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I feel like there's a perception among some of the long time gmrs users, especially with the influx of users the last few years (between boredom and disasters), that the growth of a hobbyist mindset is going to turn gmrs into a free for all like cb became. I think this is where some of the discouraging attitudes stem from toward hobbyist mindset on gmrs. I'm in the camp that, while hobbyist usage isn't the main intent of the service, there's also nothing in the the regulations that prohibits using it in that way. It just means I need to temper my expectations of what I'm likely to find on the radio waves. And I've been trying to walk that line with a lot of the new user threads...show then the reality without making it like I'm trying to totally rain on their enthusiasm for a new hobby.

I purchased one of these for my Jeep. I ordered the programming cable for it as well. Typical use for GMRS is off roading. We just did a trip up in the Cascades of WA, had 5 jeeps. It worked just fine. I like the many features and functions-much better than my MXT-400-that is now set up as a base station. The compact chasis and front facing buttons are a big plus, and it's easy to read the display. The only issue I had was dealing with disabling my anti virus program in order to run the Wouxun program. For a mobile setup with a decent antenna, it is just fine. I'm a Ham so if I need to do longer distance stuff I can use that platform. We only have one GMRS repeater in my general area but it has tremendous coverage and I can hit that from most places I travel locally. I'm very pleased with this radio. Wouxun makes a solid radio even though techincall it's in the "Chinese Radio" category. IMHO one of the best units available. Midland does have 2 options in this general power output range but not nearly the features, especially with the Wouxun's wide band TX/RX ability. I'd recommend this radio for sure.

Good Day DownEastNC. An antenna that has been optimized for GMRS frequencies will equally well for both transmit and receive. It will receive almost all other frequencies too, but it will not perform as well as an antenna that has been optimized for the other frequency(s) of concern. The same can be said about a dual-band amateur radio antenna. Said antenna will perform best on the frequencies for which it has been designed/optimized (2m & 70cm). A few designs might have characteristics that make it acceptable for use also on GMRS but they will have lesser performance than a similar design optimized for GMRS. So, the bottom line is YES. If you are using an antenna optimized for amateur frequencies you are indeed compromising GMRS communications. Whether that compromise is material to you is totally up to you. I own both GMRS and amateur radios and antenna. Where weak stations are concerned, the GMRS multi-band radio used with the GMRS antenna receives GMRS signals more strongly than its amateur radio antenna and receiver. The reverse is also true. If I switch the GMRS radio to receive VHF frequencies, the amateur radio receives the signals more strongly. In both cases this is due to what the antenna is are optimized for. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

30KW plus. The actual setup for many of these is a special custom wound plate transformer that takes a very high amp alternator and connects the 3 phase output that is typically held to 50 or so volts and steps it up to a proper plate voltage for the tubes they are running.

That product gets overwhelmingly bad reviews. I wouldn't trust it to plug in a cigarette lighter, let alone a radio. there is a reason that good DC power supplies cost more than that.

If your friend has his FRN he can do the search using it and the results will be any licenses issued under that FRN.

Here is the search form for a gmrs license (I googled "FCC uls lookup gmrs"): https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/searchGmrs.jsp

Alright. Since I am the guy with the tens of thousands of dollars setup and the commercial install I believe I need to interject here. Never did I say that a small repeater system is useless. And there are COMMERCIAL repeaters available that ARE indeed two mobiles in a box with a controller between them. And those work find if that is all you need. My point was if you are going to put up a big commercial grade install that you need to NOT pull the crap of wanting fee's paid for access, as this level of install has a huge footprint that will interfere with other repeaters on the same frequency in that footprint. And the frequency resource is limited for repeaters. I am all for guys that want to put up a repeater on their roof or short TV tower and be able to talk 8 or 10 miles. This sort of thing SHOULD be encouraged. But you still need to be aware of others on the frequency and try to find a quiet pair to set your repeater up on. The other thing that needs to be said here is IF you are going to stick an antenna WAY up in the air and cover a 60 to 80 mile radius, you DO need to have good commercial equipment and not two portables with a back to back cable between them and a cheap duplexer. And here's the reason. If you are the only one that will be using it, and the usage is light, it don't matter. But with a big coverage footprint there is a good chance that it will see a lot of use and portable radios are NOT designed to be run at that duty cycle. The commercial repeaters I use for GMRS are 100% CCS (continuous commercial service) rated. This means they are designed to be transmitting up to 100% of the time, 27/7/365 and live. If you were to try that with the two back to back mobiles the transmitter would not survive the abuse, even with a fan and additional cooling. Now, my repeaters are only logging 30 to 45 minutes of use a day currently... but that number keeps increasing. And that's fine. I built it to run all the time, and offer it for free to all licensed users in the coverage area to use at their leisure. But I would hate to see someone put in inferior gear at some remote site and it die when it was needed. That situation is actually worse in my mind than it not being there at all. Because if it's needed and expected to be operational. And that operational repeater is part of someones emergency plan, then it needs to work as such.

I'm really leaning towards getting this one, I sent Bob a email to see if he has one. My gmrs-mind justifies this swap by saying I can still use the Larsen as a backup for my mobile (camping, or otherwise in those far off, hard to reach spots) ? My rational-mind, however, needs to double check my hoa regs to unsure I'm not going to run into any friction. The Larsen blends in well and inconspicuous (I didn't ask or check with hoa), but the Comet is sure to draw some attention. ?

The 935G and UV8H do not have dual scan; I don't believe the product literature says it does anywhere. No way to switch to a different slot while scanning, since, as mentioned, pressing any key stops scanning. Bit of a pain. Some LMR radios will let you set a channel to default to on PTT while scanning, and the dual-display would otherwise be a nice way to replicate that. But I believe the UV9 series is the only one that allows you to scan in the 'background' so to speak. Something mentioned specifically on the sales pages as an upgrade over the UV8 models. One workaround is to set the top soft key as PTT on the secondary frequency. It'll still stop scanning but let you switch back to the static channel a little quicker.

MY point was people jump on here and say i can't hear folks, can't get repeaters cant find friends. Thats not what GMRS was ever intended for. Yes some areas have groups but 95% of the GMRS systems are for a certain user group. Ever since this entire merge with FRS its gotten worse and worse. I dont know why people think they can go buy a radio and start calling for people to answer. If your looking to get into clubs or chat with new users great but most of the areas that wont happen. I have GMRS to talk to my users on MY repeater. I also use GMRS (more FRS) on Jeep rides to talk to the guy in front or behind me and thats it. I dont expect to just jump on the radio and call up folks.

NO: it is tuned for 430-450 Amateur Radio 70 cm band. Bring your SWR meter over and we can measure it on GMRS.

I have the Comet CX-333 Tri-Band amateur radio antenna in use with my Anytone AT-779UV GMRS radio. I do not have a SWR meter. I am able to hit GMRS repeaters easily that are available to me in every direction and it works for 2 meters and MURS on VHF as well.

GMRS is not about finding contacts and chatting with others. Its more of a service for families and such. There is a major disconnect between users thinking GMRS is like ham radio.

I'm here just to say my KG-935G does the same thing. The user manual says that pressing any other key except the Up / Down keys will stop the scan. I'm thinking that the intentions are to allow a scan in one area and just a single channel in the other area, with the scan area being the "Main" area. If you get some chatter on your single channel, switch the Main to that area thus stopping scanning, take care of business on the single channel, then switch main back again to the scan, re-initiate the scan, then go again.

Thanks everyone for the input and advice ?. In the days ahead I will put the swr meter back on and experiment some more with the different channels and range. I agree with the consensus, at this time it all seems adequate with the potential for some tiny adjustments. Tomorrow I'm gonna go back into the rafters (oh joy?) just to make sure the cable didn't get coiled, plus secure everything from point a to b. One other piece of advice I picked up was the actual location of that bracket and how moving it to the peak of the roof?️ which may give me another 8 feet, in height, clearing the roof for better quality tx/rx ?(not sure that would affect my swr at all but it may cut down on the background noise). Again, I appreciate all the assistance and thank you all for taking the time and making the effort in helping me get squared away. ?

That's petty much exactly what the rules say and requires. You would be surprised by how many people do in fact have multiple radios for the various services. It's common. We have one or more individuals on this form who feel that's rather inconvenient and look for creative ways to circumvent FCC regulations. Are they likely to get away with it? Yes, but if they do get busted I have some very serious doubts the administrative court would agree with their arguments. Paying attorney fees, court costs and the likely $10,000 FCC fine is an expensive way to test their arguments where it really matters.

In that situation, I have extra radios to share with my family, friends, and neighbors. They are a mix of FRS, GMRS, and ham radios.

What's the point of that? If I wanted the radio for the ham bands, I'd just use a UV-5R instead. Most of them, or at least the older ones, will work on ham and GMRS frequencies, and they cost less too. The UV-5X/UV-5G models are GMRS radios and already function reasonably well for what they are. Additionally, if you want to monitor ham frequencies, you can already do that with them. As I understand it, a GMRS radio that has been modified to work on another service is no longer legal for GMRS use, so why would I want to mess up a radio I purchased specifically because it is legal for GMRS? Again, if legality didn't matter, the UV-5R would suffice. Michael, these questions aren't targeted at you. I just don't understand the reasoning behind this effort.

I think the KG-935G looks very good and very serious. Its nice to see user experience being taken in to consideration for how the products will actually be used.

Let's hope so. As for Baofengs being "extremely poor quality", I think there are thousands of Boafeng owners that would argue that point. They are not the same quality as the flagship brands, but for the price differential, you would not expect that. However, you do get what you pay for, and sometimes, you are surprised and you get a little more than that. I think Baofengs fall into that category, at least in my experience.

LOL, 1.5 kW? hahaha, that's basically centimetre band radar!! just make sure you're several hundred feet under the antenna when you key that thing... 3 1/2 years!! and counting... but... who is counting? G.

But. Buttttt I'm a ham I'm allowed 1500 watts......