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No not lice nor crabs or the rona… my radio addiction is twitching. I got giddy today and ordered a cb radio just to tinker with. I fear more will follow.

And another video I enjoyed:

I checked yes, but that’s too simplistic. A lot depends on the licensed people in your town. A postcard announcing the presence of a repeater with assurances that no further contact will be forthcoming unless the recipient wishes might be appreciated. A lot of people get into GMRS with no interest in repeaters. Let us know how it goes.

I have no firsthand experience with the KG-1000G but I have heard nothing but good about it.

Marine and patriot for sure. I am not arguing what information (too much) the government stores or collects (too much), just the fact that receiving something in the mail is considered stalking. Fear is a great weapon, as we can see in the world today. However, giving into fear is just self-defeating. I could also see that if some company/person X was combing the FCC ULS and sending you a copy of American Communist, that you would be rightfully upset, and it would cause me to climb a wall. However, if I received a notification in the mail about a public repeater that I/my family could take advantage of, it would not raise any alarm bells in me, quite the opposite. To me it's the same thing as the coupons I get in the mail from the car dealership I bought my truck from.

I am starting to think that people need to toughen up if getting a letter/postcard in the mail feels like "stalking". Getting notification of a repeater to use in the area should be a great thing. If the recipient gets bent out of shape that would be a sign that they would not be the type of person that I would want to associate with much less go to in the case of an emergency.

It has been a while since I looked at them, but there’s also a way to use existing coax rather than dropping your headliner and pulling in another cable:

https://kv5r.com/ham-radio/mobile-antenna-placement/ I forget if I alluded to it in this thread or another (or started to mention it and then deleted), but this page has the graphic that shows the relative loss for different mounting types and placements. Mag mount in the center is very close to the ideal (permanent hole/mount) loss-wise, evidently.

The Wouxun KG-1000G Plus is an excellent radio. Yes they are more expensive but close to the same price as the Midland MXT500 and MXT575. The Wouxun KG-1000G is a better radio. Another option for aluminum body panels is the Midland MXTA38 adhesive backed metal disk. I use on an aluminum tool box to hold a Comet 2x4SR antenna on my SxS. I cleaned the toolbox really well and applied the MXTA38 disk. I set a 25 pound weight on the disk for a couple of days to ensure the disk staid put. Of course the tool box is diamond plate. You probably won't have to use a weight with a perfectly lat and smooth surface.

I love the way you put that. Yep, he's bad about that.

We have a winner! Stop by for a beer, Steve.

Good evening, I am new to GMRS and will be taking my Ham Radio license test on November 02, 2024. I live in Jackman, Maine and would like to get to know the local broadcast community.

to answer the actual question: My favorite antenna, and the antenna that I have on both of my jeeps and as the "in the window" antenna for my office-radio, is the Midland MXTA26 .. it's not a mag-mount, but it is an NMO mount, but you can buy a separate NMO magnetic mount for it. The range is is the same as any other GMRS antenna (except that UT-72G) but I chose it because the "twist" on the antenna makes it a few inches shorter than all other 5/8 wave (or whatever its wavelength is) antennas, and its flexible, which is good when i'm off-roading through trees and rocks and fat-people. Also, because it is a true GMRS antenna, no cutting/tuning is needed - just take it out of the sack and slap it on.

I've had good results with multiple Midland mag mounts carrying a variety of antennas. Seen very few negative reports on the mxta26 antenna, and what I did see was related to potential used\damaged product received from Amazon. I had good results with a Browning br1713bs (similar to the mxta26 in size and configuration).n the other whip I have is NLA, so as an alternate smaller gain antenna I'd look at 1\2 or 5\8 wave Laird whips. Ground plane or not, depending on the mount. I want to say it'd be the 4502 for GMRS (450-470mhz)...have used the 430-450 model and it was great out of the package without tuning. Have had great results with the comet 2x4sr for ham, but the swr was a little high for GMRS, though not unusable (2.0:1 on 467, iirc)

Geezus Phuck! Do you still not understand that unless his antenna is 2 feet from your antenna, YOUR range has nothing to do with HIS range? Of all the testing I have done of antennas (and that is a LOT of antennas), my UT-72G performs the worst - even worse than the little "ghost" antennas.

I've just jumped back in myself after 20 years. I was a part time truck driver back then and always had a radio when I drove. I've never been a real technical person. I went big and installed a Radioddity Qt80 in my Ram and a Radioddity QT40 in my TJR. Learning as I go.

Join the crowd. The only thing that holds me back is lack of funds.

I can't say for sure myself obviously but I've heard that you also get unlimited reactions.

What time at rich's house i just signed up lol

It is probably a linked repeater. If you don't hear from the owner you could try to figure out where the folks are that you hear checking in and see if you can find the repeater they are using. Or you could ask someone who is checking in what system they are on. They may or may not answer since linking is a touchy subject these days.

I've operated a local (working on making it more "regional") repeater for about 8 months now. We've got the same 2-3 people using the repeater on a daily basis, and that's okay. But there are at least a dozen licensed GMRS users in my town who could use my repeater. I've started a Facebook group (not much activity), got the repeater listed here, on Repeater Book, and Radio Reference, and I just want to spread the word. I'm considering sending out a letter to the licensed GMRS users in my town, just letting them know who I am, that there is a repeater in town that they can use, providing the frequency pair and DCS codes, and offering to help them get their radios set up. Part of me says this would be a good idea. Another part of me says it might be viewed as "creepy," even though we all had to provide an address to get our license, knowing full well it was available to anyone who knew where to look. What do you all think?

It’s silly to knowingly place your name and address on a publicly available list and then get upset that someone uses it. Randy has a video about how to use a mail forwarding service to obtain a modicum of abstraction from your real address.

Hmm, I guess it does and is kinda optical.

Multitask! Seriously, do whichever of these you feel to be most important to achieve first. Extra Class ticket gives you more frequency allocations which works well for cw and phone, especially DX. Radio Projects completed may play into honing your cw skills on the air. Choice is yours, but any of them is worthwhile to pursue.

This is great! I had no idea this existed.

@BoxCar pretty much nailed it in his post. If you decided to add a repeater in a busy area I would try the least used, furthest away from you frequency with different tones. Of course if some of those repeaters are open for you to use you may find you don’t need to add another.

Does your Escape have a gps antenna on it? Maybe you can use this and route the cable through the existing hole https://www.l-com.com/nmo-mount-combo-28-db-gps-glnss-vehicular-antenna-nmo-mount-sma-connectors-ll195-cable-hg-gpsglnmo195-sma?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD9ns-nsNx68a39JmpChg0pu-IwbE&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsoe5BhDiARIsAOXVoUsk2dsrso9-Jaurjo8QZROWHV8p4mL-ixUhIR51gPVsTpMz_sSN9MsaAprNEALw_wcB

I understand the hesitance, but we’ve all seen hundreds of vehicles our entire lives that have permanent antenna mounts in their roofs. They look better than having a cable laying on the roof. Why not get full enjoyment out of the truck for as long as you own it? It’s like suffering with cheap cupboards, worn out flooring, and an inefficient furnace for 30 years and then fixing up your house to sell it. None of the comments I’ve seen from people who sell or trade off vehicles with permanent NMO mounts make me think the value is affected. I don’t know if you’ve looked into the Bulletproof Diesel third brake like mounts, but that might be another option. Finally, there’s a company that makes replacements for the factory GPS or satellite roof mount antenna that provide an additional two way radio mount. If you’re interested I’ll see if I can find them again. I’m not certain what models they cover. I would compare the strength of self adhesive steel disk trick on top of the roof to the large magnet under the roof liner. I’m not certain that two magnets on either side of an aluminum roof will have as much attraction. Try both methods and let us know, please.

I’m not worthy!

This is a great idea!!! Just my $0.02.

Except in direct sunlight.

I have a GM - 30. The very last menu item is "Sync". If you turn it "on" the screen displays the title and frequency of one channel only. There are still two lines, but for only one channel. Try that; can't promise that it will work for the Plus version. Edit: Correction, I have a Baofeng GM-15 Pro, which uses the GM-30 software.

If I remember correctly, it's going to be a long drive for that beer.

Truth be told, since I don't have much time to play radio, I don't remember all the limits either, even 3 years in. unless I'm doing something on a set frequency like ft8, I have a printed copy of the ARRL band chart near my "shack" (desk in the office) and a PDF copy on my phone and double check myself regularly.

Now that takes me back to my younger days!

Welcome to the fray! I became a premium member to help support the work of maintaining this resource. Watch out for that Steve Shannon, though. He will teach you things.

And don’t be surprised to receive a stupid answer; I do it all the time.

Please check in as you join. Name, location, etc. What repeater you usually monitor. (Steven Gibbs, live in Columbia, am able to work Thompson Station, Brentwood, Franklin 15 & 21, & Grasslands. Have a Baofeng UV-5G Plus set up as base at my desk at home and turned on often. Also have a UV-5R8W set up as a mobile in my pickup.) If we get enough interest in this club, we can make some decisions regarding meet-ups, events, etc. This site requires a premium membership to create the club. So we may have to establish a membership fee. Cost to maintain the site is just $50.00 per year so it won't be more than a few dollars. I currently am set up for 1 month to see how this goes. Thanks, Steve steve@dvdrvtravel.com

Picked up a BTech Nagoya UT-72G for my SUV. Very poor RX/TX, even though plenty of steel roof ground plane. My stock-stubby HT outperforms it from inside the vehicle. I plan to buy another antenna to compare against before returning it. So, what are your favorite magmount options? Primary use is Simplex. Urban hills (no buildings over 10 stories, but plenty of hills. 3db?). Need to stick with removable for now. No drilled holes. Would consider bracket mount for top of rear hatch (but worse ground plane?) I haven't done SWR sweep; don't wanna focus on numbers just yet - would rather stick with analogue comparison initially. It'll be easy to compare. The UT-72G is performing noticeably worse than any HT in the vehicle. Thank you. [UPDATE] I purchased a TRAM 1192 to test through-glass before I spend more on sexier magmount options. Will update.

I feel ya - I used to work inside a metal Trailer parked inside a metal building. Our base radios had nice Yagi's pointed at the main receive site of our UHF NXDN repeater so that was all good, but to use one of the HT's, either open the garage doors or run outside! Current employer we piggyback 900 mhz HT's on the ARMER system the county uses and we get coverage no matter where we are in the city. My house is stucco, so wire mesh, but all my antennae are outside and up high above the roof.

This is the antennae installation for both of my Motorola radios and the CB radio on my 21 Chevrolet Silverado 1 Ton Dually Diesel. The passenger side is my UHF antenna for the Motorola High Powered Remote Mount radio using a Laird B4502 2.4 dB Omni with a less than 1.1:1 VSWR, in the center is a K40 antenna for my Cobra 29 LTD Classic Nightwatch CB AM/FM radio with a VSWR about 1.17:1, and on the driver's side is my VHF Highband antenna for my Motorola XTL2500 Remote Mount radio using a Laird B1443S 2-3 dB omni with a 1.05:1 VSWR.

Double check the pinouts. Just because it is the same plug, doesn't mean it's wired the same.

KMC-45D

That's a fair point, and I agree. I want to make it clear that I'm not going to be pestering them about it. Just "here it is, use it if you'd like."

Good luck on the test!

Contacted Midland also. They are sending out a new radio asap. great service that you do not see much these days. Thank you for the helpful info. you others can hop back up on the fence now lol.

You might get a better response by asking something specific. Don't be like that other guy who kept posting his ID and never said anything meaningful. I listen to the local repeaters sometimes but don't talk on them.

@stoutryan Wow! Texas to Oregon is a long way. That might draw too much attention.

........And The Best Part About The FCC Mobility Division Making A Clarification On GMRS Linking - Is That Several Repeater Owners Wether By Choice, Violation Threats Or Servers Shutting Down - Are No Longer Congesting GMRS Frequencies With Ridiculous & Non Essential NETS. I Have Never Seen Any Purpose In The Midwest Area, To Tie Up All 8 Repeater Frequencies, With 20 To 30 Repeaters, In 4 Or More States - Discussing How To Cook A Hot Dog Properly In The Event Of A Nuclear Attack. Glad That The Linking Issue Has Been Addressed With A Degree Of Modernization From The FCC. Some Folks Just Need To Move On & Get Over This........ My Name Is Bob Somers (WRXL702) & I Approved This Message.......

The Radioddity UV-5G is supported by CHIRP and is what one uses when programming the Baofeng UV-5R GMRS too. I haven't bricked either of my UV-5R GRMS radios when choosing the Radioddity UV-5G when using CHIRP.