WSAM454

Thick door rubber striping would be good. You would not be able to completely close a window on the cable without damaging it. Some owners use window deflectors like this: https://huskyliners.com/c/exterior-accessories/vent-visors/?srsltid=AfmBOoqNIPV7B5LNpdnK1Nh6o4QrKHh7Dj8KkBcLiucq96wTuvt_dDHZ Not recommending that particular one, but something like that would allow you to keep the window open a bit and pass the cable through it more safely. Not sure if your vehicle would lend itself to this, or if you even care for the look, but just another suggestion.

The repeater output is 5 watts; about the same as your handhelds, but you will be using it with a higher and somewhat better antenna, so direct communication with others at home should not be a problem, but you most probably will have limited range when mobile, since the repeater output is relatively low and the antenna is only about 2' long. Getting GMRS radios, as OffroaderX suggested will make things a LOT easier for you and your friends to program than 'converting' Ham versions of the radio. (Getting GMRS licenses is also suggested)

It is NOT deformed; the lower area makes it easier to hold the solder against the connector and cable. Not all are made that way, it is not supposed to be straight across at the end. You can touch a soldering iron to it for a few seconds to get the solder to flow a bit better if that will give you peace of mind, but really not necessary.

Most of the antennas mentioned are mobile; the OP specifically asked about tower/roof mount antennas. Most of those for the ham bands will have a higher SWR on the GMRS band. Just how high, and whether your radio will still operate safely is not certain. The only antenna I am aware of that is designed for use on all 3 bands is a mobile one, the Comet CA-2x4SR. My GP-3 has an SWR about 4:1 on the repeater freqs, with reduced power output. You would have to decide if that is OK.

No, if the repeater does not use the CTCSS tone on it's output you will not hear anything! (Not all repeaters use a tone on their output.) As OffroaderX said, you only need to set your transmit for the tone.

If operating simplex, people will use the tone so that the only person(s) they hear are the ones that they want to hear (those using the tone) It makes monitoring easier if you don't hear all the other traffic that you are not interested in. If operating through a repeater it means that the only repeater you will hear is the one with the tone, all others on the same freq withing range will not be heard. If you turn off your receive tone, then you will hear EVERYTHING on the freq. Basically, it makes it easier to monitor a freq if only stations using the tone can be heard. Even though, way back, Motorola called it "Private Line" ("PL") and today is is usually referred to as CTCSS, it really isn't a 'private' feature since with the tone, they can still be monitored if you have your receive tone set.

I no longer have the radio, but I remember that I was able to use a Y adapter, as discussed in the manual. I have found that some of the cheaper adapters have really unreliable plugs and/or jack on them. Do you have another adapter to try? If you plug the speaker by itself into either A or B output, do you get good audio out? (to make sure the rig's jacks are OK.) To check out the adapter, try plugging the adapter into only A and see if you get audio from the speaker. Try the same with the B output only. Both should give you audio.

Many of the radios advertise an 'optimistic' power output, but 20 Watts does seem low. Yes, the cable would attenuate the signal, so if you were measuring the power with the meter at the far end (antenna end) of the cable, then 20 Watts may actually be what is getting to the antenna, but if you are measuring the rig's power output with the meter right after the rig's antenna connector, especially with a 1.1 SWR, then that is less than half the advertised output, and I would question the seller, although it is now about 2 months old.

Yes, according to the calculator I posted earlier, the loss should be about 2 dB, and my quote of 10 in and 7 out would then be correct according to the calculator. If it IS actually a 5dB loss, then some other info is missing, or the cable is bad.

It depends on what kind of distance you need to cover, and how much power you are running, and how sensitive your receiver (s) is/are. As an example, 10 Watts out of the 900MHz radio with the cable you mention will result in about 7 Watts at the antenna. Fill in the Line Loss Calculator here: https://kv5r.com/ham-radio/coax-loss-calculator/

After you pull down the latch, the battery should just slide straight back and off; not too clear in the video, but give it a try. An excellent choice HT, by the way.

One thought; I also have my rig connected to the battery, but through a relay, so it won't accidentally be left on all night. (Does not have a 'turn off' timer setting!) Of course, the car has to be in at least the 'accessory' position to activate the relay, but even with the engine not running, there is circuitry activated. Anyway, I don't have any other suggestions, especially since this is one of those "it had been working fine" situations. Hopefully someone will offer a more viable solution. Good luck!

Since you mention a bulkhead fitting on the roof, it sounds like a mobile installation. Some thoughts: 1- Do they still hear the whine if the engine is NOT running, and is the radio is connected directly to the battery? 2- Is the negative lead of the radio connected to a near-by chassis/ground, and not a cable also running back to the battery? 3- Is the radio possibly being powered from an accessory plug, rather than directly to the battery? 4- You may be getting noise into the system from the running engine, and/or its associated electronics. Can you try the radio on a separate battery, not connected to the vehicle. 5- It may also be a poor ground/chassis connection to the radio's power or antenna system. Make sure all connections to the chassis (ground) are less than 1 ohm or so.

If these are both vertical antennas, how do you orient it so the stronger lobes are in the "right" place? Do you mean the antenna's take off angle? If so, that is not usually given in the specs.

The Arizona NOAA site shows another Tucson station, KXI24 (Safford) on 162.475. If you do not have any CTCSS or DCS tones enabled on receive, as Steve mentions, you should be able to hear it. Might the .475 transmitter be closer to you?