WRYZ926

Where there is a will, there is a way. I've seen plenty of ideas to hide antennas from overbearing HOA's.

I like the HF digital modes such as FT4 and FT8 since I don't have to hear anything like that. Digital modes send signal reports and that is it. I know some old curmudgeons say that digital modes aren't for real radio operators, but I ignore them.

I hear people using different words for saying their call sign phonetically all the time. Some will use what ever words they like. It really doesn't matter much when talking to other people who's native language is English. Using the NATO phonetic alphabet does help when talking to foreigners who do not speak English very well or have a heavy accent. In the end use what works best for you and those you are talking to.

I want to give a little update on my TYT TH-7800 and Wouxun KG-1000G after a couple of months of running my Yaesu FTDX10 HF radio at the same time as using the other radios. The TYT TH-7800 picks up quite a bit of interference from the FTDX when transmitting on digital modes and talking on the TH-7800 at the same time. Depending on the frequencies/bands, the interference is anything from a slight buzz to sounding like I am doubling with someone. The Wouxun KG-1000G does not suffer from any of the interference issues caused by my FTDX. I wanted to mention it for those that have their amateur and GMRS licenses and want to run digital modes on a HF radio while talking on a UHF/VHF radio at the same time.

I definitely would not use cable/satellite TV coax for UHF frequencies to include GMRS. Most satellite TV installations use RG6 cable. RG6 will have more loss than RG8. RG8/RG213 is generally used for the HF bands and not suitable for UHF. https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/252-cable-types-and-losses/page/5/#comment-69960

And I thought CB was bad back when I was stationed at Fort Irwin. It was a different world once you went through Cajon Pass heading west.

The CA-712EFC is definitely a good GMRS antenna. The Comet GP6 and GP9 base antennas are excellent dual band antennas that also work well for GMRS. A good dual band mobile antenna that works well for GMRS is the Comet 2x4SR.

I have seen some disguise shorter antennas to look like vent pipes. Just a thought for those dealing with HOA's. Running large conduit is a good idea. Just make sure there is enough room to pull the cable and also the PL259 connectors through, especially if you ever plan on running more than one cable in conduit. I will also suggest using the grey PVC conduit designed for electrical wiring since the curve fitting are a gentle curve versus sharp curves lie standard water PVC pipe fittings.

Did it come like that new out of the box or did you have to do a firmware update? I had to do the firmware update before my MXT500 would have 128 programmable channels.

For the cost of a Midland MXT500 or MXT575, you will be better off buying the Wouxun KG-1000G or KG-1000G Plus. All are 50 watt radios and cost about the same price. The Wouxun KG-1000G is super heterodyne. I had a Midland MXT500 and never got more than about 35-38 watts out on high. The Wouxun KG-1000G puts out 45-48 watts on high. The KG-1000G sounds better on transmit and receive and is an all around better radio. Needless to say, I kept the Won and got rid of the Midland.

HF, VHF, and UHF amateur band Yagi's get put onto metal masts all the time. It shouldn't be an issue.

The KG-935G is definitely a good radio with a good factory antenna. I live in mid Missouri with lots of rolling hills and valleys and plenty of trees. I can get into the local repeater at 21.5 miles away with the 935G while outside in my yard when conditions are good. Getting into the repeater is easy when running my base radios on low power or even the 935G connected to my base antenna. I am using a Comet CA-712EFC that is 18 feet above the ground.

All types of communication devices can fail or not work due to location. It never hurts to have different modes of communications available to you. And I agree, never go out alone or at least let someone know exactly where you are planning on going.

The Comet CA-712EFC is a great antenna. How far you can talk to others will depend on how high the antenna is, local terrain, vegetation/trees, structures, etc. Don't expect to get a 200 mile range unless you live in the wide open desert or along very large lake.

Most GMRS certified radios have the firmware locked down so that people cannot unlock them. Most dual band 2m/70cm radios can be unlocked through software hacks or hardware modifications. The issue with unlocked radios is that most go down to 5 watts and GMRS channels 8 - 14 are limited to 0.5 watts since they are in between the GMRS repeater channels. Running at 5 watts, especially on wide band, could cause interference. Yes I do have one GMRS certified 20 watt radio that will transmit on channels 8 - 14. But I won't transmit on those channels even on low power (5 watts) unless it is a real world emergency.

A cable grip is the better method. But zip ties do work as long as you don't over tighten them. I agree that you don't want to over tighten zip ties.

I would personally stay away from coax cables from Amazon. Yes good quality coax is expensive. But good coax and a good antenna as high as you can get it makes a world of difference. DX Engineering brand coax is pretty good and normally cheaper that Times LMR400 and M & P coax. https://www.dxengineering.com/search/part-type/coaxial-cable-assemblies?N=coaxial-cable-type%3A400max

Radioddity has that disclaimer on every radio web page to include al the amateur band radios. You will see similar disclaimers on Amazon too.

I think it is safe to say that we all agree that having a good antenna as high as one can get it along with a good quality coax designed for UHF will make more of a difference compared to using a 25 watt radio vs a 50 watt radio. Agin location, terrain, foliage, structures, etc will absolutely have an effect on how far one can talk to people. I took some screen shots to share showing line of sight from me to two friends and from me to our repeater. The repeater is easy to get into on 10 watts but we have to all use high power (50 watts) to talk on simplex. home to tower - 21.5 miles Friend at 18 miles away Friend that is 23-24 miles away

I'm going to echo everyone else's comments. Yes a 5 watt hand held will work when attached to an external base antenna. It won't be the most convenient to use, especially without a hand mic. Some type of mobile radio along with a good antenna will work better than any hand held. Don't skimp on the coax either. A good mag mounted mobile antenna placed on a metal surface (cookie) sheet will work better than any hand held antenna. Neither will work as well as a good base antenna. The Comet CA-712EFC is a popular choice for good reasons, they work well. As noted, stay away from RG8X and RG58, they are very lossy. RG8 would be better than RG8X/RG58 but still not ideal for UHF. LMR400 or equivalent coax is what you want, especially if the run is more than 30 feet. Also avoid the cheap coax from Amazon and eBay.

How long is the dual band antenna? The shorter they are the worse the SWR will be for GMRS. I have a 16" Comet SSB1 dual band antenna on my car that works veery well for 2m and 70cm but the SWR for GMRS is quite high. My 38" Comet 2x4SR dual band antenna works well for 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. AS far as how far one can get to, it depends on location, terrain, structures, etc. Someone in the desert of wide open and flat farm ground will get out further than someone in a big city of hilly and forested area.

There are all kinds of computers, sensors, lights, etc on vehicles that can cause interference. Alternators are a known cause of radio interference. Cheap aftermarket LED lights are another source of interference. Best practice is to run the positive from the radio directly to the positive battery terminal and the ground from the radio to a good chassis ground. This helps eliminate RFI interference. After that it can be a wild goose chase to figure out what is causing the interference.

Yes we have been quite happy with the performance of the Bridgecom GMRS repeater. The duty cycle is good and we haven't had any issues with it. Our coverage area is about the same as our 70cm repeater. We get abut 30-35 mile range for both when using mobile radios in vehicles. A Lot depends on the terrain and antenna being used. All of our repeater antennas are on the same tower. The 2m and 70cm antennas are at 900 feet and the GMRS antenna is at 400 feet.

Our club is running a Bridgecom repeater for GMRS. We are using an external duplexer which is tuned for our input and output frequencies. It would not be easy or feasible to use a Bridgecom repeater as a base station due to the duplexer. You would have to retune the duplexer which isn't the easiest thing to do without the proper test equipment.

A clear line of sight free of any obstructions makes a difference as does using a quality antenna and coax. Where higher power helps push through say trees is if people are fairly close ( a few miles). But it is not a guarantee either. Cedar and pine trees are the worse for blocking UHF signals. And in my case, while talking on simplex, the extra power does in fact make a difference. I can talk on the repeater with 10 or 20 watts reliably.. I can sometimes talk on the repeater with my 5 watt KG-935G if standing outside my house. But 5 watt HT's are not reliable enough. The same goes for when we talk on 70cm simplex too. It is the nature of UHF.