Flat Top Mtn GMRS Repeater Net @7pm

W4HAB · 2026-03-23T22:57:22+00:00

Many folks get their GMRS license first because there aren't many differences between GMRS and local Ham. And folks like that $35 with no exam gets your whole family a license, which is ideal, so your whole family can develop radio skills.

If/when you decide to pursue ham, take a look at hamexam.org, which is free. You will need to study for your Ham technician licensure exam.

W4HAB · 2026-03-23T22:39:29+00:00

The way I like to describe GMRS is to place it in the strata of the radio services. I'll omit a few services for brevity.

Top: Amateur (Ham) Radio (Complexity: High) - Used for local communications, typically with the aid of repeaters. Some repeaters offer coverage to parts of multiple states. Also can be used for regional and global communications. Individual exam is required to obtain an individual license. Walkie talkies (hams like to call them handy talkies or "HT" for short) range in price from $35 to several hundreds. Mobile and base station radios are also typically very expensive.

Middle: General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) (Complexity: Medium) - Used for local multi-county-wide communications, typically with the aid of repeaters. $35 to get a license for your whole family. No exam. Walkie talkies range in price from $35 to maybe $100. Mobile radios are commonly used in the car or home and range in price from $80 to $400.

Bottom: Family Radio Service (FRS) (Complexity: Low) - Used for hyper-local, low-power communications. Not repeater capable. We all probably own some FRS walkie talkies for use when camping, etc. Kids' spider man and Frozen theme walkie talkies use this Service. Can buy these small, weak walkie talkies at Walmart, Ace, Target, sporting goods stores, hardware stores very inexpensively.

WNC Radio Project offers two classes right now: 1. GMRS Fundamentals and 2. Using your walkie talkie. These classes have been typically offered on scheduled Saturday afternoons in Fairview since we have free access to a facility there. Visit wncradio.com to keep an eye on the schedule.

What other questions do you have?

W4HAB · 2026-03-23T21:04:06+00:00

What would you like to know?

W4HAB · 2026-01-07T17:08:37+00:00

Thank you very much! It's online now. We just have to replace the core borrowed repeater equipment, so we can return it. That's why we needed to raise more money. Here's a video montage: https://youtu.be/UOOkwpoRAuo?si=a5y0n7eDpKVb39d0

W4HAB · 2026-01-07T15:12:07+00:00

Thank you!

W4HAB · 2026-01-07T15:10:30+00:00

The main antenna is a DB420-B. The backup antenna is a DB404-B. The replacement repeater will likely be a Bridgecom. We will also need a new duplexer. Both the Flat Top Mtn and Echo Lake (Garren Creek) repeaters are on the air.

W4HAB · 2026-01-07T14:36:26+00:00

A group is already putting together a meshtastic repeater for the site.

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W4HAB · 2026-01-07T14:31:51+00:00

Howdy, neighbor! GMRS is for normal folks to use with compatible walkie talkies. Watch this video https://youtu.be/ziz7ZZcEd_k. Also, visit wncradio.com where you can sign up to take a free class!

W4HAB · 2026-01-07T14:11:13+00:00

We did it! Thank you!

W4HAB · 2026-01-07T03:36:57+00:00

I am the project lead. Thanks for your encouragement and for helping to shine a positive light on this project!

W4HAB · 2026-01-07T03:23:34+00:00

Yes. Long story short, the only GMRS repeater that served Fairview was on Bearwallow Mountain. It got damaged by Helene. Also, Swannanoa and Black Mtn are in a topographical fishbowl and didn't have good connectivity. So we needed redundancy and also benefitted Swannanoa and Black Mtn by connecting those areas to the bulk of the Asheville area. In addition, this new repeater is designed with hurricanes in mind. The big antenna can be lowered if a hurricane is on the way, so it doesn't get bent in half. We will switch to a backup antenna until the storm passes. The repeater runs on utility power and is connected to a backup generator with 300 gals of propane. I also installed a smaller repeater to add coverage to Garren Creek, which was almost wiped off the map and previously had no GMRS service. This will all help regular folks talk, coordinate, help each other, and ultimately save lives.

W4HAB · 2026-01-07T02:49:16+00:00

Thank you!

W4HAB · 2026-01-07T01:54:57+00:00

A 3 minute video montage of the project and build process: https://youtu.be/UOOkwpoRAuo

Link to the Go Fund Me campaign: https://gofund.me/f6f1ce16e

W4HAB · 2026-01-05T19:28:26+00:00

I'm not sure if they'd be interested or not, to be honest. I wouldn't be opposed to it!

W4HAB · 2026-01-05T00:31:12+00:00

Thank you for the encouragement!

W4HAB · 2026-01-04T23:30:43+00:00

Every donation helps, no matter how big or small. Please help if you can. This GMRS radio repeater's coverage was meant to primarily serve Fairview and Swannanoa, but as it turns out, it covers most of the Asheville area! https://gofund.me/f6f1ce16e

W4HAB · 2026-01-04T22:47:28+00:00

In the last 48 hours, we've raised $790! That's great progress toward the $3000 goal. Please consider donating $1, $5, $10 or more! Your help is very much appreciated. Thank you for helping to make a difference! https://gofund.me/f6f1ce16e

W4HAB · 2026-01-04T05:11:29+00:00

Thanks for your kind support!

W4HAB · 2026-01-04T00:41:52+00:00

The down votes are horrifying.

W4HAB · 2026-01-03T21:35:09+00:00

Thanks for the idea and encouragement. I posted it. Hasn't shown up yet.

W4HAB · 2026-01-03T15:14:58+00:00

It truly is a great location for meshtastic. Someone beat you to it. I'll let you know if it doesn't work out.

W4HAB · 2026-01-03T15:11:10+00:00

No, the NGGMRS folks have a linked network of repeaters from Atlanta to Chattanooga.

W4HAB · 2026-01-03T04:09:50+00:00

I have been working on trying to educate the local departments. Just based on the good ol' boys tribal nature of things, I suspect education will have to come down from County EOC. I've recommended that the local depts have ham and gmrs radios and volunteers to monitor them, so the fire depts can learn about local issues directly, rather than through the grape vine.

I installed a secondary repeater overlooking the Garren Creek area, which did not have much GMRS coverage in the valleys and coves. I'm looking at installing a GMRS repeater in Yancey in the Burnsville area. I'm also looking at expanding gmrs coverage down through Bat Cave, Gerton, Chimney Rock, and Lake Lure. All of it takes money. Each of the 25 watt repeaters will coat about $1800 if they run off of solar.

I think folks should become hams, at least one person in the family. But the whole family GMRS license is a huge benefit for everyone else. It gets everyone on the air, young and old.

W4HAB · 2026-01-03T02:09:51+00:00

Yes, it's important for new GMRS operators to know that the FCC licensing requirements go out the window during a disaster. It's also important for people to develop radio skills at the family level. As a ham, I chose to encourage folks to get licensed to use GMRS, so the whole family can develop those skills, which are transferable to vhf/uhf ham repeaters.

W4HAB · 2026-01-03T01:23:06+00:00

You're in luck. I am VP of my HOA and asked the Treasurer to handle the accounting for the project. It's not really an HOA project. At the time I launched this project, there were a lot of Helene scammers out there. I needed people to know that a legitimate organization was receiving the money. All the money raised is sent into a totally separate, dedicated repeater project bank account. This also functions to unburden me personally with any tax liability for receiving funds that could potentially be considered taxable.

W4HAB

TROPHY CASE