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I don't usually like to post videos, but this video was inspired by many comments that I have read here and in a few ham-radio forums.

Years ago when I was bicycling mobile on two meters with my Kenwood TH-22a strapped to my handlebars, I had a Kenwood headset under my bicycle helmet and by turning on VOX I did not have to use the push to talk button It transmted automatically every time I spoke.

It has a few uses, not necessarily related to GMRS. I have used it for packet stations, that way I dont have to use an expensive sound card to key the radio. It is also used at times with headsets where your hands won't be free for use, like climbing, skiing, etc...

Try using the programming software to turn it off.

Man, I can't find anything about brightness either, only thing I found was color, maybe try a different color that is easier on your eyes.

Update to the update: Radioddity has sent me a RMA, so I will be returning the unit for exchange. One one hand, I am relieved to swap it out considering the defect and on the other hand, on the fence about it because the external speaker is working fine. The decisive factor is in the notion that if the internal speaker has malfunctioned, what's next?, and I might not be able to exchange it if something else goes wrong and didn't exchange it now. That said, my base unit will be off-the-air for a few days until I get the replacement. I will save my settings in a codeplug and reset the unit to factory mode before shipping. Thank you all for your input regarding this issue and I hope it helps someone else in the future that may experience the same situation. 73

If I'm not mistaken the speaker output on the DB-25G uses a TRRS (tip ring ring sleeve) connection, making the standard plug on most external speakers useless with this radio. If you didn't use a special breakout cable for your speaker, I actually surprised it worked at all. When I tried plugging an external speaker into a QYT KT-7900D (a very similar radio), it locked the transmitter open until I unplugged the speaker.

This is a widely recommended practice with any new radio that you want to program with Chirp. Once you initially read from the radio, you should save the resulting file immediately and name it something meaningful to you like "GT-5R_Original." Then save it again with another name like "GT-5R_20211117" or something like that (in this case it's Radio_YYYYMMDD). You can then edit that second file, save it again, then write it back to the radio in order to load the updated file information into the radio.

I'm in western Loudoun county, about 20 miles from Frederick and can't hit that repeater or Alexandria at all. I can get Warrenton and Blue Mtn clear as day, as well as one of the MD repeaters in the Baltimore area. I also never seem to be able to reach the Winchester repeater. Signal propagation is a dark art!

50W ERP is 6 feet of clearance in free space. There are several calculators for the new guidelines available on the net. ARRL has one that's fairly easy to use as an example. But as far as shielding goes, an aluminum ground plane is as good as steel. Aluminum converts magnetic energy to eddy currents within the metal so the RF is effectively neutralized.