WRYZ926

We get tropospheric ducting on our 2m, 70cm, and GMRS repeaters at times. It happens more on the 2m repeater than it does with the other two repeaters. Conditions were just right a couple of weeks ago that we were getting traffic from a repeater in Michigan. They actually got upset at us and told us we need to change our repeater setting. We also hear a 2m repeater from Kansas and another from Illinois at times too. All of our repeater antennas are on a local radio station tower. The 2m and 70cm antennas are at 900 feet above ground while the GMRS repeaters are at 400 feet. Our repeaters are located in central Missouri. While tropospheric ducting happens more on VHF, it can and does occasionally happen on UHF.

Saying "over" or "out" was a hard habit to break for me since we had to say that after each transmission in the military. And sometimes you need to say over when on HF when the noise floor is high.

Raspberry Pi runs Linus which would not help @Skunkworks since he needs a laptop to run Windows on for Windows only programs. Yes Windows programs can run in Linux using WINE but that doesn't always work the best. Plus, once you add everything you will need to get a RP up and running, you will have spent around $150. In this case a used/re-certified Windows computer is a better and cheaper option. I just went through all of this recently. I wanted a tiny computer to hook to a TV to run Ham Clock. I ended up going with a re-certified Dell Optiplex Micro with Windows 10 that was only $90. I would have had %150 tied up in a RP5 or one of those Chinese mini computers from Amazon. Another plus is I can run a lot of different programs on the Dell using Windows versus if I would have bought a RP 5.

As others have said, GMRS licenses are granted sequentially. My brother got his license 4 days before me and his call sign ends with 787 and mine ends in 926. So there were 139 licenses granted between us in just four days.

It's always nice to have options.

I know the station in question is from Puerto Rico since he states it in his transmissions. The President George FCC is the only radio with all modes that I have found so far that is legal to use for the CB bands. I could always open up my Xiegu G90 too

I am well aware of that. But it makes the channel useless for those in the US that need it.

I will sometimes scroll through the CB channels just to listen. My 10m inverted V antenna actually works quite well for 11 meters. I hear a guy from Puerto Rico on channel 9 quite often. He must be running a lot of power since he has an extremely strong signal. If I do get a CB radio, I want one that does AM, FM, and SSB. I guess no one cares that the guy is on the emergency channel. I remember a time when one would get told to stay off channel 9 except for emergencies.

Have you tried to manually install drivers for the PL2303 chip? Google how to do it, there are instructions on how to install the Prolific chip drivers.

Try talking to your local amateur radio club members. They can point you in the right direction.

This is important to remember and worth repeating. Our club is lucky that we have one member that knows how to properly tune duplexers and has access to the needed equipment.

Both share the same frequencies on the amateur radio bands all of the time. It is quite common to have a 2m or 70cm repeater setup for both analog and digital. The most common digital mode around me is DMR. My local club has 3 70cm repeaters and all are setup for analog and DMR. Digital on GMRS frequencies is a moot point since it is not allowed.

I can definitely recommend the Wouxun KG-XS20G Plus. It is a nice little 20 watt radio that performs well. It is actually pretty easy to program through the radio.

Midland makes one and it works quite well. I have one on the aluminum tool box on my SxS and it holds the Comet 2x4SR antenna just fine. https://midlandusa.com/collections/accessories/products/micromobilemxta38-adhesive-backed-metallic-mount

One will not notice any difference between 4, 5, or 8 watts. You basically have to quadruple the power output to notice a difference. Yes you will be able to notice a difference going from 5 watts to 25 watts. I have tested stock antennas versus the Nagoya 701 and 771. The 771 helped with receive on some hand held radios but weren't any better than the stock antennas on other radios. The wa not any improvement with the 701 compared to the stock antennas on any of my radios.

I have to agree with what everyone has said about the coax. TV/Satellite coax cable is the wrong stuff for radio antennas. You want coax rated at 50 Ohms. LMR400 or equivalent is what you want for UHF frequencies to include GMRS. Plus your antenna is not tuned for GMRS frequencies either. GMRS is 462 MHz and 467 MHz. The antenna may or may not have decent SWR for GMRS. I also see the dish causing issues with your vertical antenna. Either raise the antenna above the dish or remove the dish from the mount (if not in use).

Pine and cedar trees are the worse when it comes to absorbing UHF radio waves. Our repeater range is limited to about 30-35 miles when using a mobile radio depending on location. There are a lot of hills and valleys with old growth hard wood trees along with lots of cedar trees. Our GMRS repeater antennas are at 400 feet and our 2m and 70cm repeater antennas are at 900 feet on the same tower. I live 21.5 miles away from the tower. It is hit or miss on if I can get into the 70cm and GMRS repeaters with a hand held radio from my house, it depends on band conditions. I normally do not have any problems getting into the 2m repeater from home with a hand held. I have several hand held radios and the Wouxun KG935G Plus and KG-Q10H work the best for me. I have an Icom IC-T10 (entry level) along with an Explorer QRZ-1 (rebranded TYT UV88) along with several Baofeng radios.The IC-T10 and QRZ-1 aren't much better than the Baofeng radios when it comes to RX/TX clarity and picking up interference. I have to agree to reach out to the local GMRS repeater owners and your local ham club members. It is becoming more common for amateur radio license holders to also have their GMRS license. Most will be more than happy to help new people out. Our club put up a GMRS repeater for an extra means of communication along with using GMRS as a possible stepping stone for those interested in amateur radio. Congrats on the new 935G Plus, you will enjoy it. I will suggest using the actual Wouxun programing software that can be downloaded from Buy Two Way Radios for free. You will need a Windows computer to run the program, but it is easy to use.

You will want your radio to TX on 467.625 and RX on 462.625. You will use the correct repeater channel which will be listed on your radio as either repeater 18 or some radios list it as channel 26. Either way make sure to use the repeater channel so that your radio is transmitting on 467.625 and receiving on 462.625

The UV-5R GMRS radios for $30 is a good deal. And they are perfect for handing out to family and friends or when you are doing something that you might worry about dropping/breaking a radio. I have a set of them myself and while not the best radios, they do work as intended.

I agree that you will be happy with the KG-935G Plus. I have one that is my goto hand held for GMRS use. Best wishes on your treatment. I hope everything goes well for you.

While you definitely have loss with RG-58 at UHF/GMRS frequencies, a good antenna with enough gain will help overcome any loss from the coax. RG-58A has a a loss of 11 dB or 92% loss at 100 feet for 467 MHz. You are actually looking at a gain of 1 watt (with a 5 watt radio) for a total of 6 watts out when using 19.5 feet of RG-58A coax with an antenna with 3 dBd ( 5.15 dBi) of gain. So if your antenna has a good ground plane and at least 5 dBi/3 dBd of gain, then I wouldn't worry about shortening the RG-58 coax. Roll any excess up in a nice circle and it will act as a 1:1 balun which helps keep RF from running down the outside of the coax and into the radio. Here is the coax loss calculator I like to use. https://kv5r.com/ham-radio/coax-loss-calculator/

I can't answer about the differences between the 9800D and 9800 Plus models. And yes the 9800 can be unlocked following the instructions found online. In fact the TH-9800 unlock also works for the TH7800.

Any mag mount will work. You will need a SO239 to SMA female cable. SO239 to SMA female cable

How do you have the radio connected for power?

I have not noticed anything like that with my Wouxun KG-Q10H or KG-935G when comparing them to my Baofeng,, Icom and QRZ-1/TYT HT's. In fact, I pick up more noise interference with the Baofeng, Icom and QRZ-1/TYT radios than I do with either Wouxun radio. It is hit or miss on my getting into the GMRS and 70cm repeaters with aa HT from my house since I am 22 miles from the repeater tower. I normally don't have any issues getting into the 2m repeater at that distance.