WRTC928

I wouldn't say the AR-5RM is the best radio for a newbie. A noob radio is a dedicated GMRS radio that you pick up, turn on, pick a channel, and start talking. The 5RM does require some programming, but it's a lot more versatile than a dedicated GMRS radio. There is a learning curve, and there are things I learned by trial and error, but I think most people can learn to use it. Like @RIPPER238's Tidradio H3, it has a lot of options, but you do have to exercise some restraint because you can do things with it that you definitely shouldn't do as a GMRS operator. An SSC Tuatara car can go 295 mph, and I'd kinda like to tool around in one to look cool, but it will absolutely do things that I have no business participating in.

Hold on. I need to go make popcorn.

I sent you a message.

Yes, all of those are true. I'm very satisfied with mine. It's not the best radio on the market, but it's probably the best $30 radio on the market. As usual, Baofeng overstates the transmission wattage, but I do get 8-9 watts depending upon the frequency.

There are some similar to the Ghost, but purportedly dual-band: here, here,and here. I have no idea if they're any good. They're really inexpensive compared to the Ghost, which may indicate a lower quality, but maybe not. If you try one, I'd be interested to find out how it works.

Logically, if you can communicate through the repeater from a short distance, it must be configured correctly. Most of the time, the difference between short-distance and long-distance communication is the antenna. Either your antenna is inadequate to the task, it is set up wrong, or you're the victim of disadvantageous topography. For example, I can use a repeater 30 miles away to my northeast, but I can't reliably hit my own house on simplex with a 20 watt mobile from 1/2 mile to my west because there's a high hill in between. If you have an unobstructed path to the repeater 30 miles away, you're golden, but if there are significant obstructions, there's not enough power in any HT to go very far at all. Pictures and/or a detailed description of your antenna setup would be very helpful.

If you can hear the repeater but they can't hear you and it has happened on more than one radio, by far the most likely is that either you are too far away or somehow you have the offset programmed incorrectly. Those are almost the only two possibilities. I second the recommendation to go to YouTube for some educational videos. Also, if you're using CHIRP, you can open it, go to "File", select "Open Stock Configuration", then choose "US FRS and GMRS Channels". It has the GMRS repeater frequencies already entered including the correct offsets. You can't program the radio from that file, but you can copy and paste using the "Edit" tab at the top to transfer it to the profile you downloaded from the radio (Radio-->Download From Radio). That should get you the correct programming. If that doesn't fix it, either you're too far away or you have an infestation of gremlins.

That depends on what you want to treat. Both are effective for bipolar disorder but risperidone is often more effective for the mixed form. On the other hand, if the patient is in a manic episode with severe agitation, aripiprazole may be a better choice. Similarly, they will both treat schizophrenia, but if agitation is a feature, aripiprazole is the go-to again. Aripiprazole is useful in Tourette's Syndrome while risperidone shows some promise in treatment of infantile autism. I could go on, but those are the high points.

Yeah, I don't expect it to perform as well as a whip in those circumstances, but for just running around doing errands in the city, it seems as if it will work well.

You might get one that's just fine. I haven't seen or read any reviews that reported this problem. I'm writing it off to a QC issue.

So...my radio suddenly and for no apparent reason, decided to stop transmitting. I even tried a reset to factory configuration but unfortunately, no dice. I'm really disappointed because I liked this little radio. However, as I've said before, quality control on inexpensive Chinese radios can be spotty. Maybe you'd get one that soldiers on for years. I always know when I go the cheap route that something like this may happen, so I'm not as upset as I would be if I had paid double or triple the price for it. I still really like the form factor with all the controls in the spkr/mic, and if I can find another one like that, I'll probably try it. I just got a Ham license, so I don't want a GMRS-specific one. I'll keep looking.

That's good advice. I'll start doing that.

There's not a lot of activity around here, and the UT-72G was good enough, so I never felt the need to replace it, but I agree it's not the best available. However, for the itty-bitty Ghost to outperform it was a surprise to me. In a lot of scenarios, it may be good enough. At some point, I may get the MXTA26 or something similar and throw it in the back of the car. If I feel the need, I can just screw off the Ghost and screw on the MX. I really like the fact that I don't have to worry about the Ghost in a drive-through or a parking garage, and on my black car, it's almost a stealth antenna.

Today I put a Midland Ghost Antenna on the NMO mag mount on my car. I figured a small black cylinder on the top of my small black car wouldn't attract a lot of attention. I was previously using a Nagoya UT-72G with its own mag mount. TBH, I didn't expect much from the Ghost Antenna, but I was quite surprised. I attached a Baofeng AR-5RM which emits 7-8 watts (even though it's nominally a 10 watt radio) and took a drive to check it out. I got about 15-17 miles from the Oklahoma City repeater and received a signal report from a kind GMRS user. I was at the extreme range I usually get, and he said my signal sounded like I had "a little strange interference" but he could understand me just fine. TBH, I was impressed. It didn't give up anything to the UT-72G, and in fact, may have been marginally better.

I thought of that, but I don't have anyone to help me test it. It does transmit to a HT as far away as I can hear it, but that wouldn't take any significant amount of power. That would be pretty depressing if the radio suddenly decided to stop transmitting. That's the most obvious, but I was hoping someone had a different idea.

I haven't personally used them. The response I got from the rep was, "You have a choice of 50 CTCSS and DCS (privacy code), and by default, these tones are turned off." However, if they provide software to turn them off or change them, it doesn't really matter what configuration they're in from the seller.

I recently acquired a Surecom SW-102 power and SWR meter. The problem is that when I hook it up to the Anysecu mobile and key the mic, nothing happens. Literally nothing whether I use an antenna or a dummy load. Yes, I'm sure I hooked it up correctly. It works just fine with my Baofeng HTs and Retevis HTs, but not with the Anysecu. The Anysecu is a nominal 20 watts, so I don't think it's overloading the device. Any ideas why my radio is invisible to the meter?

Per my conversation with the seller's rep, the 27V does not have codes enabled at shipping, but they can be enabled with the included software. As long as I get the software to change the codes, I'm okay with it either way.

Because many people will want to enable codes to ignore chatter from other people. Apparently, the provided software does that though. My concern was that they may come from the factory with some codes already programmed in which would make them pretty much incompatible other brands of radios. Some "bubble pack" FRS radios do that. Bear in mind that my initial concern about this radio was that the ad copy accompanying them on Amazon says they are only able to communicate with other Retevis radios. That appears to be incorrect regarding the 27V.

I'm sure I'll eventually come up with something more permanent. Since I tend to drive my vehicles until they fall apart, I may have a hole drilled and a permanent NMO mount installed. Before I do that, however, I want to make final decisions about where I want the radio, etc.

I passed the Technician test Thursday and I'm just waiting for the FCC. I need a good dual-band antenna for the top of my small car. It needs to be NMO compatible so I can use the mag mount I already have and not more than about 2 feet tall. For now, I'm going to use it with a Baofeng AR-5RM while I ponder exactly what I want as a permanent installation. So, what do you recommend?

Thanks! This is exactly the information I was looking for. I think I'll buy a few.

Is that specifically a TD thing? I use a standard Chirp file for Baofeng and Retevis radios without any problems.

According to both theory and real-world testing (a rare occurrence) a more powerful radio won't typically increase your distance much, but it will usually give you a clearer signal at the same distance. Also according to both theory and real-world testing, a better antenna will usually do the same. Since what you need is a better signal, probably either would do the trick. An antenna is cheaper and less subject to failure than another radio. Furthermore, with a better antenna, you may discover some simplex traffic in addition to the repeater. The Ghost Antenna would work, or perhaps even something like a Nagoya NMO-HDG with some plastic flowers wrapped around it or some other form of disguise. My logic is this: I'm 99% certain you'll want a better antenna before too long no matter what radio you have. Getting the antenna out of the house is probably the most significant change you can make. Structures are a significant impediment to RF radiation. There's only one repeater I can reach from my home about 25-30 miles away. I can usually converse on it from my back yard and occasionally from my living room with an 8 watt HT but I can't hit it from the driveway with a 20 watt mobile and 48" antenna. In between is my house. With a better antenna, you may feel the radio you have is just fine for quite a while. Of course, funds permitting, you can certainly do both, but I suspect you're never going to be fully satisfied until you move the antenna out of the house. Stealth antennas are a whole thing in some forums, with a number of videos on YouTube dedicated to the subject. I'm sure you can find something that will fly below the radar.

So...apparently the UV-5RM is not GMRS/FRS compatible. I have heard that some can be jailbroken and some can't. I've also heard but not confirmed that the 5RMPlus is restricted and can't be jailbroken. The AR-5RM is the same radio but it's unrestricted. That said, I ordered two AR-5RMs and one of them is labeled AR-5RM and the other is labeled UV-5RM but they both are unrestricted. My advice is to order the AR-5RM and if it arrives labeled UV-5RM, don't send it back until you plug it into CHIRP and see what you have.