OffRoaderX

Can you give a little more detail on exactly what you mean by "unusable" ?

I recently built a 50W repeater with two Wouxun KG-1000G radios.. It worked pretty well, but because the radios are not well-shieleded I got a lot of "desense" so my range was not as great as I'd hoped - It wasnt "cheap" either. I then got a used "real" repeater - a Vertex VXR-7000. You can find them from $400 to $1000 depending on the options, age/condition.. It works GREAT.. I live at the top of a hill so I get a huge coveragare area, about 40-60 miles in each direction. Bang for the buck, a good used "real" repeater might be the best bet.. although, I will be testing the Retevis RT97 soon to see how it compares.

A box will be heading your way next week Lou..

The only Palomar GMRS repeater I know of is on 700 - it is also "private, for business use" and I have heard the owner get on several times and try to chase people away that were using it.. I have never heard any actual business use on it. Up my way (just a bit north) .550 is used by MANY repeaters, and several often have non-english speakers so I wonder if that is what you are hearing?

Up reflection, and after re-reading the post, I do believe you are correct. ...935G is STILL my favorite!

Using CHRIP Build 20210830 I'm not able to get it to work with my 935G using the KG-816 (or any) config - Even though I have to use the horrible Wouxun software, its still my favorite radio.

It is very easy to hit a repeater 34 miles away with only 5W as long as there is nothing between you and it.. I hit a repeater from my couch that is 69 miles away with any one of my low-cost 5W handhelds.. And yes, most repeaters have large, well-tuned antennas, so that does help.

Quanzhou Nanshoumaoyiyouxiangongsi is owned by Sheinhardt Wig Corporation.

Be careful on those "Free speech" repeaters.. Those boys play rough..

The best way to find repeaters in your area is to check the MyGMRS database, 2nd best way is to hook up with the local GMRS gang and find out what they are using.. 3rd best way is to just monitor channels 15-22 and see if you hear anyone, but then you need to figure out the tone to use which can be difficult.. The tones/codes need to match up with the repeater.. you have to use the TX/Input tone, or you wont be able to activate the repeater/talk on it. the RX/output tone is optional and used only to quite-out other repeaters on the same channel. Generally what you do is find the repeater, then save the tone(s) on the repeater-channel in your radio, then you dont have to worry about them again.

Many of those people that are waiting for that huge-price decrease are the same ones that will drive 20 miles out of their way and burn $4.00 in fuel to save $0.02 per gallon at the gas station..

As of yesterday, the fee has not yet dropped.. Nobody, apparently not even the FCC knows when it ever will, but the latest rumors/guess/hopes/dreams suggest sometime in 2022.. And no, AFAIK, you will not find anything in the multi-million dollar dumpster-fire that is the FCC website that will tell you anything about the what current status is for the changes.

If there isnt a lot of RF noise/weak signals in your area you wont notice.. I'm a "SuperHet Snob" but I've been using my 935G for a few days now and abostively love it, SOC or not.

Someone had asked about this on the Amazon page for the radio and the Baofeng rep said this was a mistake .. Unfortunately since then some clown on youtube made some videos about the radio and they are now sold-out, and I cant even find the listing on amazon so I can't confirm/quote exactly what they said. It would seem highly unusual that this type of "mistake" could be made... But as I mentioned to @JeepCrawler98over in the Youtubes, 98% of the people that will be buying this radio don't care.

We do it with no direct-connection to the repeater.. Using a Radio configured to use the repeater -> to a RadioTone RoIP3 -> into a laptop -> to the interwebz.

Having built a KG-1000G repeater myself, and also having a "real" repeater, I can attest that when using one of those small mobile-type duplexers, this is not only normal, but expected. To get save that power you will have to step up to one of the large band-pass/reject type duplexers.. For most people the $$ is not worth it, unless you can find a good used one.

The record from my couch to a repeater is 69 miles.. You win!

Updated review of the UV-9G - it does have some issues, but still - a waterproof radio for only $40 is a great deal for normal people that just want something rugged to talk on.. I say, $ for $, maybe the best you can find.

Buy (or build) it, configure it, connect the antenna and power, and turn it on, and tell your friends! Thats the gist of it - is there something in particular that you are stuck on?

Yes - this one has the official Vertex duplexer but its rated at only 30W so you have to hobble the repeater when using it.. I am now looking for a good/used "real" duplexer bandpass/reject rated at 100W - that would allow me to use the full power of the radio but more important, should perform measurably better (better receive sensitivity). On that cable - from what I have read, and from what the shop that did my programming told (and showed) me, the cable is 2-part: 1) the USB part, and 2) another serial converter somthingorther - so what I see at Antenna Farm for $49 is the less-expensive half only.. ALSO, it looks like CE27 requires Windows 7 or older to run which I dont have and dont want to hassle with a VM, blah blah.. For now i think i'm done programming, but now i know "a guy" that has everything so i can get it done for only the cost of burgers and beerz ..

I didnt bother reading this whole thread, but allow me to share my (very recent) experience.. I recently built a repeater using two KG1000G's, a cheap mobile duplexer, a Tram 1486 on the roof and LMR400 coax - all the experts assured that my 'toy' would not work at all. Despite what all the experts predicted, not only did it work, it worked better than I expected, with a range of about 40 miles in each direction. I have now got my hands on a (very) used Vertex VXR-7000 repeater - after paying for programming and re-tuning the internal duplexer, cost was about $650 - it DOES work better - less de-sense so it is noticeably more sensitive/able to receive signals that the KG1000g setup could not, and i'm getting a bit better range.. But the other big difference is that it is 'full duty cycle' so it can be used 24/7 - Wouxun says that the KG-1000Gs can also be used 24/7, but i'm not sure I believe that claim.. Was I happy with the KG1000G setup? YES! Am I more happy with the "real" repeater? Yes. Do the math and do what works for you..Ignore the 'experts' as many dont seem to understand the difference between the term "will not work at all" and 'will not work perfectly/be the best" ...

Congrats on the KG-1000G ! IMHO, the best mobile GMRS radio you can find today.. If you get a "UHF" antenna, you will have to cut it.. If you get any antenna that says "GMRS", you will not have to cut it. Although every different GMRS antenna has different specs, pretty much any GMRS antenna mounted properly on your (jeep??) will work just as well as any other since when you are on the trails you're generally not really talking very long distances.. No doubt some sad-GMRS user will quote a bunch of specs saying one antenna has better gain or lower loss, blah blah.. But in the real world, when on the trail you're not going to notice much difference so dont get too wrapped up on what the basement dwellers spew.

I think CH19 would make the most sense.. Unless you're off-road, then, 16 ...

I just did the KG-1000G repeater thing - it works great.. its not perfect, but works pretty darn well - with coverage in 30+ miles each direction, and we just made it available on Zello (search Zello for the channel "Notarubicon GMRS 700 Repeater" -.. anyone can listen, request access to talk) If you give a little info about what isnt working we can probably get you fixed up, or at least pointed in the right direction..

I have several KG-1000Gs and speak from experience when I say that If there is no circulating air, it WILL get too hot/overheat.. Why not throw the chassis under the seat somewhere, and put the remote-mount faceplate wherever you want it? That is the best feature of the KG-1000G..