WRNU354

Good hands-on real-world testing yielding meaningful and actionable data! Thanks!

I have a Baofeng UV-5R that has a PTT/mon/call button assembly that looks a lot like your AR_5RM. Maybe its the same? Like your AR_5RM, I can accidently key my UV-5R by just picking it up. I thought I would take the chance to see if I could increase its PTT pull weight hoping it is a fix to our shared problem. Good news, maybe? I was able to increase the PTT pull weight from 14oz to 1 lb 6oz without taking the radio apart. All I needed was a small thin flat screw driver and a 5/16 x 7/16 x 1/16 nitrile O-ring (available a Harbor Freight assortment box). Can't say its a super solid fix, but I tried it a bunch of times and banged the UV-5R around as hard as a dare, with no ill-effect. Providing your AR-5RM has the UV-5R's construction its a simple modification that is quick and easily reversible. How is works: Underneath the plastic PTT button you remove there is a thin sheet of silicone and under that is the REAL PTT, a membrane button on a PCB. The internal diameter of the O-ring you are adding is larger in diameter than the membrane button. With the O-ring in place, the plastic PTT button will have to overcome the additional resistance of the O-Ring before it comes in contact with the membrane switch. What I'm hoping that will make this fix reliable are the legs on the plastic PTT button that holds it in place will also prevent the O-ring from moving. Step 0: Verify your AR-5RM looks like it shares the same PTT button as my UV-5R. Step 1: Gently and carefully use a small blade or flat-screwdriver to pry out the plastic PTT button. This is just a piece of plastic that when pushed, in turn, presses on the real PTT button, a membrane button covered by a silicone sheet. Step 2 - Put the 5/16 x 7/16 x 1/16 nitrile O-ring in place centered vertically. Next gently and carefully re-install the plastic PTT button, PTT label down, being especially careful not to displace the O-ring. It is helpful to use the small screw driver to assist in the installation. Done! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

I agree. It might be an age thing with me, but I want buttons I can feel and give at least tactile feedback when pressed. With devices using touch screens and similar tech there's no feel and without visual confirmation I don't know if I successfully pushed a button let alone the correct one. A lot of manufacturers now use haptic interfaces where depressing a touch sensitive button cause a short pulse of vibration that may also be audible. While better than nothing, to me it's inadequate.

Thanks for sharing the story! Nightmare fuel for sure. Just the thought of an unintentional open mic has me modifying my mobile hand mics' PTT to increase their pull weight to something close to my HT's, about 1.5 LBS. Negative Nancy's don't bother me and I make no attempts to "trigger" anyone. If I do that's on them. That said, they are entitled to their beliefs and should be free to express them. Borrowing from Jefferson, Negative Nancys' posts, "...neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."

First of all thanks! You have introduced me to PTT hysteresis, which I didn't know was a thing until now. A PTT button requiring more force to depress, but less to hold down seems ideal to me. I checked the radios I measured and unfortunately only the BAOFENG UV-9G feels to me like the PTT is easer to hold down than to push.

I haven't really considered the advantages of dual PTT, until your post. Looking your Wouxun KG-Q10H/G dual PTT placement it's a good design. Having two buttons, one above the other, is obvious, but Wouxun also provides space between them and roughly align each with their correspond half of the display. My guess is with just a few minutes, using the dual PTT would feel natural. Is that consistent with your experience?

QUESTION FOR YOU - Does the pull weight, tactile click and audible click of HT PTT buttons make a difference for you? My personal preference is heavier PTT pulls with both distinct tactile and audible clicks. For this reason and other factors as well my favorites are in the order; KG-935G Plus, UV-96 and GM-30. Wouxun KG-935G Plus - $150 ** PTT - 1 lb 8 oz with soft tactile and clear audible click Baofeng UV-96 - $32 PTT - 1 lb 7 oz with firm tactile and clear audible click Radioddity GM-30 - $25 PTT - 1 lb 6 oz with soft tactile and muted audible click Talkpod A36plus - $50 PTT - 14 oz with soft tactile and sharp audible click Quansheng UV-K6 - $32 PTT - 14 oz with soft tactile and soft audible click Baofeng UV-5R - $26 PTT - 14 oz with soft tactile and muted audible click * PTT pull weights were measured using a Wheeler Trigger Pull Scale. ** The pricing is dated from the time of purchase for each HT. (Yeah, I over-paid on a couple of them, for sure)

Performed as is tradition.

Overlord Xenu bless The Queen of All That is GMRS and his loyal subjects! Long live the Queen!

Only the Queen of GMRS can formally bestow such a noble title and you are certainly deserving of it! Not mentioned in my post the DMR intrusion may be more serious than just local effects on my GMRS experience. In Chicago the CPD communicates in the clear on 8 FM channels from 460.125 MHz to 460.525Mhz I scan them when I'm working in my office and I'm hearing the same "DMR" intrusion. Hopefully it just some clown in my immediate area and not worse. Again, thanks for your help!

As you predicted, a higher-end radio dork verified it is DMR. On GMRS, I find this DMR has all the charm of an impact wrench.

You nailed it! The occurances have been increasing in recent weeks. Annoying as an impact wrench at church. Thanks!

Lately I have been receiving what sounds to me as intermittent short bursts of very strong interference on the GMRS channels. Its strong enough to break sql of 7 and sometimes 9 on my KG-XS20G+. It seems to occur on most any of the GMRS channels in short bursts and occassionally I can hear weak voice audio mixed in with it. The bursts can occur quickly one after another or infrequently. Audio files samples attached. Any ideas on the source? Thanks! Interference 1.mp3 Interference 2.mp3

I have big clumsy hands making it easy for me to accidently key the mic when grabbing for it. To address this in the past I have modified mics with stiffer or additional PTT button springs, but with Wouxun KG-XS20G+ design I can't make that solution work. Luckily, I think I found an alternative. First of all here's the stock KG-XS20G+s MIC's PTT pull weight which comes in at about 11oz. This first thing is to get a gromet of dimensions D=7/16", I.D. = 0.336", O.D. = 19/32" T = 0.049. (Available in a Harbor Freight gromet assortment box) Next, use a razor knife to CAREFULLY cut off one side of the gromet. The cut needs to be as clean, flat and flush with the gromet half's side as possible. Discard the other half. Now, remove the four screws holding the two halfs of the mic body together and carefully separate the them taking care not to stress the mic's speaker wires. Remove the PTT assembly and place the gromet half as shown in this pic. Note the flat side of the gromet half is facing the PTT button. Re-install the PTT assembly taking care to keep the gromet half in place. Lastly reassemble the mic and secure it with it's 4 screws. With the modification my mic's PTT pull weight now measures 1 lb. 10 oz. CONCERNS - The addition of the gromet is putting additional lateral stress of the PTT button. Over time there is at least a possibility it may bend the button assembly back making PTT unreliable. The additional stress could also cold work the button's solder connections to the PCB. With these concerns in mind, I tested the modified mic by pushing the PTT button firmly 100 times with no ill effect. I also banged the mic as hard as I dare from different angles, but I was unable to displace the gromet half.

I agree. I picked my mobile/base 20w and 25w radios partly because their current draw is within the limits of an auxiliary power outlet. When I driving I plug into my front auxiliary power outlet and when stationary on nice days I can plug the radio into the rear one with the hatch open. For emergency and campsite use I have the lesser Jackery 250 which is adequate, but I wish I had the USB-C and extra capacity of your 300! As flexible as the auxiliary power plug & outlet are, I wanted the ability switch out different length DC cables and different terminations. To achieve this my radios have a short fused DC power pigtail terminated in a T-connector. I made up mating cables: For mobile use I have one short and one longer DC power cable each terminated in an auxiliary power plug For home use have a very short cable terminating in lugs so I can connect directly to the rear posts of by DC power supply.