WRWE456

I will second the Wouxun KG-805G suggestion. Much better built than either of the other two mentioned. Here is a review of the Talkpod from someone I trust: https://rumble.com/v34qiql-why-you-should-avoid-the-talkpod-a36-plus.html

I think the best use for the long whip antennas is for fringe areas of receptions not as your every day carry antenna. Keep one in the car or backpack when out and about and put it on when needed. It does get tiring having it in the way all the time otherwise. You can also keep a mag mount antenna in the car as a back up for even better range if needed and while driving.

Welcome! Spend some time reading through past threads. You will find tons of info. These questions get asked by new people almost daily.

Just send it back and ask for a replacement if you think it is defective.

I seriously doubt that any setting or feature in the radio is going to decrease the power output other than the power settings and built in power limits of low, medium and high power channels. I think you need to move on from that idea.

According to the KG-1000Gplus manual "To reactivate a killed radio send the kill sequence again".

When people are new to the forum there is often an assumption that they are new to radio. Seems to be the case most of the time. But as in your case not always. Welcome to the forum 404!

Its amazing how that happens!

I think he meant that most HT's only put out about five watts max and that you are stuck with that unless you get a mobile/base.

Hello and welcome. Ten miles is no problem for a 5 watt handheld line of sight. I talk 30 miles fairly often on mine. The only way to know for sure if the hill will hinder you is to try. It is just as easy to take a hand held with you in the car to the hill top rather than having a mobile in the car. It will work a little better if you get out of the car with it. Baofeng's are an inexpensive entry level radio that are popular and have lots of support. There are better radios but they cost more. Baofeng's are good for getting your feet wet though.

Ya that was always a long shot. But didn't hurt to try.

Yes I should have specified the low power channels also.

You are right and it is all harmful and anything you can do to reduce exposure is helpful. There are recommended limits of exposure for every wireless device. The real issue today is that there is ever increasing amounts bombarding us constantly with all the new tech people keep adding to their lives. If you take every device separately it is not so bad but it is the collective exposure to all of it that it becomes harmful to biological life. That is all life including wildlife, your pets even plants. There are pros and cons to everything and wireless tech is no different. The tech company's downplay it because they don't want lose profits just like any other big industry. Think cigarettes. In the short term maybe not a big deal but exposure damage is cumulative. Anyway just something else to think about.

Ah my plan worked. Was just trying to get the post bumped to the top to get some activity.

Hi Jonolvey. Did you have a question? Just wondering about the purpose of your post.

Mobile/base radios are not allowed to transmit on FRS channels. Per FCC regs. Only HT's are allowed.

Right and with your current cable the added power should give more power to the antenna to overcome some of the loss and that should give more range. I guess what I am saying is upgrade the cable first then see what that does. A 5 watt HT may lose 3-4 watts due to cable loss. You may only be getting one or two watts to the antenna. That alone can make a big difference.

If you can give more info on your setup and situation and desired goal that would be helpful. That RG58 is not doing you any favors. LMR 400 or equivalant is the generally recommended cable for UHF. Larger is even better but gets expensive and hard to work with. You are likely losing much of your power with that cable. Anyway the more info the better. I have done that very thing. I started with an Wouxun KG-985Gplus HT as a base then moved to a KG-1000Gplus 50w. To be honest for my use it has been a sideways move. I live on a hill top facing the small town near me about 5 miles away and the 935G has enough power to do what I need even out to 30 miles. The 50 watt upgrade did little to change anything. So it really depends on your situation. One small advantage the HT has is you can talk to FRS radios where as the mobile/base radio can only listen to them.

That is also a 50 watt rig. Just curios why the KG-1000 to replace it?

However you mount it it will work better on the roof and clear of all obstructions. A mast and stand off mounts could work. Could maybe be done from a ladder from the ground. Know any construction workers that are comfortable working from ladders? Here is what I mean by wall stand off mounts. They come on different sizes depending on your roof overhang. https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/roh-wm8d DX Engineering is a good place to shop for all manner of radio gear. Though not really GMRS.

WRYZ926 which radio have you been using with your Comet antenna?

The book is the first of a three part series. You must be looking at the Uniden SDS100 or SDS200 scanners. I would love to have one of those but would be a wast of it's talents here. It really depends where you live as to what scanner you will want. As I mentioned in my rural area everything is still analog so I get by just fine with a $130. analog hand held. A 30 amp PS is fine. Leaves room for other accessories. One thing I would caution about that set up is the RF energy radiation so close to you at high power settings. I would keep it to 5 watts until you can mount it on the roof or somewhere above and away from people.

Nice! Lots of cools stuff happening. That's a scary book by the way. You will want to read all three I'm sure. You may become a prepper after reading them. You will want more radios that's for sure. Do you have a power supply for it yet? My KG-1000Gplus is my base radio as well. I have not felt the need to program it yet as I have a scanner right next to it that covers the local Sheriff, fire and EMS and stuff that I am interested in and is much faster. Don't use or need repeaters here. These Wouxun radios are easy to program from the front panel if you just need a few additions. I have added a few frequencies to monitor on my KG-935Gplus its not hard. One of the reasons I bought them (I have three) in fact is for emergency use and don't want to have to rely on a computer if I need to make a change during an emergency.

WRYZ926 Ya I'm always amazed at how many people don't seem to want to do any research of their own. They get an idea that they want to get into radio, get on you tube for five minutes run out and buy a Boofwang (thanks Randy) and then find a forum and start asking "how do I work this thing and why will no one talk to me? I must need a repeater, whatever that is". I spent a couple months researching and reading this forum (and others) before signing up. I was able to answer most of my questions just by reading. I bought books on radio communication. Most of the questions they ask can be answered with a search on the forum. I agree that an FAQ section could be useful to point them to.

Another source is to see if there is a local ham radio club. They will likely be able to tell what is used in the area. You can also get a scanner and find things yourself. I use a hand held Uniden BC125AT and it works great for the stuff in my area which is all analog still. I get marine/coast guard, UHF/VHF ham of course Sheriff, EMS, fire, our local Washington state ferry boats and deck hands, even FRS/GMRS/MURS. I'm in a rural area and there is not always stuff going on. The scanner is quiet more than active, we have it on most of the time we are home and awake. Mostly we just listen to emergency services on it. I use my GMRS radios for scanning that band in case I need to respond to someone.