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LMR-400 is a must for UHF. Look for DRF-400. Same specs, 20% cheaper. Try to use the fewest number of connections and adapters as possible. Going from LMR-400 directly into an HT with an SMA connector will be akward. Try to get that adapter cable with the needed male/female connectors with no gender benders or PL-259 to SMA adapters needed. One end of the cable goes directly into the LMR-400, the other end goes directly into the radio. You won't go wrong with the Ed Fong antenna. Remember that you need to wrap it in 200psi grade PVC pipe. They are tuned for that and results without the pipe may be different. The BR-6157 (different than your proposed) has 4.5dBd of gain, which equates to a gain facor of 2.8... meaning that 5 watts of input power radiates as if you put 14 watts into a unity gain antenna. Antenna gain also works on receive to boost the incoming signal by the same amount. It is 32-1/2" tall (I don't know if that's a problem for you). ETA: Boxcar posted while I was typing. +1 on looking into a dual band antenna. GMRS is the gateway drug to a HAM ticket.

I can not speak to KG-935G to a KG-UV9G. I have a KG-935G on order and awaiting on it... Why because I have a Wouxun KG-UV8H for ham use... which I can only monitors the GMRS channels no TX but do Dual VHF and UHF. The Wouxun KG-UV8H uses the same battery, battery eliminator for both units... PLUS my 12 yo grand daughter study buddy and I got our Ham ticket in May 2021 so we have THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS (GMRS and HAM). FYI tonight we will do our first Ham DMR Net night for the first time... This is a great venture and it all started with GMRS and so take one of your kids, grand kids or other kids who what to be the study buddy like my 12 yo grand daughter and I did... O we are make our directional antenna $26 cost this weekend as we will go on a Fox Hunt to find other radios signals... like lost people, very cool. I have my Ham ticket but we started with a GMRS for family use and later a GMRS repeater for family/neighbors/friends. Added to this I first purchase two KG-805G which the girls like for it small size and easy of use in being programed with CHIRP as I have a Mac and access to an old XP PC. I also have a KG-905G which is a great radio and the custom scan is the best. I can't wait to see how the KG-935G works. So all this to say, radios change and you have to make sure you are on the correct path as to how you pick your radio. I have no regret with my first purchase of the KG-805G good starter radio and sold one of the two. I have last one on sale on eBay.. https://www.ebay.com/itm/154568409068 with a bonus.... adding the battery eliminator $11 value. So as soon as I get my KG-935G, I will start a new Post to follow and new owners of KG-935G can add comments give me some new creature features and functions as I may have missed some. Can not wait... MacJack

I would guess it boils down to being easy to do with existing hardware and be first to that market, rather than developing something from scratch. Repurposing existing hardware with firmware tweaks seems to be wouxun's thing, really, and they seem reasonably willing to modify an existing product to a vendor's specs, probably with a minimum order quantity. It seems like buytwowayradios and bettersaferradio both have pretty much one-off wouxun products, no? No disagreement that making it small would make sense, though the remote head capability the 980/1000 chassis brings is something rarely found in the smaller radios, and may make the actual size of the unit less of an issue since you can stash most of it in the trunk or under a seat.

I just made a dual band antenna out of two coat hangers Ended up scrapping it due to over-trimming the 150mhz band portion. I the video I saw had the coax connected directly to the coat hangers via the terminal strip, but when I remake mine I am going to use jumpers and connect an SMA male connector onto it for my SMA female coax connector. Anyhow, I just welded the stinger onto another groundplane antenna using brass rod that I bought to make tumbler pins for locks. They are 12 inches long and I am going to install them full length, and run my analyzer on it and see where it resonates and trim it from there. Just curious.. I do not know how well brass will work, but I have plenty of brass, so/239's, and coat hangers, so I can play.. WRMQ982

I have run across several articles that support the idea that alternative, non-OEM HT antennas do not necessarily perform better than a radio's stock OEM one. Here is one such article... https://www.hamradio.me/antennas/ht-antenna-comparisons.html The author also showed that the use of a tiger tail aka counterpoise does not provide a universal benefit - it does in some cases but not others. The author's takeaways: 1) For his Yaesu FT1D, the stock antenna performed well. (Perhaps the Yaesu/ICOM/Kenwood) engineers design an antenna tuned well for each particular model.) 2) If he needs a more capable antenna for demanding situations, he recommends a roll up antenna (e.g., Ed Fong DBJ-2). Note that there are amateur radio and commercial versions of that antenna. The commercial one is suitable for GMRS and MURS. The rollup antenna would be good for home use or for stationary work camping or hiking. Finally, and this is a personal decision for each of us - how many non-conspicuous extras do we want to add to our "portable" HTs? A giant whippy antenna? A counterpoise hanging off the radio? Maybe a suit of armor with an NMO mount at the top of the helmet? What a ground plane that would make. ? 4 out of 5 dentists say that walking around with an HT automatically disqualifies one from getting an invite to a Victoria's Secret show. Walking around with an HT loaded with octopus-like accessories may go a step further - it might result in a regular block party invite getting "lost in the mail." ??

Are we sure it isn't a third harmonic problem with the Sheriffs transmitter? Well looky here: FRS Channel 11 : 467.6375 / 3 = 155.879 MHz 155.880000 (output) 158.95500 (Input) KNEP918 Sheriff Dispatch Custer County Law Dispatch Looks like either the Sheriff is the violation or the BaoFengShui GMRS V1 cannot tolerate all those powerful signals getting into it from the new base antenna. My money is on the BF GMRS V1 crapping itself.