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I think if burglars showed up for my radio equipment (or computers), my housemate would hand the stuff over and check twice to make sure the burglars didn't miss anything.

Gifted, actually. LoL

…hold on now let me double bag that for you, did you get everything?

The math proves that channel 16 is the ONLY channel for off roading: Off-Roading is usually referred to as 4X4'ing or 4x4 ... 4 x 4 = 16 There is no other choice but to use channel 16 when going 4x4ing ..

.--/.../-.-./.-../-..../...--/...-- Whew, I almost forgot to ID !

Now if the Radioddity DB-20G was actually IP rated for dust and water then I would have strongly considered getting one for my SxS. But since it is not IP rated, I went with the Wouxun KG-XS20G instead. One won't go wrong with the DB-20G or the Wouxun KG-XS20G or KG-1000G. The DB-20G wins for those on a tighter budget.

Slight anomaly. Usually when it's above freezing my SWR is 2.08, it's pretty consistent. Now it's 1.99-2.00. Not much of a difference but noteworthy because I have been taking notes.

Disregard the letters "PL".. and for now, disregard the RX tone as it is optional and will just confuse you more - in the TX menu, find the number and select it.. This whole thing should take no more than 15 seconds.. For more information/explanation, this video was recently posted on Youtube explaining and simplifying this exact topic:

It like this, 99% of the time the person/s who rob homes already knows your routine. They are not following you on your trip waiting for your callsign. Like most everyone has said have a security systems, dog/s, light on a timer, home sitter etc.. I wouldn't worry about ones callsign to be something a burglar is waiting for to rob your home.

Neither is leaving helpful, socially-acceptable answers - but, alas, "some people" are totally incapable of figuring it out and make themselves look like social-retards every time they leave a response.. @WRYF792 the settings you are looking for are the TX code and the RX code. I have given away my RA86, so I can't look at the radio or the user manual for you, but if i recall, in the TX and RX code lists you will be able to choose from either a PL/CTC tone or a DTC/DPL tone. all you need to do is find the NUMBER (dont worry if it starts with a P, C, or D), just find the NUMBER and select it from the list.

Hey, just tried removing the RX tones on both, same result. I'll try in another location to see, just maybe, there is a distance issue.

Out all the threads you quoted, one guy "may have" had a bad mic, but no resolution was shared. The rest of them were end-user problems. I would hardly call that an abundance of evidence that Midland products are unreliable. Especially compared to their reported revenue of over $19 million a year from their consumer markets. That's a lot of radios sold compared to a few threads from people who don't understand narrow band vs wide band, don't know how to use a computer, or no one will talk to them.

There are no FRS exclusive channels that allow you to operate a GMRS radio without identifying. Every FRS channel is a GMRS channel. Technically, if you want to operate without identifying, you must use an FRS certified radio. Whenever you are using a GMRS radio you are required by regulations to follow the GMRS regulations, which require identifying.

Yes, tried all of that

The Y adapter is the most logical issue. However and this may sound silly, have you turned both volumes up? Also I saw this note in the manual “The radio must be powered off/on after external speakers are connected before they will become active.”

I won't argue about that either. GO with what is best for you.

This is why while @SvenMarbles choice may be right for him, it’s not an absolute one answer for everyone. It’s still simple, just not that simple.

I wouldn’t get a Midland or a DB20 and not because I think either are unreliable. I don’t fault those that do though… While I have an old XP laptop, I hate using Windows machines. I have been an Apple IOS user since forever and I prefer to program on that platform so until those radios are supported on a Mac I’m out. I’m hopeful for the DB20. So if someone is considering a radio purchase and they have the same preference for operating system as I do and want to use a computer to program with then I recommend checking the radio you are interested in for Mac compatible RT software or Chirp. It’s easy to say what you don’t like, I think we all know people that only do that. So what do I like? Well for what is type accepted I would go with the Wouxun KG-1000 plus if you like bells and whistles. If you want a little more basic I like the Retevis RA87 , (I have one and I’m very happy with it). If you are okay with Windows and you need something more resilient I would go with the Wouxun KG-XS20G (I think they are IP65). That’s just my opinion and as of today it remains. Of course tomorrow something new will come along. I hope I have given some ideas to what someone might consider rather than just saying “that radio sucks and this is better”. The why is it better for you part can be helpful. Side note, I recently had opportunity to deal with the people at buytwowayradios.com for a small issue I had with a radio and the customer support team was awesome. I sent a radio back and they had taken care of it and sent it back to me before I even knew they had seen it. Cheers

Just personal preference here. I would go with the Icom IC-2730A for $310 over the Yaesu FTM-150RASP for $379. I'm disappointed in Yaesu's customer service and the fact that they want to charge people $900 to fix a bad USB port on some of their HF radios. The issue is that they know it is a bad design but refuse to fix it. Plus the parts required to fix the USB port are pretty cheap compared to Yaesu charging $900 to replace the entire main board.

I've owned both and still have the Wouxun. The main reason I got rid of my Midland MXT500 was because of the low output power on high setting. I got rid of the Midland before I knew that I could have sent the radio back for repair. I used both the Midland MXT500 and the Wouxun KG-XS20G 20 watt radio when we were testing the antennas on the tower for our GMRS repeater. We tested on simplex first. I am 22.5 miles away from the tower. The KG-XS20G actually did better all around than the MXT500 did. Both radios were hooked up to my Comet CA-712EFC.

My personal opinion is that Midland GMRS radios are pure butt. Midland made turd CB radios sold in Walmart for decades before finding relevance as a GMRS radio maker. I'm not sure when the hell Midland became the Yaesu of GMRS. It's all marketing. You're much better off getting GMRS radios made by companies like Radioddity, Retevis, and companies like that for the same prices, and I'll challenge anyone to tell me that you don't get a better quality product for the same money spent.

The DB-20G is absolutely what I would recommend to anyone as the quintessential quality/price ratio radio. They're just,.. good radios. $99, 20 watts (real watts), plug and play. But also unlockable if you want to get out of GMRS jail and have more repeater channels and more custom channel settings. If anyone asks me "hi, new to GMRS, what radio,.. etc.." Just get a DB-20G. They're radios that radio good for $100. End of conversation.

@WRYS709 Lets take a deep breath for a second... I've been talking with people in this thread since April of 2024. We are all just having a conversation. I am cool with anyone having an opinion about anything. Honestly, I don't have a dog in the fight because I don't use GMRS radios any more, and don't really care who buys what. I'm not going to tell anyone how to spend their money nor what their opinion should be. I merely expressed why I think many people are willing to spend a bit more money for Midland Micro Mobile radios. If you disagree... I'm fine with that. That said, I made a statement "People are willing to pay for easy out of the box and reliable." Your response to my opinion was "Except that these "Midland" threads are about the "unreliability" of Midland radios for one reason or another!" So, you went from an opinion based conversation to expressing a supposed fact to rebuke my anecdotal observation. I simply pointed out that what you shared (including this thread) is indeed NOT a group of facts supporting your opinion. There is nothing in those threads (nor this one) that support claiming the statement that "Midland radios have a reliability problem" is a fact. The funny part is, the title of this thread says they don't think Midland radios are very good. There is a difference between good (a loose performance description) and reliable. I can have a poor quality radio that is reliable. Anyway. if you want to have a debate over the reliability of Midland Micro Mobile radios, I don't think either of us have access to accurate data to express facts to support our opinions. So, it would be somewhat pointless. If you are going to try to rebuke my opinion by sharing a bunch of links to threads, at least pick some threads that actually have something to do with the radios being unreliable and (preferably) abundant enough to at least anecdotally support your claim. Unless you feel like it's something you really need to do, I wouldn't waste your time trying to convince me. Like I said, I disagree due to personal experience with hundreds of radios over years of experience AND I really don't care. At least I don't care beyond the point of possibly helping the people here. I have no personal interest.

LOL! Just a little. But it did show an increase in gain. Was it due to the material or the the way the antenna was constructed. It could have been atmospheric conditions changing in the short time it took me to switch antennas. It was a fun experiment that I did when I was bored. Either way, I didn't notice a decrease in performance that would make me to not want to use it for an antenna. Other than cost, if I had to buy it at retail price, it would make for a decent corrosion resistant material that would be perfect for salt water locations. I'm not sure if I would see any performance difference in a double-blind test.

Well, I did the experiment many years back as I acquired a surplus 30' coil of the stuff and did the old 1/4 wave SO-239 test on 70cm. I did notice a substantial increase in signal strength using the old Seat-O-Pants meter. Unfortunately, the old meter, and I mean old, didn't have an RS-485 data acquisition port. That being said, one could argue that I was suffering from the old placebo effect and it was just a figment of my imagination. Either way, it was a fun experiment and what I got for the remainder of the coil on eBay I will stick with copper.

Johnson Valley is in Notarubicon Territory. Ch. 16 should be the go-to channel for off-roading.

I Tried to sleep with mine, but it's just too lumpy and tries to throw me out of bed ! I woke up in the morning with the mic cord around my neck !

This request falls right into my personal experience: I purchased the Anytone AT-779UV ($99.95) and LGR Mag-Mount ($19.95) from Let's Get Ready Radios based here in Los Angeles, with fast free shipping in the USA: Out of the box easy use in GMRS, 18 watts, Repeater Channels, Microphone controls, cigarette lighter plug for easy installation and removal, NOAA channels pre-programmed. It is also known as the Radioddity DB20-G for more money from Amazon and others. These radios have been heavily supported here on myGMRS with only a few scattered criticisms. I purchased a 2nd one to use in my home! I have no affiliation with LGR other than that of a satisfied customer!

Simply put just converse on the FRS channels and there ar no needs for the Call Sign....

Go with what you like and don't worry about what others think of your choices, yea! I don't like all them other radios, and therefore, I DON'T TALK TO THEM!!!! I sleep with my Midland radio and it keeps me warm at night!!!!! With all the people I can talk to on mine, I'm thinking of renting out like a HOOKER to keep the local (all other radios) want-to-bes happy! Only thing I dislike is having to turn up the volume but I don't mine half the time I guess, not much is really being said anyway unless it's a Jeep Trail ride...hehehe. I talk and nobody even knows what I'm running anyhow. Stick that into your muddy grippers and crawl on-it!

The main issue with Baofeng radios is not the transmit quality. The issue is the receive quality. They are more susceptible to frontend overload and interference when compared to other radios. But yes the Baofeng radios do work as intended and have allowed many people to get into amateur radio and/or GMRS without spending a lot of money. The same thing can be said about Hi-Point. Granted most of my experiences has been with their carbines. They are cheap, no frills firearms that work reliably. Again they serve a purpose that they allow people on limited budgets to be able to have a firearm for self defense. It doesn't matter what we talk about when it comes to radios, firearms, or anything else. Prices and quality range from very cheap to very expensive. And even the more expensive stuff will have their quirks and/or issues. Go with what you like and also what fits your budget. Don't worry about what others say.

Don't bother because he will state that he has 999 reason to not use any Chinese made radio. In fact he will only recommend an old commercial radio that requires either MS-Dos or Windows 3.1 to program.

But if you dont degrade others, how are you going to make yourself feel superior to them and show everyone how much of an expert you think you are?

I think it is hilarious how "some people" so are completely incapable of grasping the simple fact that just because they dont like something, nobody else on the planet possibly could like it. As @marcspaz noted, many people are more than willing to pay for a simple, easy to use, no frills/no bells&whistles, "americanISH" product. Just because it is not the right choice for you does not mean it's not the right choice for someone else.

if your two radios are too close together when you test hitting the repeater, they could be desensing each other. Move them apart... like across the room if necessary... or get someone else to monitor the other radio further from your transmitting one.

My reasoning is why is it needed ? Public Safety Radios systems dont use roger beeps and have worked just fine for years. Ive never once seen the reason for it in any of my communications. My repeaters are used all the time and users know how to operate on them. I guess its just how you use a radio or have used one. Ive never had a FF or SAR unit walk up to me and say "hey I need it to beep so I know folks are done". You will also not hear it on most commercial LMR systems. Highway departments, water departments, tow trucks, parks and rec departments all know how to use a radio. As said its all up to the individual, but I dont allow it on my repeaters and dont plan to change that.

I was once in a little village in the interior of Alaska when an earthquake took out telephone communication for 4 days. It wasn't local damage -- the stations somewhere south of us that relayed the telephone signals went down. I didn't pay any attention at the time, but I'm guessing they used microwave or something to "squirt" the signals to a series of towers. Anyway, some of them that served that village went out. This was about 15 years ago and cell service didn't exist in Alaska outside the few cities. The village had no road -- all contact with the outside world was by telephone and airplane. Fortunately, quite a few of the villagers had radios with which they could talk to the various aircraft overflying the affected areas. I didn't know much about radios back then, but I think they were mostly marine radios. The Natives in the interior villages are pretty casual about things like getting a license and using approved radios, and by "casual" I mean they don't give it even one thought. Anyway, the guys/gals with radios were able to keep planes coming in. The time schedule was a bit disrupted, but we still got one plane a day in and out. It's surprising how much more isolated I felt when the phones were down, even though I wasn't really calling anyone anyway. Some of the interior villages have cell phone service now, but it's only available in the immediate area of the village. I assume they still use radios a lot to stay in touch while out hunting or fishing. I think the main reason they mostly use marine radios is simply that they're readily available. When the next village is 300 miles away, nobody is going to hear you breaking the rules. One or two of the larger villages in the interior actually had an amateur radio repeater which everyone in the village used without concern for niceties like call signs. Heck, the repeaters probably weren't even licensed, but again, who's going to check? Come to think of it, I wonder if they could have been marine radio repeaters? A quick internet search tells me such things exist.

Yeah Hurricane Helena proved how reliable cell towers, and even some amateur and GMRS repeaters are.

Now it's 210 miles instead of 200 miles. The tale grows with each telling. Oh and don't forget to tell us the 796 reasons why every dedicated Part 95 certified radio that is made overseas is total junk. Or are we up above 800 reasons now. You happen to live in the ideal location in the wide open desert of the southwest.Most people will NEVER see that kind of coverage due to location, local terrain, forested areas, urban areas, etc, etc. @WSEZ those repeaters are linked even though linking is against the regulations set forth by the FCC overlords.

Wait until Gary finds out about license plates...

Like some of you I usually quote a post or a portion of a post so the context of my comment is clear. On occasion I have written a comment, thought better about it and backspaced to the beginning of my comment to start again. Sometimes I backspaced one too many characters and I end up inside of the quote block. If you add your comment there it’s not easy to know what you quoted and what you commented; both appear within the quote block. At first I couldn’t figure out how to get out of it. It’s not always possible to click below it. But then I discovered that if I just go to the very end of any text or spaces in the quote block and hit a couple of returns, the forum software would move my cursor out of the quote block and underneath it, right where I wanted. You probably already knew this, but just in case you didn’t, I thought I’d mention it.

You and your wife don't need to be yelling your call sign back and forth to eachother. In fact, the frequent yelling of callsigns on GMRS is a learned dork habit of all of the ham radio people who've moved in on GMRS.

Nobody in Arches National Park is listening for a call sign so they can call back to a criminal they have on speed-dial in Atlanta to burglarize your home so they can split the ill-gotten gains. Nobody hearing your call-sign in Atlanta is going to assume that your entire family is out of the home just because you use the radio to talk to someone five miles away while driving home from work. These licenses are family-oriented. If you're concerned about the address being public, switch your record over to a PO box. But again, this is not a very useful attack vector. On any given day the FCC website probably doesn't even load. Anyway, your choice. But call signs being linked to mailing addresses has been the standard since the early days of ham licensing.

I get it that people do not like having their address and info listed for anyone to see on the FCC website. But if you true want to stay off the map and be untraceable then you would have to totally go off grid which means no cell phones, computers, tablets, etc along with no bank accounts and paying cash for everything. We get tracked everyday if we have a cell phone on us or even by our vehicles if you own a newer one with all of the computer modules onboard. PS: If you have ever had any type of government issued security clearance then they already know your life story. And the government ALSO has your DNA on file if you have served in the military since 1993. IF you are that worried, then get a good home security system and a big dog that roams the house while you are gone.

I understand your point, but in order for that to happen, a number of things would have to occur simultaneously. 1) Someone would have to hear your call. 2) They'd have to know they could look up your address from the call sign. 3) They'd have to know a criminal near where you live -- because by definition, if you're away from home, the miscreant is somewhere near you, not near your house. 4) They'd have to go to the effort of contacting their buddy and telling him to burglarize your house, which they'd have little incentive to do because criminals don't burglarize a house and send part of the ill-gotten gains to a friend 100 miles away. The odds of all that happening simultaneously are so astronomically small that I don't even consider it. I just periodically check the security cameras on my phone and go on enjoying my vacation.

I couldn’t remember this myself so I had to look it up but English on the identification is required. 95.1751 GMRS station identification. (b) The call sign must be transmitted using voice in the English language or international Morse code telegraphy using an audible tone. You can use a P.O. Box as stated. With GMRS if someone can hear that you are no where near home than they are also not likely anywhere near said home. While you do bring up a valid concern here are some ideas. Use an alarm system, camera security, house sitter, big dog, a pleasantly noisy neighbor, Burmese tiger traps (affiliate link below). Pun intended

CSRAGMRS has this statement pertaining to the use of their equipment: *We do not allow the use of any DTMF or end of transmission tones otherwise known as a Roger Beep(RB). Seems redundant to use a, "Roger Beep" on a repeater in my opinion if you get used to listening to the repeater operation. I forgot to say too, that you might search the Repeater Map here and open the information box to see if the owner states a restriction on actually using the repeater with a RB. Just a suggestion as it seems to me that stipulation would have come with your approval to use the equipment. Just a newbie trying to help....

Very good question. I am utterly amazed there has not been more talk about this topic. While I am not an expert on the subject I will share what I do know. - There is no official need for DTMF in GMRS. It is a feature that can be used when you have a special need for it. - DTMF codes are commonly used to remotely control repeaters and to control other electronics that might be monitoring the frequency. - In some radio circles (outside GMRS) some repeaters and other radios might require both a tone burst to trigger a remote receiver to open up. This is a feature that equipment that long pre-dated CTCSS and DCS sometimes needed for operation. I know of no cases in GMRS where is applicable today. Perhaps someone else will have a current day example where it is being used. - Sidetones refers to the feature of your radio that allows you, the operator, to hear the tones that your radio is sending out. This could be your radio’s ANI-ID, manual DTMF from button presses, or even select-call calling tones. The term ‘Sidetone’ comes from telephony and refers to the sound emitted from the ear piece portion of the phone. If you press a button on the phone’s keypad you will hear the tones from the ear piece. In your radio, when sidetones are not active you could very well be sending out DTMF tones and have no idea that you are. If you are using DTMF for anything, turn sidetones on so you know when and what you are sending. - The ANI-ID on your radio is a number that you establish that identifies your radio. You have six digits available and values must be greater than 101. - If you have ANI-ID turned on, when you press and/or release your PTT, your ANI-ID is sent out. The BOT, EOT and BOTH values you see in one of you radio’s function menus determines if your ANI-ID is sent out when you press PTT, release PTT or press and release. - If a receiving radio has a DTMF decoder within it, your ANI-ID will appear on their display suggesting to them which radio is transmitting. - The ‘Ring’ feature is one that, when properly enabled, allows other radios in your group to cause your radio to ring to attract your attention. For this to occur, the transmitting radio must have a valid ANI-ID value configured, the receiving radio must have an ANI-ID configured, and the transmitting radio also needs to have the receiving radio’s ANI-ID entered into the Call Group it is using. So, for example, if you have two radios, one with an ANI-ID 101 and another with an ANI-ID 102, radio 101 can cause radio 102 to ring, and radio 102 can cause radio 101 to ring. The Call Group fields are where you enter the ANI-ID of the various radios you want to be able to call/ring. Think of them like speed-dial memories. For radio 101 to call 102, radio 101 would have 102 in one of its Call Group cells. - When you have one of your PF buttons configured to make a Call, that button causes two things to be sent out in rapid succession: your ANI-ID and the receiving radio’s ANI-ID. Using the 101 and 102 radio example above, this takes the form of ‘101#102’. - Some wildcards are supported in Call Groups. Instead of entering ‘101’ in a Call Group, you could enter ‘1**’. The later would case all radios whose ANI-ID begins with ‘1’ to ring. - Ringing is not enabled by default on Wouxun radios. One must expressly enable it. - One way to enable ringing is to set the current channels SP-Mute mode to “QT*DT” or ‘QT*DTMF”. Since SP-MUTE is a channel-by-channel setting you can have some memory channels configured to ring when called and others that do not. - ANI-ID needs to be programmed, but it does not need to be turned on to always send out to use the Select call feature. I have found zero Wouxun documentation or videos that covers this. Admittedly I struggled for sometime trying to piece it together. Thanks to [mention=5881]IanM[/mention] who provided some enlightenment to help me bring it all into focus. I have found some BF stuff that covers the subject a little, but terminology is slightly different. These features have, in my view, practical use in large organized group and family outings. They have also had merit, and perhaps still do, in some LMR circles. I recently have been configuring all my radios to have unique ANI-ID, and setting up Calling Groups. I have yet to work to work out the specific details of the SP-Mute mode called ‘QT+DT’ or QT+DTMF. But my current understanding is that the radio will not break squelch until it hears an ANI-ID in DTMF form and then when it does there is some other unique behavior. I will soon be exploring that and documenting its behavior. Hope this helps. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM Edit: If you to do some experimenting and to see things work with little complication do this: 1) Configure multiple Wouxun radios. Give each a unique ANI-ID starting a 101 and going up. Use 101 in your KG-935G. 2) Set each radio to GMRS channel 01 (462.5625), low power. 3) Make sure all radios are using the same CTCSS. Say 67.0 Tx and Rx. 4) Set the SP-MUTE mode for channel 01 on all radios to QT*DT. 5) On your KG-935G radio, enable sending out of the ANI-ID each time the PTT is pressed. 6) Turn all radios on. 7) Press PTT on the KG-935G and immediately press 102# and watch what happens. Then repeat using the ANI-ID for all other radios. This simulates a select call. 8) Press PTT on the KG-935G and immediately press 1** and watch what happens. 9) Press PTT on the KG-935G and immediately press *# and watch what happens. When you have made it this far and have seen ANI-ID show up on the radio displays and you have successfully experienced ringing, then move to programming your call groups in the radios if you decide you want to use them. You may also wish to explore the different behaviors you get if some radios are in the 100 series, some in 200 series and some in the 300 series of ANI-ID values. BTW, Despite PTT-ID being a menu option on the 805G, the ID is never sent out of that radio, nor will the radio ever display one if it receives one.