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Heliax is the best, but a lot depends on the repeater itself. How much power does the repeater have? What antenna are you planning to use? A low power repeater (less than 25W) can usually get by with LMR 400 or better coax for that length run. Coax loss can often be made up with antenna gain. Where the repeater is located, terrain, and intended use also factor into the need for Heliax over coax. Repeaters only cover the area from the antenna to the radio horizon and increased power only means the signal is stronger in the same area determined by the antenna type and placement.

Okay I have an update for everyone. A dual mono to single stereo y adaptor will work BUT only if you are using a true stereo external speaker with two speakers. Here is the y adaptor I used: J&D 3.5mm Stereo Female to Dual 3.5mm Mono Male Audio Cable, 3ft 1/8" TRS Female to 2 x 1/8" TS Male Y Breakout Cable Splitter Adapter Speakers I tried: Icom SP35 - mono plug, single speaker Xiegu GY03 - stereo male plug, single speaker Anker portable wireless speaker - connected with stereo cable, dual speakers I could only get sound out on the radios left -Side A with the Icom and Xiegu speakers. There was no sound output on side B. The true stereo Anker speaker worked just fine and I had equal volume from side A and B The volume was not cut back/ sound muffled with the J&D adaptor like there was when using a mono to mono y adaptor. But you definitely need to use a true stern speaker with two speakers for it to work.

Pretty damn cool, I like!!!

Just my opinion. I feel that LMR400 is mostly recommended because people don't want to spend the money on Heliax. GMRS users can be as tight as amateur radio operators when it comes to spending money. It really boils down to using the best that you can afford. And for most, LMR400 and equivalent is good enough. I will agree that Heliax is definitely better, especially for repeater use. We use 7/8" Heliax for our GMRS repeater with the antenna at 400 feet above ground. 1 1/4" Heliax would perform better but the 7/8" was free.

Good choice on the 1/2". Should you ever want to upgrade to 7/8" new reel ends can be had for $1.00 a foot if you know where to look for it.

Do I believe my eyes? Someone that actually nows their stuff. Using anything other than LMR-400 is totally taboo from what you read on this forum. Did I tell you that it's totally and utterly foolish and breaks every terrestrial and celestial boundary of human stupidity to use anything other than Heilax for UHF.

Thanks for all your responses, I doubt I will see my money returned but maybe I'll get lucky

Use the app, its so much easier.

If it’s just a USB cable, there’s nothing to recognize in the cable itself. That doesn’t mean something isn’t working. If the radio is plugged into a regular USB cable and the USB cable is plugged into the computer Windows will attempt to recognize the chip that’s in the radio itself. That can only happen if a driver has already been installed that is appropriate for the radio. Windows has some drivers pre-installed but not always the right ones. If the radio manufacturer recommends a driver, the driver must be installed before plugging in the radio. The cables that work with the K1 connector have a chip built in, called a UART, that converts USB level signal to audio signals that are connected via the earphone and microphone connection. It is that UART chip which requires a driver on the Windows computer.

BORTHER THANK FOR USING BIG LETRS SO THEY READ EASY. MY EYES AINT SO GOOD AND I CANT GET TO A EYE DOC SINCE BARB LEFT AND TOOK THE KEYS GOBBLESS

That would be tough for the Spanish speaking tv stations. I would assume since it's govt it would be a "one size fits all" rule.

Thanks!

Nobody said a constitutional change is necessary. I said that a change would need to be made to the rules we have now in order to require that only English be used to communicate. I also said that legislation could do it (override the rules) assuming that said legislation withstood a constitutional challenge (meaning that legislation requiring all communications to be made in the English language might be challenged in court as being unconstitutional).

Thank you very much!

Those 9 -10 ah UPS batteries work well for 20 watt and QRP radios. Expert Battery/ECI batteries ar good and reasonably priced on eBay. You can get 12v 10ah lead acid battery for $27.49 or a 12v 10 ah lifepo4 battery for $38.99. One guy has been using the ECI lead acid 12v 10 ah batteries for his QRP radios for years. I use the lifepo4 versions for my Xiegu G90, Wouxun KG-XS20G and my WRP radios. ExpertBattery 12V 10AH Battery 2500+ Cycles Rechargeable 12V 10Ah LiFePO4 Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery I know buying replacement batteries from the UPS manufacturer are expensive and close to the cost of a new UPS system.

You want hardline, like Heliax (Comscope/Andrews) or whatever RFS calls it. At 50', you are looking for 1/2" or 7/8", unless you can find a deal for larger somewhere.

Tanx! That's what I figured, but you never know.

Thanks, gang. For some reason the USB port isn't being recognized by Windows for the radio but it does for other things I plug in. Weird. I went ahead and order the Kenwood (HA!) cable so perhaps that'll fix my problem. Will let you all know.

Hello everyone. Slowly working to put up my own repeater and currently in the coax stage. I understand LMR400 is not the best for repeaters as the metals don't play well with it. I am running approximately 50ft so nothing crazy. What have y'all been using that works well?

Yup for get all the fancy stuff and just use the map. It’s better this way anyway. You can look around your location as well.

I'll only be using 1/2" Heliax for my transmission line. For me the cost difference for the dB gain isn't worth it on a 80 foot run to upgrade to 7/8" (1.18dB vs 0.65dB 32 vs 36 watts at the antenna in my situation). And there's no way I'd want to take the chance of getting used coax they may or may not be compromised from the weather. This isn't an area repeater, it's for my family for use in town and maybe farther out if the radio Gods permit it. I don't have nearly enough height to get real distance out of it. I don't expect much more than 10-12 miles in my terrain.

"... it is in America’s best interest for the Federal Government to designate one — and only one — official language. Establishing English as the official language will not only streamline communication but also reinforce shared national values, and create a more cohesive and efficient society. Accordingly, this order designates English as the official language of the United States." I don't think a constitutional change would be necessary, myself.

And not just any radios nowadays. My Jeep (2015) in dash radio failed on me and I found it too was suffering from the same issue on at least one chip (AM). I used a heat gun to run the solder and all was good... for now!

Here is the link: https://www.arrl.org/contest-glossary

I've been lucky to have a friend in IT that services corporate computer systems. They are always having UPS units dying off, most of the time due to one 12v9ah battery in a bank of four going bad. Most mid-size UPS units have a two (12ah) to four (9ah) battery pack that is replaceable, but often costs almost as much as a new UPS. The corporations typically just want to replace the entire dysfunctional UPS rather than making internal repairs, so my buddy just swaps them out and saves the bad ones for me. I check them out and once in a while can make a repair, but usually just strip the batteries out, test them and dump the bad battery. As a result, I have couple working UPSs laying around, plus about 175ah capacity in small 12v batteries, mostly 9ah I've scavenged, but also a few 18-22ah batteries I've bought. About once a month I'll rotate the individual batteries through a quick charge and top them off by plugging them into my bench power supply as I run radios. Most stay near 12.8v between charges, but as soon as I see one go below 12v, I know it's on it's way out.