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if you mean as a way to get help if you become stuck or injured then NO.. GMRS is NOT a good choice .. GMRS is great for talking to other guys in your group while off-roading, but in the event of a real emergency where you need assistance or rescue, then something like a Sat-phone, a Garmin InReach or Starlink is advisable.

Well I came up with a test that I might be able to do. It won't be at the antenna, but it'll be at the lightning arrester. I was thinking about taking a hair dryer or heat gun and heat up the fittings to thaw them. If the SWR goes up I know the fittings or lightning arrester is the culprit. If nothing happens it's got to be the antenna or it's fitting..

I personally would use the free Wouxun software from Buy Two Way Radios as long as you have a Windows computer or a way to run Windows programs on Linux or Mac. The reason I say this is the fact that there is always a chance that one could brick their radios by choosing the wrong one in CHIRP. I'm not saying that one will brick their radio by choosing the 935G in CHIRP. Just a word of caution,

Biggest thing you can do is, at a minimum is don't go alone. InReach and other satelite devices are great. I do carry a radio with me "just in case", but I let people know where I'm going to be, when they should expect me back (or at least be able to hear from me that I'm out of the woods, as it were), and if I'm later than expected and can't be reached and they end up sending someone to look for me, I've let them know that I have a GMRS / FRS radio and what channels I'll be listening on. Other than when we're on a peak that puts us within eye-shot of one of our repeater antennas or overlooks the valley, GMRS ain't getting out too far when you're in the mountains. But it can be useful if you build it into your system. What you should NOT do is go alone, go without having someone waiting for word / checking in, and expect that you can pull out a handheld radio and dial 911. Because that's not now this works.

One of the real self-gratifying myths of radio, not just GMRS, but also ham radio, is that in an emergency (or the SHTF scenario people get so giddy about) it will save you. Unless you have already arranged for someone to actively monitor for you to send a SOS on a specific channel, it’s really just BS. The fact is these frequencies are not actively monitored in most places.

And it likely wouldn't even get to that point. The FCC is rarely compelled to enforce unless something is causing an actual problem, even in cases where rules are slightly bent. And I don't see how this would cause an actual problem for anyone..

Not worth risking the heavy-fines or possible jail time ! SOURCE: "some people" right here on this very forum.

It’s really difficult to advise you. I have my opinions but so much depends your personal situation. I live in the mountains and I find that a 20 watt Radioddity db20g and some hand held radios is all I need. Having more power won’t necessarily get you much more range, but it definitely costs more and drains on the battery. But if i did want 50 watts the radio you’re looking at is probably the only one I would recommend. As far as antennas, the Midland mxta26 on a magnetic mount is ideal for me. But the magnetic mount doesn’t work well on a plastic Jeep roof. You might be best getting an inexpensive handheld first, just to learn the basics like setting tones, and when you need them. What an offset is, and etc. Watch a bunch of YouTube videos by Notarubicon. They’re pretty good and cover everything you need to know about GMRS. Everything you learn on a Baofeng radio or Wouxun kg805g (one of my favorites) directly translates to using a mobile radio. Welcome to the forum.

Try taking any adaptors you might have out of the loop too. I had a 90 degree SO239 to PL259 along with a straight PL259 to PL259 adaptor go bad on me which caused the SWR to go up. I was using those two adaptors to connect my lightening arrestor to the bulkhead. I removed the 90 degree adaptor all together and replaced the male to male adaptor with a 12" coax jumper and my SWR went back down.

I can reach those fittings without the need to remove the antenna or a bucket truck.

I got my xpr4550 from ebay. Here is the information about the CPS:

Yeah I saw that but I'm leery of using it. I would love to hear if someone tries this but not me. I don't want to brick this radio. I have programmed my most used things directly and I am happy to wait for Mel to put out the Chirp software. He has been given a radio from Buy Two Way Radios and being that the radio is much like the KG-935G Plus I doubt it will be a large undertaking.

I’m not an anti-Chinese radio type, but I had a similar problem with a Chinese off label antenna. SWR was being affected a lot by dampness and sometimes just by mystery… I ended up just taking that down and replaced it with a Comet antenna and was really sure to silicone tape up every possible ingress point. No more random bouts of erratic SWR.

According to the Northmanproject4007 YouTube channel the 935H works with CHIRP but you have to use the KG-935G+ as your radio. You can find the video short here:

I just installed a dual band Alinco DR-735T, in the Ford Police Interceptor. I used a Bulletpoint mounting system, which greatly speed up the install. On the roof, I installed a small 3" stubby antenna. I was able to hit our local repeater with a strong signal, about 35 miles away. Quite a lengthy install. Took the headliner down and dismantled the center console to run wires. Not my first install, by any means, but still quite a process to get it to the factory look.

No matter which radio you use to communicate on the 30 GMRS channels, FCC approved or not, you are still restricted to talking to other GMRS'ers!

Here's the weird thing I've noticed about antennas: There's not necessarily one "best" antenna because each radio seems to have a preference. I can run a test with two identical radios, and one is better with Nagoya and the other prefers Abbree. Or Signal Stick. Or HYS. I've decided that about all you can do is buy a quality antenna and hope for the best. I have noticed, though, that on GMRS frequencies, a GMRS-tuned antenna will do better than almost any dual-band antenna, (which shouldn't be surprising); however, much of the time, a dual-band antenna is good enough and "good enough" is a valid concept. If you operate on amateur radio frequencies as well (I know the rules. Don't start), a good dual-band antenna may be the best option if you don't want to decide what band you're going to use today and change the antenna accordingly. I have BNC connectors on my EDC HTs, so I could certainly do that. I mean, if I were a scofflaw. If you're strictly operating on GMRS, then definitely get a GMRS-specific antenna.

The antenna I use for ham radio is 2.15 dBi. I’ve communicated thousands of miles on 50 watts with it. Gain matters, but the nulls in the propagation pattern have more of an effect. Don’t obsess over the extra 1.5 dB. Instead, look at the pattern of the antenna. Are there nulls? At what angle do they appear? Then do the trig to figure out how much higher or lower than you a station would need to be in order to be in a null. I doubt you’ll ever see that happening.

My guess is you would never notice the difference.

Well, my radio at the house is on 24/7 so if I'm in range my wife can hear. But it is through local repeater, so you have to depend on them. I need to get a quadruple receive radio so I can monitor all 4 repeaters in my area LOL.

As soon as he said mountainous region the answer was probably not. Running with your buddies it would probably work. As an emergency device in a rural area not so much.

Exactly. When the commission released their interpretation that made it clear they were against linking repeaters, they listed the harms done by linking repeaters: In my opinion (worth nothing), streaming the sound for the sole,purpose of listening does not have any of those negative consequences. But I can’t predict how the FCC might rule. I wouldn’t be afraid to try it though. We all know that a person would simply receive a letter first anyway.

Well just by virtue of the fact that ,yet again, the language is ambiguous it seems like it would allow for people to just go on ahead and do it just the same way that people just went on ahead and linked repeaters before..

Exactly how I was thinking of it. It's not too much different than listening in on a ham (or really any other analog, think Fire / EMS) frequency.

It is a good question and you also make a good point. In the United States the limitations on monitoring signals are very limited. Almost all of the regulations are aimed at transmitting.

That's actually a good question. Would being able to monitor it remotely count as remote control, and not communication? You aren't talking out through it that way.

Wow! You can back with an update 4 years later. Good on you! Your a rare gem in this post it and forget it forum world.

I’ve got two kg1000g plus’s. Each on a dummy load tx 46 to 54 watts depending on the frequency when measured on a surecom102. Pretty awesome radios. But I do need a scanner to cover the analog frequencies I can’t scan with the kg1000. Although I was able to put most of the Air and Rail frequencies into the kg1000 which is rad af.

GMRS is not particularly good in valleys, it does not penetrate hills. If you are not in visual line of who you intend to speak with, it may not work. On mountain tops, it is great. Also it is very likely that unless you have coordinated a contact, no one will hear your call; it is not something monitored like marine distress channels. There is even great debate over which channel would be best when traveling on highways.

It might be impractical. The 6 db antenna might be a 5/8 wave antenna and the lower gain might be a quarter wave. If you want to see what it takes try simulating the high gain antenna and then see what it takes to make it into a quarter wave. Personally I would try the antenna you have. If it works well enough just use it. Otherwise sell it and buy the antenna you want.

My KG-1000G radios put out between 46 and 50 watts. The Midland MXT500 I had was from a bad batch and would only put out 38 watts on high. One of the guys in our local club has a BTech UV-50x2 and he is wanting to install it inside of his center console. We have all told him not to do that along with saving up for a better radio. I haven't heard very many say good things about the BTech UV50x2 or UV50x3 radios. The TYT-7800 is a pretty good dual band 2m/70cm radio for those on a budget. And it is hard to beat the Wouxun KG-1000G when it comes to GMRS mobile radios. And if you want only a single mobile radio and do not care about it being Part 95 certified, then the TYT TH-7800 is a good one for that without breaking the bank. It is easily unlocked through the official TYT programming software. I actually run a TYT 7800 and a Wouxun KG-1000G Plus in my vehicle.

No BTech stuff for me. But I do have a three-year-old KG1000G Plus and it puts out 51 watts and my three-year-old Midland MXT500 puts out 49 watts. I guess that is not too shabby for just sitting around all this time.

Forgot to add: on all three of the 50X2 units, none of them would output more than 28Watts or so. when i contacted BTech i was told it was because I was not using a dummy-load to measure... Later, when using a dummy load to test, the output was the same. Every KG-1000G i've used (plus friends units that I have tested) all output ~46-51 Watts...

I have not used the 50x3, but I have had three 50x2's (basically the same thing).. all three failed within a year or so... Over the last 5 or 6 years I have had 5 (one for each jeep, one for the house, 2 to make into a repeater) KG-1000G's and they all still work today.

Or one of the radio manufacturers (or both) saved money on a less expensive CTCSS circuit.

While I do believe all information and suggestions have importance in varying degrees... In this case, I have moved from the residence in my original post. The suggestions are well stated for anyone trying to determine best location and mounting practices for home/base antenna and cable choices.

I like how you can set it. Helps when monitoring at home and not having to stare at it or pick it up to check if its on. TidRadi radios are feature packed. Hard to go to other radios without missing something.

Yes, it is normal. it is the "breath" function in your menu.... it flashes to let you know it is still on when the display goes to sleep to save power. you can set how often it flashes in the options.

This is, in no way, related to, or even similar to an "emergency channel" as asked about by the OP. This advice should be ignored as it relates to a GMRS "Emergency Channel", unless your plan in a serious emergency is to die alone.

no, because it does not exist.. Contrary to "some people's", wishes, hopes and dreams, there is no generally accepted or FCC-designated emergency channel for GMRS. There may have been one, long, long ago, but not anymore. "Some people" claiming otherwise should be ignored, laughed at, and called names.

I am wondering if it is the #3 menu item... the "power save" setting... I think when it is in power save it might not pick up transmissions for a few seconds between it's monitoring timer. try setting it to OFF By default it might be on 1:4 or 1:3 which I think means it is only checking for activity every so many seconds.

I finally bought a KG-Q10H. I've been happy with it so far. It works well on 2m and 70cm. I have only been able to talk to people within a few miles on 6m but it works and sounds good. I have yet to try out 1.25m since no one around uses that band. It definitely performs better than the Icom IC-T10 I have.

The Trucker channel came about because of the old CB rule for the use of the 22 channels back in the 60s. Ch. 10 was designated for highway comm west of the Mississippi and Ch. 19 was designated for highway comm east of the Mississippi. Apparently, Ch. 10 bleeded over onto Ch. 9 from the Truckers that were using Linears so the Truckers traveling west would just stay on Ch. 19. Ch. 19 was not used by the Truckers on the West Coast and I don't recall why. Truckers coming west into California would switch from Ch. 19 at Barstow on Interstates 15 and 40, and at Rocklin on Interstate 80. At Barstow, the Truckers would run on Ch. 21 throughout Southern California to the Mexican Border. When they travel North on Interstate 5 or US 101 they would switch to Channel 15 at the Antelope Valley Freeway in Newhall and stay on 15 to Lost Hills at California State Route 46 and switch to Ch. 17. On California State Route 99 they would also switch to Ch. 17 at State Route 46 which is north of Bakersfield. On California State Route 58 from Bakersfield going east the Truckers would use Ch. 19. As they travel north from Sacramento in the very early days, they would use Ch.6 but that got changed to Ch. 17 eventually and I don't remember when but I think it was sometime around when the "Smokey and the Bandit" and the "Convey" movies became a hit. The Truckers used Ch. 17 all the way to the Canadian Border.

Like many 3-band HT's, this one has reduced power on 1.25m. However, 3W is better than Yaesu's 1.5W. If I was in the mood to buy 1.25m radio, I'd go with Wouxun.

From my reading of the law. You can't even have it in the car/truck. Due to the fact some of those frequencies are used by their lmr and public services. I am ham. They really don't question my gear my ham gear. I do have an sd card for my FTM400 that has all the gmrs frequencies removed to avoid any temptations Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk