OffRoaderX

Just when I think I've seen the most UN-helpful post ever, you come along and up the ante.

Assuming nothing is wrong with your current antenna, it is doubtful you will hear/notice much difference with a different antenna - and the kicker is that no-matter what anybody here says, no matter how many formulas they post, and now matter how many licenses they brag about having, the ONLY way to know for sure if it would make a difference is to buy the new antenna and try it. Stop over-thinking it and just use the damn thing.

Ok? Did you go to the CHIRP website and try downloading it?

That video is for the UV-5R which is a H.A.M. radio. Look for a video showing how to setup a repeater on a GMRS radio because the process is very different (MUCH easier on GMRS). Basic steps are: ID what repeater channel to use based on the frequency of the repeater enter the transmit tone (receive tone is optional) there is no 3.. you're done - the whole thing should take about 30 seconds.

I am going to go out on a limb and guess that I have probably used and owned more GMRS radios than anyone else here - and in my not humble opinion, the answer is "it depends" ... Usually, but not always, a higher priced radio will be better built, last longer and have more features than a less expensive one.. But not always. And, 50Watts is not necessarily the best - in most cases, for most people, usually, a 20W radio will give you just as many fars as a 50W radio when doing normal-people communications - your geography/terrain will usually limit your fars more than the watts, most of the time, on average, in most scenarios. For what you have indicated you want, I would say to check out the Wouxun XS20G or the KG-1000G .. If you want SUPER SIMPLE (but limited), look at one of the Midland 40 or 50W models. Based on my experience, and the experience of hundreds of personal friends (in my offroad/radio groups) and thousands of online 'friends', I would be cautious of the very cheap high-power mobile radios like the Btech, due to their high failure rate. Also keep in mind that EVERY manufacturer sells duds - so you will hear horror stories about ANY radio.. The thing to pay attention to is how often does that happen and to your point about customer support, how well does the company take care of them. Midland and Wouxun both have overall very good reputations of good support.

As is very clearly documented on the webpage dedicated to the Zello channel, which anyone that knows how to operate Google would find in 3 seconds, the NAR700 Zello channel was shut-down after being in operation for over 3 years, due to hardware issues. Now please explain to everyone here how in your tiny brain this was a scam, and even better, how the Zello channel, which cost ~$1k dollars out of my pocket to get online, in any way monetizes any Youtube channel. ..idiot..

Whoever told you that lied to you. The Baofeng GMRS radios are fully FCC Part 95 certified for use on GMRS. The reason they are being pushed around the GMRS community is because they are inexpensive, and fully within the FCC rules to use. and FWIW, i find it hilarious that you include your email addresses in your signature to make it so easy for people to "connect" with you.

Please explain to me how split tones on my repeater will minimize interference, thanks!

Because I often have new model radios I would like to be able to send them to CHIRP developers so they can get them on the compatibility list - but I am not able to find how to get radios to them. If anybody knows how, or can read the CHIRP website better than I can, please share.

For my repeater antenna/mast install I called a local handyman that i have used in the past. He dont know nuthin bout no coax's so I had to know/explain everything to him, which, really wasnt much.. "dont kink it.. dont put any nails or staples through it".

I wish I knew that. I give away all my radios, but I just gave away this one last week.

Geezus, this isn't rocket-surgery. YES!

Yah.. Sorry.. I'm just learning all this socially ree-tarhd-ed stuff.

That guy is just a shill for the cheap-chinese-junk radio manufacturers!!! he is a commie that will say or do anything that his chinese handlers tell him to do!!!!!!! HE DOES NOT EVEN HAVE A HAM LINCESE SO HE SHOULD NOT EVEN BE ALLOWED TO TALK ABOUT RADIOS!!!!1

My take is that you cannot get an accurate SWR reading on an HT antenna without specialized equipment. I also think you should stop overthinking how imperfect you low-cost/mass-produced radio is and just use/enjoy it. If you want a high-quality 'performance' radio, you're going to have to pay a lot more for it.

Are you getting paid by the post or something? Do you get a bonus for pointless/meaningless/non-helpful comments? Or do you do it all for free just so you can revel in the joy of trying to display to everyone how smart you think you are?

Cool story!

Considering that the very first 6 words of his post were "To start out with I'm new to GMRS" I am going to guess he has no idea what you are saying.. But thats just a guess. The moral of the story: Know your audience..

it is impossible for anyone to answer that question with the scant details you have provided, but here are some things to consider: You might just be too far away to hit the repeater or there may be something (mountain, forrest, etc) blocking the signal The repeater might be offline You might have the wrong tone You might have the wrong frequency You might have the right tone and/or frequency but may have programmed them wrong Probably 1,000,000 other things i'm not thinking of

Try a full-reset of the radio and if that does not help, contact the Tiddy-man and tell him to send you one that works or give back your money.

Great way to welcome potential new members.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this.

I've got 5 or 6 H3's and never seen this happen. I've also looked through the ~1,000 or so comments posted on The GMRS Queen's multiple videos of this radio on the Youtubes, and I see no other reports of this occurring. My guess is that it may have something to do with operator error - but to be fair, I have no idea how the operator would accomplish it.

I has one.. But I can't talk about it because that might be comparing apples to oranges and apparently that makes "some people" very sad.

For that you should try the Grindr app.. I've had great success with it. Or H.A.M. radio.