WRYZ926

Are you guys using the latest version of CHIRP Next? Are you making sure that the programming cable is pushed all the way in? I have used CHIRP to program the UV-5R GMRS and GT-5R radios I own without issues as long as I make sure the cable is pushed into the radio all the way. I also have programmed a couple of UV-5RM radios and UV-9R radios again without issues. I used the latest version of CHIPR Next and the OEM Baofeng programming cables for all of them. I programmed the two UV-5RM radios a couple of weeks ago and programmed the UV-9R radios yesterday. Note: the UV-9R uses a Motorola type connector and not the usual Kenwood type connector.

Yes it is annoying. There is one repeater near me that does not run any tones.

I know the 27 MHz walkie talkies were set to CB channel 14 but man would they mess with all of the 27 MHz remote control cars. I always tried to stick with the 49MHz remote control cars.

Wall warts will only put out 12 volts which will cut back on the radio's power output. Plus most wall warts are very noisy as far as RFI and EFI goes. Where do you plan on using the 25 watt radio at? If you plan on using it in your vehicle then it can be powered by a the cigarette lighter/accessory outlet. Though connecting the positive wire to the battery and negative wire to a good chassis ground is the preferred method. Or as mentioned , you can run it from a battery or portable power station.

That's how I feel about the MTX-500 I had and my brother felt the same way about the MTX-575. Neither one of us own a Midland radio anymore. One can update the firmware on the MTX500 if they want. But the MTX-575 is just like the MTX-275, you have to ship them both back to Midland for any firmware upgrades.

You should be fine with RG8, LRM400 and equivalent, and the M&P cables @SteveShannon mentioned with a coax cable of 25-30 feet. I did calculations using 30 feet of RG8 and LMR400 using the kv5r coax loss calculator I used an antenna with 3 dBd of gain. This was with a 25 watt radio. RG8 - 36 watts ERP LMR400 - 41 watts ERP Remember that antenna manufacturers advertise using dBi which is higher than dBd. The kv5r calculator uses dBd. Subtract 2.14 from the dBi to get the dBd. Most coax is going to pretty lossy on UHF frequencies, there is no way around that. Unless you want to spend big money for the proper air core coax cable like used on towers.

You could be getting noise from several sources. The obvious one is the alternator. But it really could be anything. I had an occasional whine on my radios in a 2023 Ford Escape until I put clamp on ferrite beads on both ends of the cable going from the alternator and the battery. I also put ferrite beads on the positive and negative wires going to the radios. Make sure that the negative wire from the radio goes to a good chassis ground and not the negative terminal of the battery. And if putting clamp on ferrite beads on the power cables does not work then add some to the coax cable. One can also add a grounding strap directly to the alternator and a near by chassis ground too. PS: it's not going to really matter what brand of radio or brand of antenna one uses, modern vehicles with all of their electronics and computers are noisy. Hybrid and all electric vehicles are worse and why vehicle manufacturers are trying to get rid of AM radios.

I still have a set of Sears Walkie Talkies and they work. The problem with those old walkie talkies was the there was no squelch adjustment on most of them. And one was lucky to talk from one room to another inside. I would hope that the wrist watches work better than those walkie talkies did.

I was worried about my GP-9 too. But it has done just fine through high winds.

There are no American made GMRS radios. Even the Midland radios are made in China. If you stick with well known name brands sold by American resellers then you will be fine. I doubt you will have to worry about Baofeng radios sold by B-Tech. And I also would not worry about any radios sold by Buy To Way Radios. I haven't had any of my Baofeng, Icom, TYT, and Wouxun radios blow up on me.

So far this year I have experienced shear wind at 50 to 60 MPH and all of my antennas did fine. I have a Comet GP-9, Comet CA-712EFC, and a 6 band cobweb antenna. The standard GP-9 is 18' 6"t long while the GP-9NC is 16' 9" long. If the longer GP9 does fine then the GP-9NC will be fine. For those that don't know, a 6 band cobweb antenna is a horizontal multi band wire antenna with a wire for each band. Mine is about 8 foot wide.

I have used a magnet mount on top of a small 9" x 20" tool box inside the house and it worked fine. Getting the antenna outside of the house will definitely work better. While the antenna worked on the tool box inside, things vastly improved once I moved that antenna outside. I used a couple of shelf brackets and an old 9x13 cookie sheet to set the antenna on. I did not have a rubber mat onto of my toolbox to deal with. Try it with or without the rubber mat to see how it does. I did this with both a dual band 2m/70cm antenna and a GMRS antenna. Using a mobile mag mount antenna is fine for a temporary setup. You will want to eventually get a base antenna up for a permanent base setup.

You are looking at 38 inch or longer antennas to cover 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. Most of the stubby antennas won't work that well for all three bands. I can vouch for the Comet 2x4SR-NMO being a good antenna. The highest SWR I have across 2m, 70cm, and GMRS is 1.8. I run that antenna on my SxS with a TYT TH-8600 dual band radio. I have also used the same antenna with my Wouxun KG-XS20 G radio with great results. I am running a Comet SBB1 NMO mount on my Ford Escape due to height restrictions. It does well for 2m and 70cm and is passible on GMRS with a SWR of 2.0.

I fixed it for you. Yes according to the FCC, channels 8-14 are restricted to hand held radios only. Most mobile radios will only go down to 5 watts. This can cause interference on the repeater channels if one uses 5 watts or more on channels 8-14. That being said. Some 20 watt mobile radios can definitely transmit on those channels if set to low power and narrow band. It is not suggested to do so for the reason stated above.

Use self fusing tape at each joint and the coax connection. It is also highly suggested to wrap the self fusing tape with a good electrical tape. The self fusing tape is not UV resistant. Self fusing tape: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00K5GW67O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I'm using a Lido seat bolt mount for my two radios. That was about the best solution I could come up with for my 2023 Ford Escape.

I have had less trouble with the FTDI chips when using Windows 10/11, MacOS, and Linux. Any drivers you find for the Prolific chip sets will be old and outdated.

Tell him to stick with the cable with the FTDI chip. The Prolific chip doesn't play well with Windows 11.

I have to agree that this horses has been beaten so much it should be minced meat by now. I read the statement on the gmrslive website and that is just one person's opinion on the matter.

I am going to suggest using a satellite j mount and get the entire antenna above the roof if at all possible. J mounts can be found on Amazon pretty cheap. I use ones that are 44 inches tall for several antennas. As others have said, use a good quality LMR400 or equivalent coax cable.

First, I was not criticizing the DB20G or its software. The software I did not have any luck with was for the different Baofeng radios. I double checked my most up to date version of CHIRP NEXT and it still does not support the DB20-G. And it was others stating they were having issues with the programming software for the DB20-G

Really????? I guess Yaesu and Icom radios must not be real radios according to your statement. I have changed the startup to show my call sign on every single Icom and Yaesu radio I own. @WQZV555 I can't help much since I never had much luck with the manufacturer/model specific software from Radioddity for any of my radios. And too bad your radio isn't supported by CHIRP (that I can find). I know you can change the welcome screen in CHIRP easily.

Yes foliage will affect UHF frequencies. Pine and cedar trees are the worst. A higher gain antenna won't help all that much to punch through the foliage. Yes you might see a small improvement. But your best solution is to get both antennas above the trees for a more clear line of sight. The route I take regularly has a lot of eastern red cedars close to the road. I have dead zones with UHF, both 70cm and GMRS, where the cedar trees are tall and close to the edge of the road. The GMRS repeater antennas are at 400 feet and the 70cm repeater antennas are at 900 feet. I am using a 20" Tram antenna tuned for GMRS and a Comet SBB-1 dual band for 2m/70cm. The radios I am using are a TYT TH-7800 and Wouxun KG-1000G, both are 50 watt radios. While I do get some static in the same area when on 2m, I can still be clearly heard on the repeater. All repeater antennas are on the same 900 foot tower. Line of sight is king when it comes to UHF.

Also makes sure that the cable is plugged into the radio all of the way. My Baofeng GT-5R gave me fits until I realized I didn't have the cable plugged in all of the way. I couldn't tell just by looking at it. Also make sure your cable has the preferred FTDI chip instead of the older Prolific chip.

Like others have said, contact Midland to see what they have to say. I'm not familiar with the MXT275, but one would think that it would keep repeater mode active once turned on. I know the MXT500 and MXT575 will keep repeater mode enabled. Hopefully a firmware update will fix your radio. unfortunate the radios with everything in the mic have to go Midland for that since they don't have a USB port for programming. My brother was disappointed when he found that out with his MXT575.