WRXB215

Sounds like you are connecting, and it sounds like it is a 'simplex' repeater which records what you say, then re-transmits it.

Make sure the voice announcements are set for Chinese. 🤫

I have convinced dozens of friends to join the "GMRS fun" ...
...they all hate me now and think that I'm weird.

They’re all defined in Part 97 of the FCC Regulations:
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-97
(c)The following terms are used in this part to indicate emission types. Refer to § 2.201of the FCC Rules, Emission, modulation and transmission characteristics,for information on emission type designators. 
(1)CW.International Morse code telegraphy emissions having designators with A, C, H, J or R as the first symbol; 1 as the second symbol; A or B as the third symbol; and emissions J2A and J2B. 
(2)Data.Telemetry, telecommand and computer communications emissions having 
(i)designators with A, C, D, F, G, H, J or R as the first symbol, 1 as the second symbol, and D as the third symbol; 
(ii)emission J2D; and 
(iii)emissions A1C, F1C, F2C, J2C, and J3C having an occupied bandwidth of 500 Hz or less when transmitted on an amateur service frequency below 30 MHz. Only a digital code of a type specifically authorized in this part may be transmitted. 
(3)Image.Facsimile and television emissions having designators with A, C, D, F, G, H, J or R as the first symbol; 1, 2 or 3 as the second symbol; C or F as the third symbol; and emissions having B as the first symbol; 7, 8 or 9 as the second symbol; W as the third symbol. 
(4)MCW.Tone-modulated international Morse code telegraphy emissions having designators with A, C, D, F, G, H or R as the first symbol; 2 as the second symbol; A or B as the third symbol. 
(5)Phone.Speech and other sound emissions having designators with A, C, D, F, G, H, J or R as the first symbol; 1, 2, 3 or X as the second symbol; E as the third symbol. Also speech emissions having B or F as the first symbol; 7, 8 or 9 as the second symbol; E as the third symbol. MCW for the purpose of performing the station identification procedure, or for providing telegraphy practice interspersed with speech. Incidental tones for the purpose of selective calling or alerting or to control the level of a demodulated signal may also be considered phone. 
(6)Pulse.Emissions having designators with K, L, M, P, Q, V or W as the first symbol; 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 or X as the second symbol; A, B, C, D, E, F, N, W or X as the third symbol. 
(7)RTTY.Narrow-band direct-printing telegraphy emissions having designators with A, C, D, F, G, H, J or R as the first symbol; 1 as the second symbol; B as the third symbol; and emission J2B. Only a digital code of a type specifically authorized in this part may be transmitted. 
(8)SS.Spread spectrum emissions using bandwidth-expansion modulation emissions having designators with A, C, D, F, G, H, J or R as the first symbol; X as the second symbol; X as the third symbol. 
(9)Test.Emissions containing no information having the designators with N as the third symbol. Test does not include pulse emissions with no information or modulation unless pulse emissions are also authorized in the frequency band. 

The attached files are also useful.
Common Emmision Mode Designators.pdf FCC Service and Station Codes.pdf

That's discussed in the book at the following link.
http://www.w3pga.org/Antenna Books/Reflections III.pdf

SWR meter: a measuring instrument most often used to ruin the tuning of good antennas.
NanoVNA: an inexpensive electronic device that is used miscalibrated to obtain the results that are misunderstood.

I think you will have better results writing to customer support for whatever company you bought the radio from. This is a public forum, not dedicated to any specific company. 
The owner of the forum has an online store as well and perhaps that’s where you bought the radio, but that might be better handled by looking at the contact information on the invoice. 
Good luck!

The field should be minimal under the radials. And as I mentioned I ran only 1 watt using DMR. Since DMR uses two time slots and on simplex only one is used thus the average power is around 0.5 watts. 
Next consider one is holding an HT a few inches away from the face with an output power of 4 to 5 watts at about the same frequency on GMRS. So, which one is really worse for RF exposure?

Also, radio frequencies aren't ionizing radiation, so there is no risk from exposure *unless* the flux is high enough to heat your skin.  No one's cooking with a ten watt microwave...

you gotta use one of those aluminum hard hats for ground plane? but back to this fine antenna hat and more importantly how did it go over with the chicks ?
 
 

I say this over and over. At least once a year folks decide we need to change GMRS to suite their needs and who cares what others do. I have been in GMRS since we rented a repeater PL. Alot has changed but in the end not much really did. analog and simple has been the game. If you want DMR or other stuff go to ham or business. 

I have spent decades in the mountains and I have seen 'almost' every type of communications methods fail.  The only thing I have seen work 100% of the time (less equipment failure) is HF radio.
 
Sat phones are by far the easiest to use and the second most successful to use.  However, in order to work, the devices need to have clear view of a satellite phone network.  Being deep in a valley or in heavy tree coverage, the phone wont work.  Also, Sat phone uses a frequency that is very easily negatively impacted by solar/space weather.  It actually happens fairly frequently.  I mention these items because, while they are easy and very dependable, there is high cost to purchase and use and some risk of failure.
 
InReach and other services like it are more affordable SatComms solutions, but have the same technology restrictions as Sat phones.
 
UHF and VHF radio's are RF line of sight... period. If you have heavily wooded areas, are in a low area block by a hills or mountains... even a lot of buildings.  Range is massively restricted.
 
Circling back to HF radio... again, it never fails.  While space weather impacts performance, all it really impacts is what frequency you use during particular times of the day.  HF doesn't care about trees, rain, or anything physically in the way, and it's not a line of sight service.  Due to not being line of sight, and the way HF radio propagation works, you can talk to people anywhere on the planet (if you follow the rules) with just a couple of watts.
 
So, as someone whom has spent time in the woods and truly understands the points about weight restrictions (since you carry food, water, clothing, first-aid, bedding/shelter) the last thing I would want to do is add a bunch more weight.  And lets be honest, even the smallest of HF radio setups will add 5 or 6 lbs, its hard to tell you what to do when I have no idea what your wife is capable of carrying.  BUT... if it were me, I would carry a Sat phone or InReach and a portable 5w HF radio that covers 80m/40m/20m/ (and built in tuner), a random length wire antenna to support those bands and a roll-up solar panel charging system to charge the batteries on the phone/InReach and radio.
 
I personally can't justify Sat phone pricing, so I would use the InReach (for zero 'in the field' setup and instant use) and something like a Radioddity Xiegu x6100 or an iCom IC-705 in cases where the InReach doesn't work.  The IC-705 is way more capable and has coverage from all of HF, as well as 6m and 2m VHF and 70cm UHF.  But, the x6100 is only $600 compared to the IC-705 at $1,400.

The third Garmin I listed is a GMRS radio as well as having satellite capabilities. As @WRWE456 mentioned GMRS is line of sight. One thing to consider is battery life and charging capabilities on the trail while keeping weight down. The Garmin in reach 2 will give you good battery life and satellite texting and that emergency button and it’s small. Do some research and figure out what is most important for your wife’s needs. Having your outside support will be a great help for her. 

Maybe not, but they can use a telephone.?

Cuz if I hear him needing tacos I may realize that I need tacos too, and that may drive down taco availability at a specific locality. And let's not go into what may happen if everybody will suddenly learn that he's got tacos, while taco supply is low.

It's less syllables to just say I have tacos or I need tacos though... and why would you risk such an important thing being misunderstood??

Welcome!
Two way radio is line of sight mostly. So if she is hiking in the mountains, line of sight will be very spotty at best. Where will you be?  As WRUU653 suggests satellite phones/devices may be your best option.

I would take a look at some of the Garmin products for such a trip.
 
 https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/765374

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/890109   
https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/533999   

Yeah, don't be this guy. ?
https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/249-934916052_radiocollectionjpg/?context=new
 

I have it running fine on both Windows 10 and 11..
Try Uninstalling, then install again, but when you run the installer program, run it "As Administrator" (Google it if you have to).. then, after reinstalling, also run the program "As Administrator".
 

I would add you have a cell phone. It’s okay to use your cell phone. I mean seriously if you want a private conversation radio isn’t it. Sure there’s encrypted radios but that’s not GMRS. Op is looking for a solution where there is no problem. 
I’m 10-98 ?

You've come across archaic sections of the FCC rules. Imagine someone telling you that you can't say, "Meet you at the rendezvous, over." vs explicitly saying where and what you are doing. You have a brain. Its okay to use your brain. Its okay to think and reason. You are better, and always will be than ChatGPT and its endless database entries of biased entries.

Not necessarily. The key is how it’s done and what digital mode.  

While I like DMR I don’t think it’s a good candidate to use on GMRS. I believe there are a couple of better choices. As a few other posts have pointed out the principle issues are the existing base of analog radios and just where do you locate the digital channels where they would result in the least interference to analog operations.