WRYZ926

No need to re examine my reply. If phone service is down in one area but working in other areas then radio operators operating with in their license privileges can relay as needed in an emergency.

If I buy a new HT anytime soon it will most likely be the Wouxun KG-10H since it works on 4 bands out of the box and can be opened up too.

I know nothing, nothing

You can get used Motorola repeaters programmed how ever you want to include PL tones. Our radio club just bought one setup for the 2m band. Another option is a repeater from Bridgecom. We are using a Bridgecom repeater for our GMRS repeater which has been working well for us. I'll recommend the Comet CA-712EFC antenna for a home repeater if you are only wanting to put up one antenna.

That's still a large EMF considering a non suppressed 25Kw 208 3 phase generator only produces an EMF of a 150 foot radius.

That's one heck of an EMI field if it causes interference up to 3 miles away.

Interesting. I'm curious to know what you all find out about this.

25 watt mobiles will work fine in your situation as long as you all have good antennas to with them. A goos mag mount mobile antenna on a cookie sheet mounted on the side of the house facing your family will work pretty well. I mention 25 watt radios since they are cheaper than most good quality 50 watt radios.

The Comet CA-712EFC antenna is poplar GMRS base antenna. It is advertised as having 9dBi of gain and is tuned for GMRS. That is what I am using for my base antenna. 24-25 miles seems to be the max distance on simplex channels here in rural central Missouri. The guy I talk to at that distance is using the same antenna. His is on his tower about 35 feet up while mine is on my roof at 18 feet. We are both using Wouxun KG-1000G radios on high power. According to this website: https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ we are just barely making it over the terrain for direct line of sight. Our GMRS repeater is 21.5 miles away from me and the antennas are at 400 feet above ground.

It's definitely aliens. I'm interested to know more information too.

I can talk to people up to 24 mils away on my KG-1000G on simplex. The guys I normally talk to on simplex are 18 and 24 miles away. We are all using the Comet CA-712EFC antennas. Mine is the lowest of the three at 18 feet above ground level. The other guys have their antennas up on towers. One is around 35-40 feet up and the other is around 60 feet up. We all are using LMR400 coax cable. A good antenna and coax cable along with a good line of sight makes the difference. Get a decent antenna as high as you can and also make sure to use good coax.

I have found that my antennas get real good SWR on 462.XXX MHz or 467.XXX MHz but not both. I'll get 1.0 to 1.2 SWR on one and up to 1.8SWR on the other. Don't worry about it as long as your SWR is at 1.8 and below for both.

I ran with a mag mount mobile antenna on a cookie sheet until I was able to get my base antennas installed. The mobile on a cookie sheet works pretty good. The local repeater tower (21.5 miles away) has 2m, 70cm, and GMRS setup. I can always get into and be heard on 2m with my HT. I can forget about the 70cm repeater with my HT. The GMRS repeater is hit or miss on getting in and being heard on my HT. Hooking the HT's to a mobile mag mount antenna or base antennas all work fine.

Be careful listening to friends. Using any type of amplifier with a CB radio is illegal. CB is limited to 4 watts. My suggestion is to get your amateur radio and GMRS licenses. That way you can use all of the amateur and GMRS frequencies without worries and go with what works best for you.

GMRS should not interfere with the 2m or 70cm bands. Yes GMRS is close to 70cm but they should still not interfere. The local amateur radio club I belong to has their 2m, 70cm and GMRS repeaters and antennas all on the same tower and we don't have any issues. Plus many of us have 2m/70cm and GMRS radios in our home and vehicles without any issues.

Yes the Icom IC-2730, and most Icom radios, can have the MARS mod done to open them up. It requires removing at least one diode from the main board. Youtube has plenty of videos showing how to do this. I know quite a few guys who have done the MARS mod to their Icom radios even though the radios will never be GMRS certified. Just make sure you have both your amateur and GMRS licenses if you decide to do so. I can recommend the Comet GP9 base antenna and the Comet 2x4SR NMO mobile antennas. Both work well for 2m/70cm and GMRS. The Comet 2x4SR is around 40 inches long so it might not work if you have height restrictions. Most shorter, 20" or less, dual band antennas don't work very well for GMRS.

Thanks for the update. Too bad that you got a XS20G with issues. They are good little radios. Most people are very happy with the KG-1000G, they are good radios. I have the KG-1000G in my shack and a KG-1000G Plus in my vehicle.

Another vote for the Wouxun KG-935G

UHF will generally be at a lower power compared to VHF. This is totally normal. We can look at most 50 watt mobile radios as an example. They will put out 50 watts on VHF but only put out between 35-45 watts on UHF.

MARS use to use amateur radio to transfer to phone for service members stationed overseas. I'm sure they still do that to this day. I made a few calls from the Middle East back to the states this way. The same can be done here in a real emergency if/when needed. You just need tow people that can reach each other by radio and one with a good phone connection out.

Having radios was the only means of communication this morning. My cell service finally came back around 11:00 this morning. Even WIFI calling was spotty.

I can attest that the CA-2x4SR works well for GMRS. That is the antenna I am using with my Wouxun KG-XS20G Plus GMRS mobile.

The Comet CA-2x4SR is a good antenna. I am using one on my SxS and the antenna is on the back rack.

Here is the link to Bulletproof Diesel antenna mounts https://bulletproofdiesel.com/collections/ford-products?pf_t_accessories=Antenna+Mount

The Q10G antenna is removable. A friend has the Q10G and his antenna is removable. He sometimes uses a Nagoya 771G antenna on his. The Q10H comes with two antennas, one for 2m and 70cm and the other for 1.25m and 6m. You must switch the antennas when going from 2m/70cm to 1.25m/6m bands. Wouxun is pretty good about locking down their GMRS certified radios so that they cannot be unlocked. I have yet to see a way to unlock the Q10G or any other Wouxun GMRS radio. The Q10H on the other hand can be unlocked for GMRS channels making it essentially a 5 band radio.