour ago, WSAK691 said:

Saying “wow” is saying nothing at all. 

Wow is short for, “Thank you for explaining the issue with hams on GMRS.”  The issue is not the hams. 

[SvenMarbles]

4 hours ago, WRYB563 said:

Wow is short for, “Thank you for explaining the issue with hams on GMRS.”  The issue is not the hams. 

Hams are 100% the issue. 

 

And I  completely recognize that I just tipped the gas can and lit a match by saying so. Your profile is only 50% complete on MYGMRS until you add you ham radio call sign, so I recognize that i'm about to be in a fist fight with an upset beehive. 

IDGAF

I know what's right and what's not.

Hams don't like to be told that they're out of line in the world of radio because they've been used to being the "radio dudes". In this case they're actually the away team. This is actually not a ham band. It's not for hams. 

I know it's crazy to imagine. But there do exist radio people, who know and do radio, who don't hold a ham ticket. I know,.. it's nuts. Can't even be bothered to take a day off of work to sit for an exam by some self serious medically retired guy in a library and get 26 right out of 35 multiple choice.. IDK,.. We just don't do it.. Our idea of applying radio as a hobby doesn't require it. But we do have wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sister, etc who we'd like to be on the radio with. ,....and we don't want to always be like "WHISKEY TANGO BRAVO ZULU 554!!" on the radio all the time just to get on.. We don't call out CQ to eachother.. And we don't say 73's! (yuck)..

Some of the parties on the license might not even know what kind of radio they have when colostomy bag Larry asks, and I don't think they need to feel weird about that. They're just trying to relay a practical message to another party on the license when someone else in town hears traffic and thinks it's the 440 net.

 

 

[OffRoaderX]

16 minutes ago, WSAK691 said:

Hams don't like to be told that they're out of line in the world of radio because they've been used to being the "radio dudes". In this case they're actually the away team. This is actually not a ham band. It's not for hams. 

I know it's crazy to imagine. But there do exist radio people, who know and do radio, who don't hold a ham ticket. Our idea of applying radio as a hobby doesn't require it. But we do have wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sister, etc who we'd like to be on the radio with. ,....and we don't want to always be like "WHISKEY TANGO BRAVO ZULU 554!!" on the radio all the time just to get on.. We don't call out CQ to eachother..

Some of the parties on the license might not even know what kind of radio they have when colostomy bag Larry asks, and I don't think they need to feel weird about that. They're just trying to relay a practical message to another party on the license when someone else in town hears traffic and thinks it's the 440 net.

I cant put my finger on it, but you sound very familiar and I think I like you.

[SvenMarbles]

27 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

I cant put my finger on it, but you sound very familiar and I think I like you.

I've commented on your tube vids exactly twice. If those remarks impressed upon you, I can now check the box of "master communicator". 

[WROQ359]

48 minutes ago, WSAK691 said:

Hams are 100% the issue. 

 

And I  completely recognize that I just tipped the gas can and lit a match by saying so. Your profile is only 50% complete on MYGMRS until you add you ham radio call sign, so I recognize that i'm about to be in a fist fight with an upset beehive. 

IDGAF

I know what's right and what's not.

Hams don't like to be told that they're out of line in the world of radio because they've been used to being the "radio dudes". In this case they're actually the away team. This is actually not a ham band. It's not for hams. 

I know it's crazy to imagine. But there do exist radio people, who know and do radio, who don't hold a ham ticket. I know,.. it's nuts. Can't even be bothered to take a day off of work to sit for an exam by some self serious medically retired guy in a library and get 26 right out of 35 multiple choice.. IDK,.. We just don't do it.. Our idea of applying radio as a hobby doesn't require it. But we do have wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sister, etc who we'd like to be on the radio with. ,....and we don't want to always be like "WHISKEY TANGO BRAVO ZULU 554!!" on the radio all the time just to get on.. We don't call out CQ to eachother.. And we don't say 73's! (yuck)..

Some of the parties on the license might not even know what kind of radio they have when colostomy bag Larry asks, and I don't think they need to feel weird about that. They're just trying to relay a practical message to another party on the license when someone else in town hears traffic and thinks it's the 440 net.

 

 

Yep we get the same BS here.... A bunch of HAM guys get on the GMRS channels just so they can talk about HAM radio. I don't get it either, there are A LOT more ham repeaters in the area than GMRS and A LOT more HAM repeaters on different bands that are active. Now why in the world they would want to use GMRS when they can use one of the available digital modes or even the analog modes available on the HAM repeaters completely escapes me, but im not a HAM and haven't been for X number of years so maybe I just don't understand it. And here to we get the HAM jargon on the GMRS channels too, QS-whatever, 73's, and other nonsense. With all of that I do feel that everyone that has a GMRS license is equally entitled to use of the GMRS repeaters even the HAM's, but they are two different services and which is why there are separate licenses and call signs. 

[CALO50]

12 hours ago, WROQ359 said:

Yep we get the same BS here.... A bunch of HAM guys get on the GMRS channels just so they can talk about HAM radio. I don't get it either, there are A LOT more ham repeaters in the area than GMRS and A LOT more HAM repeaters on different bands that are active. Now why in the world they would want to use GMRS when they can use one of the available digital modes or even the analog modes available on the HAM repeaters completely escapes me, but im not a HAM and haven't been for X number of years so maybe I just don't understand it. And here to we get the HAM jargon on the GMRS channels too, QS-whatever, 73's, and other nonsense. With all of that I do feel that everyone that has a GMRS license is equally entitled to use of the GMRS repeaters even the HAM's, but they are two different services and which is why there are separate licenses and call signs. 

Booooom!

[Hoppyjr]

Out here east of Seattle there is a “net” (Annette?) that does social group comms once a week in the early evening. Another night they do a Ham license study group net, to help those interested in getting that license. Seems nice.

I do hear the Whisky Foxtrot Zulu nonsense at times, in addition to the occasional jerkoff who needs to play music or make random stupid comments.

There also seem to be many wanna-be first responders who feel it necessary to come on to tell us that “WXYZ123 is on the air and monitoring.” I guess they are waiting for dispatch to send them to a call.

[kirk5056]

IMHO a repeater should be used however the owner (the one that used private resources to set it up) allows it to be used.  A GMRS repeater is not a public utility, even "open" repeaters.  If the repeater owner does not like how it is being used then there are ways of limiting access.

If you want a channel where you can contact family (or who ever) then you may want to set up your own channel.  There are no private or secure frequencies on GMRS but cleaver use of channel selection and CTCSS/DCS filters can give you a discrete channel to use as you want.

[Guest]

Does anybody else see the IRONY in the direction this post is going - or is it just me ?!?

[WRUU653]

45 minutes ago, WRXD372 said:

Does anybody else see the IRONY in the direction this post is going - or is it just me ?!?

Oh no it isn't just you. I saw it. I've been marveling at the irony.  

[WRUU653]

Seems to me “some people” have very strong opinions about how and what people can and can’t talk about on repeaters they don’t even own. This us vs them rhetoric is ridiculous. It’s just fn radios people, not the Middle East. You can turn the knob or oh wait if only there was a way to have private conversations with people we know without all the RF turf war tensions. Google it on your iPhone. Go sports team go . If I may interject some sarcasm of my own… Sad hams? Sad GMRSer or is it antihamite? Oh life is so horrible, why can’t I control how hams (AKA other licensed GMRS users) talk on repeaters that aren’t mine? Damn those sad hams! Damn appliance operators! Geezus! Funniest thread ever.

[Sshannon]

On 4/5/2024 at 1:58 PM, WRYB563 said:

I think there may be a misunderstanding of what GMRS is for - it's for any kind of conversation, not just intra-family communication.  The two operators having a discussion had just as much right to be talking on that frequency as your family.  Now, if your wife had emergency traffic, that's a completely different situation, but otherwise it's first come-first served.  It would have been considerate to allow your wife to break in, but not obligatory.  There is no requirement to limit the duration of a conversation on GMRS, only that a station must identify every 15 minutes.

 

Wow.

 

On 4/5/2024 at 2:28 PM, WSAK691 said:

 

I agree. I think there’s been this MASSIVE misunderstanding about what GMRS is for. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that GMRS is “family radio service adjacent” and that the licensing is “for a family”. 
 

I believe if we took the both of our disagreement here to the Supreme Court, we’d get a 9-0 in my favor . 
 

Saying “wow” is saying nothing at all. 

Here’s what the regulations say. It’s certainly not limited to families. People can use GMRS talk about many different things. There is a longer list of prohibited uses, but talking about radios isn’t in there.

95.1731 Permissible GMRS uses.

The operator of a GMRS station may use that station for two-way plain language voice communications with other GMRS stations and with FRS units concerning personal or business activities. 

 

[WRPG745]

wow, this is getting good...

 

(lol, there is no right way to radio...)

[CALO50]

Ohhhh, the irony of the irony…

[gortex2]

This is why my repeaters are not listed or open to anyone other than my friends and family. No ham BS on my repeaters. Its sad that we are at this point but you can't put toothpaste back in the tube. Its ultimately up to the owner of the repeater to police what he allows.  My gripe is having to listen to the crap while in scan. Normally I just pop it out of scan when they go on about the doctor and the cat that fell out of the tree. 

[WRYB563]

I think that some GMRS users might be happier with a cell phone service instead of a radio service. With a cell phone you can talk to exactly who you want, when you want, and you don’t have to listen to anyone else. With a radio service it is a shared space where others may talk about things that you aren’t interested in. 

[WSAA635]

Just to be clear, when using a repeater you transmit on 462MHz and the +5 offset lets you receive on 467MHz. I just want to make sure I've got this right.

[WRYB563]

Actually, just the opposite. The +5 is relative to your receive frequency. You listen on the 462 frequency and transmit 5 up. 

[WSAA635]

21 minutes ago, WRYB563 said:

Actually, just the opposite. The +5 is relative to your receive frequency. You listen on the 462 frequency and transmit 5 up. 

So the factory settings in ALL my radios are wrong then?  This is the factory settings for repeaters from my BTech 20v2 and it's showing Tx on 462MHg.

[WRXP381]

22 minutes ago, WSAA635 said:

So the factory settings in ALL my radios are wrong then?  This is the factory settings for repeaters from my BTech 20v2 and it's showing Tx on 462MHg.

Those are correct.  Just add the tones for the specific repeater on the frequency he repeater is on and your good to go 

[WSAA635]

So when I Tx the +5 is added to the 462MHz and the Rx is on the channel that listed, i.e. 462MHz. Ok, I've got things set right then. Thanks.

[WRXP381]

On 4/6/2024 at 10:29 AM, kirk5056 said:

IMHO a repeater should be used however the owner (the one that used private resources to set it up) allows it to be used.  A GMRS repeater is not a public utility, even "open" repeaters.  If the repeater owner does not like how it is being used then there are ways of limiting access.

If you want a channel where you can contact family (or who ever) then you may want to set up your own channel.  There are no private or secure frequencies on GMRS but cleaver use of channel selection and CTCSS/DCS filters can give you a discrete channel to use as you want.

Gmrs is never “discrete”.  Even with “cleaver use…” is still not discrete in any way.