RCM

Just found this and thought some of the hams here might be interested (Marcspaz !)
 
http://w7dbo.net/dbo/documents/nvisBook.pdf

Thanks!

148 pages.  I'm 16 in.  Should be interesting to finish up.

Just found this and thought some of the hams here might be interested (Marcspaz !)
 
http://w7dbo.net/dbo/documents/nvisBook.pdf

I have had a Kenwood tk-481 and tk-981 for a couple years and only 2 others here in Williamsport, PA had and we would play around on simplex.  In May this year we were blessed with a high repeater.  Since then we are up to about 10 people.  Its getting more use than the other repeaters around.

Yes. I have seen some on Amazon that claim up to two watts on 22 channels. 
However, I was wondering what regulation you were citing in your comment that it would be illegal to speak Spanish on FRS? There is a requirement that GMRS station IDs be made in English or Morse code. But, the only other reference I can find to language in Part95 is in subpart-A - General Rules for the Personal Radio Services
 

Plain language voice communications. Voice communications without codes or coded messages intended to provide a hidden meaning. Foreign languages and commonly known radio operating words and phrases, such as “ten four” and “roger,” not intended to provide a hidden meaning, are not considered codes or coded messages.

I believe that is marketing-speak for: The supplier of the CCRs we use has proposed a change in the software we use in the products we OEM from them 

The 1 watt makes no difference that you would be able to hear. The first thing I would check is that both radios are set to the same bandwidth, wide or narrow. Next thing is have your friend try a different antenna.

I guess if the problem follows the radio we can both bring our stock antennas and try it with all 4 configurations (stock<->stock, stock<->NA, NA<->NA, NA<->stock). If that indicates the antenna is the issue we can swap Nagoya antennas and see if the issue follows the antenna.

The 1 watt makes no difference that you would be able to hear. The first thing I would check is that both radios are set to the same bandwidth, wide or narrow. Next thing is have your friend try a different antenna.

NMO27 on the roof is your best bet for your application. Its easy to remove and cap when not needed or in garages. Flexible and works really well. Heck 90% of the time on the interstate i run a VHF 1/4 wave on my CB for RX only. Works fine for 1-2 miles around me. If i need more range i throw the NMO27 on the mount. (run the vhf for car wash)

I can also say that bluemax49ers is a good seller on eBay  .I've had no problems here after multiple transactions. A++

Yes. bluemax49ers is trustworthy, builds high quality cables and stands behind his work. Totally recommend.

There is a usb cable for the TK880. No serial adapter needed. Here's the one I have: https://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-Kenwood-Programming-Cable-TK-780-TK-880-KPG-46p/152618254912?hash=item2388c1c240:g:JnkAAOSwytJaBd~n
 
There are also cheaper ones on ebay, but this particular seller was recommended to me and it is the one I have direct experience with.

M1225's are good radios. I have 3, one still new in box. The 20 channel one I have has outlasted 3 trucks! 

You make a lot of good points that I don't disagree with, but I can't help but wonder how much of your opinion is biased by an extensive background in amateur radio.
 
In the ham world, we are really spoiled with access to top-notch hardware and many Hams like to tinker and learn. So, getting better hardware and going through the steps to build a great GMRS radio is nbd. I think most people who are new to GMRS don't fall into that category. I could be wrong... but I think that's the case and those people just want a turnkey radio.
 
Me personally, I love my Midland MXT400 radios. I have 3 of them in 3 different vehicles and they work fantastic for what I use them for.... including repeater use. Though, my opinion of GRMS is that it's the UHF version of CB, so maybe my expectations are just much lower. Especially when I "need" high quality comms, I have some nice, high performance ham gear.
 
Just a thought... and again, I agree with you. Just don't know that it's the only answer, is all.

Yes, everything RCM wrote is true, and marcspaz's point is also very valid. Buying used commercial equipment has some risks and involves some elbow grease. Some people are not afraid of all that, and to some figuring out details might be daunting. Putting old commercial rig into service would involve:
- figuring out the power supply and connector (new rigs already have wires with fuses supplied);
- figuring out programming (some could be programmed from the front panel, some not, cables, software, etc...);
- risk that commercial rig would have a wrong/special firmware (one of mine TK-880's had something weird, and I had to ask around to flash the stock Kenwood firmware).
 
So, in addition to the purchase price of the rig, one must plan for another $10 - $50 and some work for what might be needed to put the transceiver into service. Not a problem for me, most HAMs, radio professionals, but could be a problem for a lot of people.
 
But, yeah, $55 for a working TK-805D with mike, or $65 for TK-880... I'll leave you here gentlemen, I need to do some shopping.

I literally laughed out loud when I read this.
When I first got my gmrs license, I was tempted by Midland's marketing hype. And it looked like such a neat little radio. However, after I did my due diligence I decided against buying one. I'm really happy about that decision, too. Had I bought one, it would undoubtedly be sitting in the very back of a high shelf right now. I would probably not want to give away something I paid $250 for, nor would I want to take advantage of a newbie by actually taking money for something that I knew would handicap him from the beginning.
 
As for commercial radios failing, I've seen radios selling for $40 shipped that are way better than an MXT400. Even at double that price, you could buy three of them and a programming cable for the price of one MXT400. The software can be found as a free download, especially for Kenwoods.
 
My first gmrs radios were Kenwood TK-805s. With those you don't even need software: remove two screws, pop off the top cover, move a jumper, then power it up while holding a certain key sequence to enter programming mode. This allows you to program everything on the radio. The factory service manual (available as a free download) details exactly how to do it. When finished, power it down and back up and it's ready to operate. You can either leave the jumper in that position for future field programming, or move it back to the locked position. It doesn't affect radio operation, either way.
 
And, the TK-805 (like most of the Kenwoods) is part 95e accepted, so it is 100 percent legal for gmrs.
 
I bought several of them. I'm using one of them as the transmitter in my repeater. I'm thinking about putting up another repeater, and will probably use two of them for that. None of them have failed.
In fact, one of them was caked with dried soup or something when I got it. It worked fine, but it was ugly and some of the buttons would stick because of the caked-on goo. So I used soapy water and an old toothbrush to scrub it clean. After that it was good as new, and still is.
 
So, if you prefer to rely on the warranty from a proven (to be deceptive and misleading, that is) company, so be it. But I would rather have the better and less expensive commercial radios, and use the money I save to buy more of them. If one ever fails, it will just become a parts radio.
 
ETA: I just looked on ebay and found a few TK-805s on there for around $60 each. I also found lots of TK-880s for around the same price, including one seller who has 5 TK-880s for $55 each buy it now with free shipping, and a "make offer" option. You could probably get all five for $50 each, for $250 total. That's the price of one MXT400. A programming cable is about $12.
 
The TK-880 can also be set up for field programming if that's important to you, but it holds up to 250 channels so field programming is not necessary for most folks. Just enter the eight repeater pairs as many times as you need to get all the tone combinations you need.

I literally laughed out loud when I read this.
When I first got my gmrs license, I was tempted by Midland's marketing hype. And it looked like such a neat little radio. However, after I did my due diligence I decided against buying one. I'm really happy about that decision, too. Had I bought one, it would undoubtedly be sitting in the very back of a high shelf right now. I would probably not want to give away something I paid $250 for, nor would I want to take advantage of a newbie by actually taking money for something that I knew would handicap him from the beginning.
 
As for commercial radios failing, I've seen radios selling for $40 shipped that are way better than an MXT400. Even at double that price, you could buy three of them and a programming cable for the price of one MXT400. The software can be found as a free download, especially for Kenwoods.
 
My first gmrs radios were Kenwood TK-805s. With those you don't even need software: remove two screws, pop off the top cover, move a jumper, then power it up while holding a certain key sequence to enter programming mode. This allows you to program everything on the radio. The factory service manual (available as a free download) details exactly how to do it. When finished, power it down and back up and it's ready to operate. You can either leave the jumper in that position for future field programming, or move it back to the locked position. It doesn't affect radio operation, either way.
 
And, the TK-805 (like most of the Kenwoods) is part 95e accepted, so it is 100 percent legal for gmrs.
 
I bought several of them. I'm using one of them as the transmitter in my repeater. I'm thinking about putting up another repeater, and will probably use two of them for that. None of them have failed.
In fact, one of them was caked with dried soup or something when I got it. It worked fine, but it was ugly and some of the buttons would stick because of the caked-on goo. So I used soapy water and an old toothbrush to scrub it clean. After that it was good as new, and still is.
 
So, if you prefer to rely on the warranty from a proven (to be deceptive and misleading, that is) company, so be it. But I would rather have the better and less expensive commercial radios, and use the money I save to buy more of them. If one ever fails, it will just become a parts radio.
 
ETA: I just looked on ebay and found a few TK-805s on there for around $60 each. I also found lots of TK-880s for around the same price, including one seller who has 5 TK-880s for $55 each buy it now with free shipping, and a "make offer" option. You could probably get all five for $50 each, for $250 total. That's the price of one MXT400. A programming cable is about $12.
 
The TK-880 can also be set up for field programming if that's important to you, but it holds up to 250 channels so field programming is not necessary for most folks. Just enter the eight repeater pairs as many times as you need to get all the tone combinations you need.

I literally laughed out loud when I read this.
When I first got my gmrs license, I was tempted by Midland's marketing hype. And it looked like such a neat little radio. However, after I did my due diligence I decided against buying one. I'm really happy about that decision, too. Had I bought one, it would undoubtedly be sitting in the very back of a high shelf right now. I would probably not want to give away something I paid $250 for, nor would I want to take advantage of a newbie by actually taking money for something that I knew would handicap him from the beginning.
 
As for commercial radios failing, I've seen radios selling for $40 shipped that are way better than an MXT400. Even at double that price, you could buy three of them and a programming cable for the price of one MXT400. The software can be found as a free download, especially for Kenwoods.
 
My first gmrs radios were Kenwood TK-805s. With those you don't even need software: remove two screws, pop off the top cover, move a jumper, then power it up while holding a certain key sequence to enter programming mode. This allows you to program everything on the radio. The factory service manual (available as a free download) details exactly how to do it. When finished, power it down and back up and it's ready to operate. You can either leave the jumper in that position for future field programming, or move it back to the locked position. It doesn't affect radio operation, either way.
 
And, the TK-805 (like most of the Kenwoods) is part 95e accepted, so it is 100 percent legal for gmrs.
 
I bought several of them. I'm using one of them as the transmitter in my repeater. I'm thinking about putting up another repeater, and will probably use two of them for that. None of them have failed.
In fact, one of them was caked with dried soup or something when I got it. It worked fine, but it was ugly and some of the buttons would stick because of the caked-on goo. So I used soapy water and an old toothbrush to scrub it clean. After that it was good as new, and still is.
 
So, if you prefer to rely on the warranty from a proven (to be deceptive and misleading, that is) company, so be it. But I would rather have the better and less expensive commercial radios, and use the money I save to buy more of them. If one ever fails, it will just become a parts radio.
 
ETA: I just looked on ebay and found a few TK-805s on there for around $60 each. I also found lots of TK-880s for around the same price, including one seller who has 5 TK-880s for $55 each buy it now with free shipping, and a "make offer" option. You could probably get all five for $50 each, for $250 total. That's the price of one MXT400. A programming cable is about $12.
 
The TK-880 can also be set up for field programming if that's important to you, but it holds up to 250 channels so field programming is not necessary for most folks. Just enter the eight repeater pairs as many times as you need to get all the tone combinations you need.

I'll point out that I've got a customer running M1225's in Concrete Mixers. They've been on the air with this system since 1998, so 21 years & counting. They've had a few failures along the way, but it's mostly been related to some driver dumping a fresh cup of coffee into the radio, rather than a failure of design.  Yeah, after 20 years, they don't look all that pretty, but they sure do work.
 
If you want something more "modern" - you can take a look at the CM300/PM400 which also has a pretty good reliability record.
 
If you don't want to invest in the programming software & cables required, you can always just figure on an extra $25 to $35 in "sunk" costs to have them programmed. Many sellers will include basic programming for a few channels in the cost of the radio. Don't expect to get 250 channels programmed for free, but if you're in that mode, you would definitely be better off to roll your own programming.
 
I'd still rather spend $100 to $150 on a used Motorola or Kenwood radio built to last, than a Midland radio brand new. That's just my opinion.

You posted a request about help selecting a radio, to which I responded. If you don't want to hear what other people have to say, don't post. My point was, if you are willing to consider Part 90 radios, there are a lot to choose from.
 
If you don't want an M1225, the CDM1550 is newer and there are a lot of them on eBay. They will outperform a cheap CCR (and the Midlands are exactly that at inside) long after the CCRs have died.  However, if you don't like Motorola, try Kenwood. They are solid radios and easier to get software for. Just search the forum, there are dozens of posts on the Kenwood radios.
 
But, suit yourself.

Yes.

Let me just throw in that even if you're using Part 90 equipment under GMRS, there's nobody making a case that DMR digital operation is legal within the GMRS band.
 
I'm on the side of people who believe that the FCC is aware  & acknowledges that people are using Part 90 equipment, and they've done nothing to discourage the use.

@RCM... lots of good info and points. I appreciate the insight.