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It will not be an issue, I have built a couple "Go Boxes" in Ammo Cans with speakers and without Works great

Well, I am looking to see how many other GRMS users are in the area... don't need a repeater to to talk to myself

It appears they have only dropped the basic model. The standard model is still available at $79.99.

Uh... has this topic been discussed beyond death yet?

This certainly should be a consideration, however, the thing in picture does not look like an airbag, rather control unit, that should be shielded. The actual airbags were in the way of my install on 2014 Durango. There are curtain airbags all around the roof, and I was not able to pull coax behind them - these suckers are on glue or something and packed tight. I routed coax through the rear, where are no airbags at the rear hatch.

A gremlin indeed. While you will invariable receive loads of ideas, I will start by throwing out the first one that came to my mind. Do with it what you will. Confirm you have a set of conditions that are repeatable every single time. Turn off AC power circuits in your home, except the circuit needed to perform your tests. Confirm if the symptom persists. It it does not persist, something powered by one the circuits you turned off is contributing. Power up one circuit at time until you find a circuit that results in the symptom occurring again. Then troubleshoot further by removing power (unplugging/removing) items from that circuit. Once you find the culprit, then we talk solutions. If turning off circuits except the one needed for your tests does not yield results, then troubleshoot further by removing power (unplugging/removing) items from that circuit. Do this one at time until you find the culprit. Once you find the culprit, then we talk solutions. If removing items from test circuit does not yield results and the only thing left connected is the offending radio, then starting powering down all battery operated devices in your home, including any device powered by a UPS. This includes cell phones, iPads, laptops etc... Blasts of GSM noise from a phone has been a common source of interface in the past and can be suspect. You could have other items in your home that contribute interference in a similar way. I am one that most generally likes to remove all variables and build back up until the problem occurs. In this case I am taking a hybrid solution. Hope there is a nugget of help in there for you. Michael WHRS965 KE8PLM Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Don't let the naysayers get ya. CCR's pack more value per dollar than anything - and the reason these radios are inexpensive is because there *is* a market for them - not because that's the best the Chinese can do. People tend to forget name brands like Motorola, Icom, etc - all *made in China*. Moving an HT a mere 6" one way or another is going to make way more difference in performance than any supposed performance gain you might see from a commercial radio. On the BTECH mobile - that should only go for $199 tops. If you paid more....oof OTOH - used commercial radios *can* be a good value. Just don't overpay for them - there's way too many clowns on eBay asking way too much for them. Of course, since this is GMRS - I can only recommend radios that are certified for use on GMRS, there is a need to research the FCC-ID on used commercial radios to see if they're approved. The CCR's that are approved for GMRS are well known, though.

I sense Bow has a new project now. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Been using mag mounts with my mobile setups and no issue with it I clean the base from time to time because it will accumulate moist, dirt and salt (winter, salt on the road/air). Last time I saw a ground plane on a mobile setup is from a friend using CB but you can try it, radio communication is a science you keep experimenting good luck!

I have to admit I am surprised that the FCC does not seem to clearly mandate as part of its certifications that the radio firmware not allow Tx operation on frequencies and power outside the radio’s certification. When I read the rules I personally conclude that if the radio is not limited to specific frequencies and power by the nature of its hardware design then it becomes the responsibility of the radio’s firmware to keep the radio in compliance. I was recently surprised to discover that an otherwise legal FCC 95e “certified” radio was still fully capable of Tx operation on all amateur UHF frequencies (plus more) without hacking it, but also that it could transmit higher power on those GMRS frequencies where such power is not permitted. While the average person may not stumble on this it does shed light on the shortcuts the manufacturers are taking perhaps due to unclear language in FCC regs. While I am also a license amateur and permitted to use non-certified radios on amateur frequencies this may not be an issue, but the fact that this is possible on a GMRS radio that is not supposed to have said capability clearly shows a gap in the certification process. It would seem that based on the assertions in the FCC document that Rugged Radios has been exploiting this exact type of shortcoming. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hi Marc If the only problem with the Midland is number of channels (same frequency, different pl tones) Consider Luiton LT 590 UHF. Yes it is a CCR but it is also the same radio as the Midland 400. 200 channels, wide or narrow band, comes with programming software, and cable. 3 power levels, 45, 25, 10 watts. Split pl tones. Mi fe was 139$ at amazon.