BoxCar

The Signal sticks come with male and female SMA connectors as well as BNC. I use the signal stick on all my HTs.

The spec sheet for the RG400 cable shows a loss of 28.3 dB at 400MHz per 100 meters. RG8X has a 26.25 dB loss per 100 meters at 400 MHz.

Mic Gain

I don't understand what you are trying to accomplish with cross codes. No transmission is private unless it is encrypted. As you stated, anyone. not having a receiver code will receive and understand what is being sent. The only way to have a true, private conversation is either with two tin cans connected with string or on cell phones. NOTHING is private in shared spectrum.

The wattage refers to the power the speaker can handle. What tou need is to match the size and mounting.

Shame on me! I thought even the south end of a north bound horse would realize the example of microwave stations were just that, examples of fixed stations.

As has been stated many times on this forum, it's all about how the transmitter is being used. Two stationary units only exchange signals between themselves. They are not used to contact repeaters or mobile stations nor; do they contact other base stations that communicate to either other base or mobile stations. Perhaps the best example of a fixed station communicating to another fixed station are microwave links. they don't contact repeaters or any mobile or other base stations. they only talk to one other station at a fixed location.

*1 on going for Extra, Being Extra is also the gateway to becoming a Volunteer Examiner for new hams and those wanting to upgrade,

Everything looks right to me but, I don't have one of these radios so I'm not aware of any channel restrictions. l

Post which channels you are programming and we can then dianose the problem. You may be trying to set a simplex only channel to repeater use and theradio's firmwre is blocking you.

$190 is awfully high for a piece of steel and an NGP antenna. I'd look into making my own with a piece of stainless epoxied in place.

I last soldered SMT back in the late 60's. The worst part was getting the heatsink fastened correctly so you didn't stress the flat pack.

AS others have stated, its about location, location, and location. Scadacore has tools that will allow you to see if there are obstacles, like hills, between your work and house. You can also use it to see which repeaters can be used (assuming you know where the repeater is physically located) between your house ad the repeater and your work and the same repeater. Of course, just listening for the same repeater at both locations also works. You'll need to test if you can reach the repeater using your handheld at your office and home as it may require either better antennas or more power at both locations. The key piece in any situation is the antenna used. My recommendation is for a small (20-25W mobile at the house with an external antenna and not a handheld. Two handhelds are great for unit to unit conversations when you are outside, but can be iffy in connecting to repeaters because of the lower power/

Glass mount antennas have special mounting requirements. They can't be installed on windows carrying electrical charges or metallic film. Embedded defroster wires, heated windows or FM radio antennas all are problems.

Not even close. It requires a chamber and precision measuring and generating equipment to mimic the ground planes provided by the radio itself and the person holding the device.