WRWE456

Welcome! That radio is a ham radio not a GMRS and of course the antenna is not right either. That is kind of a hard way to start in GMRS. Much easier to buy a dedicated GMRS radio and antenna. Can get both for under $100. What you are asking can be done but there is a learning curve.

I missed the mobile part. Thanks.

Have you considered a scanner? They are much faster at scanning than any two way radio. Also you may need a different antenna to receive air band well for a two way radio unless you are close to the action.

Welcome! Now you are on your way to becoming a "radio dork".

That is surprising given the price.

It's not so much about the added power as it is about a better antenna mounted outside the vehicle. If you had a handheld that had a removable antenna you could connect it to a good mobile or base station antenna and greatly improve your range. That's the main reason I don't like Midland HT's. Remember GMRS is UHF which is mostly "line of sight" If the two antenna's can see each other they can communicate. I live on top of a hill that has line of sight to a large foot print repeater on a mountain East of Seattle that is 92 miles from my location. I can easily communicate with it using a five watt Wouxun KG-935G+ hand held connected to a roof top antenna.

You can have it both ways. If you use an NMO modular mount either through the roof (drilled hole) or magnet mount you can use a tall antenna and just unscrew it and swap it for the short one when you carry something on the roof rack.

Midland handhelds do not have removable antennas that I am aware of.

Ya I have all my radios setup with BNC connectors, including the KG-1000G+ in my truck. That way I can hook up an HT or scanner if needed or for testing quickly. I used an HT for a mobile and as a base radio for over a year. It works good with a mag mount antenna and speaker mic for both applications but It does get old after a while. Plus I was worried about the wear and tear of constant plugging and unplugging of connectors. And a base/ mobile would be even worse. Bigger heavier to pack from the house to car and back along with everything else I bring. The HT I can throw in my lunch box.

To swap NMO antennas you just unscrew the the base from the mount sticking through roof and screw on a different one. You can swap them as needed for different applications.

When a repeater asks for an input tone that is the tone your radio must transmit TX into the repeater. If the repeater asks for an output tone that is the tone that your radio listens for to hear the repeater RX.

That is what the tone codes do. It does not stop the radio from receiving it just mutes the audio (as I understand it).

Have you had a chance to try it yet?

The KG-935G+ is overkill for kids and people that are not into radio. I would get one of the lower models like the KG-805G or maybe the KG-905G instead. They are simpler and less intimidating while being very capable as well as less expensive. They are all commercial quality and very durable.

Ya that is what I get as well. It was worth a try.

I am curious if it will work, though would be surprised if it did. I have all my local emergency services programmed into my 935G+ but I did not use a computer. That radio is very easy to program from the front panel. Let us know how it goes.

Thanks for the story! Glad you are safe! I use my 935G+ for the same things. I also have a couple of Uniden scanners that are on whenever we are awake at home. The scanners are faster but with just seven or eight frequencies for local emergency services to scan the 935's are fast enough. I use the radios for scanning while out and about and as mobile's with mag mount antennas. They are a very versatile and capable radio. I have three of them.

You might want to also consider not using software and just use the radio to do any programming. I have 3 KG935Gplus radios. Use them every day and have never connected them to a computer. These are very easy to set up on there own. In fact that was a requirement for me when looking for radios for back up comms, that they can be field programmed. Many new to GMRS are under the impression that computer programing their radios is needed before they can even be used. Not true. Here is what I mean: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/blog/2024/05/why-wouxun-gmrs-radios-do-not-include-programming-cables-and-software.html Anyway good choice! They are very good radios. Learn how to use the "Channel Wizard" makes setting up custom channels like for repeaters very quick and easy. It is a sophisticated radio but can also be as simple as you need. To start just pick a channel on both radios and push to talk. Good luck and have fun!

Not all GMRS radios can use repeaters.

Seems like you could put up a base station antenna set up (which you may want anyway) and that would allow you to test range using a mobile and or HT's. Then if that gives you the range you need swap out the radio for a repeater.

This is true of most energy waves. Light, sound, water etc. It's what causes rogue waves in the ocean. Audiophile's can relate to the sound waves reinforcing and canceling. Bass energy in a stereo system in a room will have areas with strong bass and areas of weak bass as you move around the room. Waves bouncing around off the walls and reinforcing (stacking) or canceling each other.

That link comes back to this thread. Try again.

Number 4 should be it. I just looked up the manual and it does not list the tones. Here is what it says. "Selecting the Interference Eliminator Code Interference Eliminator Codes help minimize interference by blocking transmissions from unknown sources. Your radio has 121 Interference Eliminator Codes. Codes 1 – 38 are the standard analog codes that appear on other FRS/GMRS radios. Codes 39 – 121 are additional digital codes added for superior interference protection. 0 is the off position, no analog or digital codes are enabled. And " Note: You must set the Interference Eliminator Code to 0 on a radio that uses Interference Eliminator Codes to communicate with radios that do not have Interference Eliminator Codes. Select 0 for “no tone, no code” and OFF will flash on your radio’s display. Maybe this will help.

Just looked up those Motorola's. They call them "Interference Eliminator Codes" The manual should list what they are so you can find a match.