WRYZ926

I see that the Midland MXT500 isn't the only version with low power issues.

Even having a repeater with its antennas at 400 feet above ground is not a guarantee o getting out really far. Again terrain and height of your antenna with a clear line of sight matters. Our GMRS repeater antennas are at 400 feet and the range for those using 50 watt mobiles with good antennas on their vehicles is only about 30-35 miles depending on the mobile's location. We have lots of rolling hills and river valleys along with forested areas around me. Now I can easily get into the repeater with a 5 watt hand held using my base antenna that is on my roof. The base of the antenna is 18 feet above the ground. Again line of sight and a clear path matters.

Definitely use an antenna analyzer. Even an inexpensive NanaVNA will work.

I have to agree that you won't notice the tiny amount of loss when using a quality adaptor. I'll also second staying away from the cheap adaptors on Amazon. I have a custom length cable with a PL259 on one end and a N Type on the other. The only reason for the custom length and different ends is because my brother made up the cable for me so I didn't have to go out and buy cable. If I had to buy the cable, I would just get the closest length (longer than needed) of good cable with either PL259 connectors on both ends or N type connectors on both ends and just use a good adaptor. A little extra coax coiled up at the antenna end won't hurt a thing and will act as a choke to help keep out RFI/noise.

I would love to run longer antennas but I need to be able to park in my garage and also fit into low parking garages at my doctors appointments. I might end up getting another Comet 2x4SR for when out and about.

Base station: KG-1000G with a Comet CA-712EFC antenna Ford Escape: KG-1000G Plus with a Nagoya UT-72G antenna Honda SxS: KG-XS20G with a Comet 2x4SR antenna Primary Hand held: Wouxun KG-935G Plus with stock antenna. I am using LMR400 Ultra flex coax for the base station antenna since that is what I was given. The mobile antennas use what ever cable came with the magnetic mounts.

I think we all have done that a time or three @Sbsyncro glad to hear that you figured it out and there is nothing wrong with your radio.

I can't help much with this. I did test my KG-1000G just now and didn't notice any problems. I bought mine in Nov 2023

I have found that a lot of other radio programming software gets flagged by Windoze too. My main everyday computer is my 2018 Mac Mini. I prefer using OEM radio software for my TYT and Wouxun radios which only run on Windoze. I also find that other amateur radio programs such as WSJT-X and Grid Tracker work well on WIndoze. My other hobby is model trains and most the software for that is Windoze only. So my Dell is used mostly for radios and model trains only.

I don't get any bleed over at all with the antennas being 2 foot apart. The only way to know if 14" (half a wave length) would work is to try it. A full wave length of separation would be better. I am using a TYT TH-7800 and Wouxun KG-1000G Plus in my Escape. Here is a photo showing the antennas.

It looks like you will be able to operate on amateur radio bands in Iceland with a valid US license. Here are a few links for you to read. https://www.arrl.org/us-amateurs-operating-overseas https://www.arrl.org/reciprocal-permit https://www.ira.is/english/ I did not find a definitive answer on GMRS.

The only time I give signal reports in numbers is when operating on the HF bands. I will just say if they are clear, sound levels, how much static, etc when on 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. A lot of new amateur licensee's don't even understand numbered signal reports until they start using the HF bands. My brother and I will use strictly military jargon or CB jargon sometimes out of pure fun to mess with others

I totally missed the part about having two antennas. Not enough . Half a wave length for 70cm band and GMRS is about 12 to 13 inches. Half a wave length of 2m band is around 40 inches. I am running a Comet SBB-1 dual band antenna and a Nagoya UT-72G GMRS antenna on top of my Ford Escape. The antennas are approximately 2 foot apart (full wave length for 70cm/GMRS). I haven't had any issues with that setup. I haven't tried having the antennas any closer than that.

Yes that should work as a ground plane. I have my Comet 2x4SR with a magnetic mount on an expanded metal rack on the back of my SxS and it works just fine for 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. I modified one of those trailer hitch cargo racks to fit my SxS.

This is true. And while the MXT500 worked for me, I didn't care for how it sounded nor did I like the menu and lack of features. I ended up donating the radio to the club I belong to. We are going to install it into our emergency coms trailer alongside all the other radios. Again nothing wrong with Midland radios for those that want a simple easy to use radio right out of the box. But they aren't for me. I like to tweak and change settings, etc. This goes for my radios, computers, motorcycles, etc.

I know my test was not even close to professional since I used a SureCom SW-102. I tested a total of four radios using the same 32 feet of LMR400 going to my Comet CA-712EFC antenna. The base of the antenna is 18 feet above ground. I tested the Midland MXT500, Wouxun KG-XS20G, Wouxun KG-1000G and KG-1000G Plus. MXT500 - 35 watts KG-XS20G - 25 watts KG-1000G - 47 watts KG-1000G Plus - 48 watts I updated the MXT500 to the most up to date firmware before testing. All radios were powered by the same R & L Electronics 30 Amp power supply. I used the MXT500 and KG-XS20G while we were testing the repeater antennas at 400 feet and 21 miles away from me on simplex. I received better signal reports when using the KG-XS20G compared to the MXT500. Granted Midland radios are fine for those wanting a very simple radio. But there seems to be an issue with some MXT500's not putting out anywhere close to the advertised 50 watts. I would not complain about only getting 45 watts out but 35 watts was too low in my opinion.

Even Midland radios are made in China. When it comes amateur band radios, even some Yaesu radios are now made in China.

All I can say is "Good Luck"

@Lscott That's good information for those considering the BTech amp. 20 or 30 watts is still better than 5 watts when using a decent base or mobile antenna.

I posted the correct pinout for making a new cable along with suggesting the use of shielded cable and shielded connectors. If the cable that came with the radios isn't long enough then a custom length cable will need to be made. The pinout Wouxun uses won't match any commercially available cables unless one purchases a custom made cable. Good luck on the project.

You would be better off getting the BTech AMP-U25 amplifier from Amazon. Easier to return if it doesn't work and it will have better customer service through BTech. And it will keep you at the legal 50 watt limit for GMRS. BTech AMP-U25

Here is the pinout for the Wouxun extension cables. 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-7, 6-6, 7-5, 8-8 I will suggest using a good shielded Cat6 cable along with shielded RJ45 connectors if you plan on making your own cable. The shielded cable will help keep out RFI from other radios. Again, it will work, but you will be better off getting a purpose built repeater and a decent duplexer versus using two KG-1000G radios for the reasons already mentioned.

I spaced on the desense issue if the antennas are not far enough away from each other or the need for a decent (and properly tuned) duplexer if only using one antenna. I still have too much blood in the caffeine system this afternoon.

The Wouxun KG-1000G and KG-1000G Plus do not use a standard straight through or crossover cable. The extension cable that comes with the radio works for both remote mounting the head and for connecting two radios together for a repeater. This is where a common and inexpensive RJ12/RJ45 cable tester comes in handy. Hint for you - pins 5 and 7 are reversed. That being said. There are plenty of members here that have made a repeater using two KG-1000G radios. Most, if not all, of them have since went to using an actual purpose built repeater. The reason for this is that the KG-1000G does not have sufficient duty cycle rates for use as a repeater. An actually repeater will have a 100% duty cycle and will hold up to constant use. PS: Here is a good thread explaining duty cycle https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/1399-duty-cycle-explained/#comment-26152

I just noticed this old thread resurrected. I had a MXT500 and it was not putting out any where near 50 watts on high. I was also not impressed with the RX and TX sound quality. Needless to say the MXT500 was replaced by Wouxun KG-1000G that is a much better radio. Heck the Wouxun KG-XS20G did a better job at reaching the repeater tower 21.5 miles away when we were testing the antennas on simplex compared to the MXT500.