WRXB215

@Lscott probably has a PDF on this. I'm sure he will respond soon. There are others who are also quite familiar with Kenwood. If it can be done, they will show you the way soon.
Welcome to GMRS.

Hams do talk about other things but yes, ham equipment is a big topic. Ham has a lot of bands and modes and therefore there is a lot to talk about when it comes to equipment.

I've gotten to where I say very slowly so I don't have to say it again. Sometimes I even say it phonetically for that very reason.
For me, it can be frustrating when people say their call sign so fast I can't even begin to get it all. It's like saying ";alkdsjflsd;kjewl;knf;aej." And I'm like what?

Welcome @WSAG780 and @WSAH452. GMRS is a great service and I know you will both enjoy it. As @gortex2 you should use type certified radios but don't sweat it. Half or more of the people I talk to on GMRS aren't using type certified radios and no one cares as long as they stick to all the rest of the regs.

It might look funny but it will work on the hood. Closer to center is always best but you may have trouble noticing a difference between center and to the side. Many people claim that if you have a 6" border around the base it is enough. Some people claim you need even less than that. In the end, you are probably going to buy a different mount and antenna to get the best look and performance.

We ran a NMO mount in the hood on our old grass truck for 30 years. Was a rag top on an old military truck and the hood worked just fine. 

Well, I took mine off the air.  Which was the ONLY active linked repeater in Ohio.  So now there are none in the state.  I did enjoy having people to have actual discussions with.  But I am not gonna wait to have the FCC decide to tell me I can't be doing it and giving me a fine in the process. 
I actually had two repeaters on the air, one was linked and the other one was not.  This was done to combat the issue that you mentioned.  There needed to be a repeater that locals could use to have local discussions that weren't carried across 4 states when the users having that conversation were 10 miles apart and no other users were involved in the discussion.  And of course, my repeaters had the same coverage so there wasn't an issue with one having better or different coverage than the other.  But that no longer matters as I have shut the one down. 
But I am curious, how many repeaters do YOU have on the air?  You seem to take issue with three of the repeater pairs having the same conversations actively going on, and mentioned 2 more repeater pairs being used.  So that's 5 of the 8 pairs in use, leaving 3 others that could be used.  Are you seeing it as somehow limiting your ability to put up a repeater?  Are the repeaters in question private use only and you don't have access to them?  Do you have equipment and a tower site that you can't put a repeater on because the pairs are all taken up by others?  Or is this a case of I need something to complain about, and this topic seems to be adequate to fill that need at this moment in time?  
Repeater owners of OPEN repeaters tend to get tired of listening to people complain about what they are doing with their equipment by people that are guests of their equipment and efforts.  I certainly am. 

Like we have with amateur radio repeaters. Here in southern California, my 2-meter repeaters are coordinated through TASMA, my 1200 Mhz repeater is coordinated through SCRRBA.

Yes that's true. It's not binding until it's in the actual rule outline, not just published on an article. They're very legally careful to word things the way they do in those rules. The person publishing on a web page, who might be an FCC employee, isn't necessarily the authority to decree anything or they might not have been careful with their own language, or they could even be incorrect altogether.  I'm a drone pilot as well and in that hobby the FAA is an equally inconsistent and often convoluted governing body. This kind of stuff is nothing new..
At the end of the day, i'm more in the camp of just go on ahead and enjoy the hobby of your choice and don't do anything obviously idiotic..  

Well, the one in your area HAS gone away.  I shut it off last night. 

I think they have a place. I just wish they werent SO prevalent. If I could tune to one of my 4 or 5 local repeaters and have it be the linked thing, that's fine. But when it's 3 of the 5 all simulcasting the same rag chew from 3 states over, not so much....
I'm not in favor of any more additional government, but I almost wish we could have a sort of informal yet respected body that would sort of keep some order to repeater channel allocations for areas so that people aren't setting up new repeaters on top of others, and maybe additionally they could space out those linked things as well..

If you’re hitting Tiger Mountain from Yelm that’s impressive. Oly3 and the OlyComm group are a good bunch of folks. Welcome to the party.

I did a recent test on a couple of HTs that enlightened me on that one. A good quality receiver does make a significant difference. Now, when I listen to NOAA, I only do it on the Kenwood.
Agreed. I have a lot of trees to punch through so wattage does come into play for me. Still want to get a higher antenna though and get some real results.

What you may be missing is the purpose of GMRS. It is intended for family and groups to stay in touch. That's why your license covers your immediate family. It's not really about making random social contacts although some use it for that on repeaters. Could be there is just no one around that wants to talk to strangers. Ham radio is better if that is you goal.  

Update. Don't waste your money. I had one on my UVD1P and couldn't talk to a buddy that was only 3/4 of a mile away. The factory Wouxun antenna that came with the radio on the Baofeng UV-82 would reach him no problem and when I put the factory antenna back on the UVD1P I could reach him too so the Smiley Duck isn't worth it IMHO.

I don't have any GMRS traffic near me, so I just walk around with an HT and a dummy load and pretend 🤣

I did a recent test on a couple of HTs that enlightened me on that one. A good quality receiver does make a significant difference. Now, when I listen to NOAA, I only do it on the Kenwood.
Agreed. I have a lot of trees to punch through so wattage does come into play for me. Still want to get a higher antenna though and get some real results.

Picked up a Watt/SWR meter and did a little test on my radios. Pretty interesting results.

Power Testing HT Radios..mp4    

I taped a printout of each channel onto the display-less Cotre.
At $14, you could have picked up some more to program another 16 channels and/or another DMR Repeater.
The best low cost DMR HT with a display continues to be the Radioddity RD-5R a/k/a Baofeng DM-5R (Tier II) at about a $70 price point (also the OpenGD77 firmware works on both of these).

Here is a good source for reasonably priced connectors:
https://www.americanradiosupply.com/sma/?page=1

Sounds like you have not calibrated the SDR receiver/dongle from within SDR# software. Click on the gear icon within the software and adjust the frequency correction (ppm) to a known source. I use a HT set to a known frequency (in this case 462.625) on low power, no antenna and narrow FM to keep from overloading the front end of the SDR and keep the FM width as narrow as possible to adjust the ppm. Not lab perfect but close enough.
 
 

What makes you think that your VFO is more accurate than theirs?  Maybe you’re off by 257 Hertz. 
I think all upper end HF receivers have a “Clarifier” adjustment to adjust for the many radios that don’t exactly match their frequency. I tune to an integer kHz and then adjust the clarifier, with the assumption that my VFO is perfect. 😁
Transmissions from satellites require a Doppler shift that varies based on orbital velocity and whether they’re approaching or moving away. 
Are FM transmissions modulated symmetrically about a center frequency, or do they modulate in one direction from the carrier?  I don’t know. 

Also, on another Heads Up, The Wouxun ANO-001 worked better for me on both the UV-82 and the KG-UVD1P(stock antenna for this radio) then the Smiley Duck 5/8 did so if you want a good upgrade for your antenna for the UV-82 check one of those out.
https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-ano-001.html

Hams do talk about other things but yes, ham equipment is a big topic. Ham has a lot of bands and modes and therefore there is a lot to talk about when it comes to equipment.

The attached paper was published in an engineering journal. It goes a bit more into the details of narrow verses wide band FM. The material isn't for the "casual" reader.
Narrowband vs Wideband.pdf