WRYZ926

This is true. But messages can be relayed between different radios if at least one base station with a good antenna up high is in the mix and can communicate with all near by radios. Relaying messages is common and we do it all the time when conducting simplex nets on 2m and 70cm bands. There is no reason why it can't be done on GMRS either.

30 miles simplex can be a push even for 25 or 50 watt radios depending on the local terrain, etc. a 200 foot elevation change is not much unless there are hills in between both radios. The Alinco power supply linked above is a good one and here is a cheaper alternative from R & L electronics for $109. I've been using a R & L 30 watt power supply to power my 50 watt GMRS radio and 50 watt dual band radio without any issues. I don't transmit on both at the same time on high power though. https://www2.randl.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_9110&products_id=74100 If you can swing it, each location with a mobile GMRS radio and antennas as high as you can get them should work. Again that will depend on the terrain, trees, etc between the two.

That's good to know. I just installed a TYT TH-8600 in my SxS the other day. I was getting good signal reports with it and my Comet 2x4SR antenna on the repeater. Some radios will when unlocked. MURS is in between the 2m band and the public safety band. I just received a Wouxun KG-Q10H quad band hand held radio and did the unlock (for testing purposes only ) and it works on 1.25m, 2m, MURS, 6m, 70cm, and GMRS when unlocked.

You are correct that the standard UV-5R is a ham radio. Most people will unlock them to use on GMRS. Now there is a GMRS only version of the UV-5R called the UV-5R GMRS which is Part 95 certified for GMRS. To answer your question, there is no difference between the UV-5r, UV-5G or other radios based on the original UV-5r like the GT-5R other than what frequencies/bands they can operate on. If you want to stay with a Part 95 certified radio then sticks with the UV-5G or the UV-5R GMRS versions. Here is a link to the UV-5R GMRS radios for those interested https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B18CPDKG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&th=1

I actually use something similar to those square plates on my aluminum tool box. The magnet mount holds pretty good. I've seen people use sections of aluminum window screen material as ground plane for vertical HF antennas and it works. And I agree, the wife would probably be let upset if you use aluminum foil versus a good cookie sheet.

I can't speak about the KG-805G but several of us have the KG935G and haven't noticed any issues.

Kind of like the ATF. Ask 3 agents the same question and you might get 9 different answers depending on the time and day asked.

Actually there is a Part 95 certified version of the Baofeng UV-5R, It is the UV-5R GMRS. I have two of them. Here is the FCC ID information: https://fcc.report/FCC-ID/2AJGM-P51UV And a photo of the label

Yes you can make a repeater using two radios. But you will be better off using an actual purpose built repeater. @OffRoaderX can tell you more about using two KG-1000G radios as a repeater. What I can tell you is that the KG-1000G makes a nice base station when used with a good antenna and good coax. My setup is a KG-1000G, Comet CA-712 antenna and LMR400 type coax. The antenna is 18 feet above the ground at its base. I can talk to others on simplex up to 25 miles away here in Mid Missouri. Geographical location and antenna height will make a difference.

One will definitely get farther range in the open desert or across lakes. And of course the higher both stations antennas are the better for line of sight. Here in mid Missouri, 30-35 miles is about the max to reach the local repeater with it's antennas at 400 feet above ground when using a mobile radio.

One thing I found is that RT systems does not always play well with aftermarket cables, especially with the Prolific chips. Double check your coms port number in device manager to make sure your computer is seeing it. Then check that you are using the correct com port number in the RT Systems software.

It's all good @WRUU653. I sometimes suffer from too much blood in my caffeine system.

Okay I was wrong, CHIRP Next does support the 935G. I just prefer the Wouxun software from the BTWR website. It is nice and easy to use. I run CHIRP Next on my Mac mini and Windoze 11 computer.

The KG935G has been mentioned a few times in the different threads. Buy Two Way Radios is currently out of stock on the KG-935G Plus but expect them to start shipping on March 15th. They are $149 and worth it. https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-935g-plus.html?___SID=U You can download the Wouxun software from the BTWR website. I find the Wouxun software easier to use. It will only run on Windoze though.

And that is exactly what he did. Unfortunately the driver did not have insurance. But home owner's insurance is covering 100% of everything and will go after the driver.He is just waiting for all of the replacement stuff to arrive.

Like mentioned in another thread, a good SOC radio works fine. I wouldn't worry about SOC radios from Yaesu or Icom, they work just fine. I do have to say that it does sound like having a good hand held scanner would be the best option for you to listen to all of the bands. There is really no one size fits all for hand held transceivers.

Safety first. A club member had an ID10T run off the road and hit one of the guy wires on his 70 foot tower and it tweaked the tower and guy wire mounts. He had several beam antennas on the top and it was not safe to climb the tower. He called in carne to drop the tower. Cranes can average about $200 an hour with a minimum 2 hour charge. But that is cheaper than medical bills and lost wages.

I agree with what @Sshannon and @WSAM454 said. Most of us will flat out ignore a kerchunk. And if you are giving your call sign, then you might not be getting into the repeater well enough for people to hear and understand you. We currently have a guy asking for radio checks on our GMRS repeater but most of the time all the rest of us hear is static. Or if he do hear him (with lots of static) he is hard to understand.

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double post, please delete

This is very true. My Icom IC-T10 is SOC and does very well.

Yes you normally tune while transmitting. But an out of tune antenna with a high SWR definitely won't hear as well either.

It's definitely easier to turn the power level down than it is to add power when needed. I'll use low power on my base station or even a HT when talking to someone across town on simplex so I don't blow them out of their chair.

Eight miles should not be a problem for a HT to reach if the repeater antennas are high enough. It sounds like either the repeater antennas aren't that high or you are dealing with a lot of RF/EM noise in your area. Urban and suburban area are going to have higher RF/EM noise. This is commonly called the noise floor. For the OP, I agree from personal experience that VHF definitely does better cutting through foliage and getting around hills compared to UHF. I notice this all of the time when using the local repeaters while in my vehicle. I can be in a valley or surrounded by cedar trees and I can still get out fine on 2m while 70cm and GMRS struggles at times. Now UHF has its advantages too. UHF works better inside buildings and such.

I'm interested to see if the Smiley antenna does any better than the stock 935G antenna. I have an Abbree 771G antenna and it doesn't do any better than the stock 935G antenna. The same Abbree antennas are definitely better than the stock Baofeng UV-5R GMRS antennas and does make a difference.