OffRoaderX

Yah, that is a 3rd-party cable and software package - the 3rd party charges more, thats why BTWR charges more for this option. Most people buy the $15 cable from BTWR, use the free software that comes with the radio, and call it a day.. Those of us that have programmed hundreds of radios have learned (the hard way) to stay far away from those cheap $11 cables...

I dont know what cables you are talking about, but I got my programming cable from BTWR for $15 - anyone can, right here: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-pco-001.html FWIW, i have also had about 5 of those $11 amazon cables and they either didnt work at all, or stopped working after a few months... The extra $5 for a cable that is virtually guaranteed to work from BTWR is well worth it.. No voodoo or anything required on Windows or Mac.. just plug it in and it works.. Unlike your $11 junk cables.

I think you've got it!

It's very simple... You need to know what channel the repeater is on, go to that channel, then go into the menus for the TX Ctcss and RX CTCSS (or dcs) and enter them, and you're done.. If you want to create a new, custom channel, it's a PITA on the radio, but super-simple, almost self-explanatory using the software - just fill in the blanks basically.

I cant imagine that software being $30 better than the free Wouxun software, but, I await your notes.

Seems that a lot of people are going to be disappointed when then learn that the 500 and 575 are wideband...

Midland has not yet set a release date. My sources indicate it will be at least a few more weeks. The worst part of that means that I cant talk about it for at least a few more weeks!

Midland has not yet announced an official release date for the 500 or 575 ... I have both.. but I'm not yet allowed to talk about them... ?

I dont have my list in front of me but I think those may be Crest repeaters.. 550 is the most jammed frequency in this area.

I can display a custom line on the top with my KG-935G, but I cant find that option for the XS-20G in the software...

I approve this comment... Just, without the due-respect part..

I use LMR400 on my repeater for the main run and the shorter patch-cables.. Contrary to what all the experts claimed, it works just fine, and more than good enough for my non-life-critical application..

I have both the Surecom SW102 and SW33.. Both are good for the price and are "good enough" for normal-people use..Meaning, we dont care if they are 0.0001% inaccurate..

That issue has been reported to Wouxun. You can turn off the Weather Alert option in the menus and it will work normally.

I hope these new rules "take effect" better than the new rules on lower GMRS license fees did.......

Can you SEE the building you are trying to reach? if not, something is blocking the signal.. How many, and what kind of walls are between you and the other person?

there is a tiny torx/allen screw inside the hole.. just loosen it and you can then unscrew the antenna. If you are certain there is no setscrew there, then you should be able to just unscrew the antenna. Ive done it with both my GM-30 and my Tidradio TD-H5 which is basically the same thing.

Doesnt seem like a horrible idea! My only question would be how does the shrink-wrap affect your transmission audio quality - usually the mics are pretty small and not very sensitive, so a layer of thick plastic could reduce your audio level .... ??

To the OP: It is purely my opinion, but, on your list of worries when running a GMRS repeater, this should be at the bottom of your list. I run a GMRS repeater that has about 900 square miles of coverage, and this is not even on my list of concerns. Pigs flying into my antenna is higher on my list..

And how, exactly, would that ever happen?

I use the Midland MXTA26 mounted on the talegate. The nice thing about this antenna is that it is perfectly tuned for GMRS, right out of the bag - no cutting required. Note that the rear-talegate is not the best location as it does not have an optimal groundplane, but it works very, very well based on my (extensive) real world testing - even though all the radiotards proclaim that "it wont work at all" ... Ignore the radiotards.

Everyone on the repeater would keep saying "what did you say? I cant hear you please talk louder!" ... There is also the issue of not being able to have multiple repeaters on the same frequency with different tones.. .. again.. many radios do this, are wideband, and cost less.

The main, simple disadvantage is that unless you are standing next to the person you are talking to on the radio, UNLESS they also have a narrowband radio, or are in narrowband-mode on a wideband radio (99.8% of all GMRS radios are wideband), the other person won't be able to hear you very well and will keep saying "what did you say? please talk louder!" ... IMHO, unless your friends are also using narrowband radios, it is not worth it... There are MANY other radios to choose from, all of which are Wideband, and in many cases, cost less. ...but..what do i know....

Yes.

I built a KG-1000G repeater a few months ago and had the opposite issue - by default there is no squelch tail/kickback and IIRC the only way to turn it on was in the software (could not do it on the radio). Are you sure it's the tail that you're getting and not something else?