Lscott

I agree. I'm looking to spend part of my stimulus check on a good Bird Model 43 meter myself. I want something I can trust mainly for RF power measurements. The forward and reverse power can be used to calculate SWR if necessary. The Diawa CN-103 I purchased new years ago gives me readings I just don't believe or trust. https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/dwa-cn-103m

I sent you a PM. I think I can help you with a sample code plug from one of mine. One thing I did learn, DON'T use Chirp with the 370G radio, it does exactly what you described. Also with the KPG-56D software make sure you use the latest version. I'm using V4.22 on Windows 10 with a cheap Baofeng $8 serial USB programming cable.

True FRS radios certified by the FCC are designed for a fixed bandwidth of 12.5 KHz on all channels. Also the power is limited to no more than 2 watts on channels 1-7 and 15-22. Channels 8-14, the interstitial ones, are limited to 0.5 watts max. So if you’re sure the bandwidth is too wide on 8-14 and maybe too high of power those users likely are not using FCC certified radios. They could be miss programmed Part 90 or Ham radios, CCR’s, being used. If that’s the case it’s a whole other issue.

Big hint they are FRS users is that annoying “Roger Beep” you frequently hear. Of course there are a few people that turned that function on in their Chinese radios they use on GMRS so it’s not a sure sign.

Yeah, you have a good point.

I just heard one on the local GMRS repeater. I agree about the audio. Very crisp and clear. Nice sounding radio.

Interesting there are no signs posted. I would have thought there would be.

I have a junky TK-3173, TX and RX LED doesn't work and several of the front panel PF keys don't either, I might use to experiment on. I also have the latest firmware for these radios too, V1.25. I've also been hacking the code plugs for these radios using a hex editor. The code plugs are XOR encrypted past a small header at the beginning. One interesting thing I discovered is the software key used to install the radio programming software is saved in the code plug along with the version of the software and radio model number type. I'm not sure if its saved in the radio when you write it or not at this point. I don't have any ProTalk radios, the 2 watt jobs with fixed frequencies, to look at either. I'm beginning to suspect the code plugs for those can be hacked to change the default frequencies to some custom ones the software won't allow. Some posts on other forms suggest that a few have done exactly that to get the radios on the GMRS channels. I've also looked at the code plugs for a couple of the Kenwood analog/digital radios I have, TK-D340U (DMR) and the NX-340U (NXDN). They also seems to use the same simple XOR encryption past the code plug header. In addition to the info I found in the TK-3170/3173 code plugs the radio serial numbers seemed to be there too.

I had to do some screwing around, basically hacked the install, to get the latest version of the software to load and work with the dealer/engineer serial install key. Version 2.40 of KPG-101D seems to reject the engineer's key when you put it in during the install. I needed this to blow by a used eBay radio I just got that somebody had used a data-read and a data-write password on it. I read where more radio shops are doing this crap. The hacked install took care of that headache. Anyway now I have several menu settings that never showed up with the normal user install keys. These are marked by an asterisk next to them in the drop down menus. The problem is none of them are even mentioned in any of the help files so their purpose is a bit of a mystery in a few cases. Edit -> *Advance Settings -> *Setting 1 (TX LED, QT Reverse Burst Phase, GPS ACK Request) *Setting 2 (Look like settings to use the side pin ports as a serial port) *Setting 3 (Tuning Frequency) *Setting 4 (Parameter 1 - no clue what this is even doing) Tools -> *Password Recovery (Window pops open asking to enter a serial number) Program -> *Memory Map *Memory Map EEPROM (These two look like a hex editor display) Some I can sort of guess what they are for and the last two look like they're for trouble shooting the code plug that's saved in the radio's internal memory. For all I know this might even let me change the radio's stored electronic serial number. I always wondered how that gets set during manufacturing. So does anybody out there have any info on what the extra functions might be good for or documentation?

Why not both? The license fee for GMRS is cheap enough. Also there are reasonably priced hand held radios for GMRS. There are some decently priced Ham radios, in the $100 to $200 range, that are a step above the usual Chinese ones. In either case you want a radio that is at least water proof for out door used in the rain etc. The take away here is there are no direct cross over communications, you won't find a radio certified for GMRS and Ham radio. The usual practice is having radio(s) for both services while switching between them as required. There are some used commercial radios, certified Part 90 and 95, that can be programmed for both GMRS and some sections of the Ham 70cm band. The Ham radio side has a rather extensive installed base of repeaters on VHF and UHF with some able to run on emergency power. Also with Ham, and depending on your license class, you can communicate worldwide on HF and locally up on VHF and UHF. This affords a lot of flexibility in communications. With GMRS you're typically confined to local communications. The number of repeaters you find on GMRS seems rather limited. You do have the ability to communicate with people using FRS radios, which I suspect will be quickly used in a major emergency where local comm's with landlines and cell phones died. You may also find some emergency comm's on good old CB radio too.

The screen shots of the programming software looks a whole like the Kenwood stuff I have. I had to look again at them just to be sure it wasn't.

The charge controllers I linked to claim little to no RFI generated. Any type of switching power converter has the potential to generate huge levels of RFI unless it’s well shielded and proper filters on all of the wires going in and out of the box are used. Many radio operators have experienced RFI just from using their table top DC power supply plugged into a wall outlet. Those aren’t the only sources either. You can search for and read the horror stories where people spent weeks or longer only to find it was the LED night light, malfunctioning power supply in a TV, computer was sitting to close to the radio, noise only present when the USB printer cable was plugged in etc.

That very well could be your case. If the SWR is acceptably low on an existing antenna system you may not want to bother. The general recommendation is for new installations one is better off going with all type “N” connectors where possible.

This seems to be a common misconception and point of confusion. Do not confuse the idea of insertion loss with return loss They are not the same and people seem to commonly interchange the two when discussing antenna systems without realizing the difference. Insertion loss means exactly that, your RF energy from the transmitter is converted to heat in the coax and the various other hardware used to connect the cable(s) to your radio and the antenna. Good quality coax connectors have very low insertion losses. Return loss means that power is reflected from the load back towards the source. This manifests itself has an elevated or high SWR reading. The return loss is far higher on the PL-259/SO-239 type connectors on UHF and higher frequencies whereas the insertion loss maybe low. The mismatch is caused by the fact the connectors are not a "50 ohm impedance" thus causing the power reflections. The most common RF connectors to use on UHF systems that have low mismatch losses are type "N", BNC, mini UHF and SMA. While the mini UHF connectors look like smaller versions of the old PL-259/SO-239 the design is such the impedance is much closer to the usual 50 ohms. https://www.campbellsci.com/blog/ins-outs-rf-connectors https://www.arcantenna.com/blogs/news/how-to-identify-coaxial-connectors https://www.air802.com/connector-identification-chart.html https://www.hamradio.me/connectors/uhf-connector-test-results.html And for those looking for a bit more depth this book would be a good reference. http://www.w3pga.org/Antenna%20Books/Reflections%20III.pdf

I got several solar panels new from the company linked below. I also purchased a few used ones at Ham Radio flea markets. I would recommend something in the range of 20 to 50 watts for the panel.This should be sufficient to keep a small handheld radio or a mobile radio running with the right sized battery pack and solar plane size. https://www.renogy.com/solar-panels/rigid-solar-panels/ I also have several of the MPPT charge controllers from this company. I have several of the GV-5 models. One for a lead acid type when there is nothing else available and several for LFP battery packs. https://sunforgellc.com/gv-4/ https://sunforgellc.com/gv-5/ https://sunforgellc.com/gv-10/ I wouldn't recommend the use of any kind of lead acid battery unless you want the cheapest portable battery solution. I've wrecked enough gel-cell and AGM types. They have to be kept on a trickle charger when left sitting around for more than a few weeks. If you don't the batteries self discharge quickly and the plates will sulfate. Once the plates are sulfated the battery is finished. I recommend going with a LFP, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4), batteries. They hold a charge for months, some even for a year or more, and don 't get ruined if they sit around only partially charged. The only caveat is the cost . I got a couple of the battery packs from the company at the link below. One was the 6 amp hour BLF-12045W and the 40 amp hour BLF-1240A. Don't forget to get the wall changers for these batteries. The above charge controllers I got were the models designed for LFP batteries, NOT lead acid or LiPO's. https://www.bioennopower.com/collections/12v-series-lifepo4-batteries I also have a 12 volt to 120 volt AC pure sine wave inverter for the rare case where I need 120 volts. I picked up a 300 watt unit which I have set up to work with the 40 amp hour battery. https://gpelectric.com/products/300-watt-pure-sine-wave-inverter/ Now a few words of caution about connecting solar panels to batteries. A few people skip the charge controller and wire the solar panel direct to the battery, through a blocking diode. While that will work in an emergency with lead acid types DON'T try this with LFP battery packs! Just about every LFP battery pack contains a battery protection module. The module will disconnect the internal battery cells from the external terminals in the case of a short circuit, over discharge resulting in a dangerous low voltage or when the battery pack reaches max cell voltage on charge. The last one is the killer. A so-called 12 volt panel is really 20 to 23 volts when open circuited. So when the battery reaches the max safe voltage the protection module will disconnect the internal battery pack so it effectively open circuits the solar panel, which promptly jumps way up in voltage. Most mobile equipment can't handle anything higher than 15 to 16 volts without damage.

Some people get a magnet mount antenna for the vehicle and connect their handheld radio to it using a cable adapter and used a speaker microphone plugged in to it as well. The advantage is you can get away with just one radio for portable or mobile use. One other thing when you leave the vehicle you can take the radio with you so potential thieves won't have anything to steal. I have a buddy at work that does this with a used Kenwood TK-3170, purchased off of eBay, when driving around in his truck. I also recommended a 12 volt battery pack eliminator for it too.

I would recommend you go to YouTube and do a search for KG-805G. I just did and there are various videos about the radio and some on programming it. Also good luck on taking your Ham Tech Class license exam.

The FCC rules requires one to identify but doesn't specify if that must take place one each channel used. Really what would be the difference if one were to switch channels manually every 10 minutes so long as every 15 minutes the operator ID's? It's really the same thing. §95.1751 GMRS station identification.Each GMRS station must be identified by transmission of its FCC-assigned call sign at the end of transmissions and at periodic intervals during transmissions except as provided in paragraph © of this section. A unit number may be included after the call sign in the identification. (a) The GMRS station call sign must be transmitted: (1) Following a single transmission or a series of transmissions; and, (2) After 15 minutes and at least once every 15 minutes thereafter during a series of transmissions lasting more than 15 minutes. ( The call sign must be transmitted using voice in the English language or international Morse code telegraphy using an audible tone. © Any GMRS repeater station is not required to transmit station identification if: (1) It retransmits only communications from GMRS stations operating under authority of the individual license under which it operates; and, (2) The GMRS stations whose communications are retransmitted are properly identified in accordance with this section.

It would be of interest to look at the sample code plugs using a Hex Editor. It might be possible to edit the GMRS code plug for features or frequencies the radio programming software disables. It could be as simple as saving a code plug for the VHF/UHF version. Find where a configuration value is set that identifies which radio the code plug it is for using a Hex Editor, change it, then reload it using the radio software to down load it. I’ve looked at the code plug for one of my Kenwood commercial radios, TK-3170. However beyond the header the contents are encrypted, apparently, by using a simple XOR logical operation between the data and a key value. I was able to recover the embedded two line by 32 character message block this way along with channel names and other text. I haven’t done much more than this at the moment. For a commercial grade radio I can sort of see why it would be encrypted but for a consumer grade radio I think it’s unlikely.

I remember reading about that. It had to do with the Ham 70cm repeaters interfering with the Pave-Paw missile radars. Hams are "secondary" users of the band so there really wasn't any choice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAVE_PAWS

Anybody have any experience operating near or around any of the US radio quiet zones? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_National_Radio_Quiet_Zone

If its covered under warranty why worry about it? It was likely a software issue since a power cycle seemed to fix it. A lot of the more complex Chinese radios seem to be plagued with software bugs that takes months to several years of updates to fix "most" of the more serious ones. For example the Anytone D878UV I have started off with V1.09 and now its at V1.22. They seem to come out with a new version every 3 to 4 months. Go figure that one out. Then at times they bugger something up that was previously working too. Look at V1.18. They had to issue a quick fix to fix what they screwed up. Often the manufactures don't list everything that gets fixed or changed either so reading the change list isn't that big of a help since you don't really know what else they screwed with. http://www.wouxun.us/category.php?category_id=93

I hear you. Looks like Anytone will be selling a lot more DMR radios until Kenwood, Icom and Yeasu get the big picture. While Motorola makes nice radios for DMR they are aimed at commercial users where they can get away with raping them for the programming software. For Ham radio that won't fly. Hams are cheap S.O.B's most of the time. I admit I am. If I can't find some place to download the software I'm not interested in the radio. I'm not spending $100's on software. I have 9 different software packages installed just for the commercial Kenwood radios in my collection. More if you count the Ham versions. Some are different versions of the same basic package because a few radios are European, or non North American, types that have slightly different hardware. Using a different install key doesn't work on those. For the life of me I can't see why people want to buy a Yeasu radio using their "System Fusion" digital format. Its only works with other Yeasu radios. At least with DMR there are a verity of radios and manufactures to choose from. And with D-Star at least you have Kenwood and Icom. While NXDN is interesting and several manufactures sell radios it seems more of a small market targeted to business users, like P25 is to public safety, and seems popular with the railroads too.

I would like to see Kenwood come out with a DMR version of the TH-D74A radio instead of the D-Star version currently available. I would likely buy one.

Thanks. I did apply and received an NXDN ID from the source you pointed out. Same place I got my DMR ID.