WSDT708

HYS RG-58 I actually changed to a Browning 5/8 wave whip antenna today and cut it to tune to around the 465MHz range based on their guide. I’m now getting 1.3:1 on repeater channels, 1.4:1 on 467MHz and 1.5:1 on 462MHz frequencies. Perfect set-up? No but it will work for now. If I intended to keep this truck long-term I’d be more inclined to make permanent modifications to the vehicle. Thanks for helping me walk through this.

I shortened the antenna a couple of mm at a time until I got the SWR to settle between 1.4:1 and 1.6:1 on simplex channels, and around 2:1 on repeater channels. My last couple of cuts didn’t improve the readings beyond that so I figured that’s the best I’d get with that basic antenna. I may add an NMO ground cable and rely on the non-continuous 1 sq ft ground plane concept for this setup or try another antenna. Clear transmission confirmed on a local repeater 15 miles from my location so I’m just going to call it good with SWR readings that aren’t perfect but are at least not going to damage my radio. FYI the UHF stealth antenna from Rugged Radios that I had originally planned to use was showing SWR of 3.5 on simplex and greater than 5 on repeater freqs. So that’s basically just a paperweight at this point.

I’ll take a look but from what I’ve seen with people trying that with this antenna, it seems to get worse. I may go back to the UHF stealth antenna I have and see if the SWR is where it should be across all GMRS freqs.

My issue has not been transmitting or receiving. Both are very clear. The bracket I have has a good ground plane. I have no intention of drilling or trying to run coax externally. Just trying to find a solution to high SWR on repeater channels with the antenna set up I have.

I have a raddioddity DB25-G unit in my truck. I’m using an NMO mount that attaches directly to the fender using the existing bolt inside the engine compartment. I have a Tram 1126-B antenna. I’m using a surecom meter. My first test showed SWR of 1.5:1 on channels 1-7, 2:1 on channels 15-21, and greater than 3:1 on repeater channels. I took the mount off and removed the star washer that came with it and reattached the mount then tested again. My second test showed SWR of 1.01:1 on channels 1-7, 1.45:1 on channels 15-22. I’m good with that. However, on repeater channels the SWR was 2.84:1. Any suggestions on how to get that SWR down?

There is a way to open it up, which I might try in the future. Was refunded for the DB20-G on Friday. I bought the DB25-G and the BTech PC04 cable. I received both today. I installed the BTech cable driver with no issue. I connected it to the radio first then ran the Radioddity programming software. In less than ten minutes I had the factory settings downloaded from the radio to my laptop and my customized programming written to the radio. I never even tried to use the programming cable from Radioddity because I think that’s the weak link between their radios and Windows 11 systems. All that remains is to install the radio in my truck tomorrow after work and see if there are any tweaks I need to make to it. Thanks for trying to help make the DB20 work for me.

I’m looking at the DB-25 with a BTECH PC04 FTDI USB Programming Cable because it’s CHIRP compatible. I’m open to suggestions though. My plan is GMRS now but working toward HAM technician license over the next 6-9 months.

I’m confused by the version number as well. I uninstalled all other drivers and tried the driver you suggested and it would not open a communication port & Radioddity has not responded back to me after the initial suggestion to download the prolific driver. I will be returning the radio because without being able to use programming software the radio’s functionality is diminished. I appreciate the help.

Firmware version 3.00. I found the link for the driver in the old post and will try that tomorrow after work. Thanks.

Windows 11. Radioddity through Amazon. Tried to run the program both ways. Only recognizes one COM port which matched the COM port of the device in windows manager. It just seemed strange that as soon as I initiated read/write in the software it initiated the progress bar and switched the radio to clone mode but then would give the read/write data failed warning pop-up screen. I also made sure the radio and program were set to the same device version (GRMS) to save the settings I manually entered before I opened it up.

I attempted CH340 driver, as I saw that in previous posts. I made sure the COM port was correct and got an error message that communication could not occur. At least with the CH343 driver, the there was a link that put the radio in clone mode even if read/write failed. I ran prolific software which showed the chip is not one of theirs so the driver that is connected to Radiodditys software, which they say to download first, is not appropriate for the cable that was included with this radio. I’ll see what Radioddity tech support says b/c they’ve got pics of all pertinent screens and the cable itself. Best case they have a solution that I haven’t seen in other threads on this forum. Worst case, I send the radio back and go with something else that doesn’t require hours of troubleshooting by the end user. Thanks!

I did actually research a lot of radios and saw enough on the topic that it looked like a pretty straightforward technical “fix” for any driver issues. The driver auto installed and connected to the radio but won’t read/write data. So I tried older drivers & other tweaks. The radio itself functions as expected so that’s not an issue. It’s more an annoyance that certain things I want to do with the radio can only be done through the software and that relies on a functional programming cable.

I manually programmed the DB20-G with no issue. I read through old threads about issues with the programming cable, especially with windows 11. I spent hours going through drivers trying to find a solution. Radioddity told me to download prolific 2303 driver but that is not the chip in my cable. The only driver that is recognized is CH343. When I connect it in the software the COM channel is correct. When I attempt to read/write the radio screen shows “clone” but the read/write never initiates and then gives me a “read/write data failed” window. I’ve done everything possible. I run the programming software as admin. I tried windows 8 compatibility mode. I even tried all of these steps on an old laptop running Windows 7 as well. Nothing seems to work. I’m just wondering if there’s anything else people have figured out to correct this or if this is just a faulty cable that Radioddity needs to replace?