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I already have been thinking about that problem for my (likely) purchase of the T75 units…and my plan is blaze orange duck tape, or a tag, or something, to help with that exact problem in my very dense woods. In the same vein, I love the idea of camo Rite in the Rain pads…but during hunting season I switched to the blaze orange of those too after I almost lost one of those this fall lol. Funny thing (and I whole-heartedly agree with @SteveShannon here!), I actually have a pair of cheap lightly water-resistant baofengs I intend to use while sailing on a local lake to talk back to shore…because they’re cheap enough I almost consider them disposable! If I drown it, oh well, $10 lost and move on. The reason is, the GOOD waterproof units are out of price range for me, so a waterproof box I already had and cheap HT meet my use case there, and good high quality middle-priced Midlands should the rest of the time when I need better features that aren’t necessary on the water. Back to the point if this thread though, again, for wx alert features, if that’s your main goal, and you want something to rely your safety on, personally I recommend spending more $$$ there (Midland or otherwise) if you know you’ll get a more reliable product. Knowing if its reliable is up to the many interpretations that I’m sure will be weighing in below (), but in general that’s my $0.02 worth

If you set the mode to “Tone”, the Tone Squelch frequency setting becomes meaningless. Tone mode means your radio doesn’t (or isn’t supposed to) filter on receive. Tone mode is the same as having no receiver tone. If you want the Tone Squelch setting to be effective you must set mode to TSQL. As far as the random offset frequency, when you transmit are you on 467.725 MHz? If so, the offset doesn’t matter. The best way to ensure your radio works with the repeater is to get on the air and test it. The issues above may be things that the chirp developers would explain better than I can.

Hello everyone, I’m running into a consistent programming issue with my Wouxun KG-935G Plus using CHIRP. Here’s what’s happening: I program my repeater channels with: Correct RX frequency (e.g. 462.xxx MHz) Tone Mode: Tone Tone and Tone Squelch matching (e.g. both 131.8 Hz) Duplex set to “+” for standard GMRS repeater +5 MHz offset Problem: After saving and reopening the file: Tone Squelch reverts to 88.5 Hz on all channels, even though I set a different CTCSS. Duplex changes to “split” and TX Offset shows random frequencies like 930.1 MHz, instead of standard +5 MHz. I’ve tried: Re-entering and saving multiple times Clicking another field to lock before saving Using the latest CHIRP daily build (if compatible) Confirming the radio model and cable are correct Question: Has anyone else experienced this issue with the KG-935G Plus or similar models in CHIRP? Is there a known fix or workaround to retain Tone Squelch and Duplex settings correctly? I want to ensure my repeater channels are reliable for daily and emergency comms. Any insights would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

IIRC something like this will occur if you are using the 935G software instead of the software specifically for the 935G PLUS radio.. are you sure you are using the Plus version of the software and not the regular 935G software? You can download it here: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/downloads/dl/file/id/1572/product/5920/wouxun_kg_935g_plus_programming_software.zip If you are already using the correct software then my only other response is "this sounds like a Windows issue".

Remember that I personally work in the commercial two-way field. Ham's and GMRS folks have the ability to disconnect their gear. Police and fire don't. And again, a public safety dispatch site really can't. They need stuff up and operational all the time. The stuff I am talking about is what gets done with their setups and what keeps them on the air. If you disconnect your antenna line from your radio then it's no different than leaving it connected IF everything is properly grounded and bonded. Because the lines, tower, and equipment is all still grounded. Something I forgot to mention with grounding and bonding. And the reason you bond the coax cables to the tower at the top, every 100 feet down and then at the bottom where the cable turns out of the tower and goes to the building is the magnetic pulse that happens if the tower does get hit. Due to the extreme currents that are present during the event (strike) there is a significant magnetic field that surrounds the tower. We all know that a wire will have a field around it as current passes through it. It's how motors work. Now crank that from a 6 volt battery to lightning. EVERY conductor that's around that structure taking the hit is exposed to that field. And remember that we pass coils of wire in magnetic fields to generate power. Again, little DC generator hooked to a light bulb with a couple small magnets will light a light bulb when we spin the generator with our fingers. Turn that up to lightning power and magnetic fields. So we BOND the coax shield, since it's a conductor back to the tower to equalize that induced current and voltage and shunt it back to the tower and ultimately to ground. There is a LOT of science to bonding and grounding of towers and antenna systems. There are some of use that have went down that rabbit hole and have a reasonable understanding of this. And I will say this, keeping it simple. Cars get hit by lightning, even though they are on rubber tires. And the reason is that 6 inches of rubber ain't enough to keep an arc that's thousands or tens of thousands of feet in length from hitting a car with 4 inches of rubber. And they get hit because they aren't grounded. You ever get a bite from a car getting in or out? It's a thing. But a glass jar isn't gonna keep that genie in the bottle any more than 4 inches of rubber is gonna keep your car from being hit. IT has to be grounded properly or you are INVITING a strike.

Hello everyone, We are new to GMRS and just purchased radios. I’m having trouble with my Wouxun KG-935G Plus programming software. I keep getting this error when trying to program: It appears when I try to select "COM6", which is what is set up in my device manager. Has anyone experienced this and found a solution? Then it closes. My programming goal: I live in St. Cloud, FL, and work in Orlando (32819 area). I want to be able to communicate directly with my spouse/family in St. Cloud when I’m at work. Here is what I’ve done so far: I applied for access on two repeaters (one near St. Cloud, one near Orlando) but haven’t received approval yet. I want to program my radios so that: We can use repeaters for long-distance contact if/when approved. We can still talk radio-to-radio (simplex) if needed. My questions: How should I program the channels correctly for both repeater and simplex use between Orlando and St. Cloud? Do I program the repeater channel as is and, a separate simplex channel for fallback? Is there a workaround for this Debug Assertion Failed error so I can finish programming? I tried reinstalling the software and running it as admin, but it still crashes. Any guidance, screenshots, or .dat file examples would be greatly appreciated. I’m new to programming GMRS for repeater use and want to set it up correctly for emergency and daily family communication. Thank you all in advance for your help!

You assume disposability. I don’t know very many people who buy Midland or Baofeng radios with the idea they’re disposable. While some people do indeed reduce the choice to only price rather than considering features, user interface, performance, and reputation. Considering features certainly doesn’t make a person “borderline delusional and severely mistaken”; it reflects intelligence and thoroughness.

Terri, Again I want to express my appreciation for your calm and thoughtful comments and informative posts in response to curmudgeonliness. Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!

That’s true, the owner and those authorized to use the owner’s call sign, which is limited to the owner’s relatives except in an emergency.

Nit pick time - a private repeater that carries only traffic from the owner is not required to ID as long as the owner does.

Funny that you mention this bc we had a set of 4 Midland 1050’s (maybe) used at a rural property. They worked well enough but could not quite cover the whole place. I think all of them had the batteries replaced at least once. They do have the weather alerts and they are the reason I’m familiar with the feature. The only drawbacks I found were that when on Wx alert mode, the battery life was poor and the limited coverage (I think they were <2 watt with a 2-3” antenna). Oh, and they’re camo so when they get dropped from an atv, tractor, or pocket they’re hard to find (we’re down to 2 of 4). For FRS they have been pretty good. I’m looking to get a pair of GMRS radios to keep around the house. But, you make a good point and I should dig into the GMRS Midland’s.

any FM radio replacement will work, but I suggest you disassemble it first and see what the mounting post looks like. Your reference photo has the folding style like this one from Amazon

I think radio waves are the same as audio frequencies - resonance....either you are in tune or not. Something we are all familiar with

When is comes to buying disposable radios the only consideration should be price. Not to start a Midland vs. Baofeng debate, one has to consider the facts. Midland products are extremely overpriced and the company only survive by name recognition. Remember, today's Midland isn't your grandfather's Midland. The Baofeng radio is a high quality rugged design built for rough service and high performance. Baofeng radios are feature packed and incorporate every possible feature and option available for your enjoyment. If there's a feature you think you need, you might be borderline delusional and severely mistaken. So, the choice is yours. Buy an overpriced radio with a fancy nameplate or a six pack of of Baofeng throwaway radios for the same price.

Heck, the Midland GXT 1000 has the weather channels. Since I knew nothing when I bought them a few years ago they aren't repeater capable. Looking for replacements now.

You're certainly entitled to your opinion, and since this is a (mostly) GMRS groups of users, I don't know that you'll find [m]any dissenting voices here. I'll just point out that BTECH had working, final BF-F8HP Pro hardware in April 2024 at firmware version 9 when I came on board, and my continuous "here's a bug", "we need to make this better", "we need this new feature" meant that the radios shipped 6 months later at the beginning of October 2024 at V29, including a complete re-write of the menus by me to real US English. V33 was released in the middle of November, 2024 to fix a few bugs we knew about (the radios had to be initially programmed during manufacturing) and we managed to get in fixes for a few user-reported bugs and quite a few user-requested features within the 6 weeks between V29 and V33. V44 shipped in mid-April, 2025 with the CPS 1.2.5m that supports all of the new V33 and V44 features being released at the beginning of June, 2025. V44 and its CPS add quite a few features requested by users and lays the foundation for additional improvements. These radios are updatable by the user, with the same cable used for programming, and any upgrade problems will either be addressed by support email (when possible) or via warranty replacement( (if needed). I'll also mention that nobody has ever bricked a BF-F8HP Pro while updating it (and believe me, I've had many chances as I've done every firmware release from V8 through V44, across 9 radios (ranging from hand-built engineering samples to pre-production units to early production, and then finally a bunch of production units). Many of these firmware features are exclusive to BTECH, either in perpetuity or for various numbers of years. There's no 'generic' version of this radio and there won't ever be. The user-updatable firmware means that a radio you bought on release day, today, or in the future will all be able to run the latest firmware. Even before V29 and the radio's release, I was showing it to select users (it had no labeling except for some marker dots in the battery compartment, and I changed the official boot screen to an actual picture of a boot to not give away where it would eventually be coming from). The universal response was "Wow! A Baofeng that doesn't <bleep>!". Before you dismiss it, take a look at the Release Notes below, which shows what has changed in the firmware between V29 and V44: vers-old.pdf

Thank you, I will look into that.

So, did those places complain about the radios? Anyway, I never claimed there weren't places with the name. Just isn't relevant IMO. Everyone can read their own labels so no need to argue that point further. As I wrote earlier, I don't think anyone else cares. Most people still don't pronounce it correctly either. :) My opinion is BTech doesn't have any radios that are unique, just some minor tweaks and a custom label.

I’m looking at Midland HTs, the T75s specifically, for hunting, which have everything you mentioned, plus vibration alerts (handy when you need quiet most of the time, but still want to know when someone is trying to reach you). I haven’t made the purchase yet of course, so I can’t speak directly to them, but they show enough promise to me I’m eyeing them eagerly and counting pennies lol. At risk of wading headlong into the “Midland vs Baofeng” debate, for the NOAA Wx Radio side, Midland, with their engineering in Kansas City (in tornado alley), has been legendary for the best quality wx radios for a long time. I’ve relied on them for a tabletop weather radio for over a decade after some horrendous ones from other manufacturers that lasted less than a year in some cases. In other words, I’ve come to literally rely on Midland’s wx radio tech like I do a smoke detector or a seatbelt, after bad experiences with other brands. So with one of those “imho” anecdotal things, if wx radio quality is what you’re after, I’d at least give Midland’s offerings a glance, even with the higher price point. And then go with your gut, don’t just take my word for it, even if it means non-Midland for the purchase. Cuz while I might be coming down on team Midland in this thread, ultimately, you do you—no need for me to take more than a for-me-only stance in the manufacturer debate that has raged long before I entered this hobby of radio.

Premium members can run reports and download files that can be used offline.

I couldn’t quite find this topic in the forums so I started a new. My question here is I’m setting up a basic comms box (with a typical micro pc). My idea was to use the utilize this to view downloaded (if possible) repeater, location and information while away from cell service areas. I know it’s possible to save certain website data to view off-line but I’m curious if this is possible through mygmrs.com.

Baofeng is indeed a place name (in fact, several) in China. Here's one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baofeng_County (although that is 12 hours from the factory). Right around the factory (Changfu Industrial Zone, XIamei Town of Nan'an City, Quanzhou, Fujian province, China) there's also Baofeng Building Materials Hang, Baofeng Printing Shop, Baofeng Household Appliances and so forth. There's also a Dalian Baofeng Machinery Manufacturing Company elsewhere that makes large metal rollers. Here is the scoop on the Pofung business. I don't know what your BFF9 was. There is only one BF-F8HP Pro, it is only available from BTECH, and it went on sale in October, 2024: https://baofengtech.com/product/bf-f8hp-pro/

I tried hitting the repeater with both HTs again during the Sky-Watch net. It seems the Wouxun was able to reach the repeater, as I successfully checked in. The Baofeng, however, appears to be receiving some noise but doesn't seem able to transmit to the repeater. I tried switching the antennas, but that didn’t help. Both radios can communicate with each other on simplex just fine.

Baofeng? Or BTECH? Baofeng will private label anything for anybody, as long as they meet the minimum quantity. Baofeng also re-uses model numbers for similar or utterly different products, and many of their products have quite short production lifetimes. BTECH tries to have one product in each market segment, customized for them and available for a long time - you can still buy a UV-82HP from them if you really want one.