Just bought me everybody's (HAM users) favorite unit (uv5r) thanks to you. Love the knowledge you drop on here, thank you oh so kindly for dropping these gems for newbies like me. Keep it up :)
Work for everything but CB. And for God sake don't donate $35 to the agency who will use it to persecute you for breaking their rules (not laws). Stay smart.
You got this. Glad you went LMR. 50W out the door will only give you 6.25W if you used RG-8X on a 100' run instead of UHF-rated feedline. I have that Samlex 35A power supply and although it's very good, its internal fan is horribly loud. if it's not in a living space then don't worry about it. There's a mod to run the internal fan constantly and at lower speed if you need it. Definitely add extra cooling to the transmitter if you think your machine will be heavily used, and when the CA temps hit 90 and above. The more the betterer. Good choice on the PL. Since you're running an open repeater don't forget to have it identify as needed (fast speed, low audio level Morse Code ID will suffice and you can do that cheaply if you look around, if you don't already have it covered. Don't forget a time-out timer for long-winded loudmouths or numpties who sit on their mic buttons.
I just got my GMRS "WRZH956" for My Dad and Mom. I shared Randys Channel to my Dad so He can learn better from Randy. I SUCK at teaching what I Dont Really Know! My Dad is GOING TO LIKE "notarubicon" Randy!!! LOL Blessings All
As a 30 yr electrician that has worked all over the country I concur. Most people try to make it all more confusing then it actually is. Most electricians I have worked with or even in FB groups are the most self righteous, pompous, and egotistical tradesmen out there. They over complicate things so the clients beneath them can't actually tell if they are getting a good deal or not.
Your videos are well-produced, informative, and entertaining. Thank you for not perpetuating any of the many myths and old wives' tales regarding grounding. It's one of those subjects which is so misunderstood by so many. The saddest part is that if you don't know anything about it, *everyone* sounds like an expert on the subject. It's hard to tell who's "got the goods" and who's faking it. At least, that's been my experience when looking for information on the subject within the ham radio community.
My .20 cents: I have a 2x KG 1000G set as repeater with Nagoya NMO-200C antena, only isue I had to solve was TX hang up in transmission (radios are on top of each other using short cable). Solution: 6"x9" brass plate between radios and brass tape wrap around short connection cable. Either one work by it selves, but I am using both.
Keep your lighting suppression parts outside of the house. All of it. This is the whole reason for doing it. And even then sometimes it just doesn't work as planned. But it's better than nothing.
Way to go LMR400! And they make 400 in ultra flex for the business end. (It bends easy, jumpers) love the channel, your attitude and the music. Big fan.
Your mileage may vary with LMR400. It doesn't play well in dull duplex (repeater) applications. It may work at first but trust me, down the road it is going to be a problem. Been there done that. When the intermod from the transmitter starts getting back into the receiver side of the repeater it all goes downhill from there.
In all seriousness, I want to thank you for calling out the sad Hams and BS'ers. I think you a re providing a valuable service and I am a huge supporter of you. I hope to meet you someday.. Thanks for the repeater vids, I am building one in northern San Diego county. Would you care to hear comments on how it is going? Glenn N6JAI
chances are that many of the helpful comments came from ham radio operators who take their hobby seriously and their experience benefits you and your channel.
I built my own wifi accessible temperature and humidity based fan control system before homekit was a thing. It keeps boxes of electronics (WiFi router, dog “fence” transmitters, etc…) up in the attic nice and cool all year long. It’s also saved me hundreds of dollars worth of electricity over simply running the fan full time.
Did somebody say something about ....ground..... well, I thought ground was dirt or something like that. I think RU-vid has a lot of dump truck channels... might find some dirt there. Dirt, gravel and that kinda stuff.... But if a hard wind comes along some day, that antenna might find itself down on the g****d. Oops, almost said that g-word.. Love the channel man. Keep it up.
my mom used to ground me when i was a kid...but id jump out the window on to the ground...once i was grounded i hit the ground a runnin ;) always get a smile and a laugh from your videos thought id try n give back in my own stupid way
Hello, I am a fairly new GMRS “Dork” and just received a Wouxun KG-1000G and a DWC30WIN power supply. I will also be using a Ed Fong antenna mounted on my roof that WILL be grounded!!! So I wanted to know what type of lighting surge protector you are using and where to place it within the setup? Thanks for all of the helpful advice in your videos and love your sarcasm so much so that I set up my squelch tail to last the longest for those HamBones. I to live here in the “IE” at the top of Fontucky, thanks again for your advice. WREL210
I built an off grid wireless network for a community in Pa with a 200 ft tower on top of a mountain and the grounding was the most stressful part of the whole project.
I put a couple walkie talkies together with a patch cable. Note: don’t have the receiving radio at full volume or you will fry the transmitting one, blow out everyone’s speakers, and dispense copious amounts of tinnitus. Ending the lives of 3 uv5rs. Baofengs are great to experiment with as I’m only out $35. Imagine if I used 2 of my Q10s. That would be almost $450 down the drain……… now for a moment of silence for the 3 uv5rs……………………….they won’t hurt anymore. Besides, their deaf now so it’s more then a moment of silence for them.
@wilbertonoriega… your posted comment about Randy is ridiculous and wrong. Randy is very knowledgeable . His RU-vid videos are not only helpful but they are also extremely hilarious . If you don’t find him helpful and you don’t understand or like his sarcasm, then don’t watch him. No one is forcing you to watch his videos. Go find someone else to watch. And take the rest of the SadHams with you. As for me, I will continue to watch him. I will seek his help and will continue to enjoy his sarcasm. Thank you Randy for all that you have done. Keep up the good work.
Very good educational video and you've inspired me to get into GMRS. I'm not quite sure how much the sections for the Rohn triangle towers cost these days, however, these come in 10 ft lengths and just two of those would get your antenna up to a decent height and with a good base, it'll be freestanding. If you check a local hamfest, you just might get a bargain.
Putting your own repeater together is better than buying one made up. First, I think that the Wouxon radios are about the best GMRS radios made. I own a 905 and a 935. You'll be using higher quality everything that the preassembled ones since they might cut corners to keep the price down. It looks like you've done your homework also on that thing we can't mention. Now off to watch the rest of your video's, since I will build one too.
Were did you get the Rf grounding And Spark Arrestor and Ground Strap Randy? 13:00 oh I see why you didn't post a links or talk about it My bad sir @NotaRubicon Productions
If you put a tone can you and another person have the same freq? The coax I use is Italian made messi and pelosi HYPERFLEX 13 /.500. way more than needed but they sell awsome connectors too. If you want no excuses stuff it's great.
good stuff. there is info on the the subject you don't want to discuss in the armature radio tech test.. test questions available at the ARRL website or online ham radio study courses. use their info or not, it's up to you.
I'm interested, I've got a similar build planned but I'm going to go mobile so all in a water tight can with a battery and solar. I've already built it but with a baofeng and a parrot box, now I need to buy the kg1000 s and the duplexer.
Hey “princess notarubicon sparkle pony”, the only question I have is it POSSIBLE to also use a radio antenna pole AS a light pole also? Or, use a light pole as a base to mount the radio antenna? I have a hill close to my house in the country and already have the light pole in the pasture. Watching ur channel makes me want to install a repeater station too. Thanx!
@notarubicon could you use a mobile with a full duplexer like an AnyTone AT-5888uv to make a repeater? The website said it has crossband, UU, UV, VV, and VU repeating capabilities.
What items does one need to connect the GMRS Duplexer to the radios? All items used would help. (Short cables with proper ends, what the cable #s are and any other connectors need.) Thanks, Marc
You need some good quality (ie, not cheap) short coax patch-cables.. The exact connectors depend on what duplexer you use, but because some duplexers have "N" connectors, you may need patch cables with PL259 on one end (from the radio) and "N" type on the other end. You will have to look at the holes on your duplexer and the holes on your radio to determine the exact connecters you need. This is all part of the learning experience.
? I'm running a 50w base, I use a repeater 12 miles away and get about 25miles.. but.. I'm at the very edge of its range. And would like to transmit more fars south of me ,if I put the repeater at my house, won't that just give me the same fars I have now with my base station? I'm thinking I should put it up about half as fars away from me..At a other location] and get way more fars?
Randy, I am brand new to GMRS. Your videos have been amazingly insightful, thank you. I do have a question. I want to put a tower up for a base radio, i also want to add a repeater to my property. Can these be done on the same tower or is there a minimal distance i should have between them? Thank you in advance!!
Yes, you will need a lot of separation - vertical separation is best but if they are running on the same frequency, your tower may not be big enough. There are calculations to tell you how far apart they need to be based on the type of antenna and the frequencies.
im liking your videos more and more, studying to be tested for my ham license . it rough but im fighting to make it better, . learning is good, one day at a time, thank you for your information , but getting back to studying for my test. repeaters ? license first , repeater 2nd. there is 1 question , on radios in the future, wouxen grms radio model uv9g pro , ids this a good radio to start with as a handheld. or ???
the UV9G Pro is a great radio, with a lot of features, but there are also other radios that are less complicated, so it just depends on what you want to do with the radio.
Ok well I am a amateur radio operator and as far as I know repeaters have to identify every 10 minutes if it transmits of not it waits until keyed up And the control operator has to be licensed and all transmissions have to Be recorded In the old days Motorola and he prolines weee used with two antennas separated vertically by about 60 feet or with a duplexer closer. EST wishes keep Me informed Wa1tcq
p.s. I wish you'd do videos like this on Jeep-related tech. I'd pay to see you get this in-depth on regearing or dropping in a 4" lift and beefier suspension kits. Much more fun than radios, which is why my 41 year radio habit is taking a back seat to 4x4 'wheeling and overlanding. Looking for a unicorn rust-free TJ to build up and run 35s on.
Is everybody else within the 25 miles that you want to reach, also 2000 ft. above sea level? Height is probably the best "force multiplier" outside of an ampliafier.......and they are expensive!
No.. Most of the area is in the valley - ranging from 400 to 1000 feet below..The repeater is now up and operational - not only is it covering the entire range we had hoped for, we are getting contacts from (so far) up to 45 miles away, from spots we never thought possible, mostly areas in the mountains above us.
Randy what is the energy usage of your set up? I intend to set this exact system up up but I the site is somewhat remote so I need to power it with a solar panels and batteries. Any guidance you can provide would be appreciated.
How about lightning arrestor? Do you need that? Or just grounding is enough? For external wifi yaggi's we had to use lightning arrestors on the coax...
Awesome! I’m literally doing the same thing with the same radios and the same power supply. I mounting mine in a small server cabinet from Amazon in the garage. My God great minds think alike. I really want to talk about gr gr gr gr grrrr......
This may have been asked before, but is there any way you can link/daisy chain gmrs repeaters? I drew it all out of a piece of paper and no matter how i configured it, it wont work.
On the topic of radio supply and demand, all electronics are seeing shortages right now. Just try and find a GPU or CPU at MSRP. The semiconductor plant fire that happened earlier this year is only making things worse. Multiple Ham radios have gone out of production because of the fire, and to top it all off demand for radios has skyrocketed due to political and economic events.
If you think being a random clown on the internet is bad with the Sad Ham world - try being an electrician (like I am) and talking about that forbidden word... I posted all the correct information in the last video - which makes me wonder if it’s there anymore..... 🤔
The League had a great 3-part article in QST about 10-15 years ago and it's almost assuredly what our intrepid host referenced. That subject still gives me backaches when I think of the 25 rods that I had to pound in through rocky soil and cadweld,. Ugh.
