WRYZ926

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.

While the practice of running an omni directional antenna and a beam antenna is not very common with GMRS, it is more common with the 2m and 70cm amateur bands. The omni works well for general omni directional use while the Yagi allows for getting longer distance contacts since the design is directional and usually higher gain. @WRPT980, as long as you can keep both antennas at least a full wave length apart then you should be fine. A full wavelength at 467.600 is 2.1 feet.

You can use dielectric grease on the threads only. Don't let it get on the outside of the connector and the center conductor at the same time. Or you can use vaseline on the threads only too. Best is to wrap it with self sealing rubber tape.

I've been know to turn the Roger beep on while using the local 2m or 70cm repeaters whenever I hear an old curmudgeon complain about how GMRS is as bad as CB. Yeah I can be ornery and like to sometimes mess with the cranky codgers. Or I turn the Roger beep on to mess with friends. We have our 2m, 70cm and GMRS repeaters located in the same rack and we have never had any issues with the repeaters due to someone using Roger beeps.

I have two remote heads on my Lido seat bolt mount and they stay put on the rough gravel roads around me.

Roger beeps will not confuse a repeater, or at least they don't with my club's repeater. People are probably saying that just to get others to turn off the Roger beep.

I ran into the same issue with my 2023 Ford Escape. I ended up going with a Lido seat bolt mount.

The DX Engineering brand cable is pretty good also.

Yes that is one brand. And it is a very good brand the makes some of the best coax cables.

I would not use RG-8X coax. it will have too much loss at GMRS frequencies. RG-8X is for HF frequencies. Your best bet is to use LMR400 or equivalent. Here is a good thread on coax loss. https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/252-cable-types-and-losses/page/5/#comment-69960 RG-8X is not listed. But it generally has more loss than standard RG-8

Another vote for the Surecom SW-102. It works just fine. I do have more expensive analyzers but I mostly use those when I build my own antennas.

I have a Comet SBB1 dual band antenna and a Nagoya UT-72G GMRS antenna on my car. They are spaced about two feet apart and I don't have any issues.

Getting the antenna centered on the cab roof is always best. But lip mounts will work. Try to get as much of the antenna above the roof will help. You can attach a steel plate to the top of you camper shell and use a mag mount. I've done that with the aluminum tool box on my SxS and the mag mount stays put.

The Wouxun KG-XS20G does very well in my SxS with a Comet 2x4SR antenna. I get excellent signal reports when talking through the repeater 21.5 miles away. I picked up an Apache hard case from Harbor Freight today. I am going to use it for a go box for my Xiegu G90 HF radio and might see if I can fit a KG-XS20G in the case too.

This is true. I kept the waterproof connector on my KG-XS20G simply because I have it installed in my SxS.

Using power poles does make things easy and simpler. I will buy the actual Anderson brand and the correct crimper when I start switching things over. My plans are to use them for a go box. @WRDJ205 I am going to suggest to just use the connector that came with the KG-XS20G since it is water resistant. I also suggest running the positive lead to the battery and the ground to chassis ground of your vehicle. Here is where ring terminals that are crimped and soldered is better.

The cigarette plug is fine for temporary use. I prefer wiring the positive lead directly to the battery and the ground directly to the chassis. I use ring terminals that I crimp and solder. There are pro's and con's with Anderson's and the T connectors. I have so far just used what comes with the radios and haven't made the switch to Anderson's yet. If you decide to go with Anderson Power Poles, then I will suggest sticking with the actual Anderson brand versus the cheap knockoffs found on Amazon.

Boy oh boy. That will get a whole lot of people stirred up if they don't realize that is an April Fools joke.

There are quite a few GMRS repeaters in the Kansas City area. https://mygmrs.com/map