WRYZ926

@jdgilkey what is your budget? Retevis and Wouxun both make a 20 watt mobile. There is the Retevis RB86 and Wouxun KG-XS20G that will fit your needs. I have the Wouxun KG-XS20G and it works great. Yes Baofeng and Midland also make 20 or 25 watt mobiles. Most will tell you to get the Retevic or Wouxun over both of those though. The KG-1000G is a 50 watt radio that will need to be wired directly to the battery.

Are you restricted in antenna heights above the cab of your truck? If not, a longer antenna will perform better especially in the middle of your cab roof. I drive a 2023 Ford Escape and park in the garage so I am limited to a maximum of a 20" tall antenna. I first tried the Midland MXTA51 that came with my MXT500 radio. That antenna is 6" long. It did okay. But I do get better results running the 20" Nagoya UT-72G antenna. I would rather use a longer antenna if I could.

It could be a loose connection with the coax or a bad solder job. I had an issue where the tiny connector on my mag mount coat was a little loose where it connects to the PL259 connecter. I didn't notice an issue unless I was hitting bumps while driving. I suggest double checking your solder job and making sure everything is tight from the antenna to the radio.

Getting the Motorola software is definitely the down side. I also used Motorola radios in industrial maintenance setting too.

Motorola hand held radios are hard to beat. We used them all the time when I was in the Army. In fact Motorola radios is all we used at Ft Irwin/National Training Center.

The KG-XS20G definitely uses the round DIN type connector for the mic. The KG-1000G/G Plus uses a RJ45 connecter. I have not checked the pin outs on the 1000G hand mic. I do know that the cable for connecting the head to the main unit is NOT a straight through ethernet cable. Pins 5 and 7 are reversed

Here are the instructions for setting tones in the Midland MXT275

Well this question has been asked in different ways on multiple forums and the majority do not want digital modes on GMRS.

This topic and similar ones have popped up on a few forums and the answer is pretty much the same each time. The majority of people do not want to see any changes to GMRS to include adding digital modes. As mentioned this one was proposed by a single person that wants to turn GMRS into HAM lite.

Sharing channel with FRS is really what limits GMRS radios. And that is why mobile GMRS radios won't transmit on channels 8-14. Or at least not legally since I know of at least one 20 watt GMRS mobile that will transmit on those channels.

I very well could be wrong on that. I will have to look that information up again. I thought that FRS was limited to 2 watts and GMRS hand held were limited to 5 watts. Okay straight from the FCC: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-95/subpart-E/section-95.1767# It only states that the 5 watt limit is for the interstitial channels AKA channels shared with FRS.

You are correct that the regulations state 5 watts maximum for a hand held and 50 watts for a mobile on GMRS. Unfortunately that won't stop some from running amplifiers. CB is another prime example, it is limited to 4 watts yet people run up to 1000 watt amps on CB.

How and where do you have the antenna mounted? And you say you are transmitting on 462.575 and 462.725. You should be transmitting on 467.575 and 467.725 in order to talk to the repeater.

@WSAE637 is repeater mode turned on in your MXT275? Another question- are the repeater channels set to wide band? The reason I ask is that I had to turn that on in my MXT500 before it would transmit on repeater channels.

Glad I could help.

When we first set our repeater up, several of us just drove around in different areas within a 25-30 mile radius of the tower. I know that is not the best way to test but that is how our amateur radio club members did it. We are getting up to 30 miles range with 50 watt mobiles depending on the terrain. The nice thing is between all of us, we found out exactly where the dead zones are. We are using a Bridgecom repeater and the antennas are 400 feet up on the tower. No matter what type of repeater setup you have, you want to use a good antenna(s) and get it as high as you can.

It's been a long time since I heard the term puddle pirate. We were usually too busy giving the Air Force, Navy, and Marines trouble that we would forget to pick on the Coasties. And yes you can give me trouble about being a round ponder, glorified grunt with a shovel (combat engineer) and jumping out of perfectly good airplanes since you served also. And I will give you a little bit more trouble. You have to remember the 10% rule - you have to be 10% smarter than what you are trying to operate. On subject. Yes make sure you are on the repeater channels. They will be labeled as RPT15 through RPT22 on most radios or might be labeled as Channels 23-30 on some radios. Those channels will automatically set the proper offset so that you can talk to and hear the repeaters. And make sure to set the tones correctly if needed. Don't be afraid to ask for help as there are plenty of people willing to assist new people.

I do believe the KG1000G is the same radio as the KG-UV980P. What I do not know is if the UV980 firmware will work on the KG1000G. I would hate to see anyone brick their radio though. Even the Wouxun amateur band radios seem to be more difficult to unlock and I too have not found a way to unlock the KG1000G. The TYT TH-7800 and TH9800 are simple to unlock using the TYT programming software. Not that I would tell or suggest anyone do that.

Like I said in my first reply, this can be an argumentative topic at times. It can be as bad as asking what type of oil to use in your vehicle or what type of lube to use on your firearms. Read the NEC concerning antenna towers/masts, etc along with the link provided above, watch some videos and then decide what YOU want to do.

It might only be 4 foot on your setup but it is not on my setup with my antennas up above the roof. But hey, you setup things how you want and I'll setup things up how I want while sticking to NEC codes. Have a nice day.

Actually the lightning arrestor goes on the coax right before it enters the structure. in that hand drawn picture you have it up at the antenna end which is wrong.

Well you do you. I have had Midland and still have Baofeng radios and they do not compare with Wouxun radios when it comes to quality, performance, etc. The Midlands are all gone and while I will keep the Baofeng hand held radios around, I will not buy another Baofeng again. Sometimes it does good to head the old saying "buy once, cry once"

I never received any messages.

I was only recommending a very good and reliable radio. And I would take that over any Midland Baofeng, or other cheaper brands. But that is me. If the OP is on that tight of a budget then getting a replacement mic is his best option.

This is all covered by the NEC (national electric code). It is worth looking the regulations up and reading them. As mentioned your coax shield is grounded to your radio which in turn is grounded to the home ground at the outlet. That is why one should use lightning arrestors on the coax before it enters the structure and also to have everything grounded and also bonded to the service ground. That gives the electric a shorter path to ground. And the lightning arrestor should also keep the electricity overload from entering the structure. Grounding can be a touchy subject and people will always argue about it. I prefer to be safe than sorry and have ground rods at each antenna mast/tower along with a ground rod right at the wall passthrough where my coax cables enter my house. They are bonded together and to my service ground..