quote:

Originally posted by oddball:

I absolutely agree, his schtick got very old after awhile, but I still watch his stuff, surfing past the usual schtick, because he is extremely knowledgable about everything GMRS, particularly the hardware. And yes, some of his videos are redundant. But unlike the other You Tube GMRS guys, he has owned, road tested, operated almost every single GMRS radio and accessory, a shit load of antennas. I have spoken to folks at buytworadio.com and Kemp Wireless for technical info, and when the subject of Notarubicon comes up, they say the guy is responsible for a big chunk of their sales, he has influenced a lot of first time GMRS radio buyers. And I'm sure he has influenced a lot of people buying their first Baofeng UV5Rs.

There is a lot of info to be gleaned from his videos - particularly the 2 year+ old stuff where he has a lot less attitude and snarkiness.

Go back to his pre-radio review days and his off-roading videos are quite good.

One trick I learned is to play his videos at 1.25 speed. You still hear everything clearly only in 80% the time.

This may be of interest to some of you.

Someone, somewhere (possibly here), suggested a book "The Guerilla's Guide to the Baofeng Radio" written by a former SF guy. It goes into depth about communications protocol and I have only read the first third so far.

The one take home message so far: when working with a group or patrol in the field, use VFO mode and LOCK YOUR KEYPAD after you enter your frequency and necessary others.

Worth a gander on Amazon if you're curious.

RMD

^Greymann mentions it way back on page 3. Man, it's been a wild 1.5 months connecting with my local GMRS repeater/s. I haven't gotten the book yet but after watching Randolfo's video I might.

I bought the book when I got my first pair of radios, but have been so busy with YouTube videos on the subject that I've never gotten around to reading more than the first few pages of it. Now it seems I have ANOTHER video to watch! LOL...

I was on the NOAA channel for my area(St. Louis County area) almost all night, last night. We had a series of bad thunderstorms and tornadoes that came through. I was getting real time and exact location updates 2-5 minutes before my phone weather apps and the local tv stations. Luckily, just some winds (not that bad compared to other areas just a mile or so away) and some nickel to quarter size hail. Had the radio on a charger next to the bed last night.

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
I was on the NOAA channel for my area(St. Louis County area) almost all night, last night. We had a series of bad thunderstorms and tornadoes that came through. I was getting real time and exact location updates 2-5 minutes before my phone weather apps and the local tv stations. Luckily, just some winds (not that bad compared to other areas just a mile or so away) and some nickel to quarter size hail. Had the radio on a charger next to the bed last night.

Find a local net that monitors and reports the wx in real time. NOAA is delayed.

RMD

quote:

Originally posted by jsbcody:
I was on the NOAA channel for my area(St. Louis County area) almost all night, last night. We had a series of bad thunderstorms and tornadoes that came through. I was getting real time and exact location updates 2-5 minutes before my phone weather apps and the local tv stations. ...

rduckwor is right about the local net. There is a Skywarn net for St. Louis City and St. Louis County which operates during inclement weather. The net utilizes a local ham radio repeater and takes reports from both trained weather observers or any ham in an affected area who wishes to report in. These reports are then forwarded to both the National Weather Service and local Emergency Operations Center and are often incorporated into official warnings from both of those entities.

If you are within the coverage range for this repeater, program 147.360 mHz (receive) into your radio and listen in.

Thanks for the advice, the NOAA did not seem to be too delayed that day and event. I am going to add that channel.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jsbcody,

I went on radioreference and looked up media for the Atlanta metro area. Programmed the frequencies for the local news crew vehicles and helicopters. Really fun to listen in as they dispatch their teams and helicopters to whatever might be happening.

I am getting a Uniden SDS100 scanner tomorrow, its about 50/50 with encryption for Law/fire/Ems in my area but I wanted something that will also do the P25 and other trunk systems. I have come to realize that there are so many things that you can monitor just on a Baofeng or one of the other radios but I wanted more. Hero units for example they respond to accidents too and they are not encrypted, Towing companies, and so many other sources of information which might be important in a SHTF situation. I joined the local GMRS club and have already made some good contacts. I am really glad that my eyes were opened to the possibilities for information and communication that are out there.

For all of the NE Florida Sigforum folks and travelers:


483
NOUS42 KJAX 031845
PNSJAX
FLZ033-038-132-133-137-138-232-237-101845-

Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Jacksonville FL
245 PM EDT Wed Apr 3 2024

...PALATKA NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMITTER WILL BE OFF THE AIR
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE...

The Palatka transmitter WNG-522 on a frequency of 162.45 mhz,
will be off the air until further notice as the equipment is moved
to a new antenna site. The National Weather Service thanks Putnam
County Florida for hosting this transmitter and their efforts in
enhancing NOAA Weather Radio service to the community. The Palatka
transmitter is expected to be off the air potentially as late as
late April.

Until services are restored here is a list of alternative
transmitters covering the Palatka listening area...

162.40 mhz in Daytona Beach...

162.525 mhz in Ocala...

162.475 mhz in Gainesville...

162.55 mhz in Jacksonville.

$$

Still following this. Have we resolved the 5w vs. 8w vs. 10w dilemma? I'm tempted to spend the money on the 10 watt, but internet sources are very divided as to whether it actually gets you much of anything.

Still confused, and still in analysis paralysis.

Thanks for helping.

I talked to a local ham and he said that there's not much difference if any between 4 watts and 10 watts. He said the antenna will make more of a difference than this slight difference in power because all handheld transceivers are low-powered.

He also noted that few if any HTs actually output the wattage they claim, and we've seen this on youtube when various channels test HTs.

Certainly, a 10 watt output in an HT can't hurt, but based upon what I've seen so far, I wouldn't buy an HT solely for supposed high output.

Can tell you that at least if not more that 90% of any two-way radio station be it vhf/uhf hand held and or mobile oeration / as well as base station operations is related to the entire antenna system to also be true for HF radio frequencies operations.... Proper coaxial feed line/ properly tuned antenna be it home made or store bought/ be it omni-directional vs a rotateable directional style/ physical location of antenna.... Advertising false hoods such as db gain of antenna performance.. dbi vs dbd which 1 is a imagenary number vs a actual measureable number.. The advertised power output as measured in a factory lab vs what is and can be measured at customer oeration area.... Advertised workeable talk/receiving range is also subject to many many variables and normaly nothing close to advertised information........ Have had my "Ham" ticket since 1978 so been there/done that/got the t-shirts........................................... drill sgt. aka KL7JIU.

Thank you gentlemen. That is what I was looking for.

A upgraded antenna but also if you can improve your location in any way your HT will improve greatly. Walk to the top of a hill that’s even 10’ higher and it makes a difference.

Passed my Technician License Exam today...35/35!

Congratulations. Welcome to the club..

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Passed my Technician License Exam today...35/35!

Great! Good job. Now go for the General, the exam is easy. The Extra is hard.