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Your "sharing experiences" was what allowed to put it all together. Thanks! Moral of the story is, even if you think you know, talking to someone who has a lot of experience will help a lot... G.

I've reached out to my reps at Midland and they said nothing new in the Spring, and nothing to announce for later in the year yet. I think any plans they had are put on hold because of the pandemic. I'd expect something out by Q1 2021 realistically.

Would be awesome if they moved the manufacturing back to the USA... but I won't hold my hopes very high...

LOL... you got me.

That is a very nice thing to say. I appreciate it.. but you did all the work and figured everything out. I just shared some personal experience. Btw... I had a great time talking with you through all of that. I am very glad it finally all came together.

G.... it was a joke. LoL I could be wrong, but I think the only SMA antenna mount is on an HT.

I wish I would've known Marc Spaz before I started on GMRS, or anything radio, really... he has helped me tremendously go from barely 4 miles to well beyond 15 miles simplex mobile to base... G.

The basic premise here and the bulleted proposals above ring true for me - that there needs to be better and more centralized support for beginners. I have multiple college degrees and technical knowledge but the practical advice (such as what the OP cited) is scattered across the internet. For an old technology with such potential and use, this makes no sense to me. Great comments all around though and the replies above are well taken.

The 7180, 7280, 8180, and 8280 use KPG-89D software. The 780 and 880 use KPG-49D. I'm not sure which software the 8160 uses. The cable will be the same.

I think the biggest problem is, there are too many opinions AND most new users don't even know "what" they want to do. For the most part, many new radio users don't know what tech is the correct tech for any intended purpose. Until they get in and find out something they like and figure out how it will suit their needs, we wouldn't even know what advice to give. I have tried to help, though. I actually have a published article I wrote about the pros and cons of each common service, what they could potentially used for, and just a really brief overview of the science behind it. It was focused around off-road communications, but applies to everything. I can always share it here, but I haven't due to potential bickering.

Access is not bad. It is on the circuit board that is behind the front panel. With the top and bottom covers off, the front panel pops off via a couple of clips. Then a couple of screws hold the board in place. You don't have to disconnect the ribbon cable; just flip the board over. It also gives you a perfect opportunity to pull the keypad out and clean it. Or better yet, replace it with a nice new, white one that is intended for the 863G. It fits, is not expensive and in my opinion, the white keys look better. Software programming is simpler than FPP. FPP is just something that is nice to have, just in case. I didn't expect that Used Radios would remove the resistor. But if you can get them to enable FPP in software when they program it, if you ever get around to removing the resistor yourself, FPP will then work without any further software programming. In that case you could add a couple of additional channels to your existing 15 channels, without ever needing to connect it to a computer. If you get your ham license and want to program some ham frequencies in your radio, you will definitely need to be able to program it yourself. You will also need to tweak a couple of things in the radio to get it to work properly down in the ham band. It will still work fine on GMRS, too. I've done that on a few of them too, so just hit me up for the info when you need it.

link for software https://hamfiles.co.uk/index.php?page=downloads&type=entry&id=radio-programming%2Fkenwood-programming%2Fkpg-76d_v100 also can confirm that the programming cable is 8-pin however it only utilizes 4 ( 3v txd rxd and ground ) cant recommend a cable as I build my own using a usb to ttl converter CP2102 , have heard a lot of good reviews about bluemax49ers cables https://www.ebay.com/usr/bluemax49ers?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

The keypads are interchangeable. Also, they are readily available as replacement parts. The 880 V1 will program just fine from the same Windows program that works on the V2. You will just get a notification that any V2 only functions will not load into the radio. I have both V1s and 2s and use the same cable, software and data file for both. Download the service manual, too. It goes into a lot more detail on programming. Yes, I would recommend getting 1-7 and 15-22 programmed. I would ask for 1-7 as low power, narrow bandwidth, simplex. I use 67 Hz PL TX and RX. This is to make it compatible with the widest range of handheld radios, including cheap, old FRS-only radios. 15-22 I would program as repeater pairs, high power, wide bandwidth, 141.3 Hz PL TX and RX. That gives you the best chance of being able to get into a repeater if you need to. I would have the buttons programmed as follows: left up/dn = volume. Right up/dn = channel. MON = CSQ toggle. A = TA. B = Scan D/A C and D = group up/dn and SCN = scan. I would in fact probably put 1-7 in one group, 15-22 in a different group. So, here's how that works: Unless your group has the PL tones set the same as yours, keep it set to monitor (MON will appear in the display). That allows you to hear all traffic on the channel, regardless of tone or lack thereof. Keep TA set to on (TA in display). That makes all channels simplex, whether they are set as repeater pairs or simplex. I would have the scan set to "multi" so it will scan all programmed frequencies as opposed to just the group/bank you are on. If there is something on a channel that is a nuisance, just press the B button while it is on that channel to lock it out from scan. That function will reset when you cycle the power. TK-880 can be programmed from the front panel, but first you have to remove a zero ohm resistor and enable that function in software. By default, that function is not available.