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Wouxun KG-1000G, then Motorola XTL5000 ...

I hear CBS is starting a new crime procedural: NVIS Outer Space!

I was thinking the same thing. LoL

Some days you come across as schizophrenic.

I am on my second unit. I am only on my second unit because the first one went up in smoke. As it turns out, I had a mismatched frequency antenna and according to the techs at BTech, high SWR made my radio go boom. How exactly they knew that, I don't know. In fact, I have my doubts that they did...but alas. Having said that, if it did kilo bravo due to my error, BTech was kind enough to send me a replacement radio for free just the same. So there is that. I generally like the radio. I use it as a base station in my home and routinely use it to talk to my family while I am out and about. I also use it to talk to a repeater some 40 miles away and it makes the trip just fine. I get glowing reports on how the radio sounds. I monitor two different repeaters in addition to our family channel, so the quad watch feature is nice. I understand that some may think the display is a little crowded. It is...and if I was running this in my Jeep, that would be a different case altogether. But sitting stationary on my desk, just a few feet from my face and next to my laptop, I like being able to see all the info. If I'm completely transparent, I do have a little bit of buyer's remorse. I think I could have bought a Radioddity DB20 for less than half of what I paid for the GMRS 50V2 and had access to 2m and been well happy. But I bought this as a new guy in GMRS and that 50 watts sure seemed sexy. Knowing what I know now - primarily that I can hit that same repeater 40 miles away with a 5 watt HT - I'm not so sure I'd have bought it. As always, your mileage may vary.

its not just you.

That's awesome! And yes: They're also listed separately in the ARRL DXCC entities.

After two test runs and then completely failing in my first attempt at an activation on the third trip where I only got one QSO, I returned for a fourth time and was successful! 12 QSO's in 45 degree weather in the wind. 3 Park to Parks, one in Bermuda! It took the better part of two and a half hours, but I did it! I hunted a few people but largely called CQ and people responded! I was flabbergasted. I was operating in the same spot I had the first two times where I had such difficulty. Even had a wee pile up while I worked through four different stations calling at the same time. I know it's a minor victory but, man, am I proud of myself. Xiegu G90 @ 20 watts, running a 1/4 wave vertical JCP12 antenna. 8 ground radials at 10' each, 18g wire. Thank you to all of the folks that answered questions and helped me out. There's a few other parks near me but for now, I'm going to go make some tea and put my feet up by the fire! 73!

Yes HamSQL was sayin band conditions were poor for 10-12 meters and fair for 15-20 meters. I still managed quite a few FT8 contacts on 10m with one being Costa Rica. I also made a confirmed contact with Burinka Faso, Africa on 15m FT8. Granted CW and digital modes are easier when band conditions are poor. Websites like HamSQL and VOACAP are good at showing the general conditions but they can be totally different from your location. Both should only be used as a guide. I have seen band conditions change quickly setting at my desk running FT8. One minute I will be hearing 50 to 100 stations and within a few minutes I am only hearing 20-30 stations. Wait a few more minutes and back to hearing 50 + stations. This morning I was lucky to hear 15-20 stations on 10m then next thing I know I was hearing 50 stations. As I said before, just when you think you understand propagation, it will throw a fast curve ball at you.

I thought about it...I really did. But then I thought between monitoring this and spotting myself and logging...it was a lot. Honestly when people started calling back, I kind of freaked out because I wasn't logging them fast enough. Managing that alone was a bit of a challenge.

Ding Ding!!

"In the amateur radio justice system, RF-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In the United States, the dedicated agents who investigate these vicious infractions are members of an elite squad known as the FCC. These are their stories." Oh... Wait... Wrong show.

I have found that most of the cheap switching power supplies on Amazon are noisy on the HF bands. I run Astron power supplies since they have built in filters. As Steve mentioned, a good power supply will shut itself off if too much power is drawn from the radio(s). I know even my old 30 amp Astron will shut down if I try running my Icom 7300 and LDG AT-1000 Pro II auto tuner. The power supply shuts down as soon as I push the tune button on the LDG. I don't know about the Radioddity QT80, but it is common for radios to reduce output power when running on less than 13.8 volts. I know my Xiegu radios do that. The manufacturers stated power output is when running at 13.8 volts.

Yep, I've been meaning to try NVIS on 40 meters. I'd try it on 10 or 20 meters but my signal would probably end up in outer space.

I just bought a set of mono headphones with the right impedance.

Every time this thread pops up I think it's a petition to finally put an end to Federal Half Wave

Anyone have this 50w radio? I have seen some bad reviews about BTECH mobile radios but some people love them. I know It won’t actually give 50w, however it seems to have the most features and power for the money. Any other options you’d recommend under $250 and why?

An attempt, perhaps in vain, to prevent GMRS from becoming 11m wild west part 2. The physics of 65cm is the only real factor.

Can confirm.

Yeah, that's what happens when you don't read the whole thread before replying.

I got a QSO from Hawaii today at 5pm. He was coming in at 4/4, just above my noise floor but we exchanged Call Signs. From what I understand it'll count as another Country contact because it's not in the lower 48. The 10M Band wasn't that good today. Hopefully it'll be better tomorrow.

Awesome, glad you got an Activation. Maybe one day I'll Hunt you and we'll get a QSO.

I know that you've said repeatedly that band conditions vary, but man...the band conditions to today were poor across the board according to that website, but I managed to get into places that I've never gotten before. Bermuda, Washington State (who I actually had a conversation with, not just a call sign exchange), Wyoming, and a few states in New England. Regarding radials, when you say "improvement" what do you mean? Better signal on transmit? Also, what are your thoughts on faraday cloth?

Congratulations. It is nice when you get your first POTA activation under your belt. Band conditions will change from day to day and can change from one minute to another. Try doubling your ground radials if you can. You should see an improvement with 24 radials. The G90 is in the sweet spot when it comes to portable HF radios. About the only downside I have with the G90 is it doesn't work on 6m. But you don't hardly ever hear anyone calling CQ POTA on 6m anyway.

Ok, I get it now: you don’t want any of us to help you Activate, so you don’t post ahead of time…

WSKM559 Hi everyone! I’m new to the hobby and just installed a Midland MTX575 in my truck. The TX/RX code system was a bit annoying to deal with, so I built a small app for myself. I’ve now made it public so everyone can use it, and I no longer have to keep flipping through the booklet to find the right codes. If you have any tips or suggestions let me know. Thank you https://midlandfrequencyfinder.com/

Link please Never mind : I found both of them!

I am pretty sure that if he knew how to do that he wouldn't be asking this question.

I have had two.. Neither would output more than ~30 watts and both failed within 2 years. When I contacted BTech for support about the low-wattage, they said the radios were really outputting 50W and it was my fault for measuring the power-output without a dummy-load and getting a wrong reading. When I measured the power output with a dummy-load and got the exact same thing.. on both radios, they told me it really was outputting 50W but it was my fault for not using a high-end power-meter like a Bird Series 44 watt-meter.

So I watched the solar power station watts output and the max I saw was 118w. That's close to but not over the 126w max for the 12v output. I'm pretty sure they build in a bit of "fudge factor" because all the power stations I've seen tests on went over the rated wattage. I did cancel the order for the 12v to 15a converter. The power station seems to be working well enough so I'm just going yo use it for now. No reason to spend money on something I may not need.

Yes, but the MURS regulations forbid it. (c) A grant of equipment certification will not be issued for MURS transmitters capable of operating under both this subpart (MURS) and under any other subparts of this chapter (except part 15).

I bought that same meter in late 2023. It seems to work well. A friend and I went in on a two-pack. That’s how I was able to see that my power supply was sagging while I transmitted.

Nothing about that power supply looks like it’s filtered for sensitive equipment. Most of what it’s advertised to support are motorized loads. I’d be very interested in what the output looks like on an oscilloscope. It looks like it is probably a switch mode power supply, which operates at much higher frequencies than 60 Hz. Still, if it works for you that’s all that matters. Typically, when a power supply can’t keep up the voltage will sag. If the radio has a microprocessor and it sags too much you might see it click off (almost always while transmitting) and then power back on when the power supply catches up.

somewhat agree where repeater and GMRS radio traffic is busy. here in my community, we have 3 repeaters spaced a channel apart. Other radio traffic in the repeater bands are minimal and not much on FRS.. Most of the traffic on the GMRS band is on these three repeaters. All operate WB ,

i use a blue tooth adapter that plugs into head phone jack. in my case stereo works great for two mono radios. set each to specific chanels and then I know what chanel i am picking up. ie radio set to chanel 18 on left ear, radio set to chanel 16 right ear. I set this up in my shack so I can listen in the house. has worked great for my wife that does not like the chatter. also set this up in my truck so when camping I can listen and not bother other campers. have not tested this one yet but in theory think it will be a good solution.

LOL, just make sure to get my cut of the take in the mail.

As an Amazon shareholder I thank you for your business.

In my experience, a speaker or headset sold for CB radio will usually have the correct impedance for other radios as well, although I don't know if the same applies to a headset with a mic, although it seems likely. They're easy to find. Perhaps you could use a Bluetooth adapter and headset. I know there are some Bluetooth radio headsets.

Most dual speaker headsets, to include one specifically made for amateur radio, come with a stereo jack on them to get sound in both speakers. Radios with a dedicated headphone jack will also be stereo. I know for a fact that if I connect my Heil BM17 to any of my radios where I have to use an external speaker port, then I must use a stereo to mono adapter in order to get sound in both speakers. I have only used the Heil BM-17 and Heil Handi-Talkie (K1) headsets with different radios.

There are plenty of compatible headsets available with the correct impedance for two-way radios. I have five headsets and I use them regularly with my portables. I also have adapter cables to use so I can use the same headsets with the different model radios I have in my cache of radios without buying a specific headset for each model radio. I have numerous radios that uses the M1, M2, M3, and M7 accessory connectors. Stereo headsets are not the correct headsets to use with a two-way radio.

What type of mic the radio uses will determine what headset we can recommend. Some brands like Yaesu and copies of Yaesu radios use a dynamic mic while Icom, Kenwood and Xiegu an electret condenser mic. The two types are generally not compatible without modification. I'm not sure which type of mic the Radioddity radios use. I use a Heil BM-17 headset (discontinued) with my Xiegu radios and my Icom radios. I did have to buy adapters to connect to the different radios. The Xiegu radios and my Icom IC-2730 use the same RJ45 adapter while my IC-7300 uses a round mic connecter. You will need to use a female stereo to male mono 3.5mm adapter if you want sound in both headset speakers if the radio does not have a dedicated headphone jack. This works fine with the IC-2730 using one of the external speaker jacks. My Xiegu radios and IC-7300 have a dedicated headphone jack that I use and do not need the stereo/mono adapter. Some like to use Koss headsets. You will have to figure out if your radio uses a dynamic or electret mic and buy the correct headset.

How much; from where? Included mic? I was thinking about getting a set for POTA

Years ago, I connected my “high-fi” headphones to my ham radio and realized that ham radio audio needs ham radio specific headphones! There’s no “high-end” in ham radio audio, and my high quality headphones emphasized a high-end that shouldn’t exist!

According the GXT3000 user manual the N stands for Narrow Band and the W stands for wide band. You can chose between the two and it is displayed on the screen. If the code says "053N" I would try switching it to Narrow band. Or you could try both to see what sounds better.

The code (tone) would be 413 and what you would input on the 3000 would be the 53 which is a privacy code for the midland. So RX would be DCS 53 and the TX would be DCS 101. Just got those and so far they work great. The N refers to narrow band instead of wide band W. I know this is an old post so I hope by now you already figured this out but thought I would post just in case someone else needed clarification.

There are Elecraft and Flex. Both are Made in the USA.

Hi, I am brand new to GMRS. I am looking for handheld recommendations for my family. We live in rural west Kentucky—lots of hills and trees. FRS radios did not give great reception when we were hiking around the farm and woods. I am looking for any recommendations for handhelds, or even a home base station, to better communicate in the area. Thanks a bunch!

I am looking for a HT I can program to only work on my repeater for my grandson. Grandson is a responsible young man, but I get concerned that the cousins he lives with may someday "toy" with the radio. So basically I am looking for something that is not field programmable in any way, will allow me to delete all but the one custom repeater channel I would program, similar to a business radio but for gmrs. The more rugged the better, but ruggedness is not important. Anyone have any suggestions?

In the past few weeks, members and staff alike have researched the controversy regarding type acceptance or certification of radio equipment. We have found absolutely NO evidence that the agency is issuing citations to licensed GMRS operators for using Part 90 equipment in Part 95 service. We have anectdotal evidence that agency inspectors randomly allow Part 90 equipment in Part 95 service as long as all Part 95 technical standards are met. Therefore, it is the decision of the staff at MyGMRS Forum to once again allow posting of "Equipment Reviews" regarding ALL types of equipment whether Part 90, Part 95 or Part 97. We feel that it is the responsibility of each member to screen the information that is provided by others and to make an educated decision on whether or not to use any equipment of any kind in your own personal setting. Reviews of Part 97 equipment are acceptable due to the number of Amateur Operators here, however, we do not wish to see any reference to Amateur Radio Part 97 equipment being 'suggested' that it works on GMRS frequencies. Thank you all for your patience in this matter and thank you for your understanding. The forum is once again open for "Equipment Reviews" and similar postings under these guidelines listed above. The MyGMRS Staff