WRYZ926

I can't speak for using CW ID on hand held/mobile GMRS radios. I know that we have the CW ID set on our Bridgecom repeaters at 15 words per minute.

The Comet CA-712EFC is listed as 9 dBi which is 6.8 dBd. most antenna manufacturers list gain in dBi. Subtract 2.14 from the dBi value to get the dBd value.

There is a 6m repeater close to me that the owner passed away years ago. The repeater sat there running this whole time. Another club is in the process of getting it all legal again. We got lucky when it came to antennas for our GMRS repeater. There were some abandoned antennas at 400 feet that happen to have good SWR on GMRS frequencies. Plus there was already some 1 1/2" hard line ran into the building from those antennas.

Those coverage maps are a good reference but not 100% accurate. We did a coverage map when we first installed our repeater. A few of us then drove around testing to see where we could and could not get into the repeater. We compared that to the coverage maps and it was close but not 100% accurate.

@Socalgmrs You definitely love to be argumentative don't you. Two people can be within the range of the repeater and in opposite and equal directions and talk to each other. So if a repeater has a 30 mile radius of receive/trasmitt coverage and both parties can open the repeater, then YES both parties can be 60 miles apart with the repeater in between them and still talk to each other.

The coverage radius of a repeater goes for both receive and transmit. With all things being equal, you could be 30 miles away from a repeater and your friend could be 30 miles away in the opposite direction and you two would still be able to talk to each other through the repeater.

The amateur version which is the KG-Q10H works on 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, and 6m right out of the box. The KG-Q10H can be unlocked so that it also works on MURS and GMRS.

We finally had a chance to put our Motorola Quantar repeater and Arcom RC-210 controller online yesterday. Man what a difference it made. This setup works a lot better than our older Motorola repeater using a Raspberry Pi as a controller. We still have a few bugs to work out and tweaks to make but overall I am highly impressed with the new setup. There is always a learning curve with any new setup and the hardest part was programming all of the extra features in the controller. One hint if using this setup. Make sure to shut the time out timer completely off in the Quantar if you are using a time out timer in a controller. We missed that and it did cause some issues last night until we shut the TOT off in the repeater.

We have been picking up another repeater here lately when the band opens up between 8 and 10 in the morning. The signal is weaker at about a S4. I've only heard that other repeater during that time period. One morning last week I ws talking on a repeater 55 miles west of me to a guy in Springfield Ill. He is about 168 miles from the repeater. Once the band closed around 10-10:30 he was gone.

I have the KG-Q10H amateur quad band version. It is an excellent radio with a much better receiver than any Baofeng or other cheap radio. It even puts my Icom IC-T10 to shame. Yes the KG-Q10G will receive all of the frequencies /bands. The following is from Buy Two Way Radio's website. https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-q10g.html?___SID=U 76-108 MHz (FM) RX Only 108-136 MHz (Airband, AM) RX Only 136-174 MHz (FM) RX Only 222-225 MHz (FM) RX Only 320-480 MHz (FM) RX Only 714-999 MHz (FM) RX Only Only you can decide if the extra cost is worth it to you. For me it was worth it since I got mine on sale and was the same price as the Icom IC-T10 and a much better radio. Granted you are asking about the KG-Q10G GMRS version which can not be unlocked for transmitting on other bands.

@piggin glad to hear that you and your family are safe. I had a few issues with the Midland MXT500 . The main issue was the power output was low. The max was about 33-35 watts. The other things are more of a gripe such as having to change everything from narrow band to wide band and also having to update the firmware to get more than 30 something memory slots. Otherwise the MXT500 worked fine and they are very easy to program. My MXT500 went to our club's ecomm trailer. I agree that the MXT500 is definitely overpriced for what it is. But so is the Wouxun KG-1000G that I am currently using. Especially when you compare both to the Icom IC-2730. While I don't have the Wouxun KG-905G, I have been very pleased with the KG-935G and KG-Q10H radios. As you mention, the batteries last a long time if you aren't doing a lot of transmitting/rag chewing. I am going to get some spare batteries for both. For those worried about backup power for a base station, a decent 50AH LIPO4 battery and a solar charging setup works well for a single 50 watt radio. Especially if you are running it on low or medium power. I keep a 50AH LIPO4 battery in the shack for when we loose power during storms. That allows me to communicate during Sky Warn nets and with others as needed. So far I have only had to use the battery twice this year. I have an uncle that lives in the Goldsboro NC area and they faired way better than western NC. He had cell service and internet the entire time. I'll have to ask him if he participated in any of the emergency nets since he has his amateur and GMRS licenses.

That error usually means one of two things. Either the cable is not plugged in all the way or you chose the wrong com port number.

There are plenty of good 20-25 watt mobile radios that will work just fine without breaking the bank. A good antenna and quality LMR400 or equivalent coax is important. I have had good luck with the Jet Flex400 coax from R & L Electronics and the DX Engineering 400Max coax.

This is very true. And the band/frequencies used will make a difference too. I can reach the local 2m repeater that is 21.5 miles away with a HT inside my house. Some brands of radios do better than others. My Icom and Wouxun HT's work the best. But I can totally forget about trying to get into the 70cm and GMRS repeaters from inside the house with a HT. This shows the difference between VHF and UHF. All three repeaters are on the same tower. I can't even get into the 70cm repeater with a HT outside in my yard and getting into the GMRS repeater is very hit or miss. Ouch. The old lathe and plaster walls are going to give you all kinds of grief since most have chicken wire inside the plaster. Your best bet is to pick a spot inside to keep a HT at and run it to an outside antenna.

Older homes with foil backed insulation, aluminum or steel siding and metal roofs can cause issues. All metal buildings are even worse. My brother built a metal building as his home and it acts like a giant faraday cage. He can't use his HT's inside the house even with the repeater being 5 miles or less from him. 70cm and GMRS are worse than 2m .

We don't get earthquakes that can be felt very often here. I would hate to see a big quake along the New Madrid fault since most structures in the area were never built to withstand earthquakes. I do make sure things are securely placed in the house so they don't fall during an earthquake, or at least as best I can. @OffRoaderX I can see you being like Captain Kangaroo with those ping pong balls falling everywhere if your radios decide to fall off the shelves.

Yes I have unlocked my GMRS certified Baofeng UV-5R GMRS HT's. And they transmit just fine.

I have to agree with you on this. We setup our GMRS repeater for local use only. It's intent is for families and such to use during normal times and as a backup to our 2m and 70cm repeaters during actual emergencies.

It will depend on the brand of radios when it comes to the ability to unlock them. And most of that has to do with the firmware on the Chinese radios. I have a pair of Baofeng UV-5R GMRS radios that can be unlocked through the firmware. On the other hand, there is no way of unlocking Wouxun GMRS radios without flashing a custom firmware in the radio. And I have not found any custom Wouxun firmwares. And not all amateur band radios can be unlocked. I have an Explorer QRZ-1 HT (TYT UV-88) that has custom firmware that keeps one from unlocking it. Icom and Yaesu radios require a hardware modification to unlock. Any UV-5R based Baofeng radio is what you seek. And instructions are easy enough to find through the University of Youtube.

That's okay. We all have other things going on in our lives. And yes you are correct that the DX Engineering tilt over base is well made. I've looked at cheaper alternatives and the quality just wasn't there. I would make my own if I still had access to a machine shop and a big enough press brake. It takes a good sized press brake to bend 1/8" thick stainless steel. The one plant I worked at had 65 and 80 ton press brakes for bending/forming 1/4" steel.

They are for me. Any type of over the ear muffs are going to work fine with stock that have a lower comb height. I usually wear my Razors when shooting my Mossberg 500 without any problems. Think more of a chin weld versus a cheek weld. I use in the ear electron hearing protection when shooting rifles since most of my rifle stocks have adjustable cheek rests. To stay on subject. I can definitely see where the Walker FRS radios would work well for groups using the Razors. You are just limited on options versus using coms headsets that you can hook up to any hand held radio. I normally use my unlocked Wouxun KG-Q10H with my headset.

I can say that the Razor ear muffs work well. I use them all of the time for pistol and shotgun shooting. They do tend to get in the way when using rifles with raised cheek rests. I can hear people talking just fine and they are quick to block out loud noises.

I didn't care for a boom mic that is only held on by velcro. That is the only thing I could find where I could put the boom mic on the right side. I ended up buying a headset designed from the get go for active ear protection and coms. Plus I can hook up any HT I want to and am not stuck with just FRS. Nothing wrong with the Walker FRS radio and Razor head set if that suits your needs. The setup definitely works if one is okay with FRS only and having the boom mic on the left side.

I looked into getting one of those for my Razors. Two things stopped me from buying it. One, it is only FRS and Two the mic won't work for left handed shooters.

FRS shares all of the same simplex channels as GMRS. FRS is limited to 2 watts output on channels 1-7 and 15-22, and limited to 0.5 watts on channels 8-14. GMRS is allowed 5 watts on channels 1-7, max of 0.5 watts on channels 8-14, and up to 50 watts on channels 15-22. GMRS mobile radios are not allowed to use channels 8-14 because they won't go down to 0.5 watts output. Most mobiles will only go down to 5 watts on low power. When it comes to hand held radios, FRS and GMRS have the same number of simplex channels. The difference is that GMRS is allowed repeater channels whereas FRS is not. So yes one can program both FRS and GMRS hand held radios with the exact same simplex channels. The firmware on GMRS radios should keep the power down to 0.5 watts on channels 8-14. All bets are off with amateur band radios that have been unlocked.