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| Looking at life thru a windshield  |
Even if you never plan on using these UV-5R radios to transmit they are so worth the money. I also got some GMRS radios and have been using them to transmit and monitor the GMRS nets, good info) but what I do now is I have my Baofeng (HAM)on scan and I have set them with the county school bus frequencies. Honestly more entertaining than even police or air band. Early morning you are getting traffic reports because the drivers are telling each other where the traffic is backed up or there are accidents. Although I already have my Class A with passenger endorsement, I know now that I will not bother ever considering driving a school bus. Pretty much what I am getting at, situational awareness (Information) is such an important part of survival that these radios are worth every penny. | |||
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| Member |
I am researching the feasibility of setting up my own GMRS repeater for family and friends with GMRS radios and licenses. We live in a 8 mile radius of each other with low hills and trees. Any input regarding equipment, pros and cons, cost, etc. appreciated. PC | |||
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Get Off My Lawn |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I am in the beginning stages of setting up a likely family network of GMRS contacts in my area. My son and his girlfriend live 29 miles away driving distance, approx. 22 miles as the crow flies, and he is interested. I have a friend who is interested in this as well, she lives by herself 7 miles away and her son, my buddy, lives 6 miles away. I saw this video a few weeks ago, and it has influenced my thinking on emer. comms for my family. Like the people in the clip, I want to setup a comm. system that is not dependent on repeaters in an emergency, since there is no guarantee they will be working in any given scenario. The folks above are using handhelds and external antennas, and are getting very good results considering the HTs are only 5.5 watts each. I would actually like to go further by getting a 50 watt mobile unit with a power supply as a base station (Wouxun KG1000 Plus) and an external antenna, and be able to communicate in simplex mode with my son using a good handheld and an external antenna as well as my friends handhelds. But for a simple repeater, one can get two of the Wouxun mobiles I listed above, and by connecting the two with a special cable, it becomes a repeater (one for transmit, one for receive). Adding a 30 amp power supply, a duplexer to operate one rooftop antenna, you now have a repeater system. To complete it, you can get a backup battery system so that it will operate when the power grid interrupts. "I’m not going to read Time Magazine, I’m not going to read Newsweek, I’m not going to read any of these magazines; I mean, because they have too much to lose by printing the truth"- Bob Dylan, 1965 | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower  |
I called Amazon customer service, spoke to a very nice lady in India who had a reasonable command of English. Can I return/exchange just the one radio instead of the whole set, which would be waste, I asked. Oh, yes, yes, just go to your account on the website and start the process she said. Except, that's not how it works, apparently, so the whole set is going back, and a new set is being sent to me. OK, whatever. Regarding the usefulness of these radios- It seems to me that whose who say these radios are next to useless are ignoring the fact that a million or so of them have been manufactured. You just don't get that kind of production volume in an item that doesn't perform the task it was intended for. Yes, apparently, these radios produce a lot of harmonics in their transmissions, but they do work. I'm not trying to defend cheap Chinese goods. I'm saying that those who discount them altogether are not being fair. Having said all of that, it does seem like the UV-5R and its relatives will be better suited to listening rather than transmitting, and something better is called for. However, out on the highway, which has extensive open flat stretches, a UV-5R and a roof-mounted antenna might make a big difference. After the 27 pages of this thread, it seems to me that the "something better" for the amateur who has no intention of making this a full-blown hobby, is a pair of quality GMRS radios, something in the 150-per range or better, something like a Yaesu or a WOOOOOK-SAAAAAHN. One of the primary purposes for me is non-cellular short to medium range communication with my wife. The GMRS license covers this. I just don't see myself investing in a ham radio base station and installing an antenna. In a truly catastrophic emergency, calling from home for help on a radio will probably be pointless, for a number of reasons. | |||
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Not quite right |
Feel the same here. My next step is a roll-up J-pole antenna: https://n9taxlabs.com/shop/ols.../DUAL-MUGM-LONG-SMAF My main motivation is to be able to talk directly to my brother 15 miles away without having to go through a repeater. You can hang these suckers in a 2nd floor window, attic, or in a tree and really extend your transmit/receive range. We're up on a hill and my brother is down on the west side of the valley but it's a pretty clear LOS from here so I'm hopeful it'll work just hanging from a backyard tree facing west. If not, oh well, it's only $40 bucks. | |||
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Member |
I bit another bullet and will be getting another GMRS radio (Tidradio). We'll see how it compares to the BF GM-RH. It has a few more programming capabilities compared to the non-chirp BF. For me, the usefulness of this mode of communication is one, pure fascination, and two, a developing sense of community which I am sorely lacking, Sigforum aside. Got into the repeater for the Tuesday night net and put a pin on the map. There are well over 2000 members and growing. We'll see how well I reach the repeater/s once the foliage comes in. Listening is valuable as I am learning the language, etiquette and who's who. A lunch in March to put faces to voices should be a hoot. I see a lot of similarities between ham/gmrs and Sigforum. If I had to guess, and I've heard it several times, folks love their guns...along with their radios. (2nd Gen)TIDRADIO TD-H8 GMRS Radio Handheld with Bluetooth Programming, GMRS Repeater Capable, NOAA, 5 Watt Long Range Two Way Radios Walkie Talkies with 771 GMRS Antenna, 2500mAh Rechargeable Battery https://a.co/d/1Hn0TzA | |||
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| Looking at life thru a windshield |
And the main topic on the GMRS repeater net this morning is the cell phone outage. Guess I am going to go ahead and pull the trigger on getting a 50 watt base/mobile unit. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower |
The price is such that I cannot understand anyone who keeps a firearm for defense not understanding the value of these radios. Even if you never transmit with them, the monitoring capabilities make them indispensable, and if the world goes completely to shit, you won't need a license to transmit. Add the programming cable (currently 8 bucks) to get you past the 35 dollar mark and you get free shipping. CHIRP programming software is free. Make hay while the sun shines, gentlemen. A storm is coming. | |||
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| Looking at life thru a windshield |
That is a good deal, I bought the one with the extra antennas about the same price. But I did not get the program cable. Got it later with another set of radios I bought. | |||
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| Member |
I strongly endorse the just being able to listen to the ham frequency in an emergency as a big plus. Information is key - hopefully good information. I'll also advise a good short wave receiver radio, battery powered, to listen in on the HAM HF frequencies in emergencies. Make sure it supports LSB/USB, in addition to AM/FM modes. CW is a plus is you know morse code. I think there is a thread on Shortwave radios when Para was looking for a new one, a few years back. Hams will be active on the 80 & 40 meter ham bands in a real emergency. Local and long distance type comms. I'll be there asking for someone the get a short message to my parents or a sibling to let them know I'm ok. I suspect I'll have all my neighbors asking me to do the same for them too. So, get a ham for a friend. As pointed out, many of us shoot too, but quite a few are bleeding heart socialists. Like vermin, socialists are hard to avoid. -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- -.-. --.- It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master. Ayn Rand "He gains votes ever and anew by taking money from everybody and giving it to a few, while explaining that every penny was extracted from the few to be giving to the many." Ogden Nash from his poem - The Politician | |||
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| Stupid Allergy  |
Just passing along that eBay (love it or hate it) is a good source for all things HAM / GMRS. I have a beater UV5R, an Anytone that does DMR and a Yaesu VX-7r that’s my “nicer, go to radio”. I picked up a second VX-7r on eBay for $180 last week! They’re submersible, have a magnesium outer case and are tri band. Why Yaesu stripped making this model is beyond me. "Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen... | |||
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| Member |
I would like to add that Condor makes/sells an excellent variety of pouches for all of these radios we have been discussing. The I pouch ($12.00) fits a Retevis RT87 sized radio perfectly and has provisions for extra battery and cable storage. | |||
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| Staring back from the abyss  |
They stopped making the/their most popular portable rig as well (817). It don't make no sense. You can still get a new Japanese model 817, but it doesn't allow Tx on our allowable 2M frequencies. Hopefully they discontinued it with plans to release a better all band/all mode portable for the US. I've got a VX-8DR that, as well, was discontinued. Great little handheld. ________________________________________________________ "Great danger lies in the notion that we can reason with evil." Doug Patton. | |||
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| Stupid Allergy |
The VX-8dr is a sweet radio as I’m sure you know! Hang onto it.. "Attack life, it's going to kill you anyway." Steve McQueen... | |||
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| 4-H Shooting Sports Instructor  |
After the phone system em went down today. I'm sure many people are looking for a different means of communications. With nearly 1000 Chinese coming across the border each day you have to start to wonder if we are slowly being invaded. I don't get it. _______________________________ 'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but > because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton NRA Endowment Life member NRA Pistol instructor...and Range Safety instructor Women On Target Instructor. | |||
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| Member |
Just ordered the 2 pack of the UV-5Rs, programming cable, and high gain antennas. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower |
Good man. A wise choice. | |||
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| Peace through superior firepower |
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| Member |
ATT texted an apology and they are committed to doing better. We're all good.  . These radios do remind me of my first Motorola cell phone. Ill have to look for a collapsible antenna so I can wear it on my hip.  | |||
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