WRYZ926

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.

As I have stated several times, there is a place for using 50 watts. I need to use 50 watts to talk to two guys that are 18 miles away and 23 miles away when on a simple channel. My antenna is the lowest at 18 feet above ground while the other guys' antennas are at 40 feet and 60 feet. Yes we have a clear line of sight over the terrain and trees, but just barely. We would not be able to talk to each other on low or medium power. The repeater is a different story. It is 21.5 miles from me and in between the other two guys. The big difference is that the repeater antennas are at 400 feet above ground.

50 watts can be overkill if one has a good clear line of sight to a local repeater. But 50 watts comes in handy when trying to reach others on simplex. I can get into the local GMRS repeater that is 21.5 miles away with 10 watts. I need all 50 watts to talk to guys on simplex that are at the same distance. One guy lives about 2 miles west of the repeater tower. His antenna is at 40 feet while mine is at 18 feet. The repeater antennas are at 400 feet.

I have to agree that using commercial repeaters is better than building one from two mobile radios. Though building one yourself is a learning experience. @WSCF738 I would try a mobile radio with a good antenna and good coax cable at your home first. You will want to get the base antenna up as high as you can.

I was playing with the cross band repeat function of my TYT TH-7800 that I am using as my base station. I was using the KG-Q10H on UHF to talk to the TYT which then connected to the local 2m repeater (21.5 miles away). I was getting excellent signal reports while using the KG-Q10H. I still want to test 1.25m and 6m. I also want to test the KG-Q10H cross band repeater functions. So far I have been impressed with the radio. I find myself grabbing it or my KG-935G most of the time.

I never go by the meters on my power supplies until I test them with my multimeter. And you will get less power output from your radio if your power supply is putting out less than 13.8 volts.

The thing about the Wouxun's version of GPS is that it only works with Wouxun radios. The Baofeng/B-Tech radios are the same, they only work with Baofeng/B-Tech radios. They are not compatible with other brands. I have a Wouxun KG-Q10H and it works well on 2m and 70cm. I have not had a chance to test it on 1.25m or 6m yet. AS mentioned, any 6m antenna for hand held radios is a compromise due to the short length. Plus 6m is called the magic band for a reason, it is not open all of the time like other bands are. And most people use single side band of digital mode on 6m. There aren't a lot of 6m repeaters on the FM portion. Activity on the 1.25m band will depend on your location. It is more active in some regions and hardly used in other regions. This radio can also be unlocked to transmit on MURS and GMRS too. I can say that the Q-10H does work well on GMRS with the 2m/70cm antenna attached. have not had a chance to test MURS yet. I do pick up traffic on MURS but I haven't transmitted. I have zero experiences with the Yaesu VX-6R so can't comment.

Stick with LMR 400 for all of your GMRS antennas. RG8U is fine for the amateur HF bands.

Things like trees, hills, buildings, etc will impact how far your signals can travel. That's why it is always best to get your antenna up as high as you can. And just as important is using a good quality coax cable designed for VHF/UHF frequencies such as LMR400 or equivalent types of coax. Here is a good thread explains single loss in different types of coax. https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/252-cable-types-and-losses/

@WRPT980, your antenna is at a decent height as long as there are no obstructions like hills, trees, etc between you and who you are wanting to talk to. Adding a rotatable Yagi at 3-4 foot below your Tram will work just fine and allow you to reach those further away stations.

@WRXP381 you are an exception. Most people will never get anywhere close to 200 miles on GMRS, or any UHF frequency. 50-60 miles is great range for most of us in the eastern half of the country. 100 miles would be extremely good. Most will only average 30-40 miles. My local GMRS repeater has its antennas 400 feet above ground and the 70cm antennas are at 900 feet above ground. We only get a 30-35 mile radius of coverage with both repeaters running at 40 watts output.