Author - BTECH Radios

GMRS meets short-range communication needs

According to the FCC, the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) is “a licensed radio service that uses channels around 462 MHz and 467 MHz. The most common use of GMRS channels is for short-distance, two-way voice communications using hand-held radios, mobile radios and repeater systems. In 2017, the FCC expanded GMRS to also allow short data messaging applications including text messaging and GPS location information.” GMRS licenses are available to individuals for short-distance, two-way communications that facilitate the activities of licensees...


New Release – BTECH GMRS-50X1

ARLINGTON, SOUTH DAKOTA - SATURDAY, MAY 11, 2019 A High Power 50 Watt GMRS Mobile Radio from BTECH is Released BTECH announced today the North American release of the BTECH GMRS-50X1. The GMRS-50X1 follows in similar footsteps and abilities found in our handheld GMRS radio the BTECH GMRS-V1. There was a huge void for users in that, an affordable fully functional GMRS mobile radio has never been available. BTECH took the initiative to engineer that very radio with feedback from the GMRS community. Our mission was to have the simplest  GMRS...


Who’s Calling? Setting Up the Digital Contacts List

Whenever you transmit on a digital channel, the BTECH DMR-6X2 sends not only what you said, but also your Radio ID (also sometimes called your DMR ID). This allows stations who are receiving your transmission to know who's transmitting. Likewise, when you receive a transmission, you're also receiving the Radio ID of the station transmitting. That ID is shown on the radio's display, along with the talk group. In addition, the BTECH DMR-6X2 can also display the name and callsign of...


Hear Everything with Digital Monitor

A helpful feature of the BTECH DMR-6X2, especially for amateurs using a new repeater, is Digital Monitor. Sometimes called “promiscuous mode,” Digital Monitor allows you to hear all of the activity on a particular repeater, no matter what time slot a talk group is on or what color code a repeater might use. Simply put, Digital Monitor allows you to use a repeater even if you do not know how it is configured or what rules the repeater has in...


Build a DMR-6X2 Code Plug: A Basic Code Plug for your DMR Radio

By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU Now that you know the lingo, it's time to build a simple code plug. (If you haven't read the blog post, Build a DMR-6X2 Code Plug: Learning the Lingo yet, please do so.) The first thing that you need to do is to download the customer programming software, or CPS. You'll find the CPS for the DMR-6X2 here on the BTECH website. The download includes Includes a USB driver,  the latest firmware for the DMR -6X2, and the CPS software. You'll...


Build a DMR-6X2 Code Plug: Learn the Lingo

By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU Because DMR radios have so many features, it stands to reason that programming them can be complex, much more complex than programming analog FM transceivers. To help you make sense of this complex topic, we'll be running a series of posts on DMR and how to program and use the DMR-6X2, BTECH's dual-band VHF and UHF radio with both DMR (Tier I and II) and analog capabilities. In this post, we'll define some of the terms used...


Getting Started with the DMR-6X2

By Dan Romanchik, KB6NU A couple of days ago, I got my hands on a BTECH DMR-6X2, a dual-band DMR and analog handheld radio. Designed for both amateur and commercial usage, the DMR-6X2 is a true, dual-slot DMR radio compatible with DMR Tier I & 2. It features a large, bright 1.77" color TFT display and can store up to 4,000 channels, 10,000 talk groups and 150,000 contacts. The first thing I did was to set it up to access an analog repeater...


Scan a range of frequencies with your UV-5X3

One of the cool things that you can do with your BTECH UV-5X3 Triband Radio is easily scan a range of frequencies. Now, with the UV-5X3, you don't have to scan an entire band, but instead program the radio to scan only a portion of a band. This saves a lot of time, as you don't have to scan frequencies that you're not interested in. For example, I wanted see what NOAA weather stations that I could receive where I live...


Choosing Your Ideal Two-Way Radio: A Comprehensive Guide to Selecting the Right Service

Choosing the right two-way radio can be confusing. You can’t just buy a pair of radios and start talking on them. Most two-way radio services require licensing of some sort, and radios designed to be used in those radio services must be certified by the FCC. The most popular two-way radio services are: Private Land Mobile Radio Service (PLMRS) General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) Family Radio Service (FRS) Amateur Radio Service (ARS) Private Land Mobile Radio Services(PLMRS) The Private Land Mobile Radio Servicesis...


DTMF REMOTE COMMANDS ON THE UV-5X3

(REQUIRES CHIRP SOFTWARE & A PROGRAMMING CABLE) INTRODUCTION: BRIEF DTMF COMMANDS EXPLANATION Any Radio with DTMF Ability can be used to send Remote Commands to a UV-5X3. For illustration purposes, and as an introduction to the function, we will explain this feature by using 2 UV-5X3s. The UV-5X3 is capable to listening for Over-the-Air (OTA) DTMF tones and responding with a variety of remote commands. BASIC DESCRIPTIONS: REMOTE COMMANDS Inspection Code: When this command is received the radio will respond with its ANI (Automatic Number Identification)....