boydg
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Posts posted by boydg
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Going by what the FCC has posted on their web page, if it's certified as GMRS, you must have a GMRS license to operate it.
Just to be contentious
, I'm going to disagree with you here. Reread this part of the FCC web page: "If you operate a radio under the rules that apply to GMRS, you must have a GMRS license." -- emphasis addedSo, if you have an FRS/GMRS radio and only transmit on FRS frequencies with a maximum of 500mw, then you don't need a license. Unfortunately, that's usually not possible on the interstitials, because the radios normally transmit using the higher GMRS power with no option to reduce it to FRS levels.
Of course, no one is going to buy a 22-channel FRS/GMRS radio and not use the higher powered capabilities, licensed or not. That's just reality.
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Well, my, my, my, as I live and breathe, if it ain't Hank Koebler! Howzit going?
Yup, that's the Jim Reeb I was thinking of, but I didn't think he was W0MIK.
Didn't realize you dabbled in this R-branch stuff (sorry folks, inside joke), Hank. I can't remember for sure, but weren't you at the Fort in '85 when I made Chief? I seem to remember you harrassing...er, I mean, educating me.
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Well, if you held a vanity call for about 50 years, it would probably add up to around $75.
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I found ieSpell recently, too. Great little tool if you use Internet Explorer. The hard part is remembering to invoke it every time I'm ready to submit a post.
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I don't have experience with either rig, but they're both HF transceivers.
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I'd add one little tweak. The cost for taking Amateur Radio tests is normally $12 per session, if any fee is charged at all. Some organizations give the tests for free. My first test session, where I took three exams, was $12. My second test session, where I took the one remaining test, was free.
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I highly recommend G4FON's Koch+Farnsworth Morse training software. Free, and it works. Be sure you understand the principles (as explained on G4FON's site) behind the Koch method. IMHO, you can't start at too high a speed. Be bold.
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Did a little research, and figured out it's a different JR. I guess with almost 300 million people in this country, just about any name can be duplicated, no matter how out-of-the-ordinary it may be.
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Eric, Jim Reeb wouldn't happen to be retired from the Navy, by any chance? I served with a Chief Warrant Officer by that name, although I can't recall where.
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If it has 22 channels, most likely the only channels you can use legally without a GMRS license are 8 through 14. In most cases, 1 through 7 are the FRS/GMRS-shared channels, and most radios use more than the 1/2 watt FRS limit, which make them GMRS radios on those channels, for all practical purposes.
Channels 15 through 22 are usually GMRS channels exlcusively.
So that leaves 8 through 14. Not that I think you'd be overly concerned about that. Personally, I bit the bullet when I bought my FRS/GMRS radios and sent in my $75 for a license. I don't know why, there's just something about me that makes me want to obey the law.
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I agree that opening up the transmit range on the transciever would most likely work for 60m, it's just that the loss of functionality isn't worth it to me. When I get another rig, be it new, used, or boat anchor, that will definitely be a consideration. But my 847 does me fine for now.
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Actually Mike, I went there when we started this latest phase of the discussion. The only mod they have there for the FT-847 that would open up 60m transmit is the "freeband" mod. On top of the fact that I don't really like the idea of opening up all frequencies, doing that causes the rig to lose some functionality since it no longer has any idea which ITU region it's in.
Oh well, I'm sure I'll survive without 60m until I get a radio that will work reliably in that range.
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I'm sure that the power is also limited to keep the cost down.
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I use a Yaesu FT-847. I haven't seen anything about modifying it for 60m operation, but as I said, I haven't really looked into it. I'm not really sure where to start looking, other than the Yaesu web site, but I wouldn't really expect much from them, based on past experiences on their site.
Happy New Year!
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One minor issue with the Rinos is that the GMRS seems to only put out 1W. I thought "full legal power" for GMRS was more like 5W.
Max legal power for GMRS is 50 watts, although fixed stations are limited to 15 watts and a "small base station" can only use 5 watts. Also, there are the "north of Line A or east of Line C" restrictions to 5 watts. Also, you're limited to 5 watts on the 462 MHz frequencies. And on, and on...
Part 95 is a bloody mess. They need to get the "non-individuals" moved over to another service, whack max power down to 5w, and clean up the regs. It's really unbelievable!
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I haven't looked into modifying my rig for 60m yet. To be honest, I haven't thought about it very much. How did you do it, Mike? Did you build a transverter or something?
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I believe any channel usage is pretty much localized, so will vary from place to place. I don't recall hearing about "The One Channel" to be used nationwide.
Regarding PL, my personal opinion is that PL is less than useful for simplex operations. It means you can't hear if the channel is clear before you talk, and it introduces a small but unnecessary delay in receiving the transmitted signal. Considering the point that most FRS/GMRS radio users start talking before the push the PTT button to begin with, the additional PL delay just makes it that much more annoying.
"Percy, you're going to have to repeat the beginning of your transmission...again. Remember, push the button, wait for a second, then begin talking."
"... come I don't have any problem hearing the beginning of your transmissions, Boyd?"
*Sigh* "Because I push the button, wait for a second, then begin talking."
Pause.
"Oh."
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Looking forward to getting my call sign in a couple weeks
It doesn't necessarily take a couple of weeks. When I took Elements 1, 2 and 3 like you, it took from the tests on Saturday morning until about 7 p.m. EST on Tuesday for my call to be posted on the FCC web site. All of this depends on how fast your VEs get the info into the FCC.
At any rate, congratulations and welcome aboard!
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how many people do you plan on running into within a mile radius that would also have a frs let alone a rhino to interact with.
My buddy and I use GPSr's and GMRS when we deer hunt. I'm intrigued by the possibilities if we were to use Rino 120s.
The range for a rino is 2.3 miles FRS and 4.5-5 for GMRS.Well, those are the nominal ranges, but in practice, it's usually much less than that. Very rarely have I experienced one of these small GMRS radios that were effective over more than about a mile. Antenna's too short, not enough power. I don't use the FRS channels very much because the range would be even less with the reduced power.
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Does Canada have a 1.25 meter band? If not, the VX-7R would be rather pointless in place of the VX-5R. Of course, it has several other features beyond those of the VX-5, but I'm not sure that they'd justify the additional expense without being able to use all four bands.
No, wait. It does have dual VFOs (basically, two different radios inside the case), so possibly it would be worth it. I still suspect that the VX-7 would be a bit much as a first radio for a new Ham.
, I'm going to disagree with you here. Reread this part of the FCC web page: "If you operate a radio under the rules that apply to GMRS, you must have a GMRS license." -- emphasis added
APRS-GPS
in Ham Radio
Posted
In my truck, I use a Garmin GPS 18 and my D700. I'm not sure I'd want to use a mapping GPSr like one of the AvMaps since I'd probably want to watch the screen instead of the road.
When I'm biking or pedestrianating, I use a Garmin Foretrex 101 and my D7. I haven't bothered to buy a serial cable for my 60CSx, so I couldn't use it for APRS even if I wanted to.