WRYZ926

The Comet CA-712EFC is advertised as 9 dBi. If my math is correct, 9 dBi equals 6.85 dBd.

The Comet CA-712EFC is a great antenna that is very popular with a lot of people.

This is very important to remember. Get the best and correct type of coax you can afford.

Occasionally you get lucky and a 2m/70cm dual band antenna will also have SWR of 1.8 or lower on the GMRS channels/frequencies. But not all dual band antennas will work for GMRS. I get a SWR of 1.8 or less on GMRS with my Comet GP9 dual band base antenna and a SWR of 1.8 or less on my Comet 2X4SRNMO mobile antenna. As mentioned, the best is to get a GMRS specific antenna that is tuned properly. A good one is the Comet CA-712EFC.

I did not know that since I have never used a J pole antenna. I do put chokes on all of my HF antennas though.

Correct, you won't be able to use the Yaesu for GMRS. What you bought is for the amateur 2m and 70cm bands which requires an amateur license. I would try to return the radio if you can and then buy a GMRS radio instead. Or keep it and get your amateur license.

Make sure the antenna/mast is grounded along with using a lightening arrestor where the coax enters the building. You can roll up any extra coax at the antenna end which will act as a RFI choke, but it shouldn't be necessary.

I would replace that RG8 with LMR400 or equivalent. You will do a whole lot better with the correct type of coax for UHF.

Nothing wrong with getting a new radio. I will recommend the Wouxun KG-1000G Plus over the Midland MXT500. I had both and got rid of the Midland. The KG-1000G is a better radio.

How high is your antenna and what type of coax are you using? The loss from the N Type to SO239 adaptor will be minimal. 37-38 watts should be plenty as long as you have a good clear line of sight to the repeater tower. An extra 10 watts won't make much difference. The local GMRS repeater is 21.5 miles away from me. I run my KG-1000G on medium power and get in just fine. My 20 watt KG-XS20G gets into the repeater just as good as the KG-1000G does.

You mean we are suppose to read the manuals????? Everyone is correct that mobile radios only go down to 5 watts at the lowest power settings which is way over the 0.5 watts limit for channels 8 - 14. I know one mobile radio that will transmit on channels 8-14 even though it should not since it is over the 0.5 watt limit on low.

GMRS repeaters will have close to the same coverage area as 70cm repeaters. VHF and UHF frequencies will have their advantages and disadvantages. I am lucky that the local club has all of their repeater antennas on a very tall FM radio tower. The 2m and 70cm antennas are at 900 feet while the GMRS antennas are at 400 feet. We didn't notice much of a difference on coverage are between the 70cm and GMRS repeaters while we were testing the GMRS repeater. We are getting around 30 -35 mile radius of coverage with the 70cm and GMRS repeaters. Our 2m repeater has a large coverage area, it covers an 80 mile radius. I say get and use 2m and 70cm along with GMRS. It never hurts to have more tools in the tool box.

I'll fix my typo. Thanks for catching that. I agree with you that it sounds like he is overloading his power supply.

What size power supply are you running and are you using a single power supply for the radio and amp? It sure sounds like you are overloading the power supply. What power level do you have the KG-XS20G set at when using the amp? Most small amps require you to run the radio at around 5 watts or less, otherwise you overload the amp. And you really don't need an amp with the KG-XS20G. Even though it is rated at 20 watts, most will put out around 25 watts. Again the extra 5-10 watts over what the KG-XS20G puts out isn't really worth it. You won't notice the difference.

All of my different hand held radios vary in output power from 4 watts to 6 watts. As said, it's the luck of the draw. But one or two watts won't make a difference. I agree that Baofeng radios are not the best even though they do work. A lot of us like the Wouxun brand radios. Check them out to see if one fits your needs.

Our amateur radio club has officially opened up our GMRS repeater to the public. The repeater frequency is 467.600/462.600 with a PL tone of 141.3. I will see about getting it listed on the map. For more information about the repeater and our club: https://www.aecimo.org/?page_id=6974

Yeah soldering connectors on is not for everyone. One won't go wrong with a quality prebuilt coax cable. And it never hurts to coil the excess cable right below the antenna.

It is important to use the correct type and good quality coax. The cheap Amazon coax will have more loss than TM LMR400 or the Messi and Pailoni equivalent. The cheap coax won't have as much braided shielding and/or use lower quality materials which leads to more loss. Using a good antenna with at least 6dBi of gain will overcome the 1-2 dB loss from the coax. Again use quality coax and quality connectors (if making your own cables).

This is true.

The Wouxun KG-1000G cable is not a standard straight through or crossover cable. Pins 5 and 7 are crossed. Here is the pinout for the KG-1000G cable 1 - 1 2 - 2 3 - 3 4 - 4 5 - 7 6 - 6 7 - 5 8 - 8 I will suggest getting a cable tester for testing. Here is one on Amazon that will test 6 wire cables with RJ12 connectors and 8 wire cables with RJ45 connectors. RJ45 Network Cable Tester for Lan Phone RJ45/RJ11/RJ12/CAT5/CAT6/CAT7 UTP Wire Test Tool

Have you tried listening on AM and FM. The KG-Q10G can listen to CB on both.

A 30 amp power supply with 25 continuous amps is enough to run two 50 watt radios on high power at the same time. A 30 amp power supply with 20 amps continuous will not be enough to run two radios simultaneously on high power. I run my TYT TH-7800 and Wouxun KG-1000G on the same R & L Electronics 30 Amp (22 watts continuous) without any issues. Though I only run mid power level on both for the repeaters and don't transmit on both at the same time.

The Comet CA-500 is a good and simple antenna analyzer to use. Yes they do cost more but are worth it. Above that you are looking at the Rig Expert analyzers. I normally steer clear of most MFJ products. The different VNA and Nana VNA models are cheaper but there is also a learning curve to using them.

A 20 amp power supply will be more than enough for the MXT500 or any other 50 watt radio as long as you running just one radio. The power draw of the MXT500 is around 12 amps while transmitting on high power. Remember that most power supplies are rated for their maximum amp draw. Their continuous power rating will be lower. Most 30 amp power supplies are rated at 20 - 25 watts continuous. Basically one can run between 75% to 80% of the rated amps continuously.

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