New England B.S. Thread

Talking about this GMRS stuff reminds me of an additional mod that I wanted to do after installing my Midland.

I just ordered the parts. Now I need to add it to the list.

 

Doing a little internet searching and came across this site. Might be helpful if you are searching for a clip or fastener: https://www.clipsandfasteners.com/Toyota-Lexus-Clips-And-Fasteners-s/13.htm

 

Which it really is, actually

 

I made a weekend of it. Plus i didn't want any of the other guys think that i hung out with someone who had a "tickle in his throat" all day Saturday and told me at 5pm lol.

 

My wife and I used our UV5Rs for our cross country trek and they made communication SUPER easy. My only real complaint was that we would run into pretty bad interference and have to change the channels periodically. The odd thing about that is my radio would start freaking out, hers would be fine, or vice versa. And this is with squelch squelching at maximum squelch.

Also another complaint is the stock battery didn’t hold a charge after being left in my crawler completely discharged and abandoned for like 6 years… talk about reliability and dependability!

 

Spurious emissions. Those radios are relatively garbage to the ham radio nerds.

I still use one.

Could have to do with other stuff like radio signals in the car, wiring in the car, etc.

My only complaint with them is the speaker volume. I got a volume boosting mic that works great.

Also they make battery eliminators that plug straight into the 12V.

$9 BAOFENG Battery Eliminator Car Charger for BAOFENG UV-5R UV-5R+ UV-5RA UV-5RA+ UV-5RB UV-5RC UV-5RD UV-5RE UV-5RE Plus

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DGW6ODG

But with those GM15 radios I'm curious about the USB C recharge, using a standard cable like that. For how inexpensive it is I might buy my first GMRS radio. Not that I use GMRS bands on my radios now. That's not allowed.

 

So I have the Midland MXT 275 and the USB C works awesome......it is a super fast charger. It brings my Samsung S24 ultra from 16% to 100% in about 40 minutes.

 

Opposite direction - the baofengs charge either in a cradle OR if you get the extended battery, with a USB-A to a (albeit a standard) 5V DC connector. I have to have that ONE cable for charging in the truck, or use the cradle (no idea where mine has gone). Having a standard USB C to charge the handheld would be great!

With NOAA radio channels too. That's one of the reasons I use the Baofeng, I have the NOAA channels, MURS, and a couple others that I ONLY receive on (and some ham repeaters/simplex to monitor that I can actually TX on legally).

 

IT'S OFFICIAL

https://www.wpri.com/business-news/market-basket-to-replace-showcase-cinemas-in-seekonk/amp/

 

This is what you get excited for??? You really are old

 

https://youtu.be/ikDc_PiXMjg?si=R9gImnX2kYSVcC41

 

If you're using a baofeng consider a Nagoya whip antenna. They have much better connectors and internal connections than the stubs that come with the baofeng, which makes a big difference to reception and interference.

 

In the truck:

$10 BaoFeng Gendarmerie UHF VHF Dual Magnetic Strip Car Vehicle Antenna UV5R Plus UV5RA Plus

https://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-Magn...=baofeng+magnet+antenna&qid=1733231559&sr=8-4

Walking around:

$21 Authentic Genuine Nagoya NA-771 15.6" Whip VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Antenna SMA-Female for BTECH and BaoFeng Radios

https://www.amazon.com/Authentic-NA...sprefix=baofeng+magnet+antenna,aps,364&sr=8-5

In the truck, getting the antenna outside is key. Best on the roof, good enough on the hood.

Could hit Kansas from here with one of these:

$15 ABBREE Ham Radio Antenna 42.5" Long Range SMA-Female Dual Band 144/430Mhz Foldable CS Tactical Antenna for Baofeng UV-5R BF-F8HP Pro 5RM UV-21R K5PLUS AR-152 GM-15 Pro UV-5G Plus Two Way Radio

https://www.amazon.com/42-5-Inch-AB...sprefix=baofeng+magnet+antenna,aps,364&sr=8-8

 

Snack time @crashngiggles

 

Longer is not always better - antenna design/tuning is a function of wavelength among other things, and there are extremely important considerations regarding installation location, as you say - better roof than hood is an excellent rule of thumb for vehicle use, but you also have to consider things like polarization depending on the application.

The ideal (usually unattainable) scenario is a full wavelength antenna mounted on an infinitely flat ground plane. In reality you will usually be better off with a band-specific antenna that has a shorter effective length as opposed to a longer multiband/universal antenna, assuming the same transmit power and installation location.

Those folding "tactical" antennas have other considerations as well, such as they break (at the folds) with any kind of heavy use and are not rigid enough to stand up to much wind, and unless you are paying $$$$$$$$ you are getting an airsoft/cosplay quality unit, which makes them even more susceptible to short MTBFs. The cheapos exist basically because the primary market for them will never know that the element has failed, or that there is actually only about 6" of element inside of the exterior bendy boy... But it sure looks just like what the cool guys use, and that's good enough when your night vision comes from Wish, your bucket isn't rated, and your radio isn't encrypted.

 

I've hit Kansas with one of those. Might have been a "better" one - borrowed from another guy in the radio club.

I generally stick to 2m/70cm bands, just because I'm not "huge" into Ham radio, I got into it for APRS (which I then never used). But we got a QSO from Kansas with one of those in RI. Been a while, might have been Kentucky.

With enough stuff that makes you look like the unabomber, you can get to the ISS with one of those baofeng radios.

https://blog.liamcottle.com/2023/08/16/my-first-qso-via-the-iss

When you're talking truck people using these radios for truck things, there's already so many "ideals" which are completely compromised. The 2m bands (MURS) is way better for propagation, but GMRS was picked (why, I don't know, more channels? Overlaps with FRS?), the roof is the "best" ground plane you can (usually) get on the truck, etc etc - so much stuff that's "good enough" for a mobile setup.

I have one of those little dimple antennas on my truck most of the time, put the "full" size antenna on when I want to have better propagation. But the little dimple antenna works usually good enough for a lot of rides, doesn't flop around in the wind for the other 99% of the time I drive the truck, and works as basically a protective cable end for the connectors so it doesn't get water/snow/salt in there. All compromises in the name of being a mobile setup.

 

I love this video, the midsommer music in the background is perfect hahaha

 

I don't have the clothes but I do have the eyeglasses

And although the Dockers are accurate, for the full effect they need jorts. I will go to my grave never having worn jorts or white leather NB

 

Man I would be so excited for a Trader Joe’s within 15 min of me so I get it @GarlicFarts