WRWE456

Welcome. Everyone was new at some point and most have similar questions about getting started. Try using the search feature for specific questions. There is a huge amount of info hiding in those archives and that is a popular radio for beginners. Good luck!

I like it for that very reason. Wife and I do the same thing. Not many will hear your conversations.

Good! That means it is likely that your radio is not defective. When it comes to two way radio it is good to experiment as there are many things that will affect performance.

Ya I don't have that radio but someone that does may come along soon. Does it do this when you are not in the car? Sometimes signals generated by the car electronics can cause noise and interference. Good luck.

I think most radios will scan the standard GMRS channels out of the box. If it is stopping on a particular channel it is because it is picking up a signal. You can play with the squelch and see what happens. The lower it is set the more you will hear. If it is bothering you with noise then turn it up. If using it in the car as shown you will not get the best performance unless you get an outboard antenna on the roof. The metal box of the car will block a lot of signal, especially below the window level. Also for best performance the antenna should be vertical.

Well GMRS was never intended to be social media so in the context of attracting young people it may not be easy, other than again for it's intended purpose, camping, boating, hiking, off roading, farming, emergency comms, even some business use etc. Anyway it is just a tool and if it is not the right tool for the job at hand then find the one that is.

I don't understand this statement. Simplex is the main point of GMRS. That is all I and many people use it for. To stay in touch with friends and family. Same with FRS.

I just looked up the KG-Q332 as I am not familiar with that model. I seems that it is not sold in the USA. The main distributor for Wouxun in the US is Buy Two Way Radios. (See ad at the top of this page). They help design the models for the American market.

yeah, I have read that which is a bit why I'm asking. If not supposed to.... Why did they bother to make one? That radio should not transmit on the GMRS Frequency's even though it's in the UHF spectrum. It's for the ham part of UHF.

Welcome! Ham and GMRS are separate radio services and are not supposed to be combined in one radio. Wouxun (pronounced "Ocean") makes excellent radios and are considered by many to be the best dedicated GMRS radios on the market. The one you mentioned should be fine for the ham side (however there are many other good options for ham radios) but you will still need GMRS for use with the family. Your GMRS license will cover your family. Don't expect them to all become ham's as they would all need a license. I recommend spending more time researching before making to many purchase decisions. There is a lot to learn. Good luck.

Well it is "one of the most powerful handheld GMRS radios on the market" An unheard of 5 full watts! And an industry leading 1800 mAh battery. That must account for the price.

Hello and welcome! I'm sure someone will come along soon that can help with your question. However as has been said many many times GMRS is not the best place to try and make friends. Ham radio is more suited to reaching out to strangers. GMRS is a "bring your own contacts" radio service. It's mainly intended for families and groups of friends staying in touch. You can certainly try of course just don't be surprised if don't have much luck.

I would just buy a mobile for that price or just a bit more, then you will have another radio and that's not a bad thing. They even come with a mic. If you want to use it at home you will still need a power supply

I use my 1000Gplus as my base station and am very happy with it. Really more radio than I need for my purpose. I have not needed more than five watts for my use around here. I live on a hill top in the San Juan Islands in NW Wash and use a Yagi antenna ten feet above the roof and I can pick up stuff all around the Puget sound. Most of my coms are on the island I live on to friends with HT's and five watts is plenty even out to 30 miles. I have a main channel we use but like to scan as well so use the dual display feature often. Area A for local com channel and area B for scanning. Dedicated volume and speaker for each area is a nice touch. The only thing I would like added would be a dimmer for the display and maybe color options. It's a little bright at times. Great radio so far! it has nice touches they really put a lot of thought into it for both mobile and desktop use like the angled and removable face plate. It even has rubber feet on the bottom so it doesn't slide around on the desk.

Welcome! You have found the right place to learn. There is ton of info here already if you make use of the search function. Lots of good folks here to help as well.

Alright I figured out what you were looking at in the manual. That is an advanced feature, part of the remote control capability to activate or monitor another radio that is part of your group. Must be set up ahead of time. It allows you to check on someone that is not responding by remotely waking up their radio (with a special code) or to open the mic so you can hear(monitor) what might be going on where they are. Like in an emergency or something. Not the standard "monitor" feature. In fact I did not see that mentioned anywhere in the manual. Not surprising you were confused.

I posted this in another thread recently but it applies here as well: GMRS is mostly line of sight (LOS) so anything you can do to improve that will help. Taking your hand held up on the roof of your house can make a big difference by getting your house and many near by buildings and obstructions out of the way. The same with a car, getting out of the metal box will help. Elevation will usually make the most difference. Hill top to hill top with nothing in between you might get a hundred miles depending on conditions and the antenna (some HT antennas are better than others). If you are operating in a neighborhood of buildings on flat ground you may only get a couple of blocks. There are lots of variables as you will learn and terrain will play a big roll. Also every barrier that the signal must pass through such as walls, forests even your body absorbs energy and will reduce your range. Keeping the antennas in the clear will do the most good. An out board antenna on a car or home can make a big difference, keeping the above in mind. Good luck, have fun and don't be afraid to experiment. It's the only way to know for sure what works for you in your situation.

Not the best. Here is a review: https://rumble.com/v32bz8b-rugged-radios-gmr-2-review-rant.html Don't feel too bad, I did a similar thing when I first started my GMRS adventure.

Yes it is just a shortcut to zero squelch, so you don't have to change your squelch setting for a momentary check.

There is no way to turn it off? That seems strange. I wonder if anyone else has this issue?

GMRS is mostly line of sight (LOS) so anything you can do to improve that will help. Taking your hand held up on the roof of your house can make a big difference by getting your house and many near by buildings and obstructions out of the way. The same with a car, getting out of the metal box will help. Elevation will usually make the most difference. Hill top to hill top with nothing in between you might get a hundred miles depending on conditions and the antenna (some HT antennas are better than others). If you are operating in a neighborhood of buildings on flat ground you may only get a couple of blocks. There are lots of variables as you will learn and terrain will play a big roll. Also every barrier that the signal must pass through such as walls, forests even your body absorbs energy and will reduce your range. Keeping the antennas in the clear will do the most good. An out board antenna on a car or home can make a big difference, keeping the above in mind. Good luck, have fun and don't be afraid to experiment. It's the only way to know for sure what works for you in your situation.

Well if having a working radio is important enough while out in the wilderness? Just as concerning is dropping it and losing it. Before getting the belt pouches I dropped my radios many times. They get caught on branches or while getting in or out of vehicles etc. and if you don't notice that you dropped it? Happens all the time. Some type of retention other than the belt clip is a good idea.

Glad to hear the KG-935G survived. I have 3 of them and it's nice to learn that they are as tough as I hope they are. This is what I use: https://www.spectergear.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SG-1390 Protects from more than just dropping. They have them for many HT's. Check out the videos too. Great products!

Something that a lot of newbies miss is the need to experiment when new to two way radio communications. You must try things to learn what works and what doesn't. Start with the most basic and work up from there. In your case set up a base station with one HT at home and send someone out in the local area with the other one and map out the area to learn where you can and can't talk. Keep trying things to see if you can extend the range. Like getting up on the roof of the house to get some elevation. Also if mapping from a car stop and get out of the car when testing each location or use the mag mount antenna on the car. You want the antenna outside the car for best results. It may still work from inside the car but you will only know by trying it. Looking for elevated locations around the area will make a big difference. Once you get a handle on what you can do simplex (radio to radio) then you can try using repeaters. Again more experimenting is helpful. But in a real emergency repeaters may not be working (if the power is out for example) so you should not rely on them for your emergency planning. Good luck and have fun!

Any reason you are not considering a magnet mount? Is the roof aluminum? You are running out of options.