Leaderboard

I've gotten labels put on the front of my GMRS radios with the call sign, so its visible when they are speaking into the radio. That might be an option. I used this guy: https://sites.google.com/view/kc8gl/anytone-call-sign-sticker He can make custom labels. If you place your radio on a scanner, and send it to him, he can measure and make one for whatever you wanted.

LOL, wasn't even thinking about that.

Sending them all back. They won't/don't play well with CHIRP Next. Channels that have been deleted still show up. Channels that I install won't show up. Firmware update bricked one of my radios. These are a HUGE Cluster F#@K and I don't have time to deal with or put up with it. I'll order something else to play with that won't give me such trouble.

Now are you talking about the same repeater or traffic on the same frequency, but not that particular repeater? I receive traffic from different repeaters using the same freq and it can be hard to differentiate which repeater it's coming from if you don't use tsql.

Don’t even worry about it, especially if your communications are mostly between your family.

That’s nothing to worry about. You can use the antenna full time with that SWR ON GMRS. Most radios don’t start having issues until the SWR is 2:1 or higher.

I wouldn't buy any cable from Amazon. Go with M&P or Times Mirror.

If the radio is not Part 95 certified it is not certified for use on the GMRS frequencies. As folks will point out, it is not a law, it is a regulation. Will the FCC come looking for you if you use a non Part 95 certified radio on GMRS? Probably not as there is no way to tell by hearing the transmissions. If you are a douche canoe and are using your radio to cause serious and prolonged interference to other users and get caught, the FCC folks may very well add that to your list of regulation violations. If someone is interested in GMRS I will explain licensing and a need for a certified GMRS radio is. What they do after that is up to them.

Although overload is a real thing, after testing LITERALLY every GMRS handheld manufactured in the last 5 years, I have never, EVER, NOT ONCE seen any overload/desense issues unless the radios were closer than about 75 feet, an 90% of the time they had to be closer than 25 feet or so. To claim that overload is an issue at up to a 1/2-mile, on its surface, seems like a preposterous over-exagguration, based on my very extensive testing. But that's just my experience..

This is one of the reasons that GMRS and Business/Public Safety radios are required to meet technical specifications for spurious emissions (Part 90 & 95). GMRS is pretty far away from the 70cm ham band. In fact, 70cm ham is co-located with plenty of other users (US military, radar, unlicensed transmitters like weather stations), that ham just has to deal with. There are plenty of public safety/business users between the top of the ham band (450) and GMRS, that GMRS is one the least likely to cause issues.

Thanks for the update. Too bad that you got a XS20G with issues. They are good little radios. Most people are very happy with the KG-1000G, they are good radios. I have the KG-1000G in my shack and a KG-1000G Plus in my vehicle.

LOL! Good choice! Glad we could help. Thanks for the follow up.

I really like my RT97..Works great for what I need, which is occasional use in the mountains for communications. I can get about a 30 mile circle which is more than enough for my needs.

Your Baofeng and the hypothetical baofeng standing next to the repeater have 6 inch antennas, low quality components, and output only a couple of watts.. The repeater has (probably) a perfectly tuned 10-foot or larger antenna, (probably) very high-end expensive and very sensitive components, and is outputting (probably) upwards of 50 watts.. So not only can the repeater hear everything much better than your $19 Baofeng, but it can squirt it's RF electricities many more fars as well.

GMRS like dual band 2m/70cm radios all have a SO239 connector on them. And @Sshannon brings up good points about having radios certified for the bands you want to transmit on. I am running a 16" Comet SBB1-NMO dual band radio with my TYT TH-7800 and a 20" Nagoya UT-72G with my Wouxun KG-1000g on the vehicle. As I mentioned I have the same two radios in the house for base stations. I am using a Comet GP9 for dual band and a Comet CA-712EFC for GMRS. One thing to pay attention to is the fact that the short dual band antennas will not work for GMRS and visa versa. Now if you can use a longer antenna on your vehicle then the Comet 2x4SRNMO will work for 2m/70cm and GMRS. As always, everyone has an opinion on what they like and think is the best. Stick with Wouxun for GMRS, they are generally considered the best for GMRS by most. Icom and Yaesu are the best when it comes to dual band radios. But don't overlook the TYT TH-7800 or Wouxun KG-UV920P-A either.

Welcome! I have and like Yaesu, but Yaesu doesn’t make a radio certified for GMRS. They make great ham radios though. People will say that certification isn’t important, and as you progress you might even decide that it isn’t, but for someone trying to get started it sure makes it easier to use the radio without having to worry about violating a regulation. Others will tell you that it doesn’t matter if you violate the regulations because the FCC doesn’t enforce them anyway. Statistically there is some validity, but I still like to know where I stand with respect to regulations. Wouxun is arguably one of the best GMRS radios made and certified for that purpose. The people who have one like the KG1000G Mobile Radio. It’s a 50 watt radio. As far as I know all mobile GMRS radios have a UHF connector for an external antenna. They have to. Several of us have purchased the Radioddity db20g, which is a tiny 20 watt GMRS mobile radio. It’s small and easy to use, plugging into the cigarette lighter. Like the Wouxun it needs an external antenna. It’s about $100, unless you wait for a sale. I bought two of them directly from Radioddity for $87 each. It’s sold under a couple other names as well. Firmware might vary based on brand. These forums have lots of discussions about what radio is best. There will never be universal agreement.

Welcome to wonderful world of Radio Communication! Obviously, you obtained your GMRS license for reason other than emergencies. Don't be afraid to ask questions, because that how you gain knowledge.

Train drivers? ?

Here are plans for a GMRS J-Pole that is about 18" in total length built from a piece of 300 ohm TV twin lead. It can be put into a PVC stub and hidden on the roof as a new vent pipe. J-Pole Emergency Flexible Antenna (fiu.edu)

I have the N9TAX GMRS/Murs w/16' and BNC connector. Use it on my mobile/Base. I love it. Gets me out to repeaters 30-40 miles distance. If you need to mount it to a pole, lash it to a 5' driveway marker using zip ties.