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Amateur radio is all about playing with radios to see what you enjoy. The RT-880 might be a gas, but honestly, don’t expect much froman inexpensive handheld that does HF, even without a $100 limit. The only HF band you could barely do with a handheld with an attached antenna would be 10 meters and even then you’ll be limited. The simple laws of physics require a certain antenna length based on frequency in order to be effective. A quarter wave ten meter antenna is going to be two and a half meters long. Now there are some all band all mode portable radios with built in batteries that I would love to have. One is the Icom IC-705 and another is the Yaesu FTx-1. There’s also the Lab599 TX500, but it doesn’t do 2m or 70cm. All three of these are self contained hi end portable radios. All three require an external antenna of some kind. All three go over your budget by more than $1000. The battery for the TX500 is $400 all by itself. As long as I’m dreaming there are a lot of other QRP radios to play with such as Elecraft. And although I haven’t seen it available in the USA yet, there’s a handheld version of the Lab599 radio. There are good deals on older mobile and radios that show up at ham fests. I picked up an Icom IC-706MKIIG for a low price last year. That’s a mostly full power mobile radio that does HF, VHF, and 70 cm. I’ll put it in a go box with a battery and carry a separate antenna of some kind, maybe an EFHW or my BB7V vertical and tripod. Anyway, don’t get discouraged by the high price of HF radios. Deals come along. A guy in my area said he’d like to sell his FT-991 (not the 991A but the older model) for $300 just the other day. I don’t know what the difference is between the 991 and 991A, but that’s probably not a bad deal.

You are STILL not going to be able to have them on the same frequency if they are linked. In order to do that, they need to be run by simulcast controllers. They need a GPS referenced timing standard and frequency standard. There is a lot more to it than just linking them together. And I promise you adding height to your tower will be cheaper. Not to mention that they will need a stable connection between them. THe Internet ain't gonna do it, you will need s Microwave shot between them so there isn't the changes in latency (link delay) that is present in Internet linking.

Thanks.

It’s so typical on this forum to see the Gang of One, Two, Three, Four dump on the guy making a scholarly presentation instead of the one who suggests 5 watts on WBFM on FRS 10!

As Steve said, 1.75 vswr is Negligible. Getting your antenna UP over the body of your vehicle would likely lower your reading, but 2.6 watts reflected, according to your device is not harmful.

I don't think impressing anyone was his intent. But Proven Science is what it is, and L. Scott was correct in that formula.

Just remember, you GET what you pay for ! $100 isn't going to buy you Quality.

The rattlgram app Can play back a message much faster than you can speak it, and even faster than it can be decoded. Playback time IS Adjustable, once you learn how it works. Also using Your Own ciphered message, that others can't make any sense of is Important. Low tech apps, such as Rattlgram have Defeated Law enforcement when used by savvy criminals.

I guess some of you didn't see the $100 total limit that I have. The RT 880 will probably be the one I'll go with if I get anything at all.

Yes. Most people are not going around listening with the app at-hand ready to decode what you're saying.. and, it's not really meant to be "secure" anyway.

Well when you put it that way, it makes all the difference! We are all very impressed! But if you REALLY want to impress us, show us that you are smart enough to know your audience and make your point like a normal person.

Except for the people a mile or so away using their 0.5 watt FRS radios that’s getting hammered by your 5 watts. You can’t hear them, but they’re very likely can hear you. Does that still make it OK? You didn’t hear it. Given equal radio receiver sensitivity then range can be limited by the square root of the ratios of the transmitter powers. So 5 watts verses 0.5 watts could result in a range increase of 3.16 to 1 in favor of the 5 watt radio.

OK, so about this Rattlegram thing. I still don't quite get how this can be more than a geewiz thing. The radio(s) still need to be able communicate with each other so why not just talk? I suppose if audio sucks maybe. More secure I guess, but if someone has the app and is using the same codes they can see the messages too. Or am I missing something?

R and L Electronics has the 991A at $1148 which is FAR cheaper than Amazon, that I don't suggest for Any kind of radio equipment. Also the 991A is a REAL radio compared to that talkie.

I've got a Hytera repeater. My Ham friend that turned me onto the remote switch was over the other day messing with my CPM. He figured out how to set up the repeater to monitor via the web anywhere and also shut it down through Hytera RDAC software he found on the web. The remote shut down via the Phone App is still a little easier but the RDAC offer complete remote monitoring. Cool stuff.

Radios are like guns or fishing poles, etc, etc, you can never have enough. I have two VHF/UHF radios in the shack, one is for daily use while the other is dedicated for WINLINK. I will be putting the second one along with a mini computer into a go box. I also have a 50 watt GMRS radio along with a spare 20 watt GMRS radio at home along with multiple amateur band and GMRS hand held radios. Plus I have dual band and GMRS radios in my Ford Escape, Ford F150 and my Honda Pioneer 500 SxS. I might end up putting one of the G90s into one of my vehicles. I haven't decided yet.

Hit up Tim at BCI communications in Tampa (I-75 and MLK). He's not to far from you and has a bunch of Rohn tower sections and stuff for sale at a fair price in decent condition. His eBay name is twowaytech if you want to look him up.

The main reason why I have two of them is that I bough one and then won the second G90 during Radioddity's 12th Anniversary drawing last year. And yes one stays in the shack while the other one is in my go box for portable use. I actually have more HF radios than I need. I have the two G90 radios along with an Ion IC-7300, Yaesu FTDX10 (with bad USB port) and a Xiegu X6200. The X6200 is nice for QRP ad keeping things small and light.

Are you using the simplex channel that you hear the repeater on or are you on a repeater channel? Power is seldom the problem or solution.

Try it on different channels. See what the SWR is on the channels you transmit on the most. Don’t forget the 467 MHz main channels. To answer your other question, you can tune the antenna by lengthening or shortening it. Changing the location of the mount can also affect the SWR. Antennas have a dip at a single frequency where they’re tuned best. An antenna analyzer helps you know whether the antenna is too long or too short. There’s nothing wrong with 1.75:1.

One for a go box and one for the car or one for the house, etc. You can never have too many radios.

If I'm unwilling to put WiFi into my show why would I put Starlink in? I use my phone as a hotspot while I'm there. As soon as I leave no more internet. And since I'm there I could just flip the power switch.

Starlink...

Hello All! New to GMRS and having a blast learning and getting gear together. I recently did a install on Gen 3 Tacoma and I am getting a SWR of 1.75. Below is my build. Looking for some suggestions on how to get the SWR a bit lower, or being what it is, maybe just accept the 1.75 and call it good. Appreciate all suggestions! Equipment Utilized: Btech GMRS50-Pro - https://baofengtech.com/product/gmrs-50pro/ Midland MXTA24 NMO - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0842B1WFS MIdland MXTA26 Antenna - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084BPXNC5 Ditch Light Bracket - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FG7P4DWY With a 3/8" Stainless Steel washer for fitment. Surcom Sw-102S - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M7QPXEY NMO Mount to Ditch bracket. Recognize the antenna is not perfectly straight up and is at an angle, I'll try to figure out how to get this mount more straight up, but the way my ditch light bracket is, this may not be easily achievable. I then ran it across the engine bay and then into the cabin through a gromet. Both the power and NMO cable were tucked under panels. I then created a mount for the BTECH GMRS50-PRO and connected everything behind the drivers side backseat storage. Current readings on meter. Once BTECH releases their Mic extension, i will run the mic extension wire from the back panel to the front drivers seat, so i can control the whole radio via the BTECH mic remote. Thanks!

Pretty much what this switch is.. But in DC fashion because my repeater runs on Solar DC