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You hit on some very good points. I always say each band/service has its purpose. If I am talking close proximity while Oscar Mike and don't need/want my signal circling the globe, UHF is perfect. VHF can be good for local. Around here I get between 9 and 15 miles on simplex with just 5 watts on 2m. I get about 35 miles on 10m and 100 watts. Then when I need state/regional... 60m or 75m NVIS. Around the country and/or global, 20m and 40m. That is the very reason I tell people that Amateur Radio is the best all-around solution. We have an option for every type of comms needed. I mostly use CB and GMRS for comms compatibility with friends who are not Hams. I helped get my friends GMRS and CB stuff setup. I personally have a Galaxy DX 959 and a 1/4 wave steel whip. We all spent time grounding all the body panels, antenna mounts, etc., to get max performance. I can talk 8+ miles on AM almost no matter what. On SSB I am talking 16+ miles reliably... 22-24 miles regularly (squelch wide open and 21 or 22 signal report). Originally, we were comparing CB and GMRS. Bringing Amateur Radio into the mix, I fully agree with you, 40m is outstanding for long range comms. I was on 40m while driving around in my Jeep last night. There was a contest going on and I could here people from Virginia, as well as coast to coast. I even talked to a guy in Berlin (DK7YY) while driving around. Some of the folks in Cali where kind of quiet, though. Going back to OP's statement about GMRS being better for trail riding... I think its all opinion based. While I like the range of CB better, I like the audio quality of UHF FM and extremely low height of GMRS antennas. I'm less likely to snap an antenna. Anyway, I don't really believe in better or best. I just believe in the right tool for the job. That is why, in my Jeep, I can work 80m/75m, 60m, 40m, 20m, 11m, 10m, 6m, 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. No matter what needs to happen, I got it covered. ;-)

After seeing this https://midlandusa.com/midland-radio-signs-on-as-official-2020-communication-partner-of-jeep-jamboree-usa/ I have to agree with you Marc.... 73, Russ

Not yet. Enjoying my MXT-275 in spite of that, though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDBrXb44fBc Trying for an install like this. Edit: Already bought the parts, just holding out for an antenna I like. The original plan for a fender-mounted Sti-Co covert antenna is on hold pending saving up about $400, and an RF safety evaluation because being in the same plane with 50 watts and a high-gain antenna gives me pause. Yes, the 275 only does 15 watts, but I'm not willing to limit myself to 15 watts in the long term. Now I'm looking at a Meso Customs brake light with NMO mount. Better visibility, AND no new holes in the hullmetal! Downside is it costs $290. Upside is that it frees me from spending $317 for the covert antenna, or that I could save that for a CB mount at some point in the future. Edit: Hm. A $290 mount and antenna cost about the same as the $317 Sti-Co antenna, come to think of it.

My experience is that now more than ever, you're likely to hear a business using FRS radios bought at Menards, Lowes, etc., or online on the GMRS mains, because they now can. Well, "they" don't know that they can, but the radios they are buying can. Also large chains, like Hotels, Restaurants, Sporting Goods stores, etc., know they can get away with it and avoid filing for a multi-site, multi-state licenses. In my area, I regularly hear a Hotel, several automotive related contractors, and a couple of stores use GMRS mains. With that being allowed license free under FRS, a GMRS licensee has no idea if they are legal or not when they don't ID. They could be under FRS (although a poor choice for business) and 2 watts, or running 5 watts on portables and no license. Kind of catch 22 for us licensees who paid to be legal. Many businesses will pay $10 for a Boafeng and not a couple hundred for a Motorola, if they know no one is going to do anything about it. I would say, thanks in part to off roaders groups and family owned agriculture, GMRS is gaining in popularity. I do hear a little real GMRS activity, but not what I would call alot. I have been licensed for 25 years.

Hi, Im using 2" pvc pipe mounted on a pivot mount on my hunting trailer (16 x 7 ) enclosed cargo trailer. This pipe is 20 ft long. A 10 ft piece of 11/2 in.pipe extends this mast to 30 ft above ground. One of these for a gmrs repeater and one for CB. On opposite corners of the trailer.

I'm not talking about repeaters. And for utility, mobile to mobile communications, skip is irrelevant at best and actually detrimental at worst. When I'm trying to talk to my buddy in the next Jeep, I'm not interested in having to compete with signals booming in from Florida or Texas. Even SSB is pretty irrelevant for that use. Just about all the Jeepers I know use AM if they use CB. In fact that's the only real advantage I see to using 27 MHz for trail communications: they're ubiquitous and dirt cheap. It's possible to have a complete mobile setup including antenna and mount, for right around $50 if buying brand new. In fact, going down that path a bit further, buying a brand new popular GMRS mobile setup including antenna costs $250. That's from a company that even CBers consider to be scraping the bottom of the barrel. I'll concede one thing: I would rather have a Cobra Model 19 (which can be found for as little as $20 new) and a 4 foot Firestik antenna than the aforementioned barrel-bottom-scraping GMRS mobile radio and antenna. And I don't know about 8x, but I don't doubt that that CB setup will beat that GMRS setup. But, again for trail communications, I would rather have a $100 pre-programmed for GMRS, 25 watt commercial mobile radio working into a $25 hard-mounted 1/4 wave antenna than any CB setup. That's assuming my buddies have similar setups. If all they have are blister-pack radios and are unwilling to let me help them get setup with a decent radio and antenna, well I might just have to revert to CB again. I have both, so it's no big deal. Now, if we're gonna talk about skip and working other states while mobile, I'm gonna bring up the subject of 40 Meters. I've worked quite a bit of 40 Meters mobile, mostly with the same or less power than the typical SSB CB radio. And with those setups I can work entire sections of the country, covering several states, all the time, every day. I don't have to wait for the skip to come in because the skip is always in on 40M. First time I ever drove across the country with a setup like that, I was driving from Alabama to Lake Superior with a 20 watt MFJ SSB Adventure Radio to a Hamstick mounted on a Hustler 5" mag mount. The entire setup was less than $300 brand new, and I was into a couple of different 40M mobile nets the entire way.

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My major concern with the idea of using a bulkhead connector on the outside is it would be nearly impossible to weatherproof adequately.

Hi Ken I have a repeater here in central WI that is linked to another one about 40 miles away. The 2 repeaters get very little use. There is however a bigger linked system in southern WI that is tied in with about 10 other machines that gets used everyday. But not to the point where it can't be used pretty much when you want. So i guess in answer to your question, i would say in some areas its holding its own. And in other areas there is very little use if that helps. Take care Jeff

Radio probably would not lose Part 95 acceptance if one simply programs ham frequencies to it, without doing any hardware modifications. As was stated, many Part 95 and Part 90 radios allow programming of 70cm frequencies.

What material is the kayak made out of, fiberglass or plastic? If so, think of it as a radome and don't worry. In any case, you can always run a test by supporting the kayak on two sawhorses, have someone get under it with an HT and see how far away you can work them. Then, have them try the same test standing outside the kayak (with the HT at the same height).

Forget all of that bulkhead connector stuff. That is a problem waiting to happen. If the cab ever has to come off, just replace the whole mount if needed. That would be cheaper than all of the added connectors for that bulkhead setup, and those connectors ARE lossy. Here's another better idea... just drill a hole in the top center of the cab roof, and mount the antenna there. If the cab ever needs to come off, the antenna comes with it. You will also get better results with the antenna on the roof than you would with it on the rack due to a more evenly distributed ground plane around the base of the antenna.

>What's missing from myGMRS.com? A dark theme!

I just looked through the MFJ catalog to see if they have something like that. They don't, although they do have some manual mic/radio selector boxes. I don't think it would take all that much to do it. Just some latching semiconductor switches, controlled by the COR from each radio. LEDs on the box to show which radio is active, and some momentary pushbutton override switches.