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I heard a rumor that a major GMRS YouTube Hobo will be doing a review of the 50V2 next week.

I wish you the best of luck, but it's a solid pass for me. I bought the V1 when it was released and did a review of it. I loved some of it and hated some of it. In the end, I didn't recommend it. After looking at the v2, it looks like the same radio with a new part number. Plus, I am not sure how much I trust a radio when the manufacturer had to put the following 2 items in the "Getting Started" section of the manual... I mean, they catch fire so often that how to avoid it and how to deal with it when it happens is in the manual? Not a confidence builder, to say the least. If the unit emits smoke or an odor, you should immediately cut off the power supply. Then send the radio to the nearest service center or dealer. Do not operate the mobile transceiver on high power unless it is necessary...

As a quick addition to this, I licensed up in July of 2019 for a family trip, and received a WRDT callsign. I did a quick check of ULS just now and found the sequence is up to WRWF, and there were 1,390 GMRS licenses with a grant date in the past week alone.

The growth of licenses (and site users) would seem to say yes. One of the ham clubs in my area even added a gmrs repeater, likely to give the hams a way to communicate with non-ham family.

There’s nothing wrong with having a conversation and sometimes, in a conversation, a person will circle back to a question for more detail or even out of skepticism. “Maybe I didn’t hear that right?” “But what about this case — it seems different?” And sometimes, those of us who are explaining things answer the question we hear, not the one you asked. So, go ahead and ask as many questions as you want. But, understand that we might get testy if you ask the same question over and over in the same way. Repeaters do not need to be in-between two radios geographically. They just need to be within range of both of the two radios and the two radios must be within the coverage pattern of the repeater antenna. That pattern is usually described as fanning out circularly and horizontally. There are a few characteristics that makes a repeater more effective at achieving greater range: Their antennas are usually placed on high terrain and then installed on towers that raise them even higher, to improve the line of site, Their antennas direct their transmission power outward horizontally (and often slightly downward) to target a specific region. The better commercial repeaters are designed to have better receivers than off-the-shelf GMRS radios, usually much better. Being better quality makes a big difference. They have more sensitivity to pick up weaker signals and they have greater selectivity to help reject interference from other signals. The commercial repeaters are also designed with better transmitters, but for GMRS they are limited to 50 watts. What makes them better is the accuracy of their frequency oscillation and the absence of spurious emissions. Having higher power will help increase the range, but less than you might expect. The important thing is visibility, line of sight. There’s nothing about duplex communications that enhances range over simplex communications. If you and I each have a radio and we cannot reach each other, placing a repeater where one of us is standing, with its antenna placed down low like our antenna are will probably do nothing to help, but replacing one of us with an antenna that pokes out above all the surrounding buildings and hills will help a lot. If the repeater antenna is up high enough, and there’s a straight line of sight between your antenna and the repeater antenna, it’s entirely possible to get 10 miles or further. I live in the mountains. There’s a repeater to the south of me that’s 4000 feet above me and 9 miles away from my house in town. I can travel 16 miles farther north to my cabin and still easily reach that repeater with a five watt handheld radio, even a very cheap radio.. The people I have talked to using the repeater have been as far south of the repeater as 45 miles, as far east as 70 miles, and as far west as 20 miles. But because of an intervening peak of another mountain there’s one direction that’s probably less than a mile. It really depends on terrain, topography, structures, and quality. So the only two correct answers to your questions about flat suburbia and ranges are “it depends” and “maybe.” If you’re willing to spend the money to install a high quality commercial repeater with a high quality high antenna, it’s highly probable to achieve the range you want. In fact, simply connecting high quality antennas to your radios and raising those antennas up high might be able get you the range you need. So, more specifically, yes, a five watt radio can reliably reach a repeater five or ten miles away if the conditions are right. Can it work in your instance? You’re the only one who can answer that. Try it. If it doesn’t work with your handheld antenna put an antenna on your car roof. Or try it with a fifty watt mobile unit and a good mobile antenna on top of your car. Finally, hook up a fifty watt mobile radio to a base station antenna extending above the roof of your house. Please let us know. And feel free to ask more questions.

Oh yes. I picked up my license last year so I could contact my wife when I'm out of cell coverage in the local mountains. I'm a ham, she's not really interested, so the no-test-one-license-for-the-whole-fam-damily-for-a-penny-a-day works for us. Also, a lot of off-roaders, overlanders, etc, are using it. Maybe there's someone like that who frequents this site who can elaborate.

Randy is a straight shooter. If its good, he will let you know. One of the things I like about his videos is, when it comes to the gear, he just tells you how it is. He doesn't play favorites or fluff a product for a vendor because they sent him gear.

Most if not all repeaters will have a "squelch tail". I've heard different people call it different things. But if you can receive the repeater, when you transmit to the repeater, you will hear this "squelch tail" at the end of your transmission. Some repeaters have certain noises on their squelch tails, such as beeps, and some have none. That is why you will hear people "kerchunk" a repeater. They are just testing that they can hit it. When you unkey your mic, if you don't hear this squelch tail, you aren't hitting the repeater. It is kind of hard to explain this sound as it can be different on every repeater. One repeater in my area does a small double beep, and another one doesn't so it just sounds like a quick burst of static at the end of my transmission. Side Note: The squelch tail is actually the end of your own transmission. due to distance and time through the duplexer, you receive your own transmission, just a few hundredths of a second behind.

You may be correct on that. With the two together though, it's...worrying. ?

In fairness, I think the second statment regarding power is a bad translation of " An amateur station must use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications." The fire... well... ??

How do you know I haven’t done a MARS-CAP mod on Oscar? ?

That background helps. Some of the FRS channels are limited to only half a watt. Some use two watts. You probably will get better range with GMRS. Now, as far as seeking permission, first you have to get a GMRS license so you can get a full login here. That will allow you greater access to the repeater page. There are two different logins: one to mygmrs.com, and one to forums.mygmrs.com. You must be logged into mygmrs.com in order to request access to a repeater on the repeater pages and you must have a GMRS license, verified to the site via the FCC database, in order to have a login. Sometimes it takes a couple days for the verification process. Once you have your login you go to the repeater page and click on the repeater you want to know about. Then you can click on a link to request access.

no pro here but this radio seams to be a good fit for newby if one is careful. I bought this because the radio I had (retivus 9000) did not even receive weather or Murs. this did not work with purpose of Emergency use. this radio covers receive multi bands as advertised and seems fairly clear. one might want an external speaker if you are wanting quality sound. I have had no complaints on transmit GMRS. be aware mine from Amazon came with wrong software. simple google search is your friend. I will not attest to unlocking but seams to be possible vie internet search. this is the be careful part. It has reviews of heating up and or burning out. as a casual user I have not noticed this and or use a very well tuned antenna. just throwing my contributation to the forum as owe much thanks to this platform. Doug

A lot of radios have BCLO (busy channel lock-out) capability, which may work in this situation.

I’m a new user myself located in DC however I find myself traveling down 95 to Woodbridge area as well. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Honestly, I think there may still be one in my area still doing something similar but digitally. MotoTrbo, with one talkgroup per subscribing business perhaps? Agreed on not being all that useful with front panel programmable and the availability of tone scanning nowadays. The two tone arrangement is probably just more aimed at a universal access/open repeater initiative kind of mindset. There's a network here on the ham side that uses separate tones in to dictate if the audio is forwarded to the network of repeaters, or just locally on that machine, and just one tone on the output

In the old days (say, 1997, when repeaters tended to be owned by a business or radio dealer) CTCSS tones would have been assigned to user groups sharing a repeater. Company A gets one tone, company B gets a different tone -- Other than having to ensure a clear channel, this meant the companies did not hear each other's communications.

I went and looked at the manual for the Rugged Radio GMR2. It's a nice looking radio. It looks like it only has the 30 preset channels. That's not the end of the world, but it makes it impossible to program multiple repeaters on the same frequency. Fortunately you can set custom, receive only channels. So, your repeater is on 462.675 MHz. That's already programmed into your radio as channel 20RP with the correct offset for transmit, so it will automatically transmit on 467.675 MHz. So, all you have to do is set the correct tone for transmit. If you're hearing the the repeater ID itself (and it certainly sounds like you are!) then you either have the tone cleared out or you are set to the correct tone. Based strictly on looking at the manual for five whole minutes, C-CDC, R-CDC, and T-CDC appear confusing. It appears, based on the third column, that the only entries for each are either "OFF", a CTCSS value, or a DCS value. I don't know if that means that both tones are set the same if you put a value in C-CDC, but that you can use different (so called "split tones") if you put different values into R-CDC and T-CDC. When you were hearing the ID, your receive value must have been correct. Setting them to 146.2 Hz might easily be why you no longer hear it. Try changing all three to "OFF" to see if you hear the Morse Code ID again. Then you can experiment with the R-CDC value to see what happens, but it would be horribly slow if you have to change it and wait another hour. Some radios have the ability to scan for a tone so you could determine what tone is being transmitted by the repeater. I didn't see that in the manual. What you can to though is set several of the receive only channels to that same frequency but with different tones to see which tone works. It's still slow. The best way is to find out from the owner what the tones are.

This ^^^ plus, since he's already got a good feel for the 50X1 unit, he should be able to give a good synopsis of the 50V2 differences, good or bad.

@WRWE511- Welcome! Drive closer and see if you can hit it. If you haven't already, clear out the receiver tone for your radio. That will allow you to hear all transmissions on the repeater frequency. Do you hear it when you just listen without any set tones?

Many repeaters have some "hang-time" programmed into them to continue transmitting for a short time after a person transmitting to the repeater stops transmitting. This is clearly audible and an indication that you have reached the repeater and that you're using the right tone.

That could get them in serious trouble with the United Federation Of Planets Communications Commission. I hear they're much more strict than the FCC!

The 8500 comes in mid power and high power. All of mine are mid power (45 watts) as there really isn't a need for high power on anything I use. My radios are used for work to some extent but alot of public safety also. Been doing SAR work for over 25 years and have been involved in the communications and command side for many of them. They are great radios but most will never own one due to the cost factor and availability at this time.

Alternator noise is on the low end of consideration. I have an aftermarket audio system in this truck that I installed myself with multiple amplifiers, a DSP, signal RCAs, speaker wire, and power cables all custom. There is zero engine whine on the signal RCA's or from the speakers so I'm fairly certain this is not an issue. My amplifiers are much stronger than the radio so if alternator noise was an issue it would be blasting at me. That doesnt mean that my equipment isnt filtering out, just saying I would certainly hear it there first. In addition to that my coax for this rig is separated from the power cable(s) by more than a foot for the majority of its travel through the vehicle. The one place where they meet each other I ensured the traversal is perpendicular so I'm not convinced that would be the issue. Not saying its impossible just dont think thats it. I'm pretty sure its the antenna design and coupled with the spring based on earlier replies. Having said that, I went ahead and pulled the trigger last night on that Laird BB4503 and the GBR8Pi that @gortex2 linked me to. I couldn't wait. We shall see what happens.

In all fairness, just about every 'Getting Started' or 'Attention' section of most radio manuals contain the same verbiage about smoke/odor, etc. We will see. I just ordered one. The price is right for a 50W unit. It does state that the board has been redesigned, I presume that is a good thing. [UPGRADED] The GMRS-50V2 is major upgrade from the previous generation GMRS-50X1. New features include a full redesigned radio board. All 256 channels are fully customizable, the ability to add or remove GMRS or NOAA channels quickly. PCB updates on the GMRS-50V2 include RJ45 audio output, improved audio filtering, constant 50W power output on GMRS We'll have to see how the @OffRoaderXreview goes once he gets his hands on one (if he doesn't already have one).

Wow! ? Thanks for the info on your experience @marcspazand @wayoverthere. KG-1000plus it is then.

I'll give Btech credit for addressing one of the biggest usage complaints (ability to add additional tx channels), and it looks like they've introduced a few new features and accessories, like an adapter to use accessories with the k1 plug. That said, on the surface, it appears to be all firmware tweaks, without addressing those hardware shortcomings. I hope I'm wrong on that, and like Marc, wish buyers the best of luck. That warning about not using high power unless necessary would seem to point to not, though....more of a band-aid to get around the issues with the first version.

Yep we all know the rules as they are now. This thing ain’t new. It’s off eBay. It looks to have a removable antenna but as I said not likely going to find an improvement out there. According to this Two Way Radios forum (here in the U.S.) it does not have the middle FRS channels. I’m no expert on this thing nor do I care to be one. Just trying to give accurate info on what he has without assuming it’s what it looks like to all of us. Please let us know if the antenna was in fact removable. https://www.twowayradioforum.com/t/need-replacement-g-11/6058

Or you could get it right here at MyGmrs.com. Affiliate link below ? https://shop.mygmrs.com/products/btech-gmrs-50v2-50w-gmrs-radio

The "reasonable to assume" question was at hand. No mention of a local repeater height. Thus, my answer and condition. The link explains some of those variables. And obviously the extreme exceptions are always out there but are they "reasonable" for an unspecified height, or cabling, or antenna, cable loss, on and on. So for those with expensive systems, is that "reasonable" the way it was asked? I think not. Many have answered in alot of detail, but if you read how it was asked with no repeater altitude who will say yes 10 miles is fine on open flat land no buildings or trees (Oh wait that was not specified either). Put an 80' tree line, 10' - 30' infront of any of it. Is it still reasonable? Oh wait put some 5 story buildings right in front of the handheld, is that reasonable? At what power and altitude. Point being most of you pointed out the variables, exceptions are just that. Ideal perfect designs that most people cannot put in themselves Due to the real costs. Take my results what does that cost for a reasonable expectation everywhere in the US, then take all the other costs. I'll bet the examples of 10 miles or more are exceptions compared to most places in the US. For $800 can you get over 10 miles without knowing repeater height, obstructions, and all the other parts. My most recent test was at 25W Motorola GR1225, still not over 2.25 miles. So I leave it at what is "reasonable" at an unspecified repeater height and all real living obstacles that may not have been stated. Answer: The MFGs handhelds documented answer. Crap. Unless there is absolutely no obstructions of any kind.

first question: yes, that's correct. i'll share a real world example from the ham side (on 70cm, which is nearly identical, signal wise, to gmrs), with the caveat that i don't do much (if any) simplex on GMRS, as the family has ZERO interest. using my base setup (which is a pair of mobiles and a base antenna in the closet) chatting with someone who lives in the next town up the highway via the local repeater, which is 23 miles from me. discover he's in town shopping at the moment, talking in on his mobile from a shopping center 25 miles from the repeater, and just 6.5 miles from me. i switched over to the repeater input to see if i could hear him, but not much beyond an occasional burst of static. i can hear the repeater clearly on a handheld inside the house, and can talk in with no problem from outside in the yard, but going direct just over 6 miles apart was no go. second question: hard to say on "reasonable"...is it possible? absolutely. it's going to be very dependent on height, but it's a little bit of a stretch to assume radio towers. some may be one of the users here, with a 5 watt Retevis 'repeater in a box' on a 20' top rail mast, or mounted on a barn. dealing with the high level stuff we have in CA, i've talked into a gmrs repeater over 60 miles out from the 3rd floor of a hotel with a handheld, and managed 75ish to a ham repeater in the same area from a high spot in the hills (basically clear line of sight over the valley), but those repeaters i'm working with are on foothill ridges at 3000-4500 ft above sea level. obstructions are the biggest challenge for a largely line of sight signal like gmrs. here's a quick edit to the diagram in the first post illustrating my example (though i'm using gmrs frequencies in the diagram, illustrating hearing via the repeater was no problem, but listening on the repeater input, no luck.

Believe it or not, 5 watt handhelds with decent antennas can reach the receivers or repeaters on the International Space Station or an AMSAT satellite which are around 200 miles up. This is because there is nothing between the handheld and the space station. Those same handhelds cannot reach more than a few miles at best at sea level because the signals are blocked by terrain, structures, foliage, and all manner of other obstacles. It's all about line of sight and how high the repeater is. My repeater is at 5,700 feet, and we can hit it with handhelds from sea level 30 miles away, probably more.

Templeton, you have been given numerous explanations about how repeaters work. By introducing theoretical and ambiguous concepts and situations, you are confusing yourself. Most repeaters do one thing. They receive your weak HT or mobile's signal, they amplify it, and send it out on a different frequency. That's it. The best ones are high up so they have a massive coverage area.

Operation wise, that's the only one that comes to mind. Function...I have maybe 2 hours at most across the time I've owned it, and it's not actually holding 50 watts (or close)...it starts close and drops off, and doesn't stabilize till 25 watts. I'll see if can find a related post on another member's even worse luck with both the 50x1 and it's ham cousin (uv50x2). I would save for the wouxun and it's actual dual receivers. Edit: https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/5077-btech-gmrs-50x1-50w/?do=findComment&comment=50477&_rid=2738

THE KG935G IS NOW ON CHIRP

How will passing the ham test make the GMRS Pro useful?

Its a nifty little radio, but unless everyone else in your party also has one, most of that nifty'ness doesnt matter. As for basic use and fars, it's pretty much the same as any other radio.

They will need to select "Radioddity UV-5g" for it to work in chrip. These are basically just rebranded Baofeng Uv-5Rs designed for GMRS so in theory any of the guides or videos you can find online on how to manually program the UV-5R should work on these radios as well.