OffRoaderX

Good luck! going through much of the same right now.. struggling to find a workable place for the antenna, but settled on a telescoping mast mounted the side of a 7-foot wall.. Also went with the LMR-400.. Hope to have mine all up and running by next week. My setup is a repeater using TWO KG-1000G's, but everything else is pretty much the same.

Wait.. Whut?

I have a few KG-805Gs, and you really dont need to use a computer to program them.. The user-guide shows how to easily do everything right on the radio - the only thing you would need to change (usually) would be adding a tone for a repeater, which generally takes about 20 seconds after you know how to do it, or adding a name/label to a channel, which takes 45 seconds. Using the software makes it easier, but I dont bother. As for using (GMRS) repeaters, this video might help:

No repeaters? Be a pillar of your community and put one up for everyone to use! ..but yah, you're going to find a lot of "sad hams" working their way into GMRS.. Amateur Radio/HAM is a hobby, and that's why many people get started in it.. For MANY/most people, GMRS is just a way to talk with your friends or have a SHTF option for communications.. Sad Hams dont get that.. The "non-sad hams" do, but the sad-hams dont, and they can make it unpleasant - both on the air and even in places like this and other online communities.. After a while you just learn to ignore them. The group that runs one of my local GMRS repeaters has a net every Mon and Thurs evening - I try to join when I can, but it's really not much more than practicing for what to do in an emergency, and going over club business..

Of course, most replies will be much opinion, so here is mine: 1) IMHO, the Wouxun KG1000G is a great radio - it has a 50W output, but the best feature is being able to throw the chassis under the seat (or wherever) and remotely mount the very small faceplate anywhere. I have also used the BTech GMRS 50X1 - actually 2 of them, but that radio does not output anywhere near the advertised power output and the screen is tiny/hard to read.. but, it is cheaper..sooo... 2) any GMRS antenna is probably "good enough" - on both my Jeeps I use the Browning BR-450 which is a UHF antenna and must be cut/tuned (not a big deal) - but a "GMRS" antenna should not need to be cut/tuned 3) it depends on the antenna & where it's mounted, but to be safe I would remove it. Assuming you mount it where you can reach it, the GMRS/UHF "NMO" mounts are easy screw-off, so its very fast/easy to remove. Tram makes a very small (6 inch?) that works great, and would probably survive the carwash just fine.. 4) There are no designated GMRS channels (technically there, are but, like you, nobody knows about them) and in most areas the airwaves are dead - its not yet like CB as far as activity. 5) I dont have any pics, but, dont overthink it.. Mount the radio where you can see it, and mount the antenna where it works - be warned that experts will tell you that if it's not mounted in the "right" location, "it wont work" - dont belive it. Jeeps are notorious for not having any "good" mounting locations (due to the lack of a metal roof) and both mine are mounted where the experts say "is terrible/wont work" - and yet I can talk to my wife in her Jeep, also with a "terrible" antenna location, 25 miles away, and I can easily hit a repeater 70 miles away while sitting in my garage with the door closed.

If you have not yet decided, the (new) Wouxun 905G is my new favorite. Water resistant (near waterproof) and double the battery.. Same simple interface as the 805G .. I have both, but the 905G is what i now use the most.

Can someone confirm that a properly bonded lighting arrester will also act as an RF/static ground for the coax? I'm thinking yes, but want to be sure.. And yes, I know that the mast must also be grounded/bonded, etc etc.. Just want to confirm that a good lighting arrester is the only other thing I need. TIA

I've got 2 Jeeps - In my 2012 JKU "NotARubicon" I have a Wouxun KG-1000G .. In the wife's 2006 LJ "IsARubicon" I put in a BTech GMRS 50X1 .. Happy with both, but the Wouxun is a far better radio.

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All the GMRS repeaters (both of them) in my area do station ID's .. one in CW ..

It was an exciting day!

My kind of guys!We wheel all over Southern California and lead groups of up to 150 Jeeps 1 or 2 times a year.. Here is a video from a trail we did in a place called Johnson Valley a couple of months ago .. I'm driving the orange Jeep:

Its not the tone/CTSS creating the potential issues you mention, it's stupid people that are too lazy to invest 3 minutes of their life to read the directions and learn/understand how their equipment works that are the problem..

if I was going to spend any real money on equipment, I would get a full ham radio and spend a few days studying to get the ham Technician license (as I am currently doing) .. Around here where I live, GMRS is dead and all the kids are hanging out CQing on 2-Meter..

Well that would be too easy, and take all the challenge out of it.. besides, I think that most people using these little hand-held bubble-wrap radios would have absolutely no clue what a tone is..

ok, thanks, that gives me a starting point at least.

if I am listening to an FRS channel and I hear my neighbors talking, but they are using a "tone" so that they dont hear me, is that a Transmit tone, or a Receiving tone that is blocking them from hearing me? So.. if I am listening to them and I want to use my radio to scan for their tone to program it into my radio so they can hear me, what am i scanning for? R-CTSS or T-CTSS ?

Figured I would jump in and introduce myself.. Just got my GMRS license last week.. I'm in So.California and we lead a lot of large off-road runs and more and more people are buying the bubble pack/FRS type radios so I got my license in hopes that I would be able to get a radio that would allow me to talk to them all with a higher-power radio/larger antenna for more range so I'm hoping my GMRS-V1 will do the job.. I've also been looking for local GMRS repeaters to use for SHTF situations, but not finding much in the area..