WRWE456
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Posts posted by WRWE456
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Also be aware that long cable runs should be avoided with UHF. How long of a run are you thinking? A barn could need quite a long run depending on where the radio station will be located. It can get expensive quickly setting up a base station plus handhelds for everyone.
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Give us some more info on what you are wanting to achieve such as distance desired what is the terrain like etc. Is it just for use on the property or will you want mobile capability as well? Budget? GMRS can have much greater range than FRS even with handhelds. Maybe you don't even need a base station.
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On 10/5/2023 at 5:03 AM, WRYW392 said:
I agree with the antenna part, but based on real-world tests, there isn't much you can do to improve propagation from a car antena in 460 MHz (being very close to the ground).
But you can drive your car to a higher location sometimes or one with better line of sight. Really height is "might" as the saying goes. Elevation and line of sight make the most difference.
That said extra power on tap is not a bad thing. If you can afford it get the KG-1000Gplus. Great radio.
- Tico and AdmiralCochrane
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Share as much info on your setup as you can. What radio, antenna, how is it mounted etc? How have you programed it for repeaters or not? Have you tested it with another radio to see if you can communicate at close range? It's a good idea to have a hand held radio as well. Good for testing as well as portability. Also what have you tried? What is your location like? How close are you to anyone or a repeater you are trying to reach? Have you tried driving around the area to find a better spot? When it comes to diagnosing radios details matter.
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Yes that is a common practice with many mass market consumer goods. Tools are a good example.
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Ya so far they are working great. I have several and a couple of Diamonds as well. Have not noticed a difference yet.
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Well Buy Two Way radios advertises them as "Authentic Nagoya" antennas but who knows which came first.
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I use the Nagoya NA 771-G on KG935-GPlus the only time I notice an improvement is at the fringes of reception/range, then it does improve reception. But that is to be expected. I get better range when connecting to the mag mount in the truck also. I have not tried any of the Knock off antennas. The real ones are not that expensive, although I suppose it is close to the cost of some Boofwang radio's.
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Another vote for the KG-935G plus I have three of them. Solid radio that takes advantage of pretty much all that GMRS has to offer. Makes a great mobile also with a good mag mount antenna and a holder of some kind and a speaker mic. I have a KG-1000 plus for a base station radio and have not felt the need to replace KG-935G in the truck or the wife's van. Seems to have a bit more power than most other HT's as well. The stock antenna is hard to beat. I wouldn't be in a hurry to upgrade it.
They are available at "Buy Two Way Radios" they helped design the feature set. They are a sponsor on this site. Wouxun makes several other models and as far as I can tell they are all of very good quality. The KG-935G plus just has the most features. It will keep up with you as you grow into GMRS.
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My one concern on this radio is that I do not see a fan on it. Does anybody else see a fan? I know in one of the write-ups it said to not to transmit on high power too long... so then I have to drop it to 5 watts? How does this make sense? They should have added a fan.
Like everything, fans have pro's and con's. While they are good for cooling a higher power radio they also draw in dust which can cause problems for longevity especially off roading in dusty conditions. That kind of dust can have minerals in it that can cause corrosion of circuits and contacts.
In those conditions a lower power radio that can be cooled properly with heat sinks could last longer. Just have to leave some air space around the back. Besides all radios have a "duty cycle" rating. Even ones with fans.
Just something else to consider.
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Yes welcome! Lots of good info and help around here. Ask lots of questions things are slow around here lately.
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I think you are going to need more than 30 min. LOL!
I would just echo the need to bring your own contacts thing. Seems to be one of the most asked questions around here. I just got my license and a radio but no one will talk to me. What am I doing wrong?
Sounds like a fun project. Good luck!
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Yup, I use one as my main base antenna. Also have a copper tube j-pole on top of the same mast. I have not noticed much reduction in reception in the null directions and to the rear as compared to the omni j-pole. Mine is the Arrow Antenna 7 element. Very nicely built. I'm on top of a 500 foot hill and most of the traffic I want to hear is within about a 30 degree arc so the Yagi is well suited for my application. I have tried rotating it but seems to make little difference. I pick stuff from all over the Puget Sound. I live in the San Juan Islands WA. I was listening to some mountain climbers this morning up on Mt Baker. They were on channel 7 simplex. That is about 60 miles from me and the Yagi is not even pointed in that direction. Seattle area repeaters come in loud and clear.
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On 8/5/2023 at 1:56 PM, Chedz said:
Hi everyone,
I'm echoing what WRYF376 has posted (rather than start a new thread and making a similar request for guidance). I kinda fell into GMRS by accident when I recently obtained a Talkpod A36Plus radio. I initially thought of only using it as a air band "scanner," but found out there is so much more to it. I recently got my license (WRYF568) and am completely overwhelmed by what is involved (that is, everything having to do with it
). So I look forward to absorbing the collective wisdom and knowledge of the myGMRS membership to get me started and involved.
Thanks all, this looks like a great board.
Hi Welcome!
Before you get to excited about the Talkpod A36Plus Have a look at this review. I have come to trust Scott's reviews.
It may help you avoid some frustration.
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Welcome! Are you thinking of using GMRS in your truck to talk to other truckers? And if so have you used CB radios for this in the passed?
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As has been mentioned many times around here, GMRS is primarily intended for family's and groups of friends to stay in touch and as such many folks are not interested in chatting with strangers. That's what ham radio is good for. So ya you may have to bring your own contacts.
Now if you have a good size repeater that you can reach then you may find some folks that will chat with you or at least respond to requests for radio checks. I feel like there should be a sticky about this.
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1 hour ago, Lscott said:
You're better off spending your money on radio equipment than some woke Karens.
No doubt!
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LOL! I'm not that fast, I must have started before you that's all. Lscott beat me to the punch.
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Hello and welcome.
There several reasons why you may not get a response. GMRS is primarily intended for family's and friend's to stay in touch and as such many people will just ignore unwanted transmissions. Could also be that they are not in range. If they are using FRS radios they don't have as much power/range and even if they hear you and respond you may not receive them. If you are hearing traffic on a repeater channel and you are not programed for repeater use then they will not hear you. If you are programed for the repeater you may be out of range. Repeaters usually have longer range than hand held radios. It's possible that the folks you are trying to talk to are using "privacy tones" and their radios will ignore transmissions that don't transmit those same tones. That come's back to they just don't want to hear from anyone outside their group.
Give us some more details on what you are trying.
Help me buy some cable and a few misc questions
in Technical Discussion
Posted
I use the DX Engineering 400 Max pre made cables with type N connectors in 50 ft length. Great cable good quality and value. This is for a GMRS only Yagi antenna. I also have several other DX E. cables. Very happy with them. DX E. has a nice cable weatherproofing tape kit that I use. So far so good. https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dxe-wpcc88-1