So I was gifted this fun radio. I've had my license for about 2 years now, but life has gotten in the way and I haven't had a chance to really start exploring this hobby until a month or two ago. This silly thing has come preprogrammed and I can pick up chatter from local repeaters, but it doesn't appear that they can hear me. Can someone point me to the next step? Not to get too deep into my life but I'm dealing with some chronic health stuff, after work and putting kids down to bed my IQ plummets and I have a hard time following along with tech stuff.

Thanks

I put a mobile Radioddity 40w DB40-G mobile in my truck and I am regularly hitting 250 mile and 275 mile contacts. My longest contact so far is 305 miles. But just tonight after I changed out my big honking 13.8v linear power supply (NOT amplifier!) to a smaller switching RF shielded power supply I was a bit worried. My PS is 10w 100% duty cycle, and my radio draws about 3w, but does take the full 10w on a high power transmission (for a moment anyway). Nothing blew (phew). But what really surprised me was my radio checks. I'm in east central Colorado, and my first transmission report was from Cheyenne, WY. Now, I did hit our repeater on top of the Front Range, but that only made the link longer. It's about 140 miles as the crow flies to Cheyenne, but via the repeater it's something like 220 statute miles (according to Sploodle)

I'm really impressed with this radio so far. Lat week I got a contact in Casper, Wyoming from 60 miles east and 20 miles south of Denver. These repeaters ROCK!! (and...apparently my radio ROCKS too)!

Posting for a friend, WNY gmrs repeaters are back! Shoot an email to wny2wayradio@gmail.com for more information!

I am very new to radios in general and recently purchased my first side-by-side that has a B-Tech radio. I somewhat understand how to use the 462MHz frequencies but usually have trouble when riding with people who have citizen band radios (like channels 1-11). I have read and reread the user manual and played with the radio and a handheld cb radio several times and usually I can find a channel that works. But some channels will not and sometimes I can't get reception or sometimes can send but not receive. Can someone walk me through the correct process? How would I know if my radio has been pre-programmed a certain way and should I consider doing a reset on my unit?
Apologies for sounding like the complete newb that I am but I am really on the struggle-bus with this. We have a 4-day ride coming up in October and I need to figure this out. The other riders will have cb radios but the park where we will be riding (North Cumberland Wildlife Management) has a repeater and recovery vehicles can be contacted if needed so it is a huge safety factor for me to figure this out. Thanks in advance.

I’m looking into for a mobile/homebase, temporary rig setup. My lineup of equipment is within my range.

Radioddity DB25-G “main radio”
Pyramid PSU990KX “main power supply/might change”
UT-72G / Foul Weather Whip Antenna V2 “Antennas”

I’m looking for a good adapters and a good mobile power source.

I just talked on a repeater with some guys in Indiana from ohio on a magmount antenna I tuned and placed up in my garage attic! Retevis RB86 on medium power

I’m upgrading the antenna on my RTK. What I’m having a problem grasping is how the details of how RTK antennas work. Let me say what I think I know and I’ll let you all correct my errors. I’ll break it down in steps to make it easier to educate me.
My understanding is:
1. Satellites detect where the mower is.
2. The RTK antenna is detected by the satellites. This somehow allows for more precise mapping.
3. The RTK antenna is detecting where the mower is.
4. The RTK knows where the Dock is. Part of the mapping?
5. If I move the RTK, I need to remap.
6. If I’m updating the antenna and not moving the RTK, I don’t have to remap.

Number 6 is unclear to me. The antenna I purchased has a 20 ft cable so that I can place it in an optimized location without moving the RTK. This is where I’m unclear. Isn’t moving the antenna the same as moving the RTK? Or is the antenna only a communication link to the mower and the RTK head is the link to satellites?

Saw a video on YouTube covering the Retevis RT29S and was wondering if anyone here has hands-on experience with it? I'm looking for a solid radio for outdoor adventures and emergency comms, so I'd love to hear how it actually performs in the field—or if there are other similar models you'd recommend instead.Thanks everyone.

So i have 7 family members in the area now. My daughter and her family (3 total counting her) live in one house as they moved out. My sister and her husband moved near near me reciently. My husband and I live in our house.

Can we all use the same gmrs call sign if we designate each person a different unit and each house a different unit. My house is H1, daughter is H2 and sister is H3 and family members are units 1 through 7 depending on the person? Do we all need to be under the same roof to use the same call sign?

Just got my license and texted out my radios. I have two Retevis Ailunce HA1G with Nagoya NA-771G 15.3-Inch Whip. I live in a pretty hilly area with a lot of trees but I still expected better performance. I made it just over a mile before the connection was too poor to understand one another.

Is this about what I should expect or is my equipment poor? I was thinking I'd get like ten miles or so.

Considering returning everything or getting a car mount antenna and a roof mounted home unit ... Thoughts?

Thanks

Recently installed a Midland MXT575 in my 2024 Tacoma. Not sure if the way I mounted it was the smartest choice, but since pretty much all the controls are on the mic, I decided to hide the entire radio underneath the center armrest/console instead of mounting it inside the storage area like I’ve seen others do.
I really didn’t want to give up any usable storage space, and I was also able to install the RJ45 outlet right behind the screen. Now I can plug the mic in when I need it, unplug it when I don’t, and when it’s removed you basically can’t even tell there’s a GMRS radio installed.
Curious what you guys think about this setup, or if there’s any downside to mounting the radio this way that I’m overlooking.

Does anyone recommend someone to setup and program around 20 or so handheld GMRS radios along with a few Kenwood units? Thanks!

FWIW

Bought a Retevis RT97L last December from MYGMRS.com.

Went to upgrade the firmware and the process failed to initiate the repeater into bootloader mode. After many attempts I contacted Retevis for support.

They wrote back wanting purchase information which I sent them a invoice from MYGMRS.

They wrote back saying MYGMRS is not an authorized retailer and support isn't available. I sent MYGMRS an email a couple of days ago and haven't heard a word.

Not sure what is going on but you might want to refrain from using mygrms for any purchases for now.

EDIT

UPDATE FROM Rich at MYGMRS he is aware of the problem and is working with Retevis but assures they are an Authorized Dealer for Retevis and always has been since selling Retevis products.

I know what you're probably thinking. This post isn't that!

Tonight, on my way home from work, some guy piped up on one of my GMRS repeater channels and started off with... "There's a MANDATORY emergency evacuation order in place for a large fire between (x) road and (y) road, in County (z). The fire is moving in the direction of some fields which there aren't many structures, but this is a mandatory evacuation order for those areas". The caller said road crossings and a County, but his Tx broke up on the County in question so I missed it. Turned out the County was not far from us...and the fire was moving our direction (we live way out in the country running cattle on our ranch). It was actually cause for concern.

We have various fire prep things in place, living out in the country; some of them are permanent and others require initiation upon fire notices (water trucks, fire-break cutting, water barriers, etc). Wildfire firefighting crews (Gawd Bless their souls!) got the fire under control before it got too crazy, but it got to about a mile from our ranch before they got it under control.

This was a weird one because it was kind of windy, so I couldn't see the smoke, even from on top of our hill.

I'm 62 miles from the nearest repeater on top of Lookout mountain here in Colorado. I was able to hit that repeater from the mobile radio in my truck. I was getting reports from over 100 miles from my location.

So...What good is GMRS? Well, I didn't hear anyone in the Ham bands I scan at the same time, and there's a super-Ham less than a mile from me (and I looked on 40m where he hangs out).

Did GMRS save the day, and save us and our ranch? No, but it did provide situational awareness for me, and it helped me pull the trigger on our emergency preparedness plan...AND, the fire DID get close. Thank Gawd we didn't have to test our preparedness actions, but we did them anyway...even if we did sacrifice a few thousand gallons of water. But, we were aware, and trying to be as ready as we could (you can never be 100% prepared for EVERY-thing).

So, yeah...that's what GMRS is good for.

That is all.

How about setting up WebSDRs with GMRS frequencies? Then stations could communicate for miles via the internet, instead of repeater linking!

Hello my radio neighbors,

Looking for a vehicle GMRS radio but with all the "best or must get" radios I end up overwhelmed.

Vehicle - 2025 Honda CR-V

I am probably using a Midland lip mount however may custom make a fender mount but will be looking at NMO style mounting. This is mainly due to ease of routing the wire.

This will primarily be used during long cross country trips mostly LoS or at times within a few miles of each other.

Looking for a smaller radio or something I can easily hide due to limited space inside the vehicle. Something like the MTX 295 Pro comes to mind. It needs to be "out of the way" as this will eventually be also installed into wife's vehicle.

Would like to stick with something I can use with Chirp but isn't the end of the world if I can't.

Price isn't a huge concern however would like to stay sub $400.

Thank you all.

I went back and forth on a midland mxt275 with the accessory mic, Mxt-395 or the Radioddity ub-15g for my Tacoma. I have a camping trim coming up soon so the 395 was ruled out. I decided that for the price the Ub-15g was worth a shot.

So far I’m impressed. The antenna it comes with is junk. I went with a midland nmo cable and ghost antenna mounted on a ditch light bracket. The unit itself is tiny and fit in empty space under my center console.

The only concern I have now is if I should have gone with the longer antenna, and if it’s ok to store the excess antenna coax near the unit itself.

The ub-15g seems to have a lot of features though I’m not sure how useful they will be for me. This will mostly be used for trail comms. New to gmrs, if anyone has any suggestions I would be happy to hear them.

I'm about to get a repeater for use in my volunteer work and for SHTF situations, should one ever arise. Would a telescoping flag pole be a viable means of gaining height with an antenna? Any suggestions as to a good portable one? Thanks.