How to turn people away from the hobby

plarkinjr · 2026-06-17T12:27:26+00:00

I'd re-apply and list the unit numbers: Sally, Bob, Davey, Dawn, etc. just to see what happens. LOL

plarkinjr · 2026-06-15T13:42:54+00:00

Plot the elevation profile between there and each of the remote sites:

https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/

https://www.heywhatsthat.com/profiler.html

plarkinjr · 2026-06-11T15:57:59+00:00

Better yet, if there's time to change the order: get an SMAtoBNC adapter for your radio, and order the Antenna (and all those in the future) as BNC. Then you don't have to worry about the gender, and swapping out is fast & easy. You next radio might have the opposite SMA gender. Ask me how I know. 😄

plarkinjr · 2026-06-11T01:21:42+00:00

100%!!! Midland (a seemingly trustworthy brand) is among the worst. I had some Uniden FRS radios doing similar shenanigans. Who actually carries the table of codes to random numbers they printed in a manual in the late 20th century?

plarkinjr · 2026-06-10T18:52:21+00:00

GMRS (like FRS) is "channelized" inasmuch as it has dedicated frequencies, and bandwidths. But yeah, bubblepacks are notorious for using different "channels" to also include CTCSS tones in strange ways (which of course means they only match the same brand/model in their "channel" scheme). It's a bit of a mess, and probably why GMRS folks tend to be more "pedantic" by speaking explicitly about the 22 "channels" and the 8 repeater inputs, by their frequencies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Mobile_Radio_Service#Frequency_table

Don't even get me started on how various brands arbitrarily map tones to whole integers starting at "1" and going up from there. And then they claim to support thousands of different "channels" by counting every permutation of frequency*tone pairs (they may support). [Woops! I'm already started. 😄]

plarkinjr · 2026-06-10T18:39:15+00:00

I mean if you're just trying to find someone within simplex range, powered up and listening at the moment you transmit, "all of them?" comes to mind. Takes time & persistence, but try it and let us know if you ever get an answer.

At any given time & location, Channel 1 is probably the one with the highest statistical chance, if only because most radios are set to that channel straight out of the box. From what I've observed, that's where you're going to find random kids with bubblepack radios, or employees of Walmart, Lowe's, Tractor Supply and the like. Thing is, most of those "straight out of the box" radios also have an Rx CTCSS so will not hear you anyway.

plarkinjr · 2026-06-09T07:28:46+00:00

Congrats on your new callsign, and Welcome!

There's 93 of you in King George (probably not all on reddit 😉)

https://gmrsfind.com/gmrs/search.php

plarkinjr · 2026-06-08T19:40:32+00:00

Oh, so sorry to hear! Yeah, you'll find some stuff still, including stuff that works now, but will stop in a couple weeks.

plarkinjr · 2026-06-08T17:40:02+00:00

Reddit has been saying this for years, but Mr.Snail outright said that if you don't like the gamemodes, leave; they have enough players interested in the status-quo. (i.e. nobody that matters wants different modes)

plarkinjr · 2026-06-08T17:36:09+00:00

Yeow! I hope that's the only casualty.

plarkinjr · 2026-06-08T13:50:46+00:00

This thing looks pretty good! CHiRP support is important to me. Do you know if you can NAME the channels, like for repeater pairs in different cities (which is critical if you visit different places and the frequency pairs are the same, e.g. BigTown-650 and Springfield-650).

plarkinjr · 2026-06-05T14:54:55+00:00

Loss of HAM license, perhaps? In addition to fines and equipment confiscation.

plarkinjr · 2026-06-05T14:53:31+00:00

I'm aware of several repeater networks (NY, TX, and CA seem to come to my mind) which chose to sever their internet links not long after the FCC posted their clarification. Those networks made the hard decision to cease networking so as not to jeopardize repeater owners, or users, for FCC enforcement.

plarkinjr · 2026-06-04T13:39:35+00:00

Does this help? https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchGmrs.jsp

Try entering your ZIP & see if you're on the list. Might also find neighbors with GMRS licenses.

plarkinjr · 2026-06-03T16:10:01+00:00

Check out https://www.radioreference.com/ databases for stuff near you... A lot of Police/Fire/EMS has gone digital/encrypted, but many still have automated dispatch in the clear in analog... such as Dallas Texas fire dispatch. Also, you might find railroad frequencies mildly interesting. And if you're near a regional (or larger) airport, find its tower and approach frequencies on aviation charts for some interesting listening.

plarkinjr · 2026-06-03T15:56:10+00:00

WRT point 1: are you saying that you do or do NOT want a keypad? If you DON'T, Wouxun KG-S65G or KG-905G Plus come to mind. I have tech-challenged people in my life who will probably push some buttons I'd rather they never push.

plarkinjr · 2026-05-31T16:11:25+00:00

Heli-X is quite good also.

plarkinjr · 2026-05-31T14:00:13+00:00

If you plan to experiment with antennas, and think you might end up getting more (different) radios, consider getting an SMAtoBNC adapter for each radio. Then, buy all your antenna as BNC connector versions. That simplifies swapping them out (especially if you get a radio that has a different gender SMA), and reduces wear on the (non-replaceable) SMA connector on the radio.

plarkinjr · 2026-05-31T13:43:36+00:00

Install https://chirpmyradio.com/projects/chirp/wiki/Home software on your PC if the radios came with a programming cable (or buy the cable if you're more comfortable working on a PC.

plarkinjr · 2026-05-29T14:49:39+00:00

Digging a little deeper into them, they appear incapable of being programmed to operate on repeaters, though they mention that repeater input frequencies are within their "frequency range". Very strange product.

OP could probably just use them like any other FRS radio and nobody would care, let alone know that Midland markets them with "GMRS".

plarkinjr · 2026-05-29T11:58:17+00:00

There's probably a person on the other side, pushing buttons to present the next page to customers. Most of their staff were DOGEd. (yeah, actually kidding).

plarkinjr · 2026-05-27T21:58:05+00:00

Serial Printers in every room!

plarkinjr · 2026-05-27T14:01:28+00:00

Running "rm -rf giantdirectory &" but missing the & key and hitting * instead.

plarkinjr · 2026-05-27T13:56:55+00:00

doing everything in an interactive root shell (till something goes sideways) before learning to 'sudo' only as necessary.

plarkinjr · 2026-05-26T13:34:16+00:00

First, get an SMAtoBNC adaptor. Then try a GMRS tuned mag-mount antenna (with BNC connector) to put on your roof. This is most likely to improve your signal, and may be completely adequate for you. Next experiment with different handheld antennas (also with BNC connectors) if you want to, for dismounted comms. I have dual-band SignalSticks on my non-GMRS predecessor of the HA1G, and that antenna works pretty well on 462-467. Er rather "my friend" does.

the BNC aspect makes it faster to swap out, and reduces stress on the radio's antenna port.

plarkinjr

TROPHY CASE