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Just for grins I got my power/swr meter out(same one I used to test power output in my videos)and checked the swr(unscientifically)and got anywhere from really good on some frequencies with some antennas to absolutely awful on some frequencies. Some antennas did great on MURS and 2M but totally sucked at 70cm. Many didn't do well at all on 1.25M but were passable on 2M and 70cm. Surprisingly the factory 8" and Abbree 771 were both accaptably on ALL tested frequencies. 2M, MURS, 1.25M, 70cm and GMRS. I guess the factory provided antennas aren't as bad as the old rubber duck antennas they use to provide. I'll probably give the 320a a test to see how it looks before I make up my mind one way or the other.

I'm certainly and self-admittedly new to all of this, but I wasn't even aware that one could test the SWR of a handheld antenna. I'm running a Nagoya NA-771 on my 5 watt HT. I don't have any scientific data, but from a bit of practical testing, I have found that range is much improved over the OEM rubber ducky. I am roughly 40 miles - as the crow flies - from a local repeater and I hear it clear as a bell and have, on two occasions, hit it and gotten a response on that HT with the Nagoya NA-771. I suppose the stars were aligned just right because I have tried several times since and not had success. But I was never able to hit it with the rubber ducky on.

I watched an HRCC video last night and he talked about HAMRS. Thanks for the info. You mentioned "park to park." I've overheard Mike on Ham Tube Radio use that language to. The idea being that you aren't talking to a base station in someone's home? Helping activate from another park is preferable than getting a contact from someone at home? Is that the gist?

I appreciate the sentiment, however this ole boy is done summiting. I spent the better part of my early 20's on the Appalachain Trail and a large portion before and after that climbing. I'm more looking for Beaches and Plains on the Air at this point.

I would do a bit more research before sending it back. Checking the match on an HT antenna is a difficult exorcise. Lot's of ways to do it wrong and get crappy results. I've tried it myself and had trouble getting results that looked reasonable. Read the comments about antenna testing and what the guy observed. I did some simple tests using an older MFJ antenna analyzer. Check out the results for the Diamond SRH320A. The results for 2M are particularly weird. WGP - With Ground Plane WOGP - Without Ground plane. Then I ran some SWR sweeps of the SRH320A using my RigExpert AA-1000 antenna analyzer with a special MFJ magnet mount using an SMA connector for HT antennas. The mount was placed on a large 36 inch by 40 inch flat sheet metal sheet for a ground plane. https://mfjenterprises.com/products/mfj-332s?srsltid=AfmBOoq7AleI5bQc6eePGbJ4paGCA-ZK7sBSZWARn6VL0pTjEjIYgUTy https://old.rigexpert.com/products/antenna-analyzers/aa-1000/ Apparently, I assume, something else must be going on to get a good match on 2M when the antenna is on an HT, held in the hand and close to the body, that the testing I did does not duplicate. https://www.diamondantenna.net/srh320a.html HT-Antenna-Testing.pdf HT Antenna Tests Results.pdf Antenna Scan Results (SRH320A 1.25M GP).pdf Antenna Scan Results (SRH320A 2M GP).pdf Antenna Scan Results (SRH320A UHF GP).pdf

This!! Testing the SWR of an HT antenna is impossible without very sofistikated equipment, OTHER than confirming that the antenna is not just a dead-short.

This! Testing the SWR of a handheld radio antenna is either very tricky or useless, depending upon whom you listen to. Performance is what matters.

I'd open it and test it. Results may vary.

RG-8x seems to be pretty good especially if I keep it at 10 feet.

Just watched a review on the 320a, the SWR was horrible especially on the 70cm band. I'll be sending it back without even opening it. Really disappointed that Nagoya would put out a product like this.

The attached files are a couple of the simple Kenwood 2-pin plug, "K1" connector, worthy to look for. I've used the KMC-17 on some CCR radios and got good audio reports. The main issue with used mic's is the cord. The outer material has a tenancy to crack and peel off. If buying used look VERY carefully at the cord condition. KMC-17 Revised.pdf KMC-21.pdf

That makes sense. I have the service manual for the -45. So far can't find one for the -45D. A few of the DMR radio recommended Kenwood mic's had a few extra ceramic cap's installed verses the non DMR recommended models. The really fancy one is the KMC-52D. That one has a full builtin DSP processor core, and it's own programming software. The big pit fall with the various digital voice modes is the CODEC is HIGHLY optimized for voice only. Things like wind noise, sirens etc. will bugger up the conversion from analog to digital. The DSP based speaker mic does all the filtering and noise cancellation in the mic itself before the audio is passed to the radio. By comparison the -45 is very simple. Just a mic element, speaker and some switches. KMC-45.pdf KMC-52D.pdf

I have 2 of these. I have used these with a variety of antennas and the suction is secure- even at high speed. Rx/Tx are both outstanding. I needed a no holes/no damage mount for my car. If you search on here for HCCFCA you'll probably find it.

Almost certainly. Ratings are usually conservative. Plus, you probably don’t transmit continuously for long periods of time.

They are two separate logins, but once you’ve logged into both you should be okay.

MyGMRS.com remembers me when I go to just the MyGMRS.com page, but forgets me if I go to any of the forum pages. It wants me to log in again and insists on dumping me into the new account.

I've been a user on MyGMRS.com for well over a decade, although I went a few years without using it more than once or twice. A couple of months ago I got back into being more active and using both the radio and this website more often. Last night I was googling something and one of the links happened to be a post here. It was from a bit less than a year ago -- not really ancient, but not new either. I started to enter a reply on one of the comments and the site prompted me to log in. I started to log in and the site treated me as a new user. Now MyGMRS.com seems to have two separate accounts with the same display name and the same email address.

That is why the 45 was discontinued by Kenwood and they only make the 45D. Anyone selling a 45 might be selling NOS (new old stock) or it could be a clone Either way the 45 being cheaper isn't surprising.