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Who sits around and thinks up this kind of stupidity? No! Not just no, but hell no! This is another hairbrained attempt to make GMRS into "ham radio lite". I am an Extra class ham, and I am 100% against this. GMRS (Class A CB) was originally another means of personal (and at one time, business) communication. It should remain that way. It should remain 100% analog. GMRS allows for reliable communication with a short wavelength (think being able to use an ht in a car without an outside or excessively long antenna). It is great for families, friends, and even properly licensed hams, to keep in touch, especially with family and friends who just do not want to be bothered with testing, radio theory, etc. If someone wants to enjoy the hobby aspects of ham, play with digital, etc; then let them get off of their dead behind and study and take the tests or shut up! Those who are already hams and who want to turn GMRS into ham lite or other extension of ham radio, please use the privileges you have on ham or upgrade if that is not enough. People are continuously trying to wreck a great thing that GMRS is with these bright ideas.

If my wife asks, I'm blaming @marcspaz for the 891 showing up on my doorstep.

I don't see any reason, with the right hardware, that a dual pl setup couldnt be implemented similar to what CARLA has on the ham side. One pl, your audio goes to the whole system, while another pl repeats on that machine only. If you key up the local pl, linked audio is muted until a set period after local activity ends, and the link resumes. http://carlaradio.net/thesystem/pl_ct.php

It may be worth noting that if you are looking for a fast scan rate the KG-Q10 radios are not that. They scan slow, they are great radios though. If your primary use is GMRS and scanning is secondary you can't go wrong with the quality of the Wouxun KG-935G Plus and you'll be legal as well. No worries of transmiting out of band. Scanning is faster than the Q10's, no air band but... If there was "one radio to rule them all" we wouldn't all have so many radios I think you'd like the KG-935G Plus. That's my two cents.

Each connector adds approximately 0.1db of loss. Other than the fact that at 50' you already have 4.4db of loss (64%) in power and sensitivity, the connector not a concern.

It seems as though every newbie who wants to dive into putting up a repeater(s), for some reason feels the need to link it/them to other repeaters or some big network. Before doing so, please consider that there are ONLY eight GMRS frequencies which may be used for repeater or 50W simplex. More often than not, when you have multiple repeaters linked, you will have situations where a rag chew in progress is only taking place on one or two of the repeaters, but that conversation will necessarily tie up ALL repeaters linked to the used one(s) at the time, as well as the simplex aspect of each repeater frequency for anyone in range of it. The guy trying to use one of those uninvolved repeaters, another repeater in range of any of them, or 50W simplex in range of any of them, will have a difficult or impossible time connecting with his family or friends. Because someone thinks it kewel and trendy to link a bunch of repeaters together, people trying to use any of those eight GMRS channels in range of repeaters so connected, for the original purpose of GMRS, will likely be out of luck. Please take this into consideration before adding to the congestion of those eight channels with unnecessary linking. If you wish to provide a service to the GMRS community in a given area, an open stand-alone repeater capable of covering as much area as feasible will be a far greater service to a given area. I understand that in San Francisco, it is perfectly legal to relieve oneself on the sidewalks. This is probably not considerate of others who use the sidewalk for its original intended purpose. Just because we "can" do something doesn't mean we necessarily "should" do it.

It never was about cost cutting, nor did the manufacturers cite that as a reason. Most want to remove it due to the problem with interference, Ford want to get rid of AM in electric and gas powered cars. I am sure part of the reason Ford wants to do that, is to standardize between the electric vehicles not having AM radio, and their gas powered counterparts, not as they claim, simply modernizing. https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/4004678-say-goodbye-to-am-radio-why-carmakers-are-removing-it-from-new-models/

That's a very good question. Lately the auto manufactures want to eliminate AM radios from their vehicles. I strongly suspect there is much more to it than a simple cost cutting measure. I'm even more suspicious when an EV is involved. My professional work experience involves designing high power switching inverters for metal heating at high frequency. I know first hand just how much electrical RF trash these things generate. I also consult with a buddy who does work over the years on EV motor drives, very similar in design principle to what I do. In his case they have to do extensive EMC, electromagnetic compatibility, testing. The AM radios are amplitude modulated receivers in the frequency range of 550KHz to 1600KHz. Some of the EV motor drives operate up to 150KHz in some cases. The harmonics from the switching waveforms can easily end up in the AM radio broadcast band. I think the manufactures just want to eliminate the AM radio option rather than spending gobs of money trying to shield the motor drive inverter electronics so it doesn't trash the radio in the dash. If it's not there then there is no complaints they have to deal with fixing.

I think I paid about $60/ea on average for VX-800U radios, GMRS certified, Yaesu's great filtering, and the screen position is good for looking at while on the belt.

It never hurts to have multiple tools when doing antenna work.

Linking has similar issues on HAM too, except there we can usually switch to other repeaters. For HAM temporary, user-initiated linking is an alternative. I don't know if that is feasible with GMRS linking systems, but if so, would be better than permanent, full-time linking. Linking just at scheduled times is another option.

Personally I would get the Wouxun KG-Q10H instead of the KG-Q10G. The Q10G firmware is more locked down

I'll own that one.

Newbie to GMRS and currently studying for my Ham license. I'm retired and learning at a retired pace. I'm mainly interested in being able to use GMRS while hiking and traveling in the SW PA region. I listen more than I speak, so I'll read more than I post. Looking forward to learning from the greater minds here. Thanks.

I think sticking with something that's GMRS out of the box will just make life easier. Not that I don't like to tinker, I'd just rather have things set up already. I can tweak the installed channels as needed. So, for now(subject to change)the KG-UV9G Pro looks like the one I'll get.

I have been very happy with my KG-935G. It is a good hand held and I have no problems talking on the repeater 21 miles away when I am outside. In fact I have been happy with all of the Wouxun GMRS radios I have. The KG1000g Plus and KG-XS20G Plus are both excellent mobile radios.

Here are a couple of very good reviews for you to have a look at to help you decide. https://rumble.com/v2oe6ev-wouxun-kg-uv9p-review-new-and-improved-review.html https://rumble.com/v3nhca7-the-wouxun-kg-935g-still-the-best-gmrs-ht.html

That sounds like a great idea!

I like mine.

I will second this. I have 3 KG-935Plus. Can't go wrong.

See your private messages. I sent you the info on how to do it. I've had other password locked radios off or eBay. It sucks when you get one unless you have a way to remove them.- Oh, the TK-3173 is a very nice radio for GMRS. Its basically the same, uses the same software as the TK-3170, but it also includes trunking. If you have a Ham license you can program out of band frequencies in the radio, the software with generate a warning but will accept the entry, allowing you to put in some Ham 70cm repeaters.

Unfortunately that antenna location leaves your feedline open to interference from noisy injectors/computer hardware. What cable is used between the radio and mount? Is it a double shielded? You could try to wrap the cable in the engine bay in aluminum foil (and add a bond strap to the body) and see if it helps. Another thought is check the grounding strap between the block and body. I've heard of that coming loose/corroding out and causing RFI issues. Next steps would be to start throwing money at it to bond everything, ground everything, etc. You likely will be better off drilling the hole and roof mounting the antenna.

Ugh, now you guys have me looking at 891's again. And why are people asking over new prices for used with 1 accessory? Tunematic cable is only $25, so that's easy, but I have to find room for the head and another speaker..... my wife is going to hate me.

So far you have not told us what you are trying do. Are you wanting to talk to friends or family while out and about or talk to random strangers (there's an app for that). Is it for SHTF stituations? You want to listen to many other things but will only be able to talk on GMRS frequencies. Are you planning to get a ham license? If not then why do you think you need multiple radios? Just to be able to listen to more stuff? A scanner will cover all your listening desires and the radio you already have will cover GMRS. You can pick up something like the Uniden BC125AT hand held scanner for around $150 maybe less.

At $220 for the price of the KG-Q10H, you’re within $30 of arguably the most durable SHTF radio out there, the Yaesu VX-6. It’s worth knowing about anyway. https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-007681

I just bought a RigExpert Stick XPro that does antenna analysis DC-1000MHz as well as cable testing. For the form+features it was worth the money. As for an inline meter, I think its pretty unnecessary to leave in place full time. The only ones that stay in place are on repeaters, and those are Bird inline meters.

I've been using my 25-year-old old (inherited) MFJ-259 that does up to about 170 mhz for HFand VHF. For VHF and UHF I use my Diamond SX-40C. I also have a NanoVNA, but I've found that it reads a little higher than my other devices. It has its place though and I use it often. And in fact, when we were at my repeater site last month, my friend's Comet analyzer was useless. It was so affected by all the RF from the dozens of repeaters at the site that we couldn't get any decent readings. My Diamond meter worked just fine. Sometimes simple is what is needed.

I've used my Surecom meter, a NanoVNA and the Comet analyzer. They all have their place but I find the Surecom not to be as accurate as the Comet analyzer or NanoVNA. And the NanoVNA's have a learning curve to them.

For some reason or another the FCC site doesn't work well with the Firefox browser like you I switched to Chrome and logged in with no issues

Thanks so much. I tried multiple times and could not log in. Seems to have been an issue with my Firefox browser settings. I switched to Chrome and all went well. Much obliged.

Yes, I am running a Pi. Yes, there are 'pinch points' with doing so, and there are additional pinch points depending on the audio interface that you choose to use. Your best option, unless you are a heavy Linux user and have a very strong understanding of AllStarLink / HamVoIP then you are FAR better off to just use the image provided here on the forum and run that image on a Raspberry Pi. Will the software run on another platform? Short answer is yes. But you need to know the modifications for taking the ASL software and getting it talking to the right servers. And I will tell you this now. There is ZERO support for doing it from members and administration of this board / forum. NONE. There are a few of us that have attempted it and failed, and a few more than are doing it that don't talk about it. So either you are gonna KNOW how to do it, and make it happen or you are going to pull your hair out trying. And just because the image for a Pi is available that it's all just gonna load and run. I can tell you from experience in the last week that's NOT the case. I just reloaded the image on a Pi for the third or fourth time tonight attempting to get it running correctly. MODIFICATIONS First mod to the Pi image is putting in your node number and password into the correct places in the files on the image. These are the rpt.conf file and the iax.conf file. And for some reason I can't figure out the image is not pulling the updated rpt_extnodes_gmrs file from the main servers. Now this file is the list of all the nodes that is used as a sort of DNS 'hosts' file and a list of available nodes you can connect to. So that file does two things. BOTH are extremely important for getting things to work. If you don't have that file, and it's not updating every 10 minutes, then the software doesn't have any info on what nodes are out there for you to connect to. Second issue is the port configuration in your firewall. This too is sort of important if you are going to use the website to manage your node. It is where you can go and easily connect your node to the other nodes. Then there is the configuration of the audio interface for connecting your repeater to the software so you can actually get your repeater connected. This is another issue I am fighting. If you get the little repeater that is on the webstore, and the interface for it, and buy the image written to the memory card, then it's all configured for you. If you go any other route, you are on your own to figure it out. And while I did get the CM108 interface working correctly on the Pi, I had to refer to other documentation from teh ham radio world in order to get that going. And keep in mind that I am a professional commercial radio tech and have been for about 15 years. Prior to that I was in IT for 14 years and I fought the thing getting it up and running. So, if you don't know Linux and don't have experience with ASL / HAMVoIP it's going to be a serious learning curve unless you can find someone that is versed in these things.

Groups and families within a close range of each other use these channels to avoid clutter and interference from others using these Channels.