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excellent idea! will do, thank you

Most of us have blocked SOCALGMRS so we no longer see his rude mean comments.. I dont think his problem is a result of a naging wife. No women would want anything to do with him. The best way to deal with the idiot is ignore him.. Hover over his member icon, select ignore, make sure to check all the boxes on the bottom.. He'll go away.

Separate pricing for dots. I ain't stupid.

Not to mention that a H.A.M.s radios that has been unlocked to transmit on GMRS does not make it a "GMRS radio" .. You will have to do everything - ALL the programming, EVERYTHING manually, yourself.. For many people this is no big deal.. For many others, it is a dealbreaker.. With a real "GMRS Radio", you take it out of the box, turn it on, pick a channel and talk.. not so with a H.A.M.s radios that is made to transmit on GMRS frequencies..

Years back I learned Morse Code while debating on getting a H.A.M ticket. I regret it now, as the noise from my ceiling fan at night keeps saying "Im watching you from the AC vent".

I think you mean that you would like to be able to ignore specific “threads”. If you truly meant “threat” I would urge you to report any threats by clicking on the ellipsis in the upper right corner of the post that includes the threat. I would also like the ability to ignore threads.

You can still see what that guys posts? Man, you gotta jump on the "block that moron" train!

I thought we were friends but now I see that you hate me.

The FCC may levy the fine, but the money goes to the Treasury department as part of the General Fund. The only parties that quickly pay are those with licenses the FCC grants as they can cancel or deny further application or renewal.

In the U.S., GMRS has no courses. It’s a personal radio service that simply requires paying for a license ($35 for ten years.) Amateur radio does have three levels of participation. Each require passing a test. Again, the license costs $35 for ten years, but in many places the test is free or very inexpensive. My club has free testing. Studying can consist of merely memorizing the answers (which still imparts some knowledge, regardless of how some people might act) or working through the questions and supporting information until you understand the principles. One source of free learning that I greatly enjoyed using when I studied for my ham license was hamstudy.org. It offers flash card type learning with references for every question in the amateur radio test pool so you can learn as much as you want. Based on your response I believe you’re in England. I’m sure they have something similar. Again, good luck!

The old PRC25 and PRC77 man portable radios and the vehicle mounted radios all used from 30 MhZ to 70 MHz divided into Low and High. Low was from 30 MHz to 50 MHz and high was from 51 MHz to 70 MHz. SINCGARS uses from 30 MHz to 88 MHz and each transmission will use many different frequencies since the SINCGARS is designed to frequency hop so many time per second. And even if the military does not use 30-88 MHz all of the time, they still have priority over everyone else on those frequencies. Amateur radio, CB, MURS, GMRS users are all secondary. And the lower VHF frequencies aren't the only ones used often. The Air Force uses the 70cm band for radar. You won't find any amateur 70cm repeaters allowed near any major air base for that reason. And hearing military aircraft on 49 MHZ is normal since that falls within what the military uses. The air force has also used other amateur bands for air to air and air to ground coms. I had totally forgotten about the 49 MHz phones and such. I do remember as a kid that I would always grab the 49 MHz remote control cars and make my brothers use the 27 MHz remote control cars. I could be ornery by keying up on my walky talkies and mess their cars up. But they couldn't do the same to me.

*Shakes fist in the air

I picked up a Wouxun KG-UV980P, like new in box, on ebay, and thought I'd give some of my impressions now that I've used it a few days. The KG-UV980P is a quad band amateur radio, featuring 10m, 6m, 2m, and 70cm bands. It will also receive in the CB range, airband, and with proper CHIRP configuration, MURS, Marine VHF, and GMRS. The KG-UV980P is the amateur radio version of the well known (in these circles) KG-1000G GMRS radio. The KG-UV980P will transmit with 10w in the 10m and 6m bands. And it is advertised as 50w in the 2m band VHF band, and 40w in the 70cm UHF band. In testing with a dummy load, my unit comes in at a little over 10w in the 10m and 6m bands, about 46w in the 2m VHF band, and around 43-45w in the 70cm UHF band. So its marketing may be slightly overstating the VHF power, and understating the UHF power. However, it doesn't matter. For practical purposes, it's an ample mobile and base station radio in the UHF and 2m VHF bands. First obvious question: Will it work for me, a person reading posts on a GMRS website? And the answer is that through some simple configuration adjustments of the band ranges in CHIRP, yes, this will work for you. You might also ask if it will work for those people who prefer more of a Smokey and the Bandit radio band, the answer is sort of, with caveats. And some might ask if it will work for them on a band that has five VHF channels numbered 1-3,Green,Blue. The answer is somewhat, with a caveat. The caveats: On the smokey and the bandit band the radio can listen in AM mode, but I think only transmit in FM, and would need to set the power to L or M. But at "M" you're only putting out about 2.6w in the 11m band, whereas this band is FCC restricted to 4w maximum for AM and FM transmission, so you come up a little short. On the other hand, at "H" power, you're way over the limit, at 10w, so don't do that. In other words, if you're buying this for the Superbowl band, it's not ideal; only FM, and wrong power levels. As for the 5-channel VHF band starting with the letter M, there is no power setting that brings you down to compliance, as the lowest setting is a little over 5w in the 144+ VHF band, and the M band is limited to 2w. So if you're buying this for the M band you're making a mistake; it cannot meet the technical limitations required for that band. The final caveat is this radio is an amateur radio, not type approved for bands that require type approved equipment. If you have your amateur license, it's useful. If not, radios specific to your license make more sense. About our on-topic band: Low power will comply with the technical restrictions of channels 1-7 -- narrow band or wide. Medium and High power will comply with the technical restrictions of channels 15-22 and the repeater inputs -- narrow band or wide. The radio's lowest power setting in UHF is about 5w, and it's a mobile radio, so, like all mobile radios, it will not meet the restrictions for channels 8-14, which must transmit below a half watt. The radio: it's two in one. This radio has two radios inside. It has two volume knobs. Its display has a left side and a right side, each of which corresponds to one of the radios. It literally can play both sides at the same time. It can function as a full-duplex repeater, and as a full-duplex cross-band repeater. It can receive and transmit at the same time, in repeater mode. Some radios have a left and right side, but only one radio on the inside. Those radios achieve this trick by rapidly shifting the one internal radio to listen on the channel set on the left, and then on the channel set on the right. This is how the RA87 works. This is how the UV-5G or UV-5G Plus work. But the Wouxun KG-UV980P doesn't need such a trick; it has two transceivers in it. This is a really nice feature for some people. The mic: It's well balanced, and weighted. My RA87 mic feels like it's mostly air -- like a hollow chocolate bunny. The KG-UV980P mic feels like a MaBell desk phone from the 80s. It feels nice. Its keypad works well, and has all the features you would want on it (better so than the faceplate even). There is a speaker in the mic handset, and there are two speakers on the base unit. There is a volume control on the mic, a monitor button, menu button, band selection, direct frequency input, and a lot more. It's a good mic, and from what people who have heard my voice over this radio say, it sounds awesome. The speakers: With a speaker in the mic, and two speakers on the base unit, it sounds good and offers nice options for listening. There are also two external speaker outputs. Remember, it has two radios in it. And this is why. I've used the radio indoors, and in my super quiet 2014 F150. In those environments, the speakers are plenty loud. I have not tried it out in my old Bronco with a 5.8L v8, 3" exhaust, every rattle known to man, and a thin shell of a roof. I suspect that just like my RA87, which is mounted in the Bronco, its speaker will be almost adequate unless I'm at highway speeds. However, the fact that it has a mic speaker may help in noisy environments. The faceplate: The radio's faceplate is removable, and can be mounted separately from the base unit. It comes with a short connector for mounting the face plate on the base unit, and it comes with a long connecting cord, as well as a dash mount to allow the faceplate to be located a few feet away from the base unit. CHIRP: This unit can be programmed with Wouxun's kooky Windows software, or it can be programmed very easily from CHIRP. You will need to purchase a data cable, as it doesn't come with one. The cable is not expensive. With CHIRP you can program its 999 channels, set the band limits, set many other options, and even allocate channels to ten different scan groups, of user-defined size. This allows you to set it to scan only 2m repeaters, or only GMRS, or whatever other scan groups you can imagine that fall within its band capabilities. On my Linux laptop, the cable required no additional drivers; just download and install CHIRP, which I already had, plug in the cable, download the code plug from the radio, modify it, and upload it back to the radio. Modes: The "left side" radio supports AM and FM. The "right side" is FM only. Despite supporting 10m, it doesn't have SSB. It also doesn't have any digital modes. Transmit bands: 10m(&11m), 6m, 2m(+...), 70cm(65cm). Receive bands: 11m, 10m, 6m, VHF from 144-179, UHF from 420-470, plus airband (123), and 33cm. Heat: I don't talk nearly as much as I type, so I haven't really gotten it hot. It has a fan, and the fan can be set to always on, on while keyed up, or on when it reaches a certain temperature or is keyed up. Heat dissipation doesn't seem to be a problem. I keyed it up for 90 seconds into a 50w dummy load at high power, and it got warm enough to feel the warmth, but not hot. Nevertheless, dash-mounting the radio and then rag chewing in southern Arizona may not be a great plan. If you're going to dash mount it, dash mount the faceplate, and put the base unit somewhere shady in the vehicle, with sufficient ventilation. Programming: The menu is not too difficult to understand, but it's sure easier using CHIRP to get the radio configured, and then to just rely on the menu system for a little tweaking here and there. That goes for programming channels, too. Just do it in CHIRP, upload, done. Overall quality impressions: The radio is hefty, solid, has nice sound, close-enough power, good venting, great features, and great mounting options. Antenna choices: The closest I have to an antenna that will cover this radio's capabilities is a Comet CA2X4SR-NMO. I don't have a General class license, so I don't spend time in the 10m band. And nobody uses 6m in my area, from what I can tell. The CA2X4SR-NMO covers the 2m, 70cm, and closely adjacent bands nicely, so that's what I use. Odds and ends: Independently configurable Tx and Rx tones, compander, over-temp detection, high/low power input detection, scan groups, CTCSS and DCS scanning/detection, and very important to some, a roger beep. Very important to others, the roger beep can be disabled. DTMF, call groups, lots of features you'll never use. Should you consider this radio? Well, it depends. It's not cheap, at about $380-$400. There are far cheaper ham radios out there, and far cheaper GMRS radios. You might even find less expensive quad-band radios. But the build quality and sound quality are pretty darn good. If you are only GMRS licensed, get the KG-1000G Plus. It's the same radio but type approved for, and configured for GMRS. You'll be very happy with that radio. If you're a CB person, no, get a proper CB because it will have the appropriate power levels available, and will be type approved. If you're a MURS person, no, get the KG-1000M radio (which is serious overkill -- so really get an inexpensive MURS radio). If you're an amateur who operates in the SSB portions of the 10m band, get a proper HF radio so you can also enjoy 12m, 15m, 17m, 20m, and 40m. But if you're like me -- rather addicted to nice equipment, enjoying both amateur and GMRS, needing flexible installation options, and appreciating the features this radio offers, it's a pretty decent choice.

Every jerk and a--hole I know defends him/herself by saying, "I'm just honest." So, here's some honesty for you -- If you find yourself saying that...you're an a--hole.

That's not true. I don't hate anyone. Although, I definitely do not have any love for Pandaland radios and radio products or other related inferior products.

He would fit right in with the rest of the losers and whacko's on 7.200 MHz

You did nothing wrong. Someone was just trying to bamboozle you. Ignore them. Remember - GMRS shares frequencies with unlicensed FRS where, for all practical purposes, there are no rules, protocols or norms and people will say or claim just about anything. Not that all GMRS users are well behaved either...

Yes, it's clunky. Same reason for purchase.

I’ll add you to Buddy Watch Alert. I’m AI7KS. Okay, if I see you’re on the air when I’m on the air I’ll call you.

Yes SIR !

Best of luck getting that figured out!

There are plenty of amateur band radios with removable face plates that can be MARS modded/unlocked to work on GMRS. Some work better than others. Again they will not be Part 95 certified. Some people actually do care about that. And repeater offsets will have to be manually programmed through the radio or using CPS from the manufacturers or CHIRP. None of them will automatically put in the correct repeater offset. I know for a fact that the TYT, Icom, RT Systems and CHIRP software will not automatically input the correct offset for GMRS repeaters on radios that have been unlocked/MARS modded. Yes I have a few that have been modded/unlocked. I can say that the TYT TH-7800 and TH-8600 performs better on GMRS than a modded Icom IC-2730. The Wouxun KG-Q10H does just as well as the KG-Q10G and KG-935G when it comes to hand held radios.

I found out I could get rebuilt Aouye soldering stations cheap.

Because all they have to do is one enforcement/fine like this once every few years and all the sad-hams will go all over the internet posting things like "For those that don’t think the FCC will enforce anything" ... Often followed up by things like "you're next!!" or.. "its not worth the risk!!!1" ... When in reality, statistically speaking, there is no risk.

One of my H3 GMRS units is now showing no power to the antenna with an SWR meter. This one's been literally sitting in a bin since I tested them all on May 9, so... this is disappointing. If I can't rely on them to work after sitting untouched for a month, I might have to pony up for different units. On the other hand, the cheap Retevis 628 FRS walkie talkies I bought for my oldest kid have been thrown, dunked in the dog's water bowl, chewed on by my toddlers, and gone down the slide, and they still work just fine.

And that is why I will always recommend a Part 95 certified GMRS radio for those new to radio. As you said, they work right out of the box and are easy to program.

This enforcement has been going on for years - and my prediction is that he never pays a dime.. Just look up this guy's PREVIOUS fine of $14,000 issued by the FCC in 1999.. Which he has still not paid... BUT - you ARE correct.. that is ONE fine.. out of millions of violations every year... You literally have a greater chance of being hit by lighting .. but, it COULD happen... So.. act accordingly...

Oh my, mister stickler for the Rules is recommending a 100 Watt radio for GMRS when the power limit is 50 Watts???? I wonder if he actually read the regulations like he tells everyone else to do. And as @OffRoaderX stated, the Wouxun KG-1000G and KG-1000G Plus radios are the only Part 95 certified consumer grade radios with a removable face plate. And they work right out of the box and are easy to program through the radio or with the Wouxun CPS from Buy Two Way Radios. Yes you can buy an amateur band or commercial band radio and open them up to work on GMRS but then you get into the whole Part 95 Certification. And we will leave that argument for another time.

Wrong on both counts. GMRS is for whatever you want it to be used for. HAM is for whatever you want it to be used for. There are plenty of HAM's who use HAM while off-roading or hiking.There are plenty of GMRS users "making contacts" especially through repeaters. Who cares what they use it for. It's there to be used, for whatever someone wants to use it for. If someone wants to use a log book regardless of service, why would you even care?!

1. That looks like a capacitor, not a resistor. 2. This really isn’t an electronics lab kind of group, but many of us fiddle. You might get better results at one of the websites/forums dedicated to diy fixing consumer electronics. 3. Do you have a GMRS radio?

Keep this rule in mind: Users who continue to post inflammatory, abusive comments will be banned from the forum after two warnings are issued by moderators. It might make the forum safer if some of us UNblock anyone that might break this rule, and then report them every time they do.

SoCalGMRS should become an Amateur Radio Operator so he'll be a genuine "Sad HAM" and change his handle to SoCalHam and hang with his new hammers on the Radio Reference forum.

Done

As if Randy needs an evil alternate account. As much as I love Randy and sometimes making him reply on YT videos by making absolutely ridiculous statements (it's a hobby), he certainly doesn't need an evil alt. Randy is just evil enough to get by.

You should make a step-by-step How-To for blocking/ignoring someone.. with screenshots and arrows and everything.. That way we can all link to it whenever necessary. In the screenshots be sure to use an appropriate user as the example.

How the heck did I read right past that? Of course, if I read it a couple of days ago, it's entirely possible I forgot it. I'm old. That happens.

Thank you for taking the time to do a review. I'm sure it will be helpful for those considering the KG-U980P I have only used Wouxun GMRS certified mobile radios and they work well and are easy to program. I do have the quad band KG-Q10H hand held that covers 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, 6m out of the box. It is unlock able to work on MURS and GMRS. It works well and is the hand held I use most.

Thanks for this! I am sure a lot of people considering one of these will find it helpful.

The specified audio power on the 1000G+ is 3W, external or internal which is what the vast majority of radios out there have. Some do have 5W. So it should be as loud as the internal speakers at least. If it's not, try another speaker. I've no issues with my Wouxun "driving" external speakers, same loudness as the internal (seems louder to me actually). It's a 90's Cobra external speaker. But if your hearing is marginal it's always gonna sound not the best. There's options but all require another power source: Power(amplified) speaker: Needs external 12v source. Ex: https://www.wearecb.com/bc23as.html Audio jack to bluetooth: a small bluetooth device that plugs into the external speaker jack and pairs with your cars bluetooth. Requires power (most are just battery powered and have a USB port to charge but if you permanently plugged the USB port into a power source it's always powered). Pair this device with your bluetooth enabled car stereo, and your audio will come thru your vehicles speakers. Ex: Amazon listing Audio jack to FM Transmitter. A small FM transmitter that plugs into your external speaker jack. Requires power (most are just battery powered and have a USB port to charge but if you permanently plugged the USB port into a power source it's always powered). Tune your car stereo to the devices output station and your audio will come thru your vehicles speakers. Ex: amazon listing

Oh I can feel my blood sugar levels spike just looking at that photo. Why tease a diabetic like that. Outside of just stocking one type of connector and keeping the prices and inventory down, there is absolutely no reason to use PL-259/SO-239 connectors for any VHF/UHF radio when N Type connectors are better. While N Type connectors are definitely more weather resistant, I still wrap them just like I wrap PL-259 connectors out of habit.

You will get a baker's dozen if you can get all the radio manufacturers to start using N Type connectors on all HVF/UHF/GMRS radios.

Currently, only one account can be created per GMRS callsign as a security measure to prevent multiple random people from trying to register the same callsign. This works fine for families where one member is the coordinator of the communications, but I know it isn't ideal when multiple people have an interest in participating independently. I was thinking about changing the user accounts on this website to allow a single "main account" per callsign. The account holder can then create multiple subaccounts sharing the same callsign: this way, the account holder/licensee controls who may share their license regarding a myGMRS account and we prevent the issue of random people trying to claim a callsign over and over again. Imagine how many people would try to claim mine, for example. What does everyone think about that?

Good point. Dear Mom, How are you doing? The siblings and I know you are short on funds, and cannot make this months mortgage payment, so we got together and chipped in. You now have a GMRS license! So exciting! Anyway, Love you! Your kids. (Yes, im going to hell 8-P )