Leaderboard

Yep, wrong is relative. Even though I posted some information regarding the issues of LMR400, LMR400 is what I currently use for simplex, and it is what I would use (at least initially) if I did install a repeater at my residence. The reason being, I need/want the flexibility to raise and lower my antenna, this requires flexibility. Further, as RadioGuy mentioned, not everyone will experience the issue. Some issues may not occur for many, many years, if at all. In many years I am likely to have changed setups, antennas or towers anyway so the existing stuff is probable to be obsolete or inappropriate for reuse anyway. Further, if I ran into an issue initially, I would merely repurpose my existing LMR400 for other simplex usages around the home and then spend the money for the HL. So I choose to defer the expense until it has been determined to provide material benefit. Lastly, If I were doing an installation on a commercial tower site there is no doubt I would spend the extra money from the get-go. The insurance it would provide against costly third-party rework at the site is a no brainer IMO. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

No matter what I buy, someone will say it's wrong. LMR-400 will do the job just fine.

I have both the KG-UV9P and the KG-UV9G, and using the same cable I've used for my Baofeng and TYT handhelds, I've been able to successfully read from both Wouxon radios with Chirp using the KG-UV9D profile. I haven't tried writing anything to the KG-UV9G, but I had no problem writing to the KG-UV9P.

Well just took a deap breath and placed order. Except for few small items I can get locally. Which isn't much.

I have every option available but I plan to bring in through the wall above grade. Ill be combining two hobbies in one room. Wont be able to have radio on while measuring gun powder on electric scales. Although lately they havent been on very much. Hence new hobby. More important every day. Wow thanks for the pics. Ill be looking at them on my phone so I can really zoom in. Im the son of a master electrician so I grew up helping dad create new equipment for the cable company on our dining. So that just means you are very detail oriented and challenge accepted. Although it may be a bit before looking polished. I watched a video where the center conductor is soldered as well as crimped. Thats a first for me. But I want it done right.

I live and work in the real world. LMR400/LMR600 is what we use in probably 75% of our installations for repeaters. Price/performance, the stuff is hard to beat. Plus, it's easy to install & holds up well - provided that you install it correctly. That means that you need to shrink wrap the connections & use mastic on any outdoor connections. Keep the line secure & don't let it flap in the breeze, keep water out of it, and you'll see 15+ years out of it IMHO. When I have pulled LMR400 due to noise or "the Rice Krispies effect" it's almost always been soldered on PL-259 UHF connectors. I did have a recent replacement of a customer's LMR400 that was 20+ years old & was showing noise during the repeater tail. Once we got up on the roof, we discovered that the real problem was a cut in the line due to a recent roofing job, not really a failure of the cable due to install or age. When I do installations where the line runs are over 100 ft, or when the budget allows, then Heliax is my go-to favorite for UHF or VHF. I find more problems typically with the jumpers used for duplexers than I do with LMR400. Pay attention to the quality of your connectors and cabling used at ground level before you spend big money on heliax. There is sense to the idea of buying quality one time, but there's also a realistic factor.

I got my extra class ham license in 1985 and live out here in Spokane. I often monitor the ham repeater system here that covers essentially the whole eastern half of Washington state. I also belong to the Spokane VHF Club. I find that most of the hams are surprisingly receptive to GMRS and many (or most) of them have their GMRS license. They talk about GMRS on the ham repeater now and then. They also have discussed it on the VHF club net and at meetings. The reason is that most hams have family members and fishing buddies who are not hams. So ham is pretty useless for communicating at camps and family outings. Most hams love all kinds of radios. Also, hams believe that GMRS brings people into ham radio. So they don't see it as competition. They see it as something that promotes amateur radio. Of course there will always be some delicate egos out there. A few guys see ham radio as a religion. They worked very hard to get a license and don't like people who just "wrote a check". I almost like GMRS better than ham sometimes because it is less exclusive. Ham is sometimes just too quiet. Vince