TNFrank

Have you ever tried to install a tar.gz file? Much easier to do CHIRP Next with the built in Windows installer in WINE.

A better antenna would be the logical place to start. There's quite a few Antenna Tests on the YouTubes that you can watch to see which ones are giving the best fars. Most see to say that the Nagoya 771G is a good choice, other's like the Signal Stick and rate it as the best. Your Mileage May Vary. Randy(Notarubicon) has some good videos on his YouTubes channel that talks about getting more fars, I'd check them out.

A GNU/Linux op system if for those of us who refuse to pay Bill Gates/MicroSoft for the privilege of being able to use our computers and don't want to give up our Freedom to a Large Major Company who(if you read the End User Lic. Agreement) basically gives MicroSoft permission to take over their computer and install or uninstall anything that THEY feel the need to do. You also have to pay money for that slavery. Why more people don't simply download a good Linux Distro and do the install is beyond me. Linux is actually much more user friendly than Windoze is in that it doesn't FORCE updates and force you to use what they say you can use. There are so many Free and Open Source programs that you can use under Linux to do "stuff" without the need to pay for or otherwise compromise your machine to a Major Corporation. I do all my video editing with Kdenlive for FREE and it works as well as any of the paid programs that you'd use in Windoze. On those rare occasions where I must use a .exe I can install and use WINE to run them FOR FREE so I get the best of both Worlds in a manner of speaking. People who think Linux is still ALL Terminal based and Hard to use haven't given a good Linux Distro a look in quite a while. Linux Mint or one of the Ubuntu flavors are just as easy(if not more so) to use as anything MicroSoft has put out and you don't have to Sell your Soul to the Devil to use them.

There's so many more radios listed in Next vs Legacy. It really opens up my options a lot.

They did look identical. I know BTech does some tweaks to their stuff to make things work a bit better. I didn't think there'd be that much difference though. Good to know.

He's 28.

This: https://www.amazon.com/ANYSECU-Walkie-WP-9900-Display-Standby/dp/B09D2VWSWC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3BQN3VZ14BSIB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ixfL8v7i8qaX6hsiHUoNd9Ajxf4BKKlTm1NoVOuCFffeglhDMjxsdB6kXdffbNTlDWMk96qPFlJtFfZExSVDBg.J5B1mFOvg3AapfffqlcRbchhH9_NZNXAp98hIl2S_XQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=WP+9900&qid=1709758649&sprefix=wp+9900%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-1 Is basically the same radio only less expensive.

I have 3 of them. A UV-5R(had 2 but gave one to my grandson) and 2/UV-82's.

Well, I picked up my H8 off of the table this morning and was manually going through the channels and MURS Channel 3 was missing. It had 1, 2, 4 and 5 but NO 3. What gives with these Tidradios auto deleting channels?? Needless to say it's going back for a refund. I'll use the funds to pick up a Retevis or maybe another Talkpod. This is getting ridiculous.

After what happened with the TD-H3 I'm NOT touching the firmware on ANY radio. The last thing I want to do is brick another radio. As far as taking the hA36 Plus "shooting", as long as it's working I see no reason on turning it into a $37 dollar target.

Amazon just delivered it to the house and I plugged it in, opened CHIRP Next and added GMRS/MURS and the 3 local Airport frequencies to the radio and it's working like a charm. If it works out I may pick up another one because like they say "One is None, Two is One and Three is Better", LOL. P.S. Don't forget to unlock(expand) your radio when you get it by pushing PTT and the number 8 on the keyboard then turning it on. That'll let you transmit on GMRS frequencies.

Long before I discovered VirtualBox I'd put Distros on USB sticks and boot to them to check them out, LOL. Once I found VB I just download the ISO and spin it up in VB to give it a look. If I liked it I'd install it and run it for a while to see what I thought. I've been pretty much set with MX-Linux/KDE for the last 3 or 4 years. It works well and is stable because it's Debian based.

I have Virtual Box installed but WINE just seems a bit easier for me to use. I downloaded and installed the Retevis RA89 CPS and drivers easy peasy in prep for the radio which will be here Thursday. I'll try CHIRP but if that doesn't work I've got the CPS to fall back on.

Airbands. I'm going to try a Talkpod A36 Plus next for my Airband radio.

The H8 seems to be working fine. I set it up using CHIRP Next with the GMRS and MURS frequencies and the 4 DPS(Highway Patrol) channels that I scan and it's doing fine. I don't dare try to do a firmware update or mess with it anymore because I'm afraid that something might mess up.

I'm hooked straight into the meter, no coax and out to the large heat sink/dummy load that came with the unit.

I couldn't get the radio to work with usb-c for programming or trying to do the firmware upgrade. ODmaster worked on but I like using CHIRP Next better. I have the H8 programmed with CHIRP but I'm not messing with anything else. I don't want to risk bricking it.

Here's the meter set up I'm using. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08ZC7HS75?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title I have the HAM version that's Bern unlocked. From what I understood all the radios are the same only the firmware changes depending on the setting(HAM, GMRS, Unlocked) so with it being unlocked it should give max power. As far as doing the power tune, nope, not touching anything. I already bricked an H3 trying to do a firmware update, not going to risk the H8. I'll live with it just the way it is.

Please note that I sent the H3's back because of programming issues. I also bricked one trying to update the firmware. I think they're trying to pack too many features in to small of a package. The H8 on the other hand seems to be doing ok so far and I'm curious to see how the Retevis RA89 works out. Just be aware that the RA89 takes an SMA Male antenna, not the standard female that we're use to seeing on the Baofengs.

The H8 is rated at 10 watts as a HAM radio. It's easy to unlock so you can use it on other frequencies and my power test on VHF/154.600MHz, MURS 5 Green Dot were as follows: Low+.39 watts Medium=2.45 watts High= 9.35 watts I then tested it on UHF/462.550MHz, GMRS Ch.15 and got these results: Low=.57 watts Medium=2.45 watts High= 4.75 watts So even unlocked it won't be "illegal" on GMRS even on high power. Still under the legal 5 watts. I'll be curious to see what the Retevis RA89 does power wise as it's also rated at 10 watts.

Or like I said, $20-$23 for the UV-82.

Ok, so I used some of the refund for the H3's and ordered a Retevis RA89. I saw a "hack" to unlock it so it'll work with GMRS and it's also CHIRP Next compatible so I should be able to program it easily. Yes, I KNOW it's a 10 watt HAM Radio so it's not "legal" for GMRS but truthfully I don't think it matters all that much out in the middle of the desert and the extra power will help me reach out just a touch further. I just hope my H8 doesn't give me any issues because it seems like a good, solid built radio. I don't plan on upgrading the firmware on it either, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, LOL.

LOL, wasn't even thinking about that.

Sending them all back. They won't/don't play well with CHIRP Next. Channels that have been deleted still show up. Channels that I install won't show up. Firmware update bricked one of my radios. These are a HUGE Cluster F#@K and I don't have time to deal with or put up with it. I'll order something else to play with that won't give me such trouble.

I have no clue what a "CRM113 Discriminator" is. LOL. All I know is that NONE of the H3's I have work in CHIRP. They all miss uploading channels or show channels on the radio that are not downloaded from the radio. I think it's some issue with the radio's memory and the way it handles channels. All 4 are going back and I'll figure out what to get next. On a positive note, the H8 seems to be working ok(cross my fingers) so I'll hang onto it for now. Maybe I'll try a Talkpod A36Plus. They're suppose to have Airbands.