Lscott

Provided I didn't make any mistakes in the formulas, which is easy to do, you could try using a dummy load on one end with the other connected to the analyzer. That would at least allow you to check the results with a "perfect" load on one end. If there was no effect the match should be exactly 1:1. I guess the real point is these barrel connectors are likely OK for HF use. Once you get up to the 2M band is where the trouble starts. Like I mention in the worksheet better quality equipment you will see the center pin on the SO-239 socket is supported by a spoke wheel type of insulator, mostly air. It's done in an attempt to get the connector's impedance back to the ideal 50 ohms. The worse connectors are those using the dark Bakelite material. The white insulator looks like Teflon, but in most cases I think it's something else called Delrin which is similar depending on who you ask. https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/which-is-the-better-dielectric-teflon-or-delrin.28905/

I did a quick search. The links I found are below. The one link shows the last experimental license, WK2XIK, applied for was in 5/9/2021 with a status of pending. It didn't show up in the FCC's database when I just checked. Maybe they were assigned a different call sign. https://fcc.report/ELS/Northern-California-GMRS-Users-Group-NCGUG/0960-EX-ST-2016/178767.pdf https://fcc.report/ELS/Northern-California-GMRS-Users-Group-NCGUG https://fcc.report/company/Northern-California-GMRS-Users-Group-NCGUG

I don't really use the forums there. I'm primarily interested in what is in their frequency database. That's the main reason why the sight exists. Also many people who start off with a GMRS license end up getting their Ham license. Wouldn't it be fair to call them SAD GMRS users? Perhaps you would be better off to refrain from applying labels to people.

I did a theoretical analysis some years back just to see what a short one would do. UHF Connectors Rev-3.pdf RFU-537.pdf

I thought I read it wasn't. I guess I'll have to look it up on the FCC database. I had the info on the computer here for a while. I may have deleted it.

Then it's a verified rules violation. Question is will the FCC do anything about it? It's one thing to run digital voice simplex between mobile stations, makes tracking them down hard. It's far easier when the station is in a fixed location like a repeater.

Saving All my Dollars. Seeing it’s geared towards scanner users I fail to see how that applies.

The radios can be manipulated by a satellite signal. Doesn’t have to be WiFi. A signal of sufficient strength can be transmitted to do the job. I remember AO-40 when it was in low earth orbit the 2M engineering beacon was coming in at S9 on my FT-847 at the time. That Ham sat had some powerful transmitters on board. https://www.eham.net/article/1543 The kill/stun feature can be disabled by the programed. However if there is another back door that is not accessible through the radio programming software then there is a problem. Since the manufacturers don’t publish the firmware source we have no way to figure out what’s in it. In fact most, if not all, manufacturers encrypt their firmware updates to prevent it from being reversed engineered. Concerns about back door op codes on modern CPU’s are around. Most current CPU’s are hot patched during boot up by the BIOS before the OS is started to load. The BIOS has a very special bock with new CPU microcode the processor reads into its writable control store. The CPU detects the special code block and loads it using it own internal loader. This can alter how some instructions on the CPU work. This is why flashing a new mother board BIOS is recommended at times to fix certain CPU bugs. If this code is corrupted by malicious people no antivirus, virtual machine fencing etc. can stop it. You’re just plainly screwed.

Bad idea. Those bulkhead connectors are not a constant 50 ohm impedance. Those can cause a nasty SWR problem at UHF.

Well in a way I don’t agree in the general sense. A lot of people own various Chinese manufactured digital radios. I have a D878 and a D578. Who can guarantee there isn’t some secret back door code to disable the radios or bypass the built in encryption feature? There is a major Chinese telecommunications company whose’s equipment is not approved for use over similar considerations. For that matter we can’t even be sure our own government hasn’t done the same. There are stories out there where computer equipment was intercepted before leaving the country where some of the chips were swapped out for specially tweaked ones that allowed our intelligence services to monitor them.

How did you verify it was using NXDN? If I had to guess I would suspect it was either DMR or P25. Not too many people use NXDN although there are pockets of activity on the Ham bands with one major area being in west central Florida. If that’s really the case it’s an obvious rule violation. There are NO official digital voice modes authorized for GMRS. I think even the single “experimental” DMR repeater with a special FCC license is no longer in operation out that way either.

Only if you see one floating overhead on a balloon. If your worried about it wait until it’s over a lake then shoot it down.

Or keep buying those lotto tickets. If you wait 20 years the APX model you want today might be a bit more affordable when you find it on eBay.

For $20 you can't go wrong. ?

Looks very readable.

That is unbelievably convenient. If I'm on lunch at work I can putz around building a code plug or making changes to an existing one, then upload it to my home FTP server.

This one is the Kenwood KPG-95DGN V8.30. I think this one was modified, or I used a wide band install key forget which, to allow wide and narrow band FM since I can freely enter either one.

It looks like it's done on an individual basis. I haven't played with the software extensively but that seems to be the way it was intended to be done. The other thing is the radio comes in I think 3 different hardware versions. Due to the above I have sort of lost interest in getting one even if it's a reasonably priced used P25 radio.

That's the issue with their new NX line of radios. I'm guessing they want everyone to go through their dealer network. The licensing model Kenwood uses for the new NX series is a PIA from a single user/hobbyist point of view. Very unfriendly and expensive. Read some horror stories about people having hard disks die. They reinstall the software on a new drive but it won't recognize the license. Some are lucky and Kenwood feels kindly so they reset the license in their server, others they tell them buy another one for $100 plus each. They are looking more like Motorola, and will likely earn the same ire after a while too. The point to consider is what happens when it's time to replace the radio? Right now with the older radios the software is fortunately easy to get through various sources. There is a good business being done where people like me are forking over money to buy them since you can at least reprogram the radio. If you can't easily get get the programming software IMHO that considerably reduces the residual value it has. That's why I have ZERO interest in the NX-3000 and NX-5000 series. At least for the NX-1000 series there is a hacked version of the software that gets rid of the Internet license server and single PC locking crap. The cost of the software was a bit high but the deal killer was the ease of use issue. Now I'm a happy owner of a new NX-1300, at $400, a sale they never would have gotten without the hacked version of the software. If a hacked version is made available for the other two I would be seriously looking at getting one.

Talking about "Mission Plans" I wonder if it's like the Kenwood TK-5210's. I don't have any of them, seen them for sale. I did install the software to see exactly what features are available. Yikes! these are nothing like any of the other Kenwoods I have. For the 5210 you create named groups of channels called "Personal". Then you can create zones and populate them with selections from the named "Personal" channel lists. You can have the same channel appear in more than one zone. This way you don't need to duplicate channels.

How easy is the screen to read in full sun light? That seems to be the major pitfall with a lot of radios using these newer color LCD displays, some are hard to read.

See attached brochure. XG-100P.pdf

I have an archive of brochures for various radios I use for reference. The EVX-534 looks like a very nice handheld radio. I'm primarily a Kenwood guy but this radio has similar features to Kenwood. I'm sure you're going to be very pleased when it's programmed up. One point with the programming software. Commercial radios of later manufacture the programming software limits the bandwidth on analog FM to narrow band (12.5KHz). For GMRS and Ham it's wide band (25KHz). There are hacks/patches/install keys etc. you can get to enable both wide and narrow band FM. Some of the members here with this radio series can help you out with this. There are two band splits available, 403-470 or 450-512. Both will work for GMRS. If you plan on getting your Ham license, if you don't have it already, the 403-470 would be a good choice. Almost all of my Kenwood commercial analog/digital radios are the 400-470 split. Do you know which one you got? I think there are a few members here that have that model or the EVX-539. They might be willing to share a code plug you can import to your radio to get started. If you've never programmed a commercial radio before, particularly a digital voice mode one for DMR, it can be a bit of a steep learning curve. EVX-530 Series.pdf

Hummmm. I'll have to try it again. I used a RigExpert AA-1000, down loaded the data and read it into a MathCAD software for additional calculations. My results sort of match yours in some areas. I did my testing indoors. Looks like I should try it again outside with the antenna higher up in the air and see if I can duplicate the results. Too bad this site doesn't have a dedicated area to archive info like this. It would save a lot of repeated questions with people asking for this sort of data or trying to compare their results to see if they really do have a problem.

I’ll second that. I got two from him as well. Being a customer has another perk, if you ask nicely he’s a good source for radio programming software.