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If we are talking about the "low profile" VHF antennas that screw on to a standard NMO mount - they're about the size of an Oil Filter. They might not be tall, but they're still presenting quite a wide profile. The Pulse/Larsen ones I'm familiar with also required on the vehicle tuning to achieve anything close to a 1:1 match, and you usually got frustrated around 1.5 and said it was close enough. The bandwidth when tuned wasn't more than 1 or 2 MHz above/below the tuned center freq. Hardly "wideband". I would probably recommend just using something like a standard 1/4 wave whip tuned to the frequency you're most interested in transmitting on - and then just live with the performance on the receive side. It will likely be good enough for 90% of what you're interested in listening to. If you need to work specific frequency bands outside the tune of the antenna, just carry a few different lengths to screw on in under 30 seconds. If you're worried about what the antenna might hit, consider something like the Stico super flexible mast. If you really want low profile in VHF - then use a Transit style antenna like the Sinclair Excalibur - but get your wallet out. Those run @ $250 & still require tuning - with a narrow bandwidth.

I have no problem with mobile antenna that has 136-174 range I encountered a few with 136-174 range that have been center tuned at 145.000 manufacturers do this for SWR purposes.

Good evening Fremont. With the ghost style wide-band antennas I do not believe there is any adjustment involved. They are plug and play. In looking at the Laird site, it looks like the antennas have a gain of 3dBi or less. Only through use of the antenna will you be able to determine for certain if it satisfies your needs. An antenna that sits higher above the vehicle and one with higher gain value will most certainly increase your range, that may or may not be important to you in your area of use. An antenna that features an SWR of 2.5:1 (as some of the low profile Lairds have) will also certainly result in more signal loss in your cable which in turn will affect range. I am not using any low-profile antennas on my vehicle. Everything I am using is a whip antenna in the 40” tall 6dBi +/- range. I have been able to hit some GMRS and VHF amateur repeaters in the Cincinnati area out to max of about 35 miles using just 5 watts. My SWR on both my dual band Amateur and GMRS mobile antennas is 1.2:1 and loss across the bands I use. I am sure you will receive some additional opinions from others as well. Good luck. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Well there's a new mobile coming out. Reviews on the model its based on are very good. https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-1000g.html?___SID=U I also read some talk about an MXT400 II. Nothing solid. I returned my MXT400 and MXT275 before the return policy expired. Really wish that the MXT275 was WB, everyone noticed the lower RX audio. I also have the BTECH GMRS-v1. I missed the return date. Oh well, its the loner , if needed. Due to the fact that you can only RX on teh first 30, I didn't even want to try the GMRS-50x1. I have and mainly travel with the Wouxun KG-805G. I have about 20-25 saved channels. 3 or so the same Freq, and 2 with split tones. With the Wouxun having a SuperHet, you can hear the difference side by side on the cleaner received signal. Trying out the 805G with a KVG VR-P25, 20-30 Watt Digital Amp. I'm getting the full 30Watts. Just need to see what kind of receive I get when traveling. Also waiting for the to be released/certified: https://bettersaferadio.com/bsr-wouxun-kg-uv9g-gmrs-two-way-radio-scanner/ I played with my buddy's KG-UV9P, feels and operates very solidly. Just my limited experience and .02 cents. Maybe sometime int he future move to an Icom or Kenwood. I don't know much about which models are OK for GMRS. 8-)

This morning I received an e-mail from Mods.dk about a hacker who gained access to information on their website. I know there are some users of that site here so I figured I would post the announcement here just in case anyone missed the e-mail: I’m very sorry to inform you that a hacker for about 2 days ago have had success to upload a script to mods.dk, and run the script. Which information the hacker has stolen is not possible to see at the moment, but the most sensitive information that you have placed on mods.dk is your email address, and password that you are using to access mods.dk. If you have made money donation all information about your credit card/payment method, has been handle by PayPal, and this information is never been transferred to mods.dk. Your password is encrypted in the database, so the hacker cannot read your password direct, but the hacker can try to compare the encrypted password with a password they try, and with a computer they can compare many password in a sort time. So I will recommend you to change your password on mods.dk and if you are using the same password other places also change the password there. Use always different password every places. The hacker have upload a picture and then they have execute the picture and it has create a script they could execute. So by an consequence of this, upload of pictures and files is only allowed when you have been approved. I will approved all existing users that already have uploaded pictures and files, but in case you don’t have permission, then just contact mods.dk. I’m sorry for this trouble but I hope you still want to support my site, this site is only a hobby project just like my amateur radio, and my resourced are limited. If you want all your data deleted form mods.dk you can go to “my account” and said that you want to be deleted. Best regardsErik Hansenhttps://www.mods.dkNote this message in send from a non-monitored mailbox and replies will never been read, so if want in contact then you must go to the homepage.

Thank you for the alert. Doesn't impact me that I know of, but certainly a nice reminder for us all to be careful.

Search this forum. You will see that this idea has been proposed, and even started, several times. However, for whatever reason, the effort soon becomes abandoned. Perhaps if someone was willing to actually take on the task, and approach Rich (WQEJ577) it might work. However, as long as the implementation depends on the efforts of others, it is not likely to be sustained.

I have had my radio for about 6 months. I believe that it is a better radio than the BTECH GMRS V-1, but a few days ago, the display screen quit displaying characters. The screen is illuminated, and the radio works...the female voice lets me know what channel I am on. I contacted BuyTwoWayRadios via email, and within 24 hours, I got the return authorization code. I am sending it off tomorrow for replacement. I hope this is just a fluke, as the radio was never dropped or exposed to water.

I think it would be an excellent sticky to have at the top of the equipment review section

Just got my 805G after T-Day and wanted to connect to my repeater in our area... had some setup issue but kept asking questions and some great guys PM me with software programing to make it happen for radio check with my repeaters operator. So if you need some input, PM me and we can walk it through.... I'm thankful for this forum and BTWR who lead me to 805G and willing to purchase a second one but have to ask to make should if I over look another good HT... Only asking so I do not have buyers remorse. My pros are can swap out accessories between the two 805G... great connection and sound to area repeater.. Can program it now that I know what I'm doing, I think... Cons, are.... thinking.... it is Chinese, no my two adopted daughters are and husband of one is my biking and Jeeping buddy. Still thinking... OK it is not America made, that the best I could come up with being a buy American guy. O I thought of another con but it is not radio fault... Can not sit in my Lazy Boy chair in the basement and reach the repeater... Have to go upstairs out of the bunker... All this to say if this is your first HT get it.... So I'm waiting until Monday to place my order for second unit with BTWR plus hopping the value accessory pack is not longer out of stock. Will be listening for you...

Another option I've found to be a good compromise is to remove the sharkfin/oem antenna on the roof and install the NMO mount there. I've relocated the sharkfin internal components to the spoiler or to the third tail light on my cars. Saves the hole drilling dilemma, its easily reversible and no more scratching paint magmount shenanigans, or any other magmount issues. Works sufficiently well, although its a little less optimal than drilling the hole in the dead center of the roof... but my cars/vans have large panoramic sunroofs so makes it quite impossible to drill holes on a glass roof... so, the only place left is the OEM sharkfin location. UHF is not as bad as VHF, a 6 inch antenna is not even noticeable on a minivan. G.

+1 to mbrun. Also, remember that radio is a SNR game, or a Signal to Noise Ratio game.... sometimes the Signal might still be there, faint, but masked by the overwhelming Noise... much like light pollution under the night skies hides the fainter nebulae, stars, etc... you throw an H-Alpha filter, and all of the sudden the faint wonders of the night appear much clearer... same with radio. A few feet higher might not make the range noticeable better, but it seems to make the current link quality a bit better... and sometimes every bit counts. Also, remember that not all antennas radiate perfectly towards the horizon, there are nulls on the radiation pattern, both vertical and horizontal... and problems with grounding, problems with feedline, etc... they all introduce nulls on the pattern. So if a subscriber is in one of the antenna nulls will have the same effect as being behind difficult terrain. Wish I lived in a place with no obstructions... with no angry RF firebreathing broadcast 1400 foot towers... G.

OK, thanks for the compliment but, I am just a newbie thrown in here with the rest of our crowd and trying hard to get a gripe on this GMRS comms like you. Go the Repeater Map here, on this site. Can you identify the repeaters within 30 miles of you? (Montco West Contact owner) or (First State 550 , Shepard 675) These two appear to be private. If so, it might be one of the listed repeaters but you can't bank on that being the case. I don't know that they have any special code except for the CTCSS or DCS code set to, "To Open" the repeater. Repeaters use these codes to filter out transmissions (TX) not meant for them. So, in order to get your TX heard, you have to use these codes to get the repeater to "Hear your TX." More importantly, you have to be within the range of your radio, to reach the repeater. You may hear a reapeater but, that doesn't guarantee the repeater can hear your transmitted signal. "Radio transmission Range" is subjected to alot of issues. Besides the limit of the radio, the land, trees, buildings and atmosphere and contribute to reduce your radios out of power to a point well below the advertised capabilities. Like I mentioned above in my post you might want to test and see if you are in fact, reaching the repeater. -Find a time the repeater isn't being used. -Set up your radio on the repeater frequency. -Set the first CTCSS code on that frequency. -Turn off the squelch to the point you hear constinct static Now Press the TX button briefly and release Right after releasing the TX button, what did you hear: just instance static or a dead space (complete silence) for 1.5 - 2 seconds? Most probably static - Keep at this until you hit that complete silence and or you hear that trail tone with the next CTCSS or DCS code... If you went thru all the codes, you are too far away from the repeater or you need a better antenna.

You are good to go with the antenna. Its pre-tuned. Just be sure the negative side is properly grounded, add a ground strap from the hood to the top of the inner fender and the common ground under the hood or the negative side of the battery. You will see improvements with CB performance, too.

Kenwood TK-805D. I've bought a half dozen of these. 16 channel, making them ideal for GMRS. They do repeater splits (even non-standard splits), include PL and DPL, and have front-panel selectable talkaround. In other words, you can program a repeater channel and use the same channel for simplex on the output, just by pressing a button. I program all the standard frequency pairs on channels 1-8, which also gives me the standard simplex frequencies. They do scan all channels, or you can lock out individual channels from scan. They are rated 25 watts, but mine generally run 35-40 out of the box. I've read that most of them do exceed the rated power. They're simple to turn down to as low as 3 watts. You have to pull the top cover, but that's no biggie. They are Part 95 accepted. And here's the best part: They are front panel programmable! You have to move a jumper under the top cover, but it's simple. And you can leave it jumpered so you can reprogram at will. That doesn't affect normal operation. They show up on fleabay quite often, usually for $50-$75 with mounting bracket and microphone. And they are a bargain at that price. One more thing: if you want to use one as the transmitter section of a repeater, a standard 4-conductor telephone cord that you can get for $3 at Walmart plugs right in the mic jack and works fine.