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Selling an "add on" software by the manufacture for their own radios? A company has to make a decision, are they primarily a hardware vendor or a software services provider. Some try to do both and end up doing neither well. What is being proposed is the business model used by example Motorola, now Kenwood looks like they too are moving in that direction. You pay for the basic software, then again for each additional feature. You can end up paying on a per unit basis too. Now you have to keep track of which radio(s) have what licensed features enabled and so on. Even the code plugs are directly tied to an individual radio by serial number. You simply can't take a code plug for one and directly load it in to another radio identical hardware wise because the enabled features may be different. If the radio programming software is a for purchase type option, well it had better work and the vendor needs to be quick about fixing bugs. Forget about "feature creep" I want what's there already to "just work", no excuses. One way to kill a great hardware product is crappy to non existent support. I have a low threshold for buggy software and even less for vendor excuses why it's not fixed or have no intention of fixing it, ever. The danger with any third party software are several. One most likely the hardware vendor doesn't document the communication protocol nor the code plug content structure. With CHIRP its all done through lucky guess work, reverse engineering and experimentation. No guarantee that a later hardware version won't break to software. Even worse that a bug in the software won't "brick" your radio. A few have had that unfortunate experience. Second while CHIRP presents a consistent user interface across multiple radios you can loose access to features that are specific to a particular model. In that case you're back to using the hardware vendor's software anyway. Remember CHIRP can only implement what can be reversed engineered, and even then the developer may choose to note it's just experimental so any bugs discovered may never get fixed because they don't have the time, lost interest or just don't have the radio to experiment with any longer. Remember it's free, so what did one expect for zero cost, so there is little motivation for the developer to spend heaps of time on it.

Immediately before the feed-line enters the house. You should locate the ground rod in close proximity and connected to the arrestor. Further, you should interconnect your new ground rod to your existing electrical service entrance ground rod directly by way of a bonding conductor (e.g. #6 bare copper). This bonding conductor is expressly covered in the National Electric Code. It serves to further minimize voltage potential between the shield of the feed-line and the electrical grounding conductors in your home. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Cliff notes: unless youre thinking communicating with another member of your group, I would put gmrs lower on the list of what I'd depend on. PLB with 2 way messaging may be a better option (here is a list of some I found on Google, no endorsement of the site or a specific product https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-personal-locator-beacon) While having options is good, I would rank gmrs down the list for a few reasons. First, and foremost, getting help is dependent on there being someone else around to hear the need for help. If you're with a group and that's who you plan to communicate with, them it's not a bad choice. However, many users on gmrs are primarily there to communicate only with their group, and run "privacy tones" to not hear users outside their group. The "someone out there to hear" also applies to repeaters; many don't see much activity, and there are many out there not listed because they're intended for family use only. While there is definitely some good areas of enthusiasts out there (arizona/NM and the great lakes areas and their networks come to mind), it isn't like that everywhere. On the functional side, UHF is pretty line of sight, and attenuated by brush and foliage, limiting your range; this is compounded with a handheld, because even in the clear you run into horizon issues due to the curve of the earth, also limiting range, though being on a high spot helps. Finding a repeater would be the highest odds of getting any good range to be heard. On some specific areas, I do know of some good coverage in Arizona and into New Mexico, I don't know of any coverage in sequoia/kings canyon, nor any with good coverage of Yosemite, though there might be some spots that can reach one. I don't know of any IN the parks. As I understand it, even the ham side is spotty into Yosemite, though kings canyon is said to have some coverage. Hope this helps. Not trying to be negative about it, just realistic.

I have also added (by editing) the following new item to the running list of my Sept. 2 entry, located earlier above. HTs should be designed so they can sit vertically on end without tipping over. Without mentioning names, I'm aware of at least two HTs made by two manufacturers which are tippy when set on a table. Slightly brushing them makes them fall down, which can illicit some of the seven words that George Carlin stated cannot be said over the air. Note that the aforementioned radios are prone to tipping due to their ends having a rounded style with nubs added in an insufficient attempt to provide standing stability. BTW, the two manufacturers involved are in the top-tier of 2-way radio manufacturers. As Randy from NotaRubicon might say, "For the love of Xenu, don't make tippy radios."

Very good question. I am utterly amazed there has not been more talk about this topic. While I am not an expert on the subject I will share what I do know. - There is no official need for DTMF in GMRS. It is a feature that can be used when you have a special need for it. - DTMF codes are commonly used to remotely control repeaters and to control other electronics that might be monitoring the frequency. - In some radio circles (outside GMRS) some repeaters and other radios might require both a tone burst to trigger a remote receiver to open up. This is a feature that equipment that long pre-dated CTCSS and DCS sometimes needed for operation. I know of no cases in GMRS where is applicable today. Perhaps someone else will have a current day example where it is being used. - Sidetones refers to the feature of your radio that allows you, the operator, to hear the tones that your radio is sending out. This could be your radio’s ANI-ID, manual DTMF from button presses, or even select-call calling tones. The term ‘Sidetone’ comes from telephony and refers to the sound emitted from the ear piece portion of the phone. If you press a button on the phone’s keypad you will hear the tones from the ear piece. In your radio, when sidetones are not active you could very well be sending out DTMF tones and have no idea that you are. If you are using DTMF for anything, turn sidetones on so you know when and what you are sending. - The ANI-ID on your radio is a number that you establish that identifies your radio. You have six digits available and values must be greater than 101. - If you have ANI-ID turned on, when you press and/or release your PTT, your ANI-ID is sent out. The BOT, EOT and BOTH values you see in one of you radio’s function menus determines if your ANI-ID is sent out when you press PTT, release PTT or press and release. - If a receiving radio has a DTMF decoder within it, your ANI-ID will appear on their display suggesting to them which radio is transmitting. - The ‘Ring’ feature is one that, when properly enabled, allows other radios in your group to cause your radio to ring to attract your attention. For this to occur, the transmitting radio must have a valid ANI-ID value configured, the receiving radio must have an ANI-ID configured, and the transmitting radio also needs to have the receiving radio’s ANI-ID entered into the Call Group it is using. So, for example, if you have two radios, one with an ANI-ID 101 and another with an ANI-ID 102, radio 101 can cause radio 102 to ring, and radio 102 can cause radio 101 to ring. The Call Group fields are where you enter the ANI-ID of the various radios you want to be able to call/ring. Think of them like speed-dial memories. For radio 101 to call 102, radio 101 would have 102 in one of its Call Group cells. - When you have one of your PF buttons configured to make a Call, that button causes two things to be sent out in rapid succession: your ANI-ID and the receiving radio’s ANI-ID. Using the 101 and 102 radio example above, this takes the form of ‘101#102’. - Some wildcards are supported in Call Groups. Instead of entering ‘101’ in a Call Group, you could enter ‘1**’. The later would case all radios whose ANI-ID begins with ‘1’ to ring. - Ringing is not enabled by default on Wouxun radios. One must expressly enable it. - One way to enable ringing is to set the current channels SP-Mute mode to “QT*DT” or ‘QT*DTMF”. Since SP-MUTE is a channel-by-channel setting you can have some memory channels configured to ring when called and others that do not. - ANI-ID needs to be programmed, but it does not need to be turned on to always send out to use the Select call feature. I have found zero Wouxun documentation or videos that covers this. Admittedly I struggled for sometime trying to piece it together. Thanks to [mention=5881]IanM[/mention] who provided some enlightenment to help me bring it all into focus. I have found some BF stuff that covers the subject a little, but terminology is slightly different. These features have, in my view, practical use in large organized group and family outings. They have also had merit, and perhaps still do, in some LMR circles. I recently have been configuring all my radios to have unique ANI-ID, and setting up Calling Groups. I have yet to work to work out the specific details of the SP-Mute mode called ‘QT+DT’ or QT+DTMF. But my current understanding is that the radio will not break squelch until it hears an ANI-ID in DTMF form and then when it does there is some other unique behavior. I will soon be exploring that and documenting its behavior. Hope this helps. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM Edit: If you to do some experimenting and to see things work with little complication do this: 1) Configure multiple Wouxun radios. Give each a unique ANI-ID starting a 101 and going up. Use 101 in your KG-935G. 2) Set each radio to GMRS channel 01 (462.5625), low power. 3) Make sure all radios are using the same CTCSS. Say 67.0 Tx and Rx. 4) Set the SP-MUTE mode for channel 01 on all radios to QT*DT. 5) On your KG-935G radio, enable sending out of the ANI-ID each time the PTT is pressed. 6) Turn all radios on. 7) Press PTT on the KG-935G and immediately press 102# and watch what happens. Then repeat using the ANI-ID for all other radios. This simulates a select call. 8) Press PTT on the KG-935G and immediately press 1** and watch what happens. 9) Press PTT on the KG-935G and immediately press *# and watch what happens. When you have made it this far and have seen ANI-ID show up on the radio displays and you have successfully experienced ringing, then move to programming your call groups in the radios if you decide you want to use them. You may also wish to explore the different behaviors you get if some radios are in the 100 series, some in 200 series and some in the 300 series of ANI-ID values. BTW, Despite PTT-ID being a menu option on the 805G, the ID is never sent out of that radio, nor will the radio ever display one if it receives one.

My fondest memories are of the really l o n g d i s t a n c e contacts I made using my 200 milliwatt handi-talkies to another young boy in California: from Ariington, Virginia to San Francisco, California! What a hoot that was back in 1958. Noise floor non-existent, skip propagation was King! ?

From my usual source: BlueMax49ers. I refuse to buy any programming cable that is not FTDI... ? Amazon.com: BlueMax49ers FTDI USB Programming Cable Yaesu FT-857 FT-857D FT-897 FT-897D FT-100 FT-100D FT-817 FT-817ND CT-62 : Electronics That may well work for you then. Good luck, either way.

If you set up a broadcast station, you deserve to be df'ed and mugged. Any real plan that went as far as considering encryption, should also include coordination of limited time on air, multiple frequency and/or band usage, mobile or at least movable transmitting to avoid df attempts. I've been following some threads on other forums on the same lines of thought and learned a little about fast acting single point df equipment. To say its expensive and exotic is understatement.

I believe some antennas have a DC connection from the radiating element to the shield. Grounding the shield bleeds off static electricity buildup and generates less noise in the signal while protecting the sensitive front end components from failure. You can get huge static voltage build ups even on sunny days just due to a small breeze blowing across the antenna. I read a story about one Ham who got knocked off his roof after touching his un-grounded antenna, no feed line attached, due to the static voltage on it. I also know people who will disconnect the coax from all their radios, sticking the ends in glass jars, when thunder storms are moving in to the area.

Not unreasonable for you as the consumer, but obviously unreasonable or at a minimum not worth the effort from the point of view of the manufacturers. The manufacturers know going in that odds are that CHIRP will get ahold of one of their radios and develop a driver for it. I remember in 2010 the UCLA Entertainment Symposium had a panel entitled: “Piracy: How Can We Compete With FREE?” While CHIRP is not piracy, it is still difficult to compete with FREE! so by its very nature you are only going to get baseline software included by the manufacturers.

There is an anomaly when using the weather alert on the KG-935G and the KG-XS20G. When selected 'On' and scanning in area A, the scan will be continuously interrupted while it interrogates the NOAA weather channels for an alert tone. This is very distracting and inefficient. There are two ways to work around this "feature"; (1) Turn off weather alert or (2) Set your scan in area B where it will not be interrupted. The weather scan only occurs in area A. If you find your scan still being interrupted by the weather frequencies, no matter what you do, then set Scan Mode to 'CO'

Add repeater input frequencies into your scan lists as a way to learn who is talking on repeaters that may be within simplex range of you. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Getting help in those situations relying on low power FRS/GMRS units will be spotty at best. While more people are installing and using these radios, they are not widespread. Portable, hand-held radios have a radiated signal of 5 watts power, just like the vast majority of radios used by others. Mobile or in-car units can have up to 50 watts of power on some frequencies. The primary issue is having another station in range which is why it would be hit-or-miss. The other radio services available to most people, CB and amateur have many more users and a greater chance of being able to reach another party. CB has 40 channels with a more structured use in that there are some channels used primarily for travel. The problem with a hand-held walkie-talkie is the antenna length needed for its lower frequencies. FRS/GMRS operates at a much higher frequency band so the hand-held antennas range from 6 inches to about 19 inches. This is off-set by the fact two stations have to be virtually in a straight line from each other or in line-of-sight. GMRS radios can use repeaters which will allow a signal to be retransmitted from another location to cover more distance. Repeaters are not real common, but there are a lot of them in-service. Amateur, or ham radio is another option. The portable, hand-held units have roughly the same power as the others but have many more frequencies or channels on which to operate and a very robust repeater infrastructure. Both GMRS and amateur require FCC granted licenses to operate. GMRS doesn't require any more than the license and equipment while amateur requires some knowledge of both radio and the regulations proven through a 35 question test. Amateur equipment is generally more expensive than GMRS, but that's off-set by its flexibility and greater infrastructure. In use, ham and CB share in the fact they both are used for talking between stations without the language found on CB. FRS, limited to very low power is often used by families and children with some business thrown in. You won't find much in the way of general conversational use on GMRS due to the low overall number of users. My recommendation is to get licensed for both amateur (Technician) and GMRS. Use both on the road but amateur on the trail.

I appreciate the answers. What I've ended up doing is just renaming the channels with the software. Even though they aren't close together, it's better than nothing. FYI: I also bought 2 Wouxun KG-805g's. They allow me to do what I want to do, i.e. program them the way I noted above with the Wouxun PC software. Thanks again!

That is what I remember from my early years in CB too. Enjoyed the friendship, REACT and the community service side of it. Dropped it completely however in the early 80’s. Held on to the equipment for years (I don’t know why) and finally donated it to Good Will just a few years ago. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

That all depends. I have a Ham buddy who built a special event repeater, for local marathons and bike runs, really cheap with some used radios and a good power amp. The way it was done is using cross-band repeating so the expensive cavity filters get ditched. Most Ham HT’s can be programmed to do split band operation. You RX on one frequency on one band, say VHF, and TX on another, UHF, when you press the PTT button. For Ham radio this usually ends up being the 2 meter and 70 cm bands. On the repeater side a simple diplexer is enough to work the VHF and UHF radios into and can be had for $50 to $75 new. Then he takes advantage of the local high rise buildings. Through his contacts he has access to the roof tops. No need for an expensive tower and feed line. When you’re on top of a 10 to 15+ story building you get some decent coverage. Since the repeater can be located close to the temporary antenna you don’t need expensive feed line. And what you do use is fairly short thus keeping the losses down and thus the TX’er power required. Granted his conditions are not the general case but if one looks around and takes advantage of the local resources you can save a huge amount of money and effort. However if one wants to build an in-band repeater, then yes it gets more complicated and likely expensive as you pointed out.