jsneezy

Someone's gotta make the coffee the morning after.

I seem to remember that one starting out a bit differently. The first word of it wasn't very family friendly, though.

@WRXE944 the firmware version on mine is 2.34.

I definitely purchased the Radioddity DB20-G.

Considering they have had about 2 or 3 years to get Chirp or RT working, if they haven't gotten it figured out by now, I don't think it's likely to happen. Whether it is a handshake issue as far as initiating communication or something in the coding I can't really say, as I haven't looked too much into it yet. I'm not as worried about getting too many more repeater channels. I'm not even sure that I'll use all of the repeaters I have programmed. There's quite a few that I know I absolutely will, but I also have a few around Tucson programmed, and I might end up near there about once every 10 years, if not even longer. So far from what I've seen, I'm pretty impressed considering the price I paid. One thing that I did think was pretty interesting was one of the times the radio restarted during programming, I looked over and noticed that the display said "Anytone! Welcome". As far as I was able to find, it sounds like the Retevis RA25 is the exact same radio, with different firmware. I'm still working out a plan for antenna cable routing but I'm planning to work on all of that next weekend. I'm just trying to do something that isn't sloppy, but also not too permanent. Considering I was a car audio installer at one point of my life, it shouldn't be too bad. I just need to look a little closer at what I'll be working with.

It seems odd that it won't let us store anything beyond those 17 total channels for repeaters. I don't have a lot to compare it against, except for the Baofeng UV-9Gs that my wife and I have, and those have a total of 32 repeater channels if I remember right. But even beyond those channels, to my knowledge, you can program anything for scan, but if it's within GMRS frequencies I believe it will let you transmit. Although, that may have something to do with a possible setting in Chirp that will allow you to disable the receive only setting for said channel. It's not a deal breaker on this DB20-G though, I think I have a few repeaters that may end up getting removed from the current programming. I don't think I'll be in the areas that they are located in enough to make a difference.

Firmware version is the one thing I didn't think to check. But I did remember to save the original code plug. If it's in the code plug, I might be able to check later, otherwise, I don't think I'll have a chance to power it back on for a couple days. The one thing I did find, which may be a limitation of the programming software, is that when I tried to set up a repeater on channel "41" as the radio sees it, I could not get the 467.xxx on transmit to save. I was trying to save the local Phoenix area repeaters to one block, and leave some empty spaces before adding in the northern AZ repeaters, but no such luck. Maybe I missed something simple, and have to take another look.

Got the radio today, and got it programmed using the CPS. It wasn't nearly as bad as some of the reviews I had come across mentioned. Getting 12V to it to get it to turn on was another story, since I don't have a power supply for something like a base. I ended up modifying an old computer power supply that I had laying around that I've used for other things, and cut the lighter plug off the radio. A lot of the reviews of the programming software mentioned having to type in everything by hand, but what I found was a little different. On the farthest right column, there is a box with 2 arrow symbols pointing right (like this >>). Double clicking that brings up a box that allowed me to name the repeaters and select the tones from drop-down lists. All in all, I think it took me about 15 minutes. The next step is going to be running a wire from the battery, through a fuse, then to a relay behind the dash of the truck. From there, I'll use either the stereo turn on wire or the accessory wire off the ignition switch to trigger the relay to turn the radio on and off with the key. After that, it's going to be antenna wiring and then testing. I'm still trying to decide how I'm going to run the antenna cable, since it is only going to be a mostly temporary installation. Once the weather cools down, I'm planning to put an NMO mount in the roof and adding the MXTA26.

I only keep Windows 7 around because I still tend to game on the computer. Though I don't have much time for that any more. I actually prefer Linux, and it seems that gaming support has been getting better for it over the last few years, but it does look like I'll still have a reason to keep Windows around. The radio and antenna should be here today. I grabbed the Nagoya UT-72G for the time being, because it's been hot here for the last couple of weeks. I don't suspect that I'll be seeing any cooler temperatures until somewhere between late September and mid October, and working at the roof of a truck when it's over 110 out isn't fun. Especially when work happens to be garage door service, so I'm out in the heat all day, 5 days a week.

I've been noticing since opting in that the "view on myGMRS.com" and "request permission" are missing when I'm looking at a repeater in the app. It may just be my phone, but figured it's worth mentioning here. Pixel 6 Pro in case it matters.

I can't remember where I had come across it, nor am I able to find it again. Thinking back on it, it was someone having driver issues with the supplied cable, and I think they may have mentioned that they were going to try the Wouxon PCO-003 cable. For all I know, it could have been someone on Reddit that mentioned the idea a while back. Is there a way on Windows 11 to disable certain updates from installing to keep the functioning driver from updating? I've always had my computers set to notify me when updates were available so I could review them and only install the ones I've actually needed. But I also stopped at Windows 7 and will not be buying another Microsoft Operating System. I do think I'll most likely be setting up the radio with the repeaters that I also have programmed in my HT, and anything else will probably be added in from the radio itself if I come across something while traveling.

That is exactly me as well. I decided at some point, I think around the time 8 was announced or maybe when they were giving away 10 to get people to "upgrade", that any more operating system changes to my computer would be Linux. I only keep Windows 7 around for a few games I still play. I was sure that one or more of the reviews I had come across had mentioned getting a different programming cable than the one that came with the radio because of issues. I didn't pay too much attention to which cable they were saying they used. For all I know, it had something to do with a driver that didn't want to play nice, and a lot of people that aren't technologically inclined tend to blame the hardware first. I'm just going off what I had seen elsewhere, as I don't have the radio or cable in hand just yet. I do seem to remember Windows 7 rarely having issues with much of anything. I'm actually kinda surprised these don't work with Chirp considering how long they've been on the market.

I'll be programming it mainly by computer, unless I happen to need to add something in while on the road. I'm still on Windows 7, so I'm not sure what will be in store for me with drivers for the programming cable. I think some of the reviews I had come across mentioned something about using another brand of cable, but I don't remember where I had seen them.

Put it in reverse and it's Driver Returns On Foot. To get back on topic, I think the KG-UV9GX is going to be the better of the two, partly because of that sexier wrist strap, but also the fact that it's superhet.

I ended up ordering from Amazon. Looks like it will be here Saturday. Now I just have to figure out the antenna and what I want to do there. I've been kicking around a mag mount like the Nagoya UT-72G or an NMO mounted through the roof with either a Midland MXTA26 or the Tram 1181. Either option would be going as close to the center of the roof of a Nissan Frontier Crew Cab, so a good ground plane shouldn't be of too much concern. Also, @WRXE944, I won't complain if you want to share some more shortcuts.

Thanks for this. It definitely helps to know that it's possible before making the purchase rather than finding out I can't after the return window is closed. The way everything I could find with quick searches made it sound like it was basically the 22 simplex channels, 17 total repeater channels, and everything else was monitor only.

I could be wrong here, but I think with a Wouxon (Ocean), the wrist strap that impresses the chicks, is the one that comes with it. It might be worth checking out Randy's video from about a month or so ago about using your wrist strap without violating FCC regulations.

I think this is closer to what I was looking for. The only things I could see listed were "8 repeater channels" and "9 extra empty repeater channels" which made me wonder if there was a possibility of adding repeaters beyond those channels. I think just for Arizona, I have around a dozen or more repeaters programmed into my HT, which will also be programmed into the mobile. Just in case I wanted to do something like possibly talk with the resident YouTube Hobo while passing through on a road trip to visit family in Oregon, along with interacting with repeaters I come across a long the way, without having to erase my local repeaters.

I've heard programming them from the handset is a giant PITA and using the programming software isn't much better. It looks like they don't work with Chirp either, and haven't since their release. Luckily I don't think I'll have to do much with adding channels too often.

I'm considering getting either this or the Retevis RA25 to put in my truck. They both seem to be the exact same radio, aside from a few bucks in price. The question that I can't seem to find a straight answer on has to do with the receive only channels. If I were to program one of those channels to a GMRS frequency and add in tones for a repeater, will it transmit on that channel or will it still be restricted to receive only? I don't do a lot of traveling with this vehicle, but it would be kinda nice to be able to add a few repeaters for other areas that I might be passing through instead of overwriting the existing repeaters that I'll have programmed.

Igpay Atinlay?

If anyone knows which wrist strap is going to impress all the chicks, it's @OffRoaderX. He may also agree with me that keeping the Rubicon is the better way to go. Then again, I'm the type that firmly believes that FORD stands for F&$@er Only Runs Downhill. Seems like everyone I know that owns anything produced by Ford is constantly repairing it. One even had a turbo seize up on an EcoBoost F-150 with less than 20k on it.

I have the "local Phoenix only" tone set for Shaw, and haven't been able to get a response from either of the Towers repeaters. I'm pretty sure that all comes down to my HT with the NA-771G antenna. I have been meaning to get up on the San Tan mountains, which are relatively close to see if I can reach out, but now that temperatures are getting crazy, it looks like I'll be waiting til this fall unless I can come up with an antenna solution that won't get the HOA or my wife griping.

I'm just over in San Tan Valley. Shaw Butte 725 and both of the Towers Mountain repeaters seem to be pretty active. I'm able to listen to all 3 of those, but can't seem to reach out to them on my HT. I'm also thinking about looking into joining SWCRS and jumping on Pinal 675. Being that one is near Globe, I may not be able to reach that one without putting an antenna on the roof, which my HOA will throw a temper tantrum about.

Be careful with that NotaRubicon guy. He lures you in by telling you that you're his favorite viewer in several videos. The rumor I've heard from "some people" is that you have to bribe him with the newest, hottest Boofwang to really become his favorite viewer. Like others have said in this thread, try moving the radios farther apart and see if that solves your problem. Are you getting any kind of response from others on the repeater or any other confirmation that you're actively hitting it?