WRYZ926

Yeah Hurricane Helena proved how reliable cell towers, and even some amateur and GMRS repeaters are.

I can see a cheap single side headset with boom mic working for hands free with VOX. And if the wind and road noise is too much for VOX, then maybe a remote PTT button on the handle bars. I can see the wind being an issue with VOX though. Out combat vehicle helmets had transmit, intercom, and off switches. And man would the wind at 25 -30 mph cause you grief when you were set on intercom. The other crew members would get on you for it.

Here are some links for you. DX Engineering Max400 stranded core coax. $71 for PL259, $72 for N Type JETSTREAM 400FLEX25A $40 at R&L Electronics I have used both brands without any issues.. The R&L Jet brand uses Amphenol connectors which are top of the line if that matters to you. I get trying to save money. But sometimes it is worth spending a little more for the proper coax. Standard RG-8 is better than RG-8X and LMR-240. Per the coax loss calculator linked above. At 25 feet. you are getting 2.2 dB loss with RG-8X, 1.4 dB loss with LMR-240, 1.2 dB loss with RG-8, and 0.7 dB loss with LMR-400. In reality, you won't notice much difference between LMR-400, LMR-240, or RG-8. But why limit yourself if you don't have to. Getting as much power to the antenna with the least amount of coax loss is more efficient. Plus the Jet brand is pretty cheap and still good coax cable.

Now it's 210 miles instead of 200 miles. The tale grows with each telling. Oh and don't forget to tell us the 796 reasons why every dedicated Part 95 certified radio that is made overseas is total junk. Or are we up above 800 reasons now. You happen to live in the ideal location in the wide open desert of the southwest.Most people will NEVER see that kind of coverage due to location, local terrain, forested areas, urban areas, etc, etc. @WSEZ those repeaters are linked even though linking is against the regulations set forth by the FCC overlords.

You are still looking at 45% loss using 30 feet of RG-8X at 467 MHz. You would have to use a pretty high gain antenna to overcome the loss with a 30 ft section of RG-8X. 2 dBd of gain still shows a loss in power output (ERP). You would need at least 4 dBd of gain to overcome the coax loss of 30 feet of RG-8X. Getting LRM400 or equivalent will greatly improve things. Look at the DX Engineering 400MAX or even the Jet LMR400 equivalent from R&L Electronics. Both brands work well and are definitely cheaper than Times Microwave LMR400. RG-8X is fine for jumpers that are 6 feet or less in length.

@gortex2 I feel the same way as you do on this. By the time you buy a mobile antenna then spend as much if not more to try and make it work better as a base antenna yo have spend enough to buy a good base antenna. The only saying to buy the proper tool for the job comes to mind. It is usually better to just spend a little more and buy the correct base antenna to begin with. That being said, yes I have used a mobile antenna with mag amount attached to a cookie sheet in the past. But that was only a temporary setup until I could get an actual base antenna installed. I fully understand why some will use a mobile antenna with some type of home made ground plane in certain situations such as dealing with HOA restrictions, needing a more temporary setup, or something that can be quickly taken down for severe storms.

Don't feel bad. Mine doesn't have it either. But I did buy my XS20G Plus at the end of 2023.

Hopefully the Wouxun y adaptor works. Please let us know if it does. I am pretty much in the same situation as you with my 1000G in my Ford Escape. I have room for two speakers but there just isn't any room for a third speaker. One speaker goes to my dual band radio and the other to my 1000G. I just monitor side A on the 1000G since I can't hear side B with the main unit under the seat.

Local club members were discussing this the other day. It seems like the prices of scanners has jumped by an average of $100 since the new company took over. And there are questions about the ability get firmware updates.

Okay now that I have had more time to think on this, I'm thinking his radio just has a glitch. I have left the programming cable plugged in to both the radio and computer while turning the radio on and off each day and have not seen his issue. I am going to suggest a factory rest and see if the issue is still happening.

The hazards of too much blood in the caffeine system can be dangerous. I'm still racking my brain on this now that I have a bit more coffee in me.

Yes there are several available themes. The startup screen is the same no matter which theme is used. It could have just been a glitch in the software/firmware. I would like to see if it reappears when the programming software writes to the radio and the radio automatically restarts when written to all while leaving the programming cable plugged in. I would not manually power cycle the radio after writing to the radio. I have not seen this happen with my XS20G. I'm curious if doing a factory rest will clear any glitches.

I agree that normally lightening arresters either work or they don't. But you never know. You could have some water inside it which expands enough to cause issues. The quick and easy way to trouble shoot is to just remove it like tcp2525 suggested. I have not had any issues with lightening arresters but have had 90 degree adapters go bad. Last time I had SWR issues, I tested at each location where there was a connector until I found the bad part.

I see someone has forgotten the golden rule - It's better to say nothing at all if you don't have anything nice to say. @WRNU354. I have not seen that issue with my XS20G or either of my 1000G radios. I usually leave the programming cable plugged in when the radios power cycle after sending any changes to the radio from the computer. Sorry that I am not much help here. Let me think on this while working to get the excess blood out of my caffeine system this morning.

It seems to me that someone is forgetting the 10% rule or the operator head space and timing is off.

I'm sure the only reason that they are not mentioned is the fact that most are only 5 watts with a few being 8 or 10 watts.

He likes those old commercial radios that you have to dig up an old MS DOS or Windows 3.1 computer in order to program them. And yes most of us do not pay much attention to him no matter what user name he uses. Plenty of people in my local club have Wouxun radios for both amateur bands and GMRS. No one has had any issues with all of the different Wouxun radios.

And I do the same with mine at home. That being said, it would have made it easier for mobile installs if Wouxun would change things so that both sides can be heard through a single speaker like the Icom IC-2730 does. Not everyone has room for a bunch of speakers in their vehicles. I use the Icom SP-35 speakers with all of my radios in the home and in my vehicle. They are great sounding little speakers. I even use one with my IC-7300. I have also used one with my Yaesu FTDX10. And the SP-35 sounds better than the expensive Yaesu SP-30 speaker. I tried the Icom SP-35 and Midland SPK-100 speakers with my 1000G radios and a Y adaptor. The sound was horrible and muffled even with the 20 watt SPK100.

I get it that people do not like having their address and info listed for anyone to see on the FCC website. But if you true want to stay off the map and be untraceable then you would have to totally go off grid which means no cell phones, computers, tablets, etc along with no bank accounts and paying cash for everything. We get tracked everyday if we have a cell phone on us or even by our vehicles if you own a newer one with all of the computer modules onboard. PS: If you have ever had any type of government issued security clearance then they already know your life story. And the government ALSO has your DNA on file if you have served in the military since 1993. IF you are that worried, then get a good home security system and a big dog that roams the house while you are gone.

I have to agree with you on that. Most mobile radio speakers are not designed for more than one input. I will have to do some research on how the Icom radios are wired up as they can pass both side A and side B through one speaker using just one speaker port. Though you have to use speaker port 1 only to hear both sides from one speaker. Port two will not allow you to hear both sides from a single speaker. Port 2 is also used for programming and computer control. While it is a nice feature to have two speaker ports on the KG-1000G, it would have been easier for everyone if there was only one port.

I am opposite of @SteveShannon, I use the Wouxun KG-1000G as the extra power helps me. Part of that is because of where I live and the local terrain. Plus I like having a removable head unit both in my vehicle and at home. I can install the main unit out of the way and have the smaller head unit elsewhere. I would have considered the DB20G for my SxS if it would have been IP rated. But since it is not, I went with the Wouxun KG-XS20G since it meets my needs better. There are a lot of different radios out there. Most people that have the DB20-G are happy with them and they are inexpensive. Most people that own Wouxun radios have not had issues either. But the Wouxun radios do cost more. Again, more details will help us recommend a radio for you. You won't go wrong with the DB20-G or either of the Wouxun mobile radios.

The only thing I have not tried yet is using an external stereo speaker connected to both output ports on the 1000G. Most external speakers designed for two way radios are all going to be mono and you will have degraded sound when connecting a single mono speaker to two mono outputs on the radio. Again the reason is that you will have an impedance mismatch. I know the 1000G manual states that you can use a Y adaptor. But that does not work in my experience when using a mono speaker. I tried two different 1000G radios and several different y adaptors and none of them worked when connecting the adaptor to both speaker ports on the radio. The subject of impedance mismatches and degraded sound is a lengthy subject. You are best to google the topic yourself.

You are going to get lots of different radios recommended. Some more details will help. Your location Your budget You use case scenario features you want Two popular radios are the Radioddity DB20G and the Wouxun KG-1000G. The DB20G is a good inexpensive 20 watt mobile radio and the Wouxun KG-1000G is an excellent 50 watt radio but costs more than some want to spend. Another good 20 watt radio that is IP rated for dust and water is the Wouxun KG-XS20G if having an IP rating is important. But the XS20G does cost more than the DB20-G. It all depends on your budget, use case, and what features you want.

And that is probably the problem with both of my KG-1000G Plus radios. The different y adaptors never worked with either radio.

Good luck with it. I did as Mark said and it worked fine when using only one speaker port on the radio. But sound was horrible when both sides were plugged into both speaker ports on the radio,