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I'm pretty sure the Anysecu WP9900 and QYT KT-9900 are the same radio, and the BTech 20V2 is the GMRS version of it. I consider it a decent-but-not-amazing radio for the price. TBH, 25 watts is plenty for almost all of my needs. I have a TYT TH-9800D in the car, and I almost always run it on 12 watts. I've hardly ever bumped it up to 35 or 50, and even then, it usually didn't make a difference. Yes, I do understand the quality difference between CCRs and some of the "big name" products, but I'm just a hobbyist. Nobody is going to die or even lose any money if my radio doesn't work. I'm willing to take a hit on the quality to get the form factor I want. In December, I ran a WP9900 on a trip from central Oklahoma to Branson, Missouri and hit 2 meter and 70 centimeter repeaters all along the way without difficulty, which is really all I use a mobile radio for. In the house where I have plenty of room, I run an AnyTone AT5888UV III tri-band unit and I'll probably end up changing out the TYT in the car for one as well. On the roof of the car, I have enough ground plane to run a tri-band antenna. If I decide to install a CB, that will require another antenna, but I'll deal with that if I decide to do it. My problem in the truck is that I have crap for ground plane and I can't get a tri-band antenna to work well on 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, and GMRS, so I've resorted to three antennas and three radios. I have a AnyTone Graces CB with all the controls in the handset feeding a dedicated CB antenna, A QYT 7900D tri-band radio running as a dedicated 1.25 meter unit with a dedicated 220 band antenna, and a TYT TH-9800D for GMRS, 2m, and 70cm on a Diamond "Super Gainer" antenna. I'm planning to remove the TYT and mount the QYT on the seat bolt pedestal mount, then put the WP9900 back in for GMRS, 70cm, and 2m. I can't find a 1.25 meter radio with all controls in the handset or a removable faceplate, but the QYT is really tiny and should be minimally intrusive on the Lido mount. I suppose I could use a tri-band radio and a diplexer to a 220 and a 140/440 antenna, but TBH, that requires as many pieces of equipment as I have now and my current solution is inexpensive and modular. I agree with the clean, low profile aesthetic. I also have to take into account that I have a single-cab truck and I don't need a whole bunch of bulky stuff taking up what space I have and being climbed all over by a 65 lb dog. I'm convinced there is some degree of "snob factor" in ham radio equipment, but it's also true that a lot of hams are trying to get more out of their equipment than I am. Perhaps someday I will be too, and perhaps then I'll "move up" to a more expensive radio. And there's certainly something to be said for a radio that doesn't blow out the finals if you key up on a too-high SWR. So, yeah, prestige plays a role, but there's more to it than that, at least for some hams. But I really do believe many hams like the look of a whole bunch of radios crowding the passenger compartment.

This is true if they have multiple FRN's

I can verify what Steve said. Some amateur band radios that have been modded/unlocked work fine on GMRS while others don't work as well. My MARS Modded Icom IC-2730 does not do as good of a job on GMRS as my unlocked TYT radios. Remember, radios are like potato chips, you just can't have one or two.

Im not sure you can determine someone doesn't hold a license using this method. I only have two licenses under the FRN that my Amateur and GMRS licenses are under, but I have multiple FRNs. And unless you know what names are associated with my other FRNs, you're not finding them.

It’s possible for a person to hold different FRNs. GMRS.app will (I believe) find a person who holds different licenses under different FRNs. It appears to look at the address rather than just the FRN.

Everyone has to have a FRN number no matter if they hold a MGRS license, amateur license or multiple licenses. That's why I looked him up using his FRN. And according to the FCC database, he does NOT have an amateur license, he only has a GMRS license. If you go to the FCC website and look up a GMRS call sign, it will not show if they hold any other licenses. If you use the Advance Search and search by FRN then it will show all licenses held by that person the FRN is registered to. That website showed two different GMRS call signs, the last name, middle initial and location are the same but the first names are different. The first call sign is his and the other is listed as possible match.

You can also use this website to see if a GMRS licensee is also a ham: https://gmrs.app

you mean after all that hype he is a Ham

Another vote for the 778UVII. Been enjoying my for a while now.

.I've got 22 HT's 15 are brand new in the box... Mostly Baufangs When i got hooked on Hytera HT's i quite playing with the Baufangs. I still like my Wouxuns

I am going to second the 778uv... got one to use as a mobile rig, and a week later grabbed a second for the base rig as well.... absolutely great radio for the money for sure....

Not knowing what your locale presents for terrain, i live in the fingerlakes region of NY, and have a mix of plains like and some more hilly terrain, but my mobile setup is an anytone 778uv, with a cheap ghost antenna (stubby) on a mag mount on the back end of my subaru forester next t the stock fm radio antenna, and i can hit the local repeater 30 miles away with no issues. My "base" unit is also an anytone 778 uv, with a cheap amazon "6 db" pl239 mount antenna mounted on a ground plane on the end of a 10ft piece of conduit screwed to the side of my apartment building LOL and that can reliably hit the local repeaters from 25 mi away as well... the mag mounts do make things significantly easier on the cars, aside from what car washes you can use...LOL

I have tons of radios, when I caught the bug i started getting everything that came out and seemed awesome. Unfortunately most of that is marketing. Here is what I found. When it comes to GMRS radios none of them are as good as the Wouxon radios, for mobile the KG1000g plus. The MXTA25 is one of the best if not the best antenna you can get it really is amazing. With that said if your not mounting it with a ground plane like the middle of the roof you would be better off getting a ground independent antenna. Comet has the GI series coming out they are primarily designed for vehicles that are not made of steel, but will work well for fender mounts. The other options that are good are to get old commercial radios like Kenwood, Motorola, or iCom. Hope it helps.

Yes, and you only get GMRS channels. No VHF/UHF scanning or VFO tuning.

50W is a lot and generally overkill to hit local repeaters. And in many cases, you won’t get enough amps to the radio to really sustain 50W. I’d say 25W mobile radios are more than plenty. And if you still need a little more range (?), try a higher gain antenna with a better ground plane position. IMHO

The downside to the Midland GMRS radios with everything in the hand mic is that you can only program them through the radio. There is no option to program them using a computer.

I have a IC-2730A that has had the MARS Mod done. The TYT TH-7800 and TH-8600 both do better on GMRS compared to the IC-2730. The unlocked TYT radios have better receive and transmit audio on GMRS.

I looked him up by FRN and the only FCC license he has is a GMRS license.

Can’t vouch for this myself, but recently found this guy that sells a head detachment kit for the AT-778UVII (which is a great budget 25W mobile radio.) https://www.ebay.com/itm/255048462858 I may try this later. If I do, I’ll post my results.

I, too, shopped forever to find a small ~25W mobile radio with a fully integrated mic or a remote/detachable head. The 20V2 is about the only thing there is in that category, but I was off-put by the reviews and the 20W limit. I ended up with an AnyTone 778UVII 25W mobile radio. This thing is great! And I also recently discovered there are folks out there that have successfully detached the faceplate and ran a cable from it back to the radio unit. There’s an Aussie selling a kit for that on eBay. Might do that later, but for now I’m pretty happy with this thing.

your better of getting the IC-2730a with mod to access GMRS RX-TX , I am able to use it.

I'm new to this also and went through the same progression, i.e. HT to mobile, with the expectation of eventually adding a base station -- maybe a repeater at some point. All this would, obviously, require lots of equipment and a modest stack of bucks, especially with more than one vehicle in the household. I've satisfied all of my use cases and spent a total of less than $150. How? By making everything portable. I have a 25W mobile radio and a small 3dB mag mount antenna. The radio plugs in to the cars' cigarette lighters so nothing is hard wired. I can move it between the cars and bring it inside to use as a base station. As I type it's sitting behind me in a closet atop a pizza pan hitting a repeater that's about 30 miles away. Hell, I could use it on my fiberglass boat but I don't want to explain why I have a pizza pan on the bow. Is this top-notch gear? Nope, but it works very well for me. I'll eventually upgrade (probably the antenna), but for now everything is working everywhere, and I haven't drilled a single hole. Oops, forgot the new inside power supply, so let's call it $200 total.

I love this bar.

Would this work?

Thanks for that info!!! I will definitely take a closer look at the WP-9900 product. And for the modest $115 price tag it is probably worth getting one to test out in person! It really looks like the Btech 20V2. Maybe, it is made by same company with different branding. The Btech 20V2, which I like a lot, is also a "cheap chinese radio" so that really doesn't bother me. I think a lot of folks (read: "Radio Dorks") get totally wrapped around the axel on that stuff or see the brand name of their radio as some kind of freak'in status symbol, as if anyone in the real world gives a rat's ass. I will concede that the specs, when measured with test equipment can differ, and some radios may even be noticeably better than others, but the average dude, like me, using a radio just doesn't care. As long as I can communicate with others around me with reasonable clarity and reliability that's all that matters. When I hear someone else talking, I don't know, and I don't care, what kind of radio they are using. It's a moot point! It is interesting that you speak of the volume control being a PITA because that is for me the biggest negative in the basic operation of the Btech 20V2. The orange button on top of the mic that you use to turn the radio on/off is also used to open the squelch to put the radio in monitor mode. Long press vs short press and I always manage to hold the button for the wrong amount of time for what I'm wanting to do. Then while in monitor mode, you use the up and down arrow keys to adjust the volume. To me, this is a little clumsy, but it works, and I really don't have to adjust the volume that often, so it is a quirk I can easily live with. It is also funny that you mention how some hams might like the aesthetics of visible radios. HA!!! I think what you say is true. They like having all the knobs and meters etc. on display. Besides, if you can't see the physical radio box mounted proudly and prominently in front of you, how would you possibly be able to admire the expensive brand name? I recently went to a local ham radio club meeting for the first time. I was the new guy, and they knew nothing about me. Surprisingly, the very first question I was asked by one of the members; "What kind of equipment do you have?". My answer; "Oh, just cheap Chinese junk..." I understand the value of technical quality, but form factor and aesthetics is important for different reasons. I like being able to keep things clean, low profile, somewhat unnoticeable whenever I can. It is a matter of personal preference and for me these small form factor radios with controls on the mic seem to work pretty well in that regard. Anyway, thanks again for the lead on the WP-9900, I'll check it out....