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For sure. Not including sky wave or ground wave propagation, on SSB using a 104" whip, I can talk a good 15-16 continuous miles, and stretch to 25-30 miles depending on where I am on the mobile.

I really do understand; it’s far easier to learn and retain what you’re interested in. Wait until you see how far the lower bands go. But just like VHF and UHF, power isn’t the most important factor. You’re better off (in my opinion) getting features that allow you to easily see and tune to where there’s traffic. I would rather have a very good receiver and a nice waterfall display than high power, if that was the choice. I spoke to a guy in Twin Falls, Idaho using 5 watts. He said that I was 5-9 + 10 at some times. Don’t misunderstand me; I’m not saying power isn’t sometimes important. It’s just that buying a radio for the power that has poor reception or that makes you work harder to find the signal would be really frustrating to me.

FM CB isn't used much at all so it's nothing like the AM that the truckers use. Also being HF you can get decent range out of it even at 4w and if you go SSB you can bump up to 12w. With a good antenna that should go quite a few miles.

Yeah, it's definitely up to us as operators to know what we can and can't do. Its absolutely in the rules, training materials, and the test pool (even if it wasn't on the test you took). I think the important thing isn't necessarily to remember everything, but rather the remember the stuff that impacts your day-to-day use while remembering there are resources you can use to check when you want to operate outside your normal routine. One of the things I love about the radio community is, we're not out here looking for "got ya" moments. We manage ourselves (for the most part) so we try to be the best steward of the community we can be by promoting education and supporting licensees who truly do want to do the right thing. Its how community works. All communities.

Santa is delivering a G90 to me tomorrow, and I have another one being delivered the day after that (a gift from a friend). He seems to think it doesn't work anymore, but I suspect he just blew the fuse. Fingers crossed I have two HF radios by Christmas! @TNFrankonce I get set up, I'd be happy to try and QSO from ECONUS with you. Tech licensee myself. Seven three!

Did you study the band plan? Remember, the questions on the test come from a much larger pool. Even if you didn’t get that for a test question, you’re still obligated to work within the band plan, even if it means studying something that wasn’t in the test.

I think the only pain is the size the antenna needs to be.

I actually have two G90's myself. I bought one in early 2024 and then won the second one in the Radioddity 12th Anniversary raffle.

As a member of this forum I’m relieved to learn that Rich doesn’t share my email address, but I think it’s a very reasonable thing for you to request email addresses from people who ask to use your repeater. However, you could pm the people you want to reach. The notification is delivered via email for me at least.

My wife and I did a trip to Komiefornia a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, from South East Arizona to Northern Komiefornia. I had my DB-20G on scan most of the trip, and only heard some people wheeling outside of Mohave on Hwy 58. My CB did pick up a driver going East from Barstow warning about a car going 5 mph going west into Barstow. It was great having a heads up. We came up on a truck that rearended the car flipped it over, and the truck jacked knife into the center dived.

Yes, and quite well. But probably not so much with a mag mount, as others have mentioned. My use, as pictured, is a layer of foil on a 2' x 4' sheet of 3/8" particle board. With a hole in the middle to slide a so239 barrel through. A large washer sandwiched with nuts couples the barrel to the foil. And a pl259 to bnc adapter allows an antenna of choice to be used.

Merry Christmas to you too!

you know, I am amazed at the psychological and spiritual ugliness of these folks, it is like they live in a mental sewer and are furious as soon as somebody clearly is enjoying something, be it a piece of kit or anything else. I mean, I get it, they cannot contribute anything of value, so pontificating is the one option for them. Maybe they were bullied in school or have issues with what they "identify as", who knows. Whatever may be the case, thank you for your kind words. I wrote this review because I changed my mind about the WT2 and I thought that others might be interested. And yet even Randy (whose channel I love) seems unable to contribute anything more than a vapid comment about "too many words" (did he watch "Mozart" recently ?). Make me think that there are at least as many sad GMRSers as there are sad HAMS. Apparently they don't know the rule "if you have nothing to say - then say nothing". If I come across another piece of kit I really like, I might post a review here, but my expectations in terms of feedback will be dialed back to zero: I simply will assume that most folks on this fora act like "spiders in a jar" (Russian expression). I guess I will write the next one with folks in like you and a few others in mind. Have a great Sunday and Merry Christmas!

I have to agree with @SteveShannon. I would rather use the 20 watt Xiegu G90 with its waterfall versus using a 50-100 watt radio without a waterfall screen. And the 20 watt radio will get out just as well on HF with a good antenna setup versus a 50-100 watt radio. I've made more contacts during POTA activations with my G90 and a resonant antenna versus guys running a 100 watt radio and an antenna that requires a tuner. Granted, with all things being equal as far as antennas and the setup, a 100 watt radio will allow you to be heard better farther away than a 20 watt radio will. But don't get hung up on the power level. Power output is only part of the equation. I am going to suggest going with the G90 even though it does not have 6m capabilities. It is a nice radio. And you will have something that does all modes on all HF bands for when you decide to upgrade to general. Trust me, once you start playing on 10m SSB and digital modes, you will want to upgrade so you can use the other HF bands.

thanks for another substantive comment which adds a lot to the discussion! soon we will have a full aquarium

I looked at the Band Plan but at the time 10M wasn't even on my radar. I was more interested in 2M and 70cm since 90% of the Repeaters in my area were on those 2 Bands. Once I got my license and saw how far HF could travel it really peaked my curiosity about seeing just how far I could make a QSO using it.

here in the desert I do pretty good with MURS.. 50 Miles +.

I like the Debian swirl your avatar.

I'm inclined to agree with others on it's use. As stated above, most people wait for an opening and focus on long range contacts. Almost everyone I know who does use it, sticks to FT8. If I recall correctly, I have only made 1 contact on 6m that wasn't local and scheduled. With the exception of that one person, all of my 6m use has been mobile to mobile with a friend or family member while we were driving somewhere. And in every case, we picked 6m because no one ever uses it. I would love to use 6, all the time. 1/4 wave mobile whip antennas a very small compared to HF, and there are a lot more 100w mobile radios for 6m than for 2m.

Thanks all for the replies. Happy Holidays!

A story about the Easter Bigfoot Leprechaun leaving jerky-filled golden eggs all around the mansion seems more plausible than a Jeep-gifting wife who actually pays the bill...but I am admittedly biased. If you found the one and only Easter Bigfoot Leprechaun wife, good on you!!! (Still, I recommend doing an immediate background check through the FBI and Interpol to make sure you aren't dealing with an international criminal mastermind.)

I must say.. That is... a lot of words..

It would have been a real Christmas gift if it included an installed GMRS radio and antenna. What was she thinking LOL

and enjoy the forum! Good Buddy!

The Queen's Only ticket happens when that Jeep rolls too fast !

Amaff and Steve just about summed it up. If you're looking to make contact and the channel is quiet, then call-sign and "monitoring", and someone may answer. If a chat is going on, then gauge as to the appropriateness to jump in. If appropriate, wait for a break, call-sign and "comment" or " question". Then let them invite you in. We have a pretty active repeater so everyone knows that any conversation is likely being listened by several folks and conversations are, mostly, open to general conversation. There are a few exceptions. The other night a father and son (adults) were talking about Christmas plans. I listened but let them have their "private" conversation without interruption (not that I had anything to say). On the other hand, a couple of guys were talking about places to go fishing and I realized that one of the lakes they were considering was private, so I broke in appropriately and let them know. The appreciated the information and we chatted for a minute then I backed out and let them finish. It all is about appropriateness and respect. Welcome to GMRS.

I had the Midland MXT575 in my first Jeep.. Going to stick with that (is ordered). I live in the Mojave Upper Desert so got plenty of dirt to enjoy.. And Repeaters.

Only thing it needs now to make it road worthy is to install a shiny new Radioddity DB-20. Congrats and get her on the dirt. Enjoy!!!

Congrats! Now come on out and play with us.

Cool Rig. We picked up ours before thanks givning. My xmas break will be spent installing all the stuff thats been piling up next to it...

You gots youself a sugar mama.... Good going dog

If it’s putting out 31 watts and you’re only getting a mile and a half the problem has nothing to do with output power. I would look at your antenna, your coax, and the location of the antenna.