WRYZ926

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.

One nice thing about a 25 watt or 50 watt mobile is that you can use it as a base station, in a vehicle or in a go box.

That's interesting. I haven't seen that testing my Baofeng (2 UV-5r GRMS and 1 GT-5R), Explorer QRZ1 (TYT UV88), Icom IC-T10, and Wouxun KG-935G HT's.

I had a Midland MXT500 and wasn't all that impressed with it. I ended up replacing it with a Wouxun KG-1000G.

I only have 6 HT's. I know rookie numbers Let us know how you like the new radio.

I m finding that radios, especially hand held, is a lot like AR rifles. They seem to multiply all on their own.

A lot of different radios can have the MARS mod done to them through either a hardware modification or software hack. One is suppose to be a member of MARS or CAP to use an amateur radio outside of the amateur bands. The MARS mod on UHF radios just happens to allow transmission on GMRS channels. That does not mean that the modded radio is legal to use on GMRS channels because it isn't since it is not Part 95 certified. A lot of people do the MARS mod and don't worry about the radio not being Part 95 certified. And as long as one is not doing anything to draw attention to themselves will never get in trouble for it. Radioddity even has the TYT TH-9800 unlock steps on their website. https://www.radioddity.com/blogs/all/th-9800-unlock And yes the same procedure also works on the TH-7800 using the TH-9800 instructions and password. Use at your own discretion.

This reminds me a lot of dealing with the ATF. Ask 10 ATF agents for an opinion and you will get 25 different opinions.

I'm sure that Wouxun did fix that years ago. Otherwise they would not be selling them and/or we would still be hearing about the issue.

I decided to look into this after seeing this topic brought up in a few threads. All I could find were articles and forum threads from 2016 and older. I would say that if there was an issue, it has been fixed since then. @WSAA635 keep us updated if you happen to have any issues with your radios please.

The same software unlock for the TYT TH-9800 also works on the TYT TH-7800. I know it works on the 7800 the I bought about 4 months ago.

I have seen some variance with this on HF radios myself. As SShannon said, most radios have a way to deal with this. You can use the clarifier or shift function on your radio.

I have had good luck with connectors and adaptors from Max Gain Systems https://mgs4u.com

I'll second putting an antenna in the center of the cab roof. I'll let you decide on mag mount versus drilling a hole for a NMO mount.

Those SWR and power reading look good. The popping and scratching can definitely be from the power lines, especially if they are high power transmission lines. Or it could be obstructions between you and the repeater too. I would still double check all coax connectors just to make sure.