WRTC928

I have several UV-5r/BF-f8hp batteries that are rechargeable by USB-C, both standard and extended-capacity. Here

The 5RM is a really great radio with a decent feature set. I always say it's more radio than you have a right to expect for the price. However, I recently bought a UV-5RH Pro GPS (not the same radio as the "regular" 5RH Pro), and it has a few extra features. The GPS (obviously) and APRS features may or may not be something you're interested in. The "biggie" for me is that you can sort your channels into "zones" and scan only one bank/zone. For example, you can scan only GMRS channels, or 2 meter channels, or you can designate a bank of favorite channels across more than one frequency band and scan that. Currently, it runs about $10 more than the 5RM. Whether it's worth the difference depends upon whether you want the added features. Edited to add: Yes, you can have the same frequency/channel in more than one bank. I like that.

I initially started using USB-powered speakers when I was running an Anysecu WP9900 in the truck. With any non-powered speaker, if I got the volume high enough to hear clearly in my noisy truck, it apparently overwhelmed the radio, and it would turn off and reset. The powered speakers solved that problem and gave me better sound and more volume. There's also a volume knob on the cord, making it easier to adjust the volume, which is not easy to do on the fly with that radio. At the time, I couldn't find a powered single speaker, so I used a pair of small stereo speakers. The radio has a single monoaural output jack, so I used a mono-to-stereo adapter plug and got good sound from both speakers. (I've since found a powered single speaker and I run the radio and the speaker from a battery using a mag-mount antenna on a pizza plate inside the house when there are storms in the area. It works well enough for participating in severe weather nets on a local repeater.) I now have an Anytone AT-5888UV III in the car and it has some weird sort of arrangement for sound. There are two jacks and as best I can figure out, the top one has the main side receiver on one speaker and the secondary on another. It's wonky, though, because the volume on the main is much lower than on the secondary, and I have to turn it up much higher. However, if I switch the main to the other side, then it's too loud on the secondary. The bottom jack has VHF on one side and UHF on the other, which I don't get the logic of at all. I use a stereo-to-mono adapter plug in the lower jack, and I can then just adjust the volume for each side with the knob instead of what band it's on. I tried using small stereo speakers, but that was more confusing to me than having both channels in the same speaker; plus, it was kind of a pain to find places to mount two speakers. The Anytone allows you to set it so that the secondary band is muted when the main is transmitting or receiving or only when the main is transmitting, and that works pretty well for me.

I don't know how your wiring is done, but I have everything on T-connectors. I made a simple pigtail for a USB outlet and powered a pair of small computer speakers from that. The difference in sound quality between powered and non-powered speakers surprised me. Perhaps it's just because the speakers themselves are better and has nothing to do with the power, but I was impressed. Also, the powered speakers gave me a much greater range of volume than a non-powered speaker. My truck is a bit noisy and that helped.

Okay, that's valid.

A dual-band FRS/MURS radio would be extremely useful. FCC would have to change the rules to allow a detachable antenna on FRS. TBH, I don't think it's even on their priority list, so it's not going to happen, but it would be really handy. BTW, what's the reason for requiring a fixed antenna on FRS? I understand the restrictions on bandwidth and power, but not the reason for the fixed antenna.

I have the ham version of this radio. It's pretty much the archetype of a "cheap Chinese radio", and as such, quality control is very spotty. I burned out the finals on the first one by keying up for a few seconds on an antenna with a high SWR. A few seconds is all it took. However, before that happened, I used it with a Nagoya UT-72 mag mount antenna on a trip from central Oklahoma to western Missouri and had no difficulty communicating with multiple repeaters along the way. While it worked, I was perfectly satisfied with its performance and I really like the form factor and the tiny size, so I bought another one. I've been careful to check SWR on any antenna before I connect the radio and I've had no problems. It works fine on GMRS simplex and repeaters and on ham repeaters. All this is to say that it's likely you just got a lemon due to poor QC. I recommend you send it back for a refund. Whether you replace it with the same radio is up to you. You might get another one that sucks, or you might get one that works just fine. I have read an anecdotal report of the radio getting really hot while plugged in even though it wasn't turned one and another report of it getting "hot enough to scorch the desk" with heavy use, but I haven't experienced any issues with excessive heat. I really like having all the controls in the handset. I wish one of the top-tier or even mid-tier manufacturers would make one like that. There are several with detachable head units, which is better than a conventional radio, but it's not nearly as convenient as having everything in the handset. The CB radio in my truck also has everything in the handset, and it's quite convenient. It might be difficult to cram all the functionality of some of the multi-band ham radios into the handset alone, but for a GMRS or straightforward 2m/70cm unit, there's no reason it couldn't be done with a bit more quality at a reasonable price.

I was very favorably impressed by the Midland Ghost antenna. If I didn't need one with multi-band capability, I'd still be using it.

I went ahead and bought the AR-5RH Pro GPS and indeed the Baofeng software won't read it. However, the RT Systems software works just fine with it.

Last week I bought a Baofeng AR-152 Pro GPS. I wasn't surprised that it isn't supported by CHIRP, but I was surprised that there's no factory CPS either. Maybe that's because it's allegedly programmable via Bluetooth, but I haven't experimented with that yet. i have input a few channels manually, and overall, I like the features, so I won't be sending it back, but it's probably going on a shelf until there's a more efficient way to program it available. I'd be interested to know if other people are having your problem because I was considering the 5RH Pro GPS. I downloaded the 5RHPG program and tried it with the 152PG because the features are similar, but it wouldn't read my radio. Now I wonder if it's an issue of quirky software instead of radio incompatibility.

I'm pretty sure most states have laws pertaining to interference with emergency services operations. The local police can slap that stuff down pretty quickly. A hefty fine and a realistic threat of jail time can serve to modify one's behavior.

It's not "advice" -- it's just a statement of fact. I care if people are exceeding the bandwidth and power restrictions because that has the potential to interfere with other users' enjoyment of the airwaves, but I don't care at all what type of radio someone is using. The evidence suggests the FCC doesn't care either.

I sign on and off with my callsign and use it frequently throughout the conversation. I don't know why people refuse to believe my callsign is BR549.

To the best of my knowledge, there is no way to do that.

In theory, it will tilt the lobes of the signal to be higher on one side and lower on the other. In practice, it might not matter. The only way to know is to try it and find out. I suspect that unless you're trying for some absurd distance, it won't make a discernible difference.

That's pretty much how I feel.

@OffRoaderX went far beyond sharing an opinion. I genuinely cannot imagine why anyone would be annoyed by use of the phonetic alphabet unless it's because "some people" think it's a symptom of trying to be a ham in a GMRS community. I think part of the reason hams use the phonetic alphabet so much is that amateur radio is international. It can be pretty hard to understand someone whose first language is not the same as your own, especially the pronunciation of some letters. Just think of how much "B" and "V" sound alike in Spanish. GMRS users almost never talk to someone in another country, so being understood is not as much of a challenge (unless you're in California). Furthermore, shorter wavelengths have higher frequencies, which typically improves clarity in voice signals. Even the difference between 70cm and 2m can sometimes be discernible. If you're playing around on 80 meters, you're going to repeat yourself quite a bit. GMRS, being at the higher end of the spectrum, rarely suffers from poor quality of voice signals. For the most part, if you can punch the signal through, you'll be understood. Simply put, GMRS users don't use the phonetic alphabet because we don't need to. It's easier for me to say "WRTC" than "Whiskey Romeo Tango Charlie", but sometimes I'm going to use the phonetic anyway. I have 33 years of using the phonetic alphabet in uniformed service and I also participate in amateur radio. It happens. I just don't understand why anyone gets their undies in a wad over it.

Sure...keep telling yourself that...while you're literally complaining about something that matters less than the color of your socks.

Actually, my favorite is a magnetic base with an NMO mount. Then I put a Comet 2x4 or some other quality antenna on it.

I don't know about "those guys", but I know that after 33 years in uniform, it feels a lot more natural to use it than not. On GMRS, I try not to use it for the sake of the butthurt crybabies who'll take offense, but sometimes it slips out anyway.

All valid reasons.

I spent 18 years in Alaska. You might be surprised how many people need to hear this.

Not knocking your plan, just curious. Why do you want an integrated unit instead of the less expensive (although admittedly less elegant) option of a separate radio and power supply?

I have noticed, though, that there's almost always someone monitoring a GMRS repeater, perhaps because they're personally owned and the owner monitors it.

When I was young, I wouldn't have followed this advice, but I'm older and if not wiser, at least I know a bit more. Don't go into remote areas alone. If you're traversing difficult terrain, do it one at a time so there'll be at least one party uninjured if an accident happens. Make sure someone who isn't going knows where you're going and when you expect to be back. If communication isn't impossible, arrange a check-in schedule with someone who isn't with you. Don't try to pet bears.