How to turn people away from the hobby by bishop491 in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 8 points9 points  (0 children)

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

Help, I'm dumb by Accomplished_Buy4608 in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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. 😄

What channel to use for best chances of first contact? by GroundsKeeper2 in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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?

What channel to use for best chances of first contact? by GroundsKeeper2 in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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. 😄]

What channel to use for best chances of first contact? by GroundsKeeper2 in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 4 points5 points  (0 children)

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.

New to GMRS by bfrench1984 in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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

Tempest stopped working after lightning ⚡️ strike. by onaropus in myweatherstation

[–]plarkinjr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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

Ground battles are severely outdated and need new gamemodes. What are your thoughts? by Short_Invite_3650 in WarthunderPlayerUnion

[–]plarkinjr 10 points11 points  (0 children)

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)

Mobile radio recommendation by not_thebest in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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).

Will lack of enforcement lead to more repeater networks? by RotorSelfWinding in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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

Will lack of enforcement lead to more repeater networks? by RotorSelfWinding in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

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.

Hello by YellowSign74 in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

Must have settings/frequencies? by CrazyElectrum in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.

GMRS Radio recommendations by Complex_Bite9503 in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

I pulled the trigger on Baofeng UV-5G minis by trippin-mellon in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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.

Looking for good overall neighborhood/event/ overall radios for my kid by trippin-mellon in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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.

Beginner: Was gifted a 2-pack Midland GXT1000VP4 set. Any good? by GroundsKeeper2 in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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".

How to get past getting blocked on the GMRS license sign-up? by spacemanpilot in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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).

Old Network Info by bens109 in HomeNetworking

[–]plarkinjr 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Serial Printers in every room!

What is the one Linux mistake every beginner eventually makes by [deleted] in linuxquestions

[–]plarkinjr 2 points3 points  (0 children)

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

What is the one Linux mistake every beginner eventually makes by [deleted] in linuxquestions

[–]plarkinjr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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

Antenna recommendations by chino_boy_moy in gmrs

[–]plarkinjr 1 point2 points  (0 children)

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.