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Remember that the advertised amperage of power supplies is the peak amp draw and NOT the continuous power draw. You can figure the continuous power draw will be 75% to 80% of the peak amps. Most 30 amp power supplies are only good for 22-24 amps continuous. I run my Icom IC-2730 and my Wouxun KG-1000G with an Astron 30 amp power supply and it does fine since I never talk on both radios at the same time. I tried running my Yaesu FTDX-10 or Icom IC-7300 with my LDG AT-1000ProII auto tuner on the 30 amp Astron. Tuning with the LDG would be enough to cause the 30 amp Astron to go into protection mode and shut down. Either radio and the LDG tuner runs fine on the Astron 50 amp power supply.

I'm sorry, but you're wrong... and that's okay. You can either accept that some words have more than one meaning depending on context and in this context the word is used correctly, or you don't. That doesn't mean the rest of us are illiterate.

No. Absolutely not. The inventor (Motorola) named the technology Private Line, aka privacy codes. It was done to provide the operators privacy, meaning a lack of interruption from unwanted signals. Its the same concept as a privacy sign at a home or a hotel... privacy and it's literal term means to be left alone. A lot of people misunderstand the definition of privacy, confusing it with secrecy.

You are correct that the mobiles aren't a good comparison to hand held radios. But it does show that even going from 20 watts to 50 watts does not make a big difference. Hand held use short and very compromised antennas that aren't very high above the ground. Line of site will make more of a difference than 2 watts versus 10 watts. Here is a question to ponder. Will a hand held work better if used by a big person compared to a skinny person? I ask since our bodies act as part of the ground plane when using a hand held radio.

I'm not sure the mobile comparisons are a realistic comparison for the original statement of: A handheld UHF frequencies between 440MHz and 470MHz 2 watts compared to 10 watts HT performance characteristics are significantly different because of the form-factor, antenna design and size, and several other conditions that make it unreasonable to compare them to a mobile radio. We really need someone with an HT that is capable of both 2w and 10w. I have an HT that outputs 0.5w and 4w (about 9dB), but still not 2w and 10w (about 7dB).

But the laws!!! and the fines!!!!! Ohhh the fines!!!!!! Is it worth it?????

Not exactly the same thing but I have a Comet CA712EFC at the house and was using a Wouxun XS-KG20G+ which puts out 25 watts and to my repeater at my shop with a 7.2dBi Retevis antenna through 1.6KM of thick dense trees and it was hit or miss almost all the time. I switched up to a 50 watt KG1000+ and it's R7 or better all the time. 3dB difference in power level. I have a Tidradio H3 that puts out 4.7watts and a Baofeng UV26 that puts out 9.7 watts. I have a spot near my house behind a church that the H3 can't ping my repeater from whereas the UV26 will ping it with ease. But it doesn't matter neither can get any modulation through the repeater at that spot. But the wattage difference does allow the repeater to hear one and not the other.

I did a similar experiment using 20 watts and 50 watts on my base radio and Comet CA-712EFC. There is a GMRS repeater about 50-55 miles straight line distance from me. I could get in and was heard at 20 watts but had lots of static/noise. Switching to 50 watts made all the difference. The extra 30 watts didn't get me any more FARZ but it did make my signal clearer. It's not going to make much difference between 2, 5, or 10 watts with an HT when everything else is equal. One has to quadruple the output power to gain 1 S unit (6dB). And most people won't be able to hear the difference in 1 S unit.

My apologies. Thank you WRTC928.

Definitely not enough difference between 2 watts and 10 watts when using a HT for anyone to notice. Now I have held my cane up in the air while using a HT and cell phone and have occasionally seen a slight improvement. But I have to point the cane towards the tower no notice any change. As mentioned, UHF frequencies do not get along with trees, especially evergreen trees.

There's always one guy. LoL Under perfect conditions, best case, it's 1 S-unit. I would say while there is a measurable difference, there's no difference in practical application. So... I agree.

Trees.

one of my buddies will only use Astron for his AM Amplifiers, claiming a switching PS wont hold up long under continuous high load use. I currently use a DuraComm switching rack mount for my repeater and works well. It has a fan alarm and very seldom does it ever kick in...

I was responding to WRSX236's suggestion that "filter code" is a more appropriate term than "privacy code". My point is that whatever you call it, we'll still have to explain how it works to new users.

I think the Astron 50 said it could deliver 35 amps continuous.

I have a handful of them for various uses/projects. Other than being rated for 5W, they do great, just spend some time and align it correctly, they can get sensitivity down to about -120db or better. The FCC approval occurred before Part 95E approvals were a thing, previously they just called it Part 95, so yes, its approved. Now, your amplifier won't be approved.

I’ve never seen a mobile radio designed to fit either a single DIN or two DIN space. Most mobile radios mount under the dash, in a bracket attached to the dash or console, or under the seat. You will need to check the dimensions of the radio you buy before ordering it. You probably won’t be transmitting on more than one radio at a time so a single power supply should be fine as long as it has enough current capacity.

Hey folks, Just a quick reminder about our meetup this weekend. This is open to everyone. We especially encourage new operators and new members to join. We will have several area repeater owners joining us with information and printed handouts about what is happening in our community. Many of us will have test equipment, willing to help troubleshoot problems and answer any questions you may have. Looking forward to seeing you all on Sunday! If you haven't seen the event on our FB page, you can get the details in the original post (above) or at the link below. https://www.facebook.com/events/744340581470568/

"Sun still rises in the east, more at 11!"

Filter Code? Another inappropriate and out of context/misuse of a word. According to Daniel, a filter is a a porous device for removing impurities or solid particles from a liquid or gas passed through it. The last time I checked, I don't think a CTCSS decoder is filtering anything, it just either squelching or unsquelching the receiver contingent on the appropriate sub-audible function tone frequency being present on the the main carrier frequency.

there is a guy here that runs one on on a 4800 Mtn Peak. Good repeater, gets out very well. As far as i know, its been running 5 years + and it gets pretty busy at times. . BTW.. My bet, 75% of GMRS repeaters are not Part 95..

Whaooo.. Let's not get carried away!

Same in central MD. We have 2 1.25m repeaters that only get used by us in the 1.25 mafia

It's like the "Do Not Disturb" sign on your hotel room door. It won't keep people from knowing you're in there or hearing you having noisy s*x, but hopefully it will keep them from interrupting you.

I think of it like a private party across the street or a private pool at a hotel, sure you can see and hear what’s happening but if you don’t have an invitation or the code for the gate you’re not part of it.

Warning the following was composed pre morning coffee!!! Kristonapony! I’m sure glad there’s people keeping up the fight on whether or not a 15” antenna will fit in a box and if said box is standard or not. I was up all night worrying about it (was too). We need a slogan. Antenna Gate 2025? Free the whip? Feel free to post your ideas and be sure to pick a side. For the record if I order something and it doesn’t come, I take the novel approach of contacting who I got it from and say excuse me, can I get that thing I bought. Amazon is pretty good about returns in my experience. Speaking of Amazon lol, I found this. I can’t say if it ships in a standard box or not. Who knew there was so much dislike for the eggplant that they have shirts?. Affiliate link below? I now return you to the forum already in progress. Where my coffee?

Even with an InReach, you need to evaluate the situation and decide if it's the best solution in any given situation. [Trigger warning - really graphic gory stuff follows.] In 2019 I fell while hiking on a mountain in the Mojave Desert in California. To be specific, I was standing on a rock that decided to disintegrate. I lost my balance, windmilled wildly for a few seconds, realized the situation wasn't salvageable and that I was falling into a jumble of large boulders. I instinctively put my right hand (I'm nominally right-handed) on my neck to guard my spine. After I landed, I took stock of where I was and the condition I was in. I had fully broken both bones (radius and ulna) in my right forearm, with the bones sticking out. My knuckles were pretty scraped up and I wasn't sure if I'd broken anything there, either. I was not losing blood (although there was a lot of bleeding) and I could both feel my fingers and move them, so there was no risk of bleeding out and no apparent nerve / muscle damage. If you remember the Harry Potter movie where Harry breaks his arm and the crackpot wizard 'fixes' it by removing all the bones in his arm, that's about it, but with more blood and protruding bones. I got some of my army surplus emergency clotting powder (the yellowish stuff) out of my pack and dumped it on the spots where I was leaking blood. I snapped one of my hiking poles (I wasn't going to be able to use both of them, anyway) to create a makeshift splint and used one of those giant Target plastic bags (that they used to give out when shopping, and which I carried to port out any trash I made or found), poked a hole across the bottom to put my arm in, and put the handles over my head. FWIW, in the late 1970's I was on the volunteer first aid squad in the town I grew up in, and have also had more recent survival training). With the immediate emergency taken care of, I drank some water and took a pain pill from my pack and sat down on a less defective rock to take stock of the situation. I was WAY up on the side of a mountain, hours from the nearest hospital (as part of my pre-hike planning, I always take note of where the nearest urgent care / hospital / regional trauma center is). I had an InReach (and the SAR 50 plan that covers up to $50K in rescue costs) with me. However, I was in the middle of nowhere (Inyo County is twice the size of the state of Connecticut and has 18,500 people living it, none near me). I figured if I pushed the button, LifeFlight would send a helicopter from Pahrump, NV (the closest medical facility), land down on the flatlands near where the Jeep was parked, look up the mountain and go "NFW" and call out mutual aid from San Bernardino Mountain Rescue. Which, aside from being in another county and several hours away, I know those guys well and it would have been pretty embarrassing. They would have to carry a litter from the helicopter up the mountain to me, strap me into it, and have the helicopter fly up over me and drop a line down to hook onto the litter. So I decided to self-rescue. An hour and an half to get down the mountain to the Jeep, an hour across open desert and dirt roads, and another hour on paved roads to get to Pahrump. So, 3.5 hours total. I decided I could do that in less time than being rescued via the InReach, so that's what I did. With a fair amount of screaming in pain as I drove over bumpy areas. I was proven right about 6 months later when someone had a similar accident nearby, but closer to the nearest place where people lived (calling it a town would be vastly overstating things) and it took over 9 hours for LifeFlight and SB mutual aid to get that person to the same hospital I drove to. The moral of the story is that you need to be self-sufficient in the wilderness, and also be able to evaluate your situation and make the best decision possible based on the information you have and your training. If you're alone and unconscious or pinned and unable to move, nothing will save you. If you enlarge the attached picture, you can see red captions for "Where I Fell" and "Jeep" to get a feel for the situation I was in.

I'm on here mostly to collect feedback on the BF-F8HP Pro, make sure it gets to either the firmware developers, BTECH support, or something I should fix in the CPS. I don't have to be here. None of this "Brand Ambassador" stuff is in my job description. I also try to contribute useful information, since I've been a GMRS licensee for quite some time, know what is involved in setting up and operating a racked repeater with a tower antenna, and similar stuff. But enough about me... I thought one of the rules for this site was to maintain civil discussion. I interpreted Randy's post here as both non-civil and a personal attack. Anyway, this has devolved well away from the OP's 'I ordered a radio advertised with a 15" antenna and didn't get it'. Let's get back to technical stuff and friendly rag-chewing.

Nothing you said has been offensive but I don’t understand why you don’t want to be an eggplant.

Are you aware that the CTCSS and DCS tones for the Radioddity radios are programmed using the actual tone/codes i.e. 192.8 Hz & 445; and Midland radio uses a programming code such as CTCSS 31 for 192.8 Hz and DCS 57 for 445 as depicted in the Midland User Manual? When programming the Midland you need to make sure that you are programming in the appropriate CTCSS or DCS mode.

My RV Friends are just now getting out of Bear Creek Texas, untouched by the floods because they were camped high enough.. They say the devastation is unmanageable and the amount of rain they got in short period was beyond belief.. They've been staying in touch with the world via their GMRS radios, which they say were very busy by both rescue groups and people in general. There cell service has been spotty and just now coming back, they even had a hard time senidng text, which i thought worked off satellites now.. I would have been on the trip with them but had last minute issues with my VGT Exhaust break and still in the shop for a $4,500 repair.. (3weeks latter)... Thank god they are all safe..

Here’s what the menu shows for me:

Getting back to the original post, it’s truly unimportant whether it was an original Baofeng box, an oversized shipping box, or something else entirely.. What’s important is that the OP must contact the vendor to get the antenna that was advertised.

I'm not trying to be confrontational, but you are demonstrably wrong. I bought this radio in October for a project I didn't end up doing and it has been packed just the way I received it since. This is how the radio came with the antenna wrapped around the inside of the box. As you can see, it comes out of the box almost perfectly straight. I have gotten several this way and all of them lost that little bit of bend eventually.

Premium member perk

Baofeng is indeed a place name (in fact, several) in China. Here's one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baofeng_County (although that is 12 hours from the factory). Right around the factory (Changfu Industrial Zone, XIamei Town of Nan'an City, Quanzhou, Fujian province, China) there's also Baofeng Building Materials Hang, Baofeng Printing Shop, Baofeng Household Appliances and so forth. There's also a Dalian Baofeng Machinery Manufacturing Company elsewhere that makes large metal rollers. Here is the scoop on the Pofung business. I don't know what your BFF9 was. There is only one BF-F8HP Pro, it is only available from BTECH, and it went on sale in October, 2024: https://baofengtech.com/product/bf-f8hp-pro/

Baofeng? Or BTECH? Baofeng will private label anything for anybody, as long as they meet the minimum quantity. Baofeng also re-uses model numbers for similar or utterly different products, and many of their products have quite short production lifetimes. BTECH tries to have one product in each market segment, customized for them and available for a long time - you can still buy a UV-82HP from them if you really want one.

I just wish there weren’t 40 varieties of radios from them. It gets hard to figure out what’s different about all of them and which ones are newer. They have a dizzying amount of models.

What @SteveShannon said. However, Baofeng Tech has branched out in recent years and are having some equipment made to their specifications by other companies. That's probably why they have kind of backed away from Baofeng Tech in favor of BTech. As a general rule, the Baofeng products they sell are a bit more expensive than from other suppliers, but they often have a couple of extra features and they do back up their products and provide support for them.

They are not the same company. Baofeng Tech is an American company formed to import and sell Baofeng radios. Their goal was to add value by providing on-shore service for the products they sell, unlike many of the other sellers of Baofeng.

Off is not off with a cell phone. It's still pinging unless the battery is removed.

been meaning to put this out there for a while,since I have had a few conversations about this w/various members. first pics,cables from L-R w/associated N male connectors. RG8/213 LMR400 type, 1/2Inch superflex, 1/2inch hard line also known as Heliax, 7/8inch hard line. [ MyGMRS STAFF EDIT: 3 Photos no longer available from linked source.] now lets talk about the losses in Db and how much power that is. Cable type loss at 100Mc 400Mc RG8/213 2.0dB/100' 4.7dB/100' LMR400 1.2 2.5 Hardline type 150Mc 450Mc 1/2" superflex 1.3dB/100' 2.3dB/100' LMR600 1.0 1.7 1/2" Heliax 0.85 1.5 7/8" Heliax 0.44 0.8 1-1/4" Heliax 0.3 0.6 dB loss power loss in % 0.5 10 100W in 90W out 1.0 20 1.5 30 2.0 37 2.5 44 3.0 50 3.5 56 4.0 60 all of the above loss specs are manufacture specs, I strongly suggest that you measure your line loss w/watt meter if possible to know exactly what you are getting at the antenna. IME most of the book specs are on the money for hard line ,RG8/213 can be a crap shoot depending on manufacturer. I've had some really bad and some pretty good. LMR I've had a love/hate relationship w/, good cable but seems to be prone to moisture issues. wish I had pic of the 7yr old cable that pretty much self destructed. hope this is of some help to those looking to put up a machine or control station in the future. JE ***EDIT*** found this very useful http://www.arrg.us/pages/Loss-Calc.htm

Sounds about right. Here is the attenuation chart, that agrees with the online calculator: https://w4rp.com/ref/coax.html Better cable would be RG8X and LMR-240. I tend to use LMR-240 for permanent car installs, where you do not move radio around often and NMO mount is drilled through the roof. RG8X is more robust cable, suites better temporary installs with mag-mounts, but loss is higher. RG58U is not a good cable for UHF. And if it's in a car, you certainly don't need 20'.

I'll add my 2 cents for Corey and JohnE regarding the 90 degree coax connectors. I am retired from the cable tv industry and I will tell you that we started using the 90's for cable management benefits but soon found out that we were experiencing far too many signal failure and signal strength loss issues to continue on with them. We ended up doing a massive rewire to remove all existing 90 degree coax fittings in the plant. My hands experience with those issues says I will never install a 90 degree fitting in any of my radio coax connectivity. Too many opportunities for failure and equipment loss. Craig

in the grand scheme of things it's pretty negligible N connectors are typically 0.15 loss @10Gc, now dumb that down to 400Mc and it's irrelevant.

I have not had any issues with Comscope, I can't say that for RFS, several have shorted internally. That cable job was to cure some issues with a paging transmitter next to me getting into the amp, it did solve the issue. I am sure i could have used something smaller but i had a ton of 1/2 on hand.

I never read to the bottom of this thread, just wanted to share my 1/2" Heliax plumbing job on this part 90 DMR repeater http://mwgmrs.com/mygmrs/jumpers.jpg

Free is ALWAYS the right price. ...and if your 213 is free, then you can afford to buy a slightly better antenna to make up for the loss.

Please keep in mind that Belden 9913 has fairly high losses at GMRS frequencies. My old Belden chart from the early 1990's shows a 9913 loss of approximately 3.08 dbi for roughly 100 feet. Compare that to Hardline LDF4-50A cable at approximately 1.465 dbi loss for 100 feet.

Just scored the mother load in cable. Free! Belden 9913.