CyborgAlienWRYG738
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Posts posted by CyborgAlienWRYG738
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I'm considering purchasing the following equipment but, I'm having trouble finding reviews or anything on the Powerwerx equipment, anyone have any insight if it's decent or not? How does it compare? Does the radio have superheterodyne transceivers? Which is the better radio in this list? What about the antennas any good?
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17 minutes ago, kidphc said:
Get them as far apart as possible, especially if they are close in frequency or hamonics.
Mine are about 6 feet apart, on two different planes.
22w low 48 watts high, out from the rf port on the xtl5k
Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
I don't have anywhere near that space on the roof of my 23 Nissan Rogue, maybe at best a couple of feet, if I set one beside the main car antenna, which also has GPS in it. Hence why I'd like to go with a combo antenna. Especially, in the vehicle, while it's in there, it's mostly going to be in my "shack". But, I'm only wanting to use the 1 antenna, since I will be moving it until I can afford the exterior antenna.
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1 hour ago, kidphc said:
I second this.
Trying to find a triplexer for my for my Harris 100m. While not impossible hurts, cheaper ones are +280 and commercial ones average $600+ for used ones.
Note:
watch antenna spacing. My xtl5k (set for gmrs and p25 65cm/70cm) when at full tilt has blasted my ftm400. That is with the 5/8th for the xtl at the back 1/3 of the roof ND the 2/70sh on the driver front fender. Doesn't happen the other way around with the ftm400 on 70cm and the xtl5k on gmrs. The xtl is just has better selectivity. I have to turn off the ftm400, when using the xtl.
Marc has toasted a vhf xtl. Not sure if has to do with the proximity of his uhf xtl. Maybe he can chime in.
Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
About how far apart is too close, also how much power were you swinging?
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1 hour ago, wayoverthere said:
Honestly, the only ones covering gmrs that I've seen with a gain over 5db (even measuring in dBi, which will post a higher number than dBd) is midland's mxta26 at 6db and being a 5/8 over 5/8 wave, and the previously mentioned comet 2x4sr. The key with the Midland is getting it direct from Midland, not via amazon. The only complaints I've seen with that antenna were people that got it via amazon, and got used/damaged/modified returns.
I found a couple 2m/70cm mobile antennas on dx engineering with gains over 7dbi on 70cm (comet sbb-7 is one), but I'd be afraid of the swr jumping pretty fast once you passed 450mhz. I know that Laird I have rated for 430-450 climbs fast.
Back to the antennas, I have been looking at a couple of Laird's that were tuned to 480 on the UHF band, which should put their main freq near the 165 mark I am looking for, if not, it shouldn't be hard to hit. The bands are more towards the NOAA Freqs but, that's ok too, for now. Although I think one was 138-148 and 400-480. The UHF was 5.? dB so I guess it's sufficient, I have to get something with distance in mind because there's nothing local to me. Repeaters or family. I need to use repeaters to talk to family...
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1 hour ago, wayoverthere said:
In the end, I mostly ran 2 antennas and 2 radios; one for 2m & 70cm, and 1 for gmrs. I currently have almost all of it down, though, as I'm transitioning between vehicles....cleared out the old and still getting things set up on the new (and waiting on a recent radio purchase, too).
What's your current setup and what are you changing to? I'm curious because I am in the market and want to make a purchase soon, probably after New Year's, and I'm trying to decide if I want a TYT MD-9600 or something else, I really want something that's going to last, be as clear as possible and be a superhet. I'm looking forward to getting my Tech around then if I decide to go ahead with it and don't get too frustrated with it. I was looking at the Wouxun KG-UV920P but, I'm wanting to go with DMR as well. I can't afford Motorola money right now but, Wouxun KG-1000G+, isn't out of the equation, price wise. Midland I've never had any luck with, so I'm not interested in their radios, though I was looking at the MXT-500, I don't know if it will last more than a warranty period. I don't think I want a Quad-Bander like the MD-9800 or UV980P, I can use CB for the 10m I want to talk on. Not really interested in 6m. 6GHz maybe...
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36 minutes ago, wayoverthere said:
Comet has been solid for me so far. The 2x4sr isn't super on swr at the high end, tradeoff for the wide bandwidth. Laird have been good as well, and would be my go-to for single band stuff.
Diamond..the HT antenna has been good. The mobile (nr72b, iirc), I can't get a decent number on 2m for anything, mag mount, hard mount, bracket, whatever. It's currently on the shelf...good for 70cm limited clearance I guess.
I suspect the older Midland 3db whip (5/8 wave mxta10) was a contracted manufacture by someone commercial, it looks very similar to the lairds in build.
I also have one Browning (possibly before they were merged with Tram? Not sure) seems to be good quality and holding up well; 2x5/8 wave, with 410-490 bandwidth.
I have the Diamond NR73BNMO, (found here: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/diamond-antenna-nr73bnmo-4167.html), and the MR-77, (found here: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/diamond-antenna-mr77.html), that are either also not getting anything near 1.5:1 or in the case of the MR-77 is too weak being only 3dB gain, although it's better than 1.5:1. I'm not saying they're junk just their equipment isn't as available, (Diamond Antenna mag mounts are hard to get,) or not as good as can be, (only 5dB gain is best they can do on mobile antennas, NR73BNMO.) Also, the compatible, (according to Buy 2Way Radios,) antenna, SRJNR73BNMO antenna doesn't exist, and according to Diamond Antenna's US website, never did. Then again their website is missing a lot of information. I'm also using the 5½" mag mount from Tram, which isn't the best for GMRS either, it will be updated as soon as I get the chance to the Chrome Larson one along with the Chrome antenna that matches GMRS signals better.
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This is what I'm getting from my Tram connected to my Wouxun KG-UV9GX. I'm using extensions to get it thru my window to my shed roof about 30' away. I am getting the same exact readings with it directly connected to the mag mount wire.
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3 minutes ago, tcp2525 said:
I've had a few Diamond antennas over the years and found them to be well built and performed really well. I have a Tram 1486 on the side of my tower fed with 1/2" Heliax and it is okay considering the size and price. I guess you gotta consider its intended use. I'd rather use a StationMaster for GMRS, but I don't have the 20' space needed to mount it to the side of the tower. Once the second tower goes up I'll retire the 1486.
Back in the day, they both used to be good brands but, lately, both have gone downhill, I have both currently and having issues with both just getting them to have good SWR's could be my meter, could use some help testing to see how far off mine is. It's a a Nissei RS-50 digital meter, brand new, supposedly but, the mail went over 1000 miles out of route to get to me and the box was crushed it came in but, it's box was in good shape. I dunno. I hate there's nowhere like the CB Shop's back in the day, to go and have it checked out with their equipment.
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8 minutes ago, WRWE456 said:
Diamond and Tram were reputable brands last I knew. I have a few Diamonds and they work great.
Tram = Chinese Junk
Diamond is getting that way too from my experience.
Larson is supposed to be the best, with Laird, Not sure about Comet heard varying opinions on it.
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1 hour ago, tcp2525 said:
Midland=Chinese Junk!
LOL
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1 hour ago, tcp2525 said:
I'll second what @kidphc says, but would like to add that using any of these "all band" is a compromise. Also, stick with a good quality commercial grade antenna manufacturer such as Laird or Larsen. I've used Larsen for decades and never had a failure and they performed really well. On my truck, I use a dual band antenna for 2m/70cm that been in service for over 10 years. I recently added an NMO antenna for GMRS that is of poor manufactured quality made by Midland. Bottom line, stick with quality commercial grade antennas and use separate antennas for multiple bands and radios.
I thought Midland used Larson to make that antenna, must've been Motorola I was thinking of.
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1 hour ago, sjl777 said:
From my limited experience along with web and YouTube searches, the DTMF codes allow a user to access devices using the radio. This can include repeaters, garage doors, and anything else where your radio might be used as a remote with a particular configured device. I have not use for this function and dont want to make my radios open to receiving unwanted codes.
The Kill/Stun function is an anti-theft function. Government agencies have this built into their public safety equipment. Depending on how much one spends for a mobile or HT, I can understand how you may want to brick the device if it was stolen. Getting it back would be another issue.
I think if you change the default code in CHIRP or CPS software it should limit someone from using a factory code to mess with your radio.
Thanks, I was having a problem locating any information on it, not sure if it's my search engines or a setting on my devices I need to change. They're pretty secure.
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3 hours ago, WRWE456 said:
Just send it back and ask for a replacement if you think it is defective.
I need to find someone to hook up with locally and see if it's my meter or what first. If I can find someone... Being relatively new to my area and GMRS it's difficult.
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3 hours ago, Sshannon said:
It’s not at all unusual for the RF output to deviate from the advertised value. Some may be more and some may be less and it really makes almost no difference in communications whether a radio puts out 4 watts or 5. It’s a classic case of diminishing returns.
Plus there’s absolutely nothing that says your wattmeter is correct.
As an exercise, jot down the power output for every channel. You’ll see that they differ, possibly greatly.The barely, if at all vary. My radio is putting out between 3 and 4.3W not even close to the 5.5 advertised and I've barely had it a month or so. I shouldn't be seeing that much of a diminished return yet.
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38 minutes ago, WRWE456 said:
I seriously doubt that any setting or feature in the radio is going to decrease the power output other than the power settings and built in power limits of low, medium and high power channels. I think you need to move on from that idea.
There's got to be a way to adjust those. The only one seemingly effected is the High power setting not reaching it's max power. Though I believe it did to begin with before I was able to get an SWR meter to check it with.
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2 hours ago, sjl777 said:
The Btech GMRS 20V2 mobile will tell you when the radio has been killed. I had it happen to me several times. If your radio is setup to receive DTMF codes and you have not changed the default factory code, someone can send your radio the kill or stun code and lock up your radio.
I recovered from the kill setting using CHIRP and reloading the initial factory setting image. I also reset all on the radio after it was restored.
I reset my device, loaded my defaults in ChirpNext and did what I mentioned below first. I noticed an uptick in my tx power but, still not full power. I'm going to have a look at those other settings and see if that does anything as well, I just recently stopped those settings as well I believe but, I'll have to double check to be certain. I also have the default settings in the official Wouxun app, I just have to borrow a Winblows to do it though. I want to do another Reset when I do it though, also, those codes your talking about, are they the same as the reset codes for the device?
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1 hour ago, WRWE456 said:
According to the KG-1000Gplus manual "To reactivate a killed radio send the kill sequence again".
Says the same thing in the KG-UV9P manual that's supposed to be the parent manual for the KG-UV9GX. I did this too, as apparently, from what I read you do it on the affected device.
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2 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:
IIRC, i never measured the power because I didnt want to break the antenna and/or i didnt have a good way to measure it off the connector. and I dont think the power was mentioned anywhere in the sales literature or documentation (that i can recall).. Since they dont brag that its a "Full 5 Watt radio" I assume it is closer to 2 or 3W, if that.
I didn't think it was you that mentioned it, in your review. I didn't know if you had way to test it out.
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31 minutes ago, Sshannon said:
Thank you. So I guess I don’t understand what @CyborgAlienWRYG738 is getting at.
I can’t find where Midland says the power. It looked like it’s probably not much, in spite of the marketing bs.I was going by the reviews where it was tested to be around 3W max if memory serves, maybe OffRoaderX can chime in on it.
Either way, it's not mobile 50W catagory
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50 minutes ago, Sshannon said:
It’s still a handheld portable. The fact that the name is “Base Camp” is just marketing.
But, anyway, does it do digital texting? It doesn’t appear to have a GPS.No, it doesn't, I'm not claiming it does, I'm wanting advice that does, that is a "base station" moreso than this HT device.
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1 hour ago, Sshannon said:
No, only handheld portables are allowed to have digital.
Except that the Midland XT511 "Base Station" is more "Handheld" than "Base Station" so...https://midlandusa.com/products/xt511-base-camp
Sorry wrong name above, not the MXT-511
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14 minutes ago, Sshannon said:
Base stations are what?
You simply won’t get text in a mobile anytime soon. Mobile radios with external antennas are simply not allowed to have digital transmissions.
2. But, base stations are.
a. Capable of having an internal antenna.
and...
b. Allowed to have digital transmissions.
All it would take is a digital upgrade to Midlands MTX-511 to make it capable of it. Minus my fantasies about GMRS capabilities. Although, I don't consider that a base, more of an HT.
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59 minutes ago, WRXB215 said:
I guess I wasn't clear. GMRS HTs can have a removable antenna and most do. FRS HTs cannot have a removable antenna. I don't understand why a GMRS HT with a removable antenna would be excluded from having this feature.
The BTech GMRS Pro does have both Antennas on it, Stationary for Digital and Removable for GMRS, I'm not as impressed with BTech for anything though and even less for SDR equipment.
The requirement I mentioned above was for it to be a mobile, though I forgot to mention that I was using it as a base station, which is wherein the problem lies. Although a Base can have it easily included, see the Midland MTX-511, a Mobile cannot since it would require removable antennas. HT's can have both.
Being the MTX-511 is more of an HT than a base and thereby limited in it's power output, I don't understand why one couldn't make one and add a simple removable antenna for the GMRS frequencies and repeaters. Since it isn't a mobile unit made to be mounted in a vehicle AND only has the power output of an HT, or actually less, I believe in that specific model.
Not that I expect Midland to do something like that but, they're not the ONLY GMRS manufacturer out there either. I'm sure I wouldn't be the ONLY person who'd buy one if it ever was created...
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21 minutes ago, Sshannon said:
Why would the manufacturers announce something for Christmas that flies in the face of current FCC regulations?
You simply won’t get text in a mobile anytime soon. Mobile radios with external antennas are simply not allowed to have digital transmissions.
There’s nothing preventing Bluetooth as a feature. Here’s one way you can add it:p.s. All these features are available in ham radios.
1. One could hope... And there's ways around the limits.
2. But, base stations are.
3. Thanks for the link, I'll be sure to check it out.
PS. I'm not currently a ham and with the attitudes of the ones I've met, I'm not sure if I want to be, though I've not ruled it out in the future.
Stun and Kill Function
in Technical Discussion
Posted
As a n update on this, I have since changed ALL my passwords, I hope this is what you were referring to.