WRWE456

Ok my bad. Turns out I was not logged in when I tried to open it. Said "not available" works now that I am signed in. Thanks again.

That file did not post for some reason. Thank you though Steve. I have the 884 now so don't worry about it for me now, though maybe someone else could benefit from it. The meter seems to work well so far with my 50 w base unit though I need to do more testing with the HT's in the cars.

I just recently got a KG1000G+ as well. I get excellent audio reports with it. I think a lot of non radio folks hold their radio/mics to close. Kids on FRS are really bad about this. Overload the mics so bad you can hardly understand a word they say.

Right Channel Radios .com has the 102" whips available for $59.95 for the whip only, (mount extra). Not cheap but what is these days? Good place for CB gear. Bought quite a bit of stuff from them recently.

Everything Sshannon said is true. I would add that having external antenna's such as (magnet mounts on the roof) will allow more range than which radio you chose. I assume you are thinking about hand held radio's (HT's) vs moblie radio's? If so then radio's with removable antenna's will be a better choice. All newer GMRS radio's will have the same basic capabilities so everyone in the group can chose different radio's to suit their preference of price, features, quality etc. You don't have to buy all the same one's. Also will everyone in the group have GMRS license's?

Yes beautiful! Thanks for posting those. Nice photography also Marc. I like the composition of the last one. Looks like you used a tripod and long exposure. Very nice. I need to get out and do some photography. It's been a while.

This is actually not true. More power can make the signal received clearer but it will NOT make the volume of the received signal louder. That is not how it works. Speaking volume into the mic and mic gain will affect volume but not transmit power.

Welcome! Glad you figured it out.

Hey I got the e-mail this morning and couldn't pass that up. Just ordered a KG-1000 Plus. Been looking for an excuse to get one. You have until midnight Friday 19th.

Ya it's funny I was looking all over the web for the spec's and could not find them, then I was looking at a photo of it and realized that it shows the power range right on the meter. DUH! LOL!

Cool I hope it does what you need and proves to be accurate and reliable. I looked at those but did not see a model that measured below one watt. I want one that will measure SWR on HT's on low power. The only one I could find is the MFJ 884. It reads down to .1 watt up to 200 watts HF/VHF/UHF so should cover all my needs. Was recommended to me by Sshannon (thanks Steve) I just ordered it. So hopping it will do what I need. This will be my first SWR/power meter so will need to learn how to use it.

I have not tried but I'm just using an HT so not likely. Farthest simplex I have managed so far is about 20 miles and it was getting scratchy.

Hey fellow WA resident here. I live in the San Juan Islands and can hear the Tiger Mt repeater loud and clear. I listen regularly to a group of folks that chat on their commute to work every morning from all over the Puget Sound area. Kind of entertaining at times. Just looking at the repeater map that has got to be maybe 130 miles from my location. I'm about 40 miles outside the green circle. I am up on top of a 500 foot hill so probably is line of sight for me. I don't use repeaters at this time as I just use GMRS to talk to local friends and family. But nice to know how great the range can really be.

Hi BoxCar. Thanks for the reply. I agree with all the points you make and am working toward optimizing all those things. For instance I just switched from RG-8U cable with UHF connectors to LMR400 with N connectors to improve feed line loss with UHF, even replaced the antenna with one with N connector, now it's down to a higher gain antenna and more power. And yes I do try and use the least amount of power needed but am limited by the HT's low power. The more I think about it the more I like the idea of having the option of stepping up transmit energy if trying to reach someone in a fringe area and with that in mind having a higher gain antenna should help with receiving them as well as I understand it so I think I'm on the right track. Thanks again.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply's guys. You both make good points. I tend to like efficiency over brute force. I have heard reports that HT's are capable of reaching over 100 miles from elevated positions with line of sight conditions so it would seem that antenna's and having line of sight are more important than having more power. I'm sure they both have their place and use. More power to get through forest's and overcome line loss etc. That leads me to believe that I should have both. To have the option to be able to crank up the power for times when it will help. I want to get another radio and have been trying to decide between and other KG-935G or a more powerful mobile/base unit. I now think it makes sense to have the option of more power. Thanks for helping me think this through.

Hello radiophiles. I'm relatively new here, been into radio about a year now and GMRS about 4 months only. So my situation is that I live on top of a 500' mountain/hill using a GMRS specific copper tube J pole from KB9VBR six feet above the roof on a two story house. Cable is 50' of LMR400 with type N connectors. Radio is a KG-935G Plus using the battery eliminator plugged into a Alinco DM-330MV power supply at 13.8 v. I also use a speaker mike. This is my base station setup at the moment. Now I must say this is working very well. I can reach out twenty miles or more so far. Most of my use is within ten miles. There is some hilly terrain in the area with forests but I am above most of it. Town is only about 5 miles away where most of my contacts are. I use this for simplex only so far. My question is what improvements can I expect from more power? (Looking at the KG-1000G Plus) Of course there are areas where hills and wood are reducing coverage. Am wondering if more power would improve things much if at all. I mean line of sight is line of sight right? I know the J pole is a unity gain antenna. I chose it for its excellent vertical angle. I can reach a mobile unit at the base of my hill behind a cliff that is at least 200 feet high a 1/4 mile from my house. HT to HT can not do that. (there is no way that is line of sight and yet it works) However I am guessing that a higher gain antenna such as a 5 db gain would reach farther but would it penetrate forests as well and reach down into low areas as well? I have the same radio's as mobile setups as well using 5 db gain mag mount whips and they work great. Really liking the KG-935G Plus HT's. They are exceeding my expectations but can't help but wonder if much improvement could be had with more power or maybe a different antenna would be a smarter move? Thanks for any insights.

So which radio are you using? I have the Wouxun KG-935G Plus and it receives vhf/uhf and has the weather frequency's built in. I also love being able to use it to scan the local Sheriff, Fire and EMS. So as mentioned not a GMRS feature but a few radios do have the capability.

Sounds good. Thanks again!

No worries, I found that one also but several others are MIA. That 884 is looking to be the one though I still can't find the spec's. Sshannon can you just look up the minimum power for SWR and post it. Don't go to the trouble to scan the manual. I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks guys. I'm liking the MFJ-849 at the moment. Covers down to 1 watt. I do want one that works for HT's as that is what I am currently using as base, mobile and hand held (have 3). Why does MFJ not make it easy to find their spec's? Haven't found the spec's on the 884 yet but still looking.

Thanks for the options KAF6045 I would say upwards of $300. give or take. I have been looking at the MFJ and Daiwa. I will study the ones you listed.

I just read through this thread and it seems to me the moral of the story is to use a better quality SWR/power meter. On that note anyone have a recommendation for a good quality medium price meter for UHF? Thanks.

Thanks Steve. I have been reading here for a month or so, just decided to join in. Been learning a lot here. Hope I can contribute some as I continue to learn. By the way I love Montana!

Hello new guy here, first post. I am relatively new to radio, became interested and began studying up for almost a year now with an eye towards back up local com's. So still much to learn. Started with interest in ham VHF then HF then settled on GMRS because trying to get non radio folks that I want to talk to interested in a ham license, well I think most here know what I mean. Anyway current set up is a copper tube J-pole (GMRS specific) six feet above roof of house with DX Engineering brand RG-8U with UHF connectors, 50 foot run to Wouxun KG-935 Plus. House is on top of a 500 foot hill with good line of sight to most areas I want to reach. It works very well. I have reached a guy in a car 30 miles away. Lately I have been reading up on best practices for UHF and learned that the RG-8U and UHF connectors are not ideal for UHF. (my original intent was for VHF and a scanner). So now I just ordered some DX Eng. 400-Max (LMR-400 equivalent) with type N connectors and a replacement (same) J-pole with N connector just to try to make life easier on the radio and maybe gain a bit of performance/range. Lscott your post just reinforces my conclusion. Also I am wanting a telescopic mast to make adjustments/experimenting easier. I like the flag pole idea. Good price point compared antenna masts.