OffRoaderX

Yes.

You don't.

If that doesnt help contact support at BuyTwoWayRadios and they will either set you straight or send you a new radio.

I have several 905Gs and the antennas on all of them work fine. Its possible you have a dud, or some other issue, but using a better antenna like a Nagoya 771G might help.. The only setting in the radio that might make any difference would be the squelch - make sure its not up too high or it could blank-out weak signals.. try setting it at 1 or 2 and see if that helps.

Make sure that your repeater channel is set to WIDEband.

No, you dont.. The steps are: Turn radio ON Set volume at around and least 50% Upload file to radio

Yes

With all the details you've provided it's difficult to troubleshoot - but these are the basic steps to use a repeater from a GMRS radio: Confirm the repeater is actually up/online Confirm you are within range of the repeater with nothing (like a mountain) between you and it Tune your GMRS radio to the correct GMRS channel for the repeater Enter the Encode/TX tone for the repeater into your radio & save Press the Push To Talk button and enjoy the repeater

Your channel 1 may have a different/wrong CT tone set on it. Easy to check. More power in will not = more power out - you're lucky to be getting almost 6W out of it!

Start by removing the RX tone while troubleshooting - that way you will hear everything on that channel, then get close(er) to the repeater - it is entirely possible that the HT is not able to hit the repeater from your current location.

I had a XLT Communications Mobile Duplexer (50 Watt) go bad just sitting there after using it for about 3 days.. Confirmed and replaced by the vendor.

You dont - they dont exist.. You are reading the wrong manual or the manual is wrong/incorrect/old.

I would focus the duplexer first - i've had those inexpensive ones fail on me.. Try removing the duplexer, and if possible put the repeater in base-station/simplex mode and see how well it transmits and receives.

The manual for my KG905G lists 35 menu items.

I have a taillight mounted Midland MXTA26 on my JKU and it has many fars. also have a taillight mounted Tram UHF antenna (trimmed for GMRS) on the wife's '06 TJ, and it also works great with many fars. No doubt both would work better with a better groundplane, but for me, "good enough" is good enough.. I'm not trying to bounce my signal off the moon.

That guy on youtube lives on a hill and has perfect line of site to the repeater 69 miles away - meaning there is nothing between him and it. I'm pretty sure he's explained that in pretty much every video. And as The Spaz ^ says, if you programmed it wrong, it doesnt matter if you're standing right next to it.

1) Better coax with less loss 2) Shorter run of coax C) Another amp, contrary to what the rules say

If it was being transmitted from a repeater, and you heard it, then you have a repeater in range of your HT. "Published range" is an estimate, not a fixed distance. Your FARS may vary.

My guess is they are linked via the internet. My repeater is connected to the internet via the Zello app, so people from anywhere in the world can use it, but there are other ways to do it.

Some manufacturers use the term "DIY" for "Do It Yourself" channels - meaning you can use those channels to program and store whatever you want like repeaters.

This is normal. Carry on..

Thank you for not HiJakkin me.. Easy answer: By making decent (not the best) radios and selling them for low-dollars.. And they can do this because of no unions, less/no environmental restrictions, government subsidies ENCOURAGING manufacturing, no/few child labor regulations, etc.. Basically the opposite of what you find in the U.S.

I dont usually like to post videos here, but I have been so inspired by several of the "experts" in this forum complaining that we should not be using radios made in China that I put together a list of all the American Made radios AND I vow to purchase each one of these American made radios and do a full review of them in the next 30 days.. Thank you to "some people" that opened my eyes about not purchasing radios that are not made in America.

No.. Although many hams do slum on GMRS in many areas, the main use for GMRS is utilitarian communication - ie; when off-roading and in a group, hiking, traveling with multiple vehicles, etc. Sadly, it sounds like in your area many of the rag-chewers have taken over.. But once you get out of reach of their basements, like out adventuring in the desert or mountains, all their noise goes away. I run a repeater, partially run another repeater which is one of the largest/most used in Southern California, and run a group - not only am i not a ham, most in the group are not hams either.

They ^ are correct - and upon reflection I can see that I was not clear: You may speak in any language that you choose on GMRS, however the FCC says thou must sayeth your callsign in English or morse-code. My point was speak "normal language" as in, if someone comes in spouting alpha codes or other jargon, they will likely be laughed at. and you dont want people laughing at you your first day on GMRS.