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JeepAndy. The first ‘external’ antenna I purchased was for my vehicle. I purchased the mag-mount NMO style and I use it constantly with the HT while mobile. BUT, when I first received it, I experimented with it in and around the home. Once on just a metal trash can lid, an another on the bottom of a metal trash, another on a cookie sheet. And yes, experimenting even included putting them up on my roof. Good thing my home is set way back from the road. [emoji3] Why do I mention this? In my case I purchased something I know I needed for one purpose, then leveraged that purchase for educational purposes which helped me learn and decide what I really wanted to do on the home. Learning is a wonderful thing. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

If you just want to give the radio hobby a try then just get a Baofeng BF-888S: its a 9 dollar radio. It programs with CHIRP, and the cable is like 9 dollars: in short, it should be the simplest and cheapest thing to get going. If you don't like the hobby, or for whatever reason you decide this is not your thing, then you can smash the thing with a hammer, set it on fire, blow it up with tannerite... and not much will be lost. All other CCR radios mentioned here, the Wouxun, the Retevis, et. all, all those will have similar low performance to the Baofeng BF-888S, except they cost a ton more (rip off??) and are equally bad in terms of receiver performance. Yes Yes... I know... here are the buzzwords to be aware of: Superhet, Hyperhet, Megahet, Turbohet... etc all those buzzwords are designed to sell overpriced cheap radios without the most important component: a proper TUNED FRONT END (to filter all the unwanted signals out there) which is what most LMR Part 90 radios will have... so the radios will work inside Best Buy and not blank out due to all the electronic noise present. But, OTOH, if you do like the radio hobby, the next radio should be a quality LMR radio, not a cheap china radio (CCR). Personally, I would chose a Motorola, the HT1250 is a fairly inexpensive radio, or the Motorola XPR6550, or the Vertex Standard EVX-539 etc, but also Kenwood, or Icom LMR radios are pretty decent too. Remember that GMRS is NOT Ham radio, so, you don't need a VFO, nor the ability to transmit in 100 bands, or in fifteen different modulations. All you need for GMRS is a FM UHF radio that transmits and receives from 462.5 to 467.8 MHz, can store at least 22 channels, do repeater offsets and have the ability to set PL tones. That's about it. Most commercial grade radios will suit your needs. G.

Just an update. With the most gracious help of Radioguy7268 I have been able to complete some practical side-by side comparisons between 7 models of radios, include 5 Motorolas, a Wouxun KG-805G, and a Midland GXT1000. I am preparing my summary and will follow-up here with a post when it is complete. I am not going to bore you with numbers, but instead bore you with a narrative, my findings, and perhaps a map to give you context. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

couple things to check. First check the coax, it is possible there is a small break in the core which would cause signal issues. If the coax seems to be ok, check the programming and ensure the proper frequency and tones are entered (This is a common mistake, guys swapping the 462/467 frequencies, or entering the wrong tones). Check that you have "wide band" selected as this could also cause signal issues. Last would be optional signaling, which I believe can be 2 tone, fleetsync, MDC, or none. Make sure to select "none" unless you know how to program any of those options. If after all that you find you still have signal issues, move the radio inside (if installed on a vehicle) and begin further testing. Try different coax & antenna to see what you get. If after all of that you still find you have signal issues, I would recommend contacting a radio repair shop or a ham friend who has the tools and know how to adjust the receiver sensitivity. Trying to do this without the proper equipment or know how can deafen the radio, or cause it to never shut up.

@gman1971 thanks for your post. I have always been a fan of Motorola. With the radio mentioned, am I able to program this via the keypad or through inexpensive easy to get software? I found your information helpful and concise.

TADA! it is. My Devices & Printers folder was showing Com Port initially but not lately. Digging deeper in to the Device Manager, confirming Com 9 in my case, and choosing equipment type in the software solved the issue. Which it was I'm not sure and don't care.. lol Thanks to you and to Mark @ BlueMax for reaching out to help. Your solution worked before I tried his, which is nearly the same..

Actually, neither. It’s compiled from input of repeater operators and is only as accurate as they make it. Thus there are gaps and inaccuracies. There are a number of threads here on this exact issue. I encourage you to find them via the search function and read up on the situation.

I absolutely love learning everyday. It’s also a pleasure hearing and trying some of others experiences. I have a lot to look forward. It does come at a cost between work and “wife” haha. I do appreciate all the help. This is a truly fun hobby. And have a great repeater to reach far areas just a short drive to connect. I’ve been able to hit 60+ miles with it possibly even more with some cities

A sage comment. Every time I answer a question, give advice, or post a comment on the my GMRS forum I am sharing the fruit of literally hundreds of hours of trial, error, and full out failure. Those who seek the short path are unwittingly denying themselves the benefits of learning, knowledge, and even, with luck, understanding.

Wine.

Ok, I attempted to go Wine route with KPG-101D (I know, it's not the -49D, but they are from the same manufacturer and from the same time frame), spent some time with the dlls, copying from windows partition and other dances with the tambourine. Life is too short for shit like this. Just get Windows PC (secondhand for $100) or go VirtualBox or VMWare direction. apt-get --purge remove wine apt-get --purge autoremove I need a drink

If you don't want to use the cheaper handheld radios from companies like Midland (which I do) I would recommend the Wouxun KG-805G. It's just becoming available and is FCC approved. Personally, I've done A LOT of careful tests on GMRS, and putting the ruggedness and durability aside, Handheld radios are all pretty limited - the differences in performance are small. The difference between say 3 watts, as in the Midland radios, and 5 watts on the Baofeng, is negligible in all but the worst environments. If you're on the move, and not walking, you should have both mobiles and hand held radios. Mobiles get out further, and more importantly, can listen from a lot further away. Listening is always good in emergencies.

My understanding is that there is a MyGMRS app, (I have it on my phone) however it is basic as Rich is the only one working on it, not to mention he is maintaining the site, a linked server, weekly nets, as well as a full time job and his family. Rich is doing a lot and so some projects will take some time.

Thank you Michael. I appreciate the feedback. Agreed on making sure you have sufficient or surplus power capabilities.

This reminds me the good old days of the cb radio era, rough but functional. Experimenting with everything

I am not programming Kenwoods, but I use Chirp in native Ubuntu. I had a similar error and it was a 2-step fix. 1. Instead of using a TTY com port, I scrolled down to the bottom and selected USB0. 2. I had to add my userid to the dialout group. sudo usermod -aG dialout username (replace username with your own) I try to stay away from Windows, even Wine, as much as possible.