WRDJ205

I see a lot of positive results with the Comet CA-712EFC for GMRS. If one were thinking about getting into non-sad HAM in the future is there an antenna that might be “good enough” for both (realizing there will be compromises)?

Glad to help

I'm in the market for a SWR/PWR meter as well. Does anyone use the Surecom SW-33 Plus?

I'm not sure about the UV-5G, but the GM-5RH version has USB C charging that has come in pretty handy already. @BobFudge88 might be able to answer if the UV-5G+ is USB c chargeable.

I just started and I feel like I'm always one short of the one i need at that time.

@WRYS709 If you were asking about the GM-5RH, it was a gift so i don't have the exact link. But I believe it came from amazon. I see a listing with this title, "BAOFENG GMRS Handheld Radio UV-5R Upgrade Long Range Walkie Talkies GM-5RH Two Way Radio with GMRS Repeater Capable,NOAA Weather Receiver,One Key Frequency Match and Type C Cable,Support Chirp". (I don't know if we're not supposed to put a link it so I just copied the title)

Here is the set up. I was able to TX and RX once I was closer to the repeater. I haven't yet tried swapping antennas. The UV-5R antenna does say, "AR-771 VHF/UHF" where the GM-5RH says "AR-771 GMRS".

Thanks for the information. I'll be making a recommendation to a friend soon for a pair of GMRS radios. I find that I'm using the GM-5RH more than the GM-15Pro and like the feel of it more. I'll have to do more reading on the UV-5G+.

I went through the steps recommended above on one of the UV-5R and left the other one as previously programmed to see if the changes made a difference. I did not see any noticeable changes in accessing the repeater. So, I drove closer to the repeater and it seems to come in as i would expect. My best guess is that the UV-5R is tuned slightly different for the HAM frequencies and that affected the reception just enough that it changed my ability to hit the repeater. Thanks for your help on this. I'll report back if I see any issues with the other repeaters that are programmed in to the UV-5R.

All you should have to do is go to CH 28 (already at 462.675) and put in the Tx QT/DQT column the 141.3 tone. Should be that simple unless you’re trying to use one of the DIY channels. In that case, all you have to do extra is type in the 462.675 in the RX Freq column and the. The Tx tone of 141.3.

I just did a similar mapping a couple days ago. I don’t recall having to put in either the TX or RX frequencies. I think I just went to the appropriate repeater channel (23-30), put in the tone, and it was GTG. I’m not at my laptop right now but I can check later tonight or tomorrow morning.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I'm trying to program a UV-5R with the same channels (frequencies) that I have used successfully on the GM-5RH using Chirp. I copied and pasted the same repeater info from the chirp file for the GM-5RH into a new file for the UV-5R. I only shifted the channels down to 51-73 on the UV-5R. I am able to communicate between the two radios on GMRS frequencies via Simplex but i'm not able to link to the repeater. As mentioned, i have used the same repeater from the same location using the GM-5RH and the same frequency/tone combinations all inside of Chirp. I'm at a loss as to why the UV-5R can't get to the repeater. Does the actual channels make a difference (even if the frequencies are correct)? WRDJ205

The pic is from Radioodity…

I believe you hold down the monitor button when you turn it on. It was in the radioodity folder next to the directions to download.

I almost wrote that the UV-5G Plus was not on chirp but it is listed under Baofeng/Podung. I can confirm that the GM-5RH is on chirp. I’m curious, like you, if they’re the same radio.

Looks good!

Would a “ghost” style antenna be noticed? Only about 3” tall. On top of a RV bay it would be pretty hard to see.

@WRXB215Did that help with the programming?

If only looking at one repeater, it really isn’t tough to do manually. Take your time and give it a try. You can always change it back. Good luck and try it.

Sorry for the sideways picture…

I just programmed my GM-15 Pros today. I had the Baofeng usb cord. I downloaded the GM-30 software from the Radiooddity website. Using a win11 laptop I did not have any issues. I did check the firmware and saw that it was a later version than they had in the example at Radiooddity. My only complaint is that I couldn’t find the option to keep it in single display mode but that was an easy manual fix. With the software I was able to give each of the two radios a name so that I know which use which.

Amazon. They had a variety of different configurations. Had to be careful bc I almost got the wrong one (it was a different converted output voltage).

It’s an 18”. I don’t have a SWR meter to check. But, that might be the culprit. I’ll run the same test next weekend with the Midland Ghost designed for GMRS I suppose for comparison.

Driving thru my small city today I was testing out the reach of simplex comms btwn a GM-5RH with long rubber duck with me in the car and a GM15Pro with similar antenna at my house with a family member. This wasn’t a formal test but I wanted to know if I could use simplex to talk from my house to the elementary school. Lots of trees and houses in between but relatively flat ground. I switched to a mag base dualband antenna (not specifically tuned for GMRS). At about 1 mile, the transmission was inaudible with the dual band BUT very clear using the rubber duck. This was unexpected as I would have thought even with the dual band not specifically tuned for GMRS it would have been better than the rubber duck. In the end, we were able to get about 1.75mi using the flexible antennas on both HTs in an urban environment. Was I wrong expecting better distance using the mag base mobile (even if it was dual band, 2m and 70cm) as compared to the rubber duck?

I suggest that you watch some YouTube videos on GMRS radios to get an idea of the basic concepts. From there, you can ask questions on this forum. Many of us have that same radio. It’s not hard to program repeaters directly on the radio without having the cable and programming software. Lastly, don’t be worried about pressing the wrong buttons. It can probably be fixed with a little help or investigation.