WRYZ926
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Everything posted by WRYZ926
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General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) Emergency Channel
WRYZ926 replied to WSGM532's topic in General Discussion
As mentioned, there is no emergency or travel channel on GMRS. Your best bet is to look for GMRS repeaters where you plan to travel and program them into your radio. You can also transmit on the repeater output frequency/channel on simplex and others will still hear you if you have tones set correctly (if the repeater used them). Most open repeaters will use a tone of 141.3 PS: for those with CB's, Channel 9 is pretty much useless most of the time. I have heard stations in Puerto RIco and other countries running high powered amps on Channel 9. The one from Puerto Rico sounds like he is just down the street from me here in Missouri. -
Delete- double post . That was weird, it never showed that my reply was posted and when I checked it posted three times.
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Delete- double post.
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I will add to what he said. Remember that most power supply manufacturers/retailers always advertise the peak amperage of their power supplies. The continuous amp draw is usually 75-80 % of that. An example is most 30A power supplies can only run between 22 and 26 amps continuously. So stick with a 30A power supply for a 100 watt radio and you will be fine. Also if you decide to run an external autotune then you will either need a separate power supply for it or step up to at least a 50A supply if you are going to run the radio and tuner from the same power supply. I run my Icom IC-7300 and my LDG AT-1000Pro II autotune on a 50A power supply without any issues. That combo is too much for a 30A supply. I am running my Icom IC-2730A and my Wouxun KG-1000G on a 30A supply but I never transmit on both radios at the same time. I might trip the supply if I transmit on both radios at the same time with both set to high power.
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I redid the calculations using the kv5r calculator using 0.05 watts (50mw) and 9 feet of RG-58 coax. I don't know the actual dBd gain of the yagi antenna so I just put in 3 dBd of gain. Here is a screen shot of the results. As you can see, with power in at 50 milliwatts and an antennas with 3 dBd of gain you get an ERP of 100 milliwatts. Now if you are getting 5 dB of loss when checking with Rig Expert then I would be double checking the coax and antenna setup. Did you check the coax by itself using a dummy load and open? If so is that when you saw the 5 dB of loss or was it with the antenna connected? I redid the calculations using RG-213 and LMR400. While both have less loss at 100 feet, there was no difference in the ERP using 9 feet of coax.
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The charging bases will not interchange. There is enough differences between the 935 battery and the Q10 battery to keep this from working. The 935 battery is thinner and narrower so it will not lock into the Q10 charger. The Q10 battery is too wide and too thick that it will not even fit into the 935 charger. Yes I own the Q10H and 935G and tried. It's a no go. The nice thing is that both radios can be charged using a USB C cable.
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I get a SWR of 1.8 or less with the SBB1 on 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. That is fine and won't hurt. Though I do use a separate antenna for GMRS on my Escape. I tuned a Tram 1174 antenna so that I get 1.4 on 467 MHz and 1.2 on 462 MHz. @WSEM262 check your setup and make sure the antenna does not need a ground plane. Also pull the boat out of the garage to test. You might have something, like garage door tracks, that is interfering with the antenna when you tested. Most antenna analyzers can also test coax cable. If you don't have an analyzer then you can check the coax with a multimeter to make sure there is no continuity between the center conductor and the shield.
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Here is an excellent coax loss calculator: https://kv5r.com/ham-radio/coax-loss-calculator/ I plugged in the numbers using 912 MHz and RG-58 coax. RG-58 has a 97% loss at 100 feet. It has a 15.5 dB loss at 100 feet. Using 9 feet there is 1.4 dB of loss. This is with a 5 watt radio and an antenna with 3 dBd of gain. ERP is 7.2 watts. If you use an antenna with 1 dBd of gain then the ERP is 4.6 watts. While RG-58 will work, it is not ideal for the 900 MHz band. You can overcome coax loss with a good antenna with higher gain. I have found that calculator to be pretty accurate and if you are getting 5 dB of loss over 9 feet then I would be looking at the condition/quality of the coax and connectors.
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And yes being inside a garage can affect the SWR some. Things like a very low ceiling and metal garage door tracks will mess with the antenna SWR. I've noticed that with my antennas. I have a Comet SBB1 on my Ford Escape and it barely clears the garage door and the tracks are pretty low. SWR is fine on 2m and 70cm but high on GMRS when I test with the Escape parked in the garage. The SWR is lower on all three bands when I test with the Escape parked in the driveway.
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Yes I have an Icom IC-7300 and it is a nice radio for HF and 6m. It works well for SSB and digital modes.
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I use cross band repeat on my base radio (Icom IC-2730) quite often when I am working around outside. I can get into the local 2m repeater with my HT but I don't have the best signal doing so. I don't have to worry about where I am standing or which direction I am facing when using the HT when I use cross band repeats on my base radio.
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The Kg-1000G Plus is based off of the KG-UV980P with a few physical changes and a different locked down firmware. I have not messed with the UV980P so I don't know if it can be unlocked.
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I haven't had any problems with heat or cold when it comes to my radios. We go from 1-2 week stretches of single digit temps to 95+ degrees most of the summer here in Missouri. We just had several nights with temps below 0 and no issues with my radios at temps as low as -11. I had a Radio Shack CB radio in my car wheel stationed at Ft Irwin Ca. and never had a problem with the heat while there. Seeing air temps at 120 or higher was normal in July and August. The car I had at the time didn't have AC either.
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I will help enable others some more. If you are looking for a good IP rated 20 watt mobile radio then go with the KG-XS20G. The XS20G pairs well with the 935G. They actually use the same screen and have the same menu layout. So if you can program one, then you can program the other without having to learn a new menu system.
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And don't let the fact that the 935G Plus is a SOC (system on chip) radio and not superheterodyne bother you.. The 935G does just as well as the Wouxun KG-Q10G/H models that are superheterodyne. I can't tell any difference between the 935G Plus and the Q10H models I own.
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Permanent antenna mount on my car ruined my SWR. Ideas?
WRYZ926 replied to WRTC928's topic in Amateur Radio (Ham)
This would be the fastest and easiest way to test both the coax and the mount itself. If you get any resistance between the center conductor and shield or do not see 50 ohms when a dummy load is connected then you can start to look at the coax and the mount itself. I would check the dummy load with a multimeter to see what it reads before attaching it to the mount so that you have a good baseline measurement. -
The 935G Plus is a nice radio. I have one and enjoy using it.
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While I would probably find it amusing, it's not the kind of language I want my wife, mom, or grand kids to hear. I've heard far worse while in the military.
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And it definitely does not help that GMRS shares all of the simplex channels with FRS. I don't dare scan simplex channels during the fall deer firearms season. Billy Bob and Uncle Buck will get drunk and start cussing and everything else while at their deer camp.
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As mentioned, GMRS requires one to have a license and also to use their FCC issued call sign. No one will really care if it is just a few of you and you are out in the middle of nowhere talking on simplex. But it's a different story when you use most repeaters, The Repeater owners will expect you to follow FCC guidelines as far as using your call sign. If you don't have your license, then I suggest getting it. It's only $35 and good for 10 years. One license will cover the entire immediate family.
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I am also sure that the antenna will do better once it is outside and above the roof. As Steve mentioned, make sure the base of the antenna is at least a half wavelength above the highest point of the your roof. That is only 1 foot. I just noticed how close the metal rafter plates are to the end of the antenna. That can have an effect on things. I know that some people don't have much of a choice on antenna placement but an attic is far from ideal for any vertical VHF or UHF antenna.
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@WRUU653 and myself have tested the KG-Q10H. Our results are posted above. I tested on high power while he tested on ultra high power. We had different results due to power setting we each used. And you will see differences between radios even when on the same power setting. You can't go wrong with the 935G Plus. I've been very happy with mine.
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Your results are similar to mine concerning the KG-Q10H. Though I tested mine on high power and not ultra high. I always forget that the Q10H has the ultra high setting. 2m - 4.43 watts 1.25m - 2 watts 70cm - 5.9 watts 6m - 1.5 watts GMRS - 3.5 watts MURS - 1.5 watts There is a definite difference from what you got on MURS and GMRS using ultra high power compared to what I got using high power. Otherwise the rest are pretty close and could be the difference between the two radios or allowed tolerances of our SureCom SW-102's
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I won't worry about changing anything with my setup then. I did use terminal rings to connect my grounds inside to the all thread along with a wing nut so I can always just disconnect them when needed..
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@WRUU653 I will leave my setup as it is. All of my ADU ground go directly to the ground rod and I have a separate wire from the 1/4" 20 all thread to the ground rod. I was only thinking about keeping any lightening from coming in on the 1/4" 20 all thread the all of my stations are grounded to. The all thread goes thru the wall and then down to the ground rod.
