gman1971

You're welcome. The best CCR I've tested is the Anytone AT-578UV... but that is hardly a CCR clocking at 400 dollars. At that point you should consider an XPR5550e... G.

Not respecting the rules in radio has a lot of parallels to respecting traffic rules, like signals, stop signs, etc... Sure, you might get away with some minor speeding here and there, even some minor stuff, like sometimes not coming to a complete stop, etc, but say, you're driving into oncoming traffic, plowing through intersections, cutting through sidewalks, driving twice the posted Interstate speed limits, running people off the road, etc... that's the kind of analogy with RF. Running a 500W PA on GMRS will certainly piss a lot of people off, and you get extra points if you run the 500W PA on digital... on GMRS FM; or stomping all over the County Fire Dispatch with your 50W CCR mobile trying to reach the CCR 2 miles down the road with "can you hear me now? do you copy, over?", that will certainly piss a lot of the wrong people as well... again, you always get that extra bonus if you blast 50W on digital over official FM channels... With that said, digital operators might not be as bothered with the CCR blasting around, tho, as they won't hear your voice over theirs, (unless you are in the extra bonus category and blasting with identical digital modulation they use) but in FM they'll certainly get higher BER (bit error rate), you hear some R2D2 digital voice sounds when someone else is using concurrently the same channel, especially in FM... Another one is running wideband on narrowband in licensed channels... cranking that CCR to 50W on 25khz to reach the CCR portable 2 miles down the road is going to be heard 20-30 miles out by radios that actually have decent receivers which are tuned to your channel, and radios that also tuned to the two adjacent channels, potentially getting some angry responses in the process. More bonuses are awarded for the following: if you have the most annoying roger beep, echo CB voice is always a winner... letting the PTT off after every word you speak... that is guaranteed to get their attention. Cheers. G.

Yes, absolutely, Lscott. Equipment needed. -RSSI meter. (Motorola radios have RSSI meters built in, make sure its calibrated, all XPR radios I own are within 0.5 dB of each other, so they are good for the sake of this test) -Signal Generator (use a calibrated RSSI meter to ensure the signal on the display is correct, used the XPR radios here to measure) -50 Ohm dummy load, I use a 50W one, but for the receiver sens test only you don't need anything more than 1W. (for duplexer desense you need the large one) -ISO-tee (directional coupler) Procedure: 1) If you don't have a directional coupler and you don't want to buy one, you can build your own ISO-tee using an old SO-239/PL-259 T-adapter. You need a hacksaw and a file. Unbolt the PL-259 prong from the T-adapter first, cut it with a hacksaw so it barely touches, and then, if needed, gently file it until the measured isolation is around 20-30 dBm. Remember the T adapter already has a 3dBm isolation, and it doesn't take much to file it a bit too much, so, be careful: I ruined two T adapters before getting it right... To measure the ISO-tee isolation I used the XPR6550 RSSI meter with the Signal Generator. You can also install a 20 dB attenuator on one end too I've been told... or you can just go and buy one from eBay... 2) Measure the site RSSI with no signal, this is the lowest signal the radio will be able to hear, for that I used the XPR6550/7550e RSSI meter. This is the best the radio can do, if the noise threshold is -107 dBm, it will never be able to hear a -115 dBm signal... no matter what. You want the radio to be as close to this figure. Perform the ISO-tee tests on several locations to see how different noise thresholds affect receiver. Useful for mobile application. Noise threshold is not receiver desense. Desense happens in addition to the noise threshold. 3) Measured absolute receiver sensivitty and squelch sensitivity on the radio. -Set SQL to threshold. -Connect SG to radio directly with lowest possible signal. -130 is usually a good number to start. -Increase signal dBm until SQL opens. Record this number. -Reduce signal dBm until SQL closes completely. Record this number. -Keep reducing signal dBm until RX led is no longer blinking. Record this number. 4) Connect ISO-tee as follows: -The vertical part of the T-adapter to the signal generator (the one you cut/filed). -The horizontal ends one goes to the radio, the other one to a 50ohm dummy load. 5) Measure dummy load sensitivity. -Set SG signal strength to lowest possible dBm. -Increase signal dBm until SQL opens. Record this number. -Reduce signal dBm until SQL closes completely. Record this number. -Keep reducing signal dBm until RX led is no longer blinking. Record this number. 6) Replace dummy load with the antenna the radio uses and measure sensitivity again. -Set SG signal strength to lowest possible dBm. -Increase signal dBm until SQL opens. Record this number. -Reduce signal dBm until SQL closes completely. Record this number. -Keep reducing signal dBm until RX led is no longer blinking. Record this number. 7) Subtract the RX led sensitivity figure recorded in step #5 minus the RX led sensitivity recorded in 6. 8) Subtract the result calculated in step #7 from the figure recorded in step #3. That is your "effective sensitivity" which can vary quite a bit depending on location. 9) Subtract the result from #7 from the noise level, that will give you the desense relative to noise floor. 10) Now repeat step 7 8 and 9 this for the figures calculated for SQL open and close if you operate in FM, remember to set SQL to threshold, or lowest setting possible. For FM operation Squelch Performance is critical, so you will determine using this test if the radio needs its squelch aligned, tuned... etc. --You can also use this procedure to evaluate duplexer performance and see if you need additional isolation on the RX side if its desensed b/c the transmitter...etc. Once I performed this test on enough of my radios I started to see an emerging pattern, a trend. After all radios were measured, most commercial gear radios I own measured a typical 3-4 dBm "desense" over the noise floor in nearly all my use case conditions, whereas nearly all CCR stuff had an average of -13 dBm desense, in VHF, and about -17 dBm desense average in UHF, again under typical use case conditions. EDIT: Another trend I noticed was that for nearly all CCRs, the higher the antenna gain, the higher the desense above noise threshold, or a decrease in effective sensitivity. Using my base antenna as the ISO-tee antenna, a triple 5/8 collinear at 40 feet up, the desense measured on several CCRs was pretty bad, but honorable supersuck mention goes to all the TYT and Retevis CCR radios tested (GD77, RT52, RT82, TYT MD760) The desense over the noise floor (which was measured at -119 dBm) was on the order of -38 dBm in VHF, and -43 in UHF... so all that gain that my base antenna, all 4.5 dBb, were demolished by the massive -43 dB desense coming from the CCR landfill of garbage... A total winner in my book to buy these pieces of garbage. With the GD77/RT52/RT82/MD760 the base antenna I couldn't hear a 50W mobile beyond 2 miles. With an EVX-539 portable mated to the same antenna I could hear the same mobile, on 25W, talking from 17 miles away. Again, same antenna. G.

Because they are, dude... they really are. And here we go again, you're not refuting my data, you're just going around it in circles, just refute the data, please. Explain how you performed the tests, I've explained how I performed my tests... ISO-tee... Can you or can you not? Also, what is this nonsense about a "reputable lab" ... Dude, its real simple: just perform the ISO-tee test on your own radios yourself, its an industry standard procedure designed to diagnose receiver problems, and Its very simple to do... you can even make your own directional coupler with a hacksaw in under 10 minutes... but then you'll have to buy some equipment... which is not free... ugh... there might be a problem there... its not free. Can you please explain what is illogical about stating that a 15 dBm (average) advantage in effective sensitivity is better? tell me? I am pretty certain the results of my tests are easily repeatable... if you're willing to do the tests, that is. So, what does it matter if they are coming from me, or someone else? It so happens that I've measured the data, using an industry standard procedure, but you haven't... or have you? tell me... maybe you have data I don't have... or are you trying to make this personal? Should I be concerned? Last, but not least, it is not of my concern what your interests are, really, and contrary to what you might believe, or think, there is zero personal reasons here. Its not my money, but I've determined that I won't sit and let misleading claims fly by... The measurements I've taken have demonstrated to the best of my ability that cheap radios designed in China (not just made in China) are, on average, inferior to most used high end LMR radios found on eBay priced at, or about the same range. I could record myself performing these tests on video just to prove my point, if that is needed to prove my point, but not because its personal, as you seem to think it is, its because its the truth. I think we are done here, I'll reiterate, hopefully by the time you realize it, you aren't several thousands of dollars in the hole like I was/am... G EDIT: This document explains very well why these CCRs, including the ones with superhets, are inferior to the LMR radios. http://www.ittc.ku.edu/~jstiles/622/handouts/The%20Preselector%20Filter.pdf.

I'll reiterate, your posts are devoid of any logical explanation, only emotional responses, nothing to refute my data, just logical fallacies trying to discredit me, ad hominem, et. all... to sow doubt. So, lets begin: First off, what about the BF-888s? its a UHF radio that costs ~10 bucks, and its a Part 90 certified, its the truest CCR of all CCRs.... how do I know? because I own more than 10 of them... the last ones I purchased, a couple years back, were purchased for 9.95 a pop from Amazon, Prime shipped to my house... now, how many do you own, again? Yes, two of my XPR6550 are for sale for 140, shipped to your door with insurance and tracking, just read the "for sale section" on myGMRS. It comes with antenna and a battery, and the battery has plenty of service life, as stated by the IMPRES charger,... so no, you won't need a new battery, where the heck do you get all these nonsensical arguments? I am beginning to think you are a victim of your own disinformation campaign, it happens, if you repeat the lie too many times, you end up believing it... Then, what is this other nonsensical argument about the CPS and cable? Again, more scare tactics, so what? you have to buy a cable and a CPS? Dude, you are starting to sound like these people who think everything should be free... I guess with such attitude nothing less should be expected from you... last time I checked the CPS and the prog cable are a one time purchase, after that you don't have to buy the CPS and prog cable again, so for first time Motorola users, an additional cost is 40-50 bucks... and again, so what? You don't have to buy the radios I have up for sale. There are radios on eBay that are going for less than what I am selling mine... but you wouldn't know. Still coming ahead vs the 199 CCR garbage mobile. Except now you have the CPS and the cable so are free to buy other XPR radios and program them just fine... also, prices are N E G O T I A B L E. Yes, I also got several XPR5550e for under 350 bucks, in both bands, UHF and VHF... And certified for what? The radios pass all the service monitor tests I've performed on them, and they beat everything else I have... what is the question here? Is there any particular reason why I need buy an ICOM instead of a Motorola? Do you have any factual ISO-tee data that I could contrasts vs. the ISO-tee data that I've compiled from the Motorola, and other, radios I own? I am waiting... If you don't then, please, stop recommending me brands, or radios without having the slightest clue about how good they really are. I know how good the Motorolas are b/c I own every single XPR series e model made to date, and I've bench tested them all with an ISO-tee, under real world conditions, not in a lab. Coincidentally, I also own a large collection of high end Vertex Standard radios, and a few Kenwoods, etc... those are great radios too, but the Motorola XPR e series edged them all... so, given the XPR e radios can be purchased for around the same price as the top performers of other LMR manufacturers, I'll go for the better performing radio, thank you very much... regardless of where it was made, or if it has a couple of scratches on the screen, or any other excuse not based on factual data, like needing a new battery... really? dude? And with that said, what it the matter with where something was made, is it just you? The Motorola radios are not "Made in China" as you blatantly claimed, and now twisting the argument?, again? There is a BIG difference between Malaysia and China, they are different countries, with vastly different labor laws, among other things. But the fact remains, the Motorola radios are designed in the USA, with proprietary stuff that CCRs don't have (fact, as measured) A radio not being made in the USA is not a valid logical reason to just go and buy substandard cheap equipment. (regardless of where it was made) If something coming from China was decent, I would probably buy it, just like the iPhone analogy... heck, we don't even need to speculate here... all my EVX-5300 radios are all "Made in China", "Designed in Japan" (as clearly stated in the radio serial # label)... so? they are dirt cheap on eBay... yet they still handily beat the living crap of CCRs costing twice their price... Its not where its made, dude, its how its designed... Motorola radios are better designed than all CCRs I've tested to date, and can be purchased used for the same or less than a new CCRs. I think its a slam dunk argument right there... except the fear of being used?... or abused? which is just that, fear. There are a lot of protections in place to prevent sellers from dumping you a brick... use them, much the same way if you buy a damaged CCR you can return it... eBay works very much the same way, and most people in the forums will honor the returns, provided you're not a total tool about it... Tell me, since when is posting factual data obtained from ISO-tee measurements defined as "hammering"? You need to use the appropriate terms here, an inexpensive radio is a used EVX-531 for 60 bucks (which is designed in Japan, and made in China), a CCR for 60 bucks is an overpriced cheap radio made and designed in China too. What are you talking about dude, are you okay? what is this world's evil nonsense? Do you have anything valuable to offer rather than just critique, and sow doubt about every other constructive comment I've made? I am not trashing China radios for the sake of trashing China radios, that is you, who is attempting to discredit me by applying every literary logical fallacy ever devised... A guy like you just talks talks talks and doesn't have a single darn number to put their mouth where their money is. Refute my data with factual data.... and while my data might not be the most accurate, my equipment might not be best grade equipment... the tests were still performed, and the data was collected, compiled and conclusions were drawn from those experiments. As for your radios going up for sale, well, good for you... and good for me, too, I need to make room for more pesky XPR7550e, b/c you know, I don't like having to move my HTs 6" just to get good reception... Which coincidentally, reminds me of the TV we had at my father's house back a long long time ago, when every so often my father would ask me to get up and "wiggle" the antennas just to get better reception... hah. Cheers, dude, and enjoy your CCR rage... hopefully by the time you realize it, you won't be several thousand dollars in the hole like I was (well, still am) G.

Yeah, its probably a better question for hams, certainly for more experienced operators with more mathematical knowledge than I do... I have some test equipment to measure a few things, but I think those kind of measurement are way above my equipment capabilities. G.

Welcome to the Motorolian Fleet... heh. G.

Well, considering circular isolators use magnets, magnets have some affect over RF fields... so it was good to get more points of views. G.

I want to know the answer to this as well... Guitar cabinets.... sounds like you like playing guitar good good! G.

Another idea, try buying an UHF preselector, what you are experiencing seems to me more like intermod due to strong RF signals coming from nearby "angry RF firebreathing broadcast towers" and blitzing the receiver... Most of my earlier radios suffered from this issue, the NOAA @ 162.550 kept popping in the middle of weaker transmissions, or when no signal was present... the solution for me was to buy LMR commercial gear radios with tuned front ends... no more intermod problems since. G.

Well, it certainly isn't binary and I agree with that statement. Radios for different situations is all good and well if we are talking say 10, or 20 bucks for a CCR, however, once you start getting into the 200, 300+ bucks range.... then you're no longer talking about a CCR price point... you are now adding an extra zero onto the price tag for having roughly the same receiver performance, but a lot of useless features like a dot matrix screen, 100000000 contacts, 100000000000 channels... etc.... So, while the XPR5550e is arguably a top of the line radio, at $300, used, that is well within the same price range of a lot of the overpriced CCR stuff, and a used 5550e is cheaper than an brand new Anytone AT-578, too, which clocks in at ~400 greens new, a radio which I own as well, and is a piece of garbage, for many reasons beyond having an inferior receiver, the radio freezes up when trying to use it to do actual work, hence why I am trying to get rid of it (selling it, btw)... (haha, how good of a salesman am I?, telling the potential buyers the things I am trying to sell are pieces of garbage) LOL... oh well... which further proves my point that these things have horrible resale value. Aside from the 5550e, there are other pretty darn good radios to chose from, as measured, and for a lot less than a 5550e, like for example the XPR4550, another mobile, which can be purchased, used, for ~100 bucks on eBay. Then there is the XPR6550 portable, which can also be purchased for ~100 bucks, maybe at the 100 pricepoint it will have some screen scratches, etc... but those don't affect performance.... as a matter of fact, I am selling a couple of those in excellent condition, for 140 ea. shipped to CONUS here in myGmrs... the prog cable is cheap, and the legacy CPS is cheap on eBay too... Once you have the CPS and the prog cable you are good to go on anything Motorola XPR... Then there is the XTL P25/FM radios too, those are pretty darn good as well... The XPR6350, a 6550 with no display, perfect for GMRS, which can be found for well under <100 bucks, as I've seen some go for 60 on the bay... The superhet receiver with a properly tuned front end on those XPR Gen1 TRBO radios blows away, as measured, anything made in China that I've tested to date, even the best of the CCR pack, the AT-578UV loses in effective sensitivity vs. the XPR6550 portable... Its real simple: For every 3dB that you lose in effective sensitivity at the Receiver, you need to double the Transmitter power for the signal to be copied at the same level by the Receiver. In an ideal CCR world we all be running 200kW walkie talkies, with receivers having an effective sensitivity measured in Kilovolts.... unfortunately, this is not an ideal CCR world, and in the real world we can't run 200kW walkie talkies... more TX power is also bad b/c of RF exposure... etc. I understand the urge to buy cheap radios, I've made up every possible excuse to buy them, from the dropping in the ocean, to the getting stolen... about several thousand of excuses have been made... in the end, they were just that, excuses to avoid doing what I am doing now. G.

Lets hope so. G.

Its pointless arguing with this kind of posts, b/c they lack any basis on reality, and they are usually posted by the likes of ... trolls, looking to sow doubt, and stir trouble... But I'll bite... First off, Motorola high end radios are not "Made in China", it seems as if you've never owned one, and it figures... they are "Made in Malaysia." Also, by the same argument of where things are made, and just to pick an example: iPhones are made in China, but so are a lot of other pieces of crap no-brand phones too... and even though iPhones aren't my thing, I would still pick an iPhone over the no-brand POS phone... if the iPhone was too expensive new, and iPhones where, again, my thing, then I would simply buy a used iPhone... which is still leaps and bounds better than the cheap garbage phone... well, the same thing applies to radios. Most people like to walk around with a fancy S20s, or whatever the latest fancy phone happens to be... but then we purchase these pieces of garbage radios? Using the word "supposed" means its your opinion, and everyone has one. With that said, after measuring many of these radios with an ISO-tee, an industry standard test to diagnose receiver problems, the observed average desense in all those CCR radios was found to be around 15 dBm when compared to high end commercial grade radios, like the XPR5550e... A 15dBm difference is the equivalent of running, roughly, x16 times more power on the transmitter... but it is safe to assume that you have no idea what I am talking about, b/c you just called me a "naysayer" for sharing the results from my ISO-tee tests, and made claims devoid of any basis except for the sake of just discrediting others by sowing doubts. Not sure what to make out of that... If you need moving your HT 6" around chances are you have a piece of garbage. I don't need to move any of my many XPR7550e radios to listen to base, b/c they just receive, they work, all the time... I don't like having my radios cut in and out when I am working either... but I guess that is par for the course with those CCRs... and trust me, I remember well... I still own a lot of them... The legal argument to scare beginners into buying garbage radios, or the "beware of overpaying" for used commercial gear scare tactic, also geared towards scaring beginners into buying garbage radios, both are just misleading at best, won't go into what worst could be... which begs the question, are you getting paid by those companies to advertise their junk here? Using Part 90 radios on GMRS has never been a problem, it isn't a problem and it will never be a problem, b/c there isn't a shred of evidence the FCC has ever fined or taken any action based solely on the Part 90 radios, however, using pieces of garbage Part 15 CCRs, a scanner, with a PTT, actions have been taken, see Rugged Radios FCC letter... Part 90 equipment is certified to a stricter standard than the Part 95 toys you so much claim to be comparable to used commercial gear. Now, If you think you're overpaying, or getting ripped off, then you can always ask around, I did, and others have asked me, people can give you a good estimate on how much something is worth, but there is also the "completed items" option on eBay, which gives you an idea of how much something is going for... etc. Also, based on how much the OP's paid, it seems that he got ripped off for a 199 CCR.So, as you can see, you can get ripped off no matter what, buying new or used, CCR or used commercial gear. I've even seen BF-888s being sold for 199 bucks a unit... G.

Yep, from Madison WI here. The saving grace is that the darn Candelabra tower, the Superdoppler and the other 1200 foot RF firebreathing angry towers aren't <5 miles of your house... so that probably helps quite a bit in your situation. With a setup like yours I had a few years back I couldn't get more than 2 miles simplex, and that was using 50W mobiles to home base... I think there are other members here with the same kind of problem. Its not the power, its the garbage receiver. BTW, which repeater you speak off? yours? or is it someone else's repeater? G.

Hello, fellow Wisconsinite... can you reach the Madison 700 repeater from where you live? Well, from 5W to 50 W is a 10 dB increase, that is a big difference; but from 25W to 50W is only a 3 dB increase. A 40 foot tower and only a 3 mile range from a 5W portable is a bit on the short range. What antenna are you using at the base? It sounds like the same problem I had, b/c more gain = thinner lobes, when altitude drops you go into a null... and while adding more power will help one direction, I suspect you have also a problem of unequal TX and RX ranges... if that is the case chances are you have a problem with radiation pattern rather than antenna gain. G.

You weren't, I am just making sure another "give it up" kind of situation develops. Yes, it could be gain what makes the better pattern, but a more favorable pattern can also happen if the lobe(s) where gain is present extend in more suitable direction, without much overall gain increase. The best example is a Yagi pointed to the sky, vs the same Yagi pointed towards the horizon, in both cases the antenna has the same gain, but the direction of the gain is not the same. Antenna construction, ground plane, etc... all those affect pattern quite a bit... The point I am trying to make is that all the effort and money should, IMO, be concentrated at the base setup, b/c with a good base setup it reduces the need to use higher gain antennas on mobiles... that is why ham VHF repeaters have tens of miles range using just portables, b/c the setup is very good, be it due to good component selection, a great location placement, or both. G.

Well, I am not trying to be combative here, contrary to people's belief. I certainly don't know every bit of antenna theory ever discovered, but claims can be easily verified with a calibrated RSSI meter, and I've never seen a 5.5 dBd improvement on any antenna I've owned to date... that claim just doesn't seem possible given the overall antenna length/number of elements and separation. The gain number claimed by those collinears can only achieved through more elements, and certainly a lot more separation between them, at least that is what collinear antenna gain theory states. I have a Hustler G6 UHF, a vertical, which also claims ~6 dBd, and that antenna is huge compared to that little TRAM... based on RSSI measurements from the XPR5550e meter, the Hustler G6 is closer to a 4 dBd antenna at best, as measured. So, based on several mobile antennas I've measured, the gain difference of 5/8 over 5/8 couldn't be precisely determined (due to fluctuation on the RSSI being larger than any observed gain) vs. a simple 1/4 wave 6" inch NMO. So, based on my measurements, I think the improvement you see in those two element collinear 5/8 antennas is likely due to a better pattern towards horizon. G.

Yes, absolutely, Michael... hopefully I didn't convey it cannot be done, just the fact that placing two antennas on top of each other is not as simple as just placing one atop the other and letting it rip... Your comment about how commercial antennas are installed is spot on... but doing things like commercial installations means $$$$ and time... and then you need a lot of height, a good fiberglass mast, good feedline, using lateral extension to avoid feedline from messing with pattern... etc. I think the OP is better served by a dual band with a diplexer than going through all the hassles of a two antenna installation. Eager to hear about your results in your GMRS installation... what antenna do you have in mind? G.

The 5.5 dB claim is, simply put, not true. (also, if you don't see dBd or dBi its probably fake as well) That TRAM1173 (or MXT26) antenna probably has less gain than a simple 1/4 wave NMO, given the cheap coils used, and being only 2 elements, with insufficient phasing element separation between them (gain in collinear antennas is achieved by increasing the distance between the phased elements) not a chance in he11 it has 5.5 dBd... well, unless decibels dBs overseas are measured differently than in the rest of the world... that is. For comparison, a real world 5.5dBd gain is what a 4-bay folded dipole has, which is a massive antenna, and coincidentally, it costs a lot of $$$$$... too. IMO, and in my experience, for a car install, a simple 6" inch NMO antenna cut to GMRS frequency will work absolutely great, as measured. G.

First off, in case you were thinking about it, you cannot legally link GMRS with VHF Ham frequencies... it is not allowed. But, should you decide to crossband, the two radios you have will desense really bad due to the missing front end filtering on both CCRs, at least if you use this two antenna approach, that is. Then, if the two antennas don't have enough vertical separation, you'll certainly incur in radiation pattern issues for the lower antenna... as in: the lower antenna might not radiate in all directions equally, so it might create dead zones, both in elevation and bearing... in layman terms: range will suck, aside from the fact that those radios reception range for simplex already sucks... so it will suck squared. You're better off with a dual band antenna and a diplexer, but again, given the radios you have, I'd keep my range expectations low... If range is what you seek, for personal use, without requiring infrastructure put in place by others (eg, repeaters) you'll have to do it the same way they did it. Which means you'll need a lot of Batwings (Motorola) and a lot of Greens ($$$$) Range in radio doesn't come cheap... My wallet knows this very well... G.

Well, I was on the same boat once. At least you've only spent 450 bucks, I have spent (wasted) a lot more than x10 times that amount... until I realized I was wasting my money. For under 400, for GMRS, a decent mobile for that cost is a Motorola XPR 5550e UHF. The programming cable is like 20-30 bucks from eBay, the legacy CPS to program the radio can be found on eBay as well for cheap. Total cost + radio will equal the one you just got, except the XPR5550e has the best receiver in its class, the best audio... and the display is awesome too. Yes, the XPR5550e is a Part 90 only radio... etc... but like I said, a Part 90 radio certification is far more strict than any Part 95 toy. There is a post here in MyGmrs that states that Part 90 radios can be discussed, talked about, b/c the FCC has never filed a single case, complain, etc... in regard to Part 90 radios being used in the GMRS service. So, how much of a mistake it was for 400 dollars? Well, based on my measurements average, it means you have a receiver that has around -20 to -40 dB less Effective Sensitivity (not absolute) compared to an XPR5550e... How much is a 20 dB difference in range? (the million dollar question) Here where I live is the difference vs <1 mile vs >15 mile range without the use of repeaters, that is from a base to a mobile. At this point I would cut my losses, sell it for however much you can, and get a Motorola XPR5550e... G.

Cool! Glad the issue is resolved, wish I lived near the ocean, over salt water.... G.

Nice, an old Motorolian battleship.. holy cow, arm and a leg batman... expensive... The Vertex looks pretty decent too... still expensive, but anything decent HF == $$$$$$ G.

Don't have any ICOM, I am sorry. G.

Well, I guess depends on how crowded the GMRS traffic is in your area... ideally you wouldn't break any laws... GMRS operators, being licensed, are more likely to report complains to the FCC of unlicensed lids blasting their 50W CCRs on their repeaters than bootleggers in MURS reporting to the FCC when you key up your brand new 50W CCR mobile... if you're jamming their rant, they'll simply get a bigger PA so the next time they can stomp on your puny signal... G.