gman1971

If you really like the radios, I also recommend getting the factory cable from a dealer, that way it supports the manufacturer so they keep making better than CCR radios.
 
G.

Long time lurker. Got my GMRS license last year. I use a B-Tech GMRS V-1. I also have some other cheaper Radioditty "give away" handhelds for non-radio friends. I just bought a Kenwood 880 v1, just need good antenna and vehicle mount for it.
 
I actually got into GMRS from CB, which these two services are motivating me to get a ham ticket. Thanks for the forums (I kinda miss forums instead of reddit)

I wanted share my experience as I am new to GMRS and recently setup a TK-8180 in my truck. Not only was this was my first mobile setup, but also my first time programming. To be honest I was concerned that I was getting in over my head. I purchased the software and programming cable and couldn't get my computer to read the radio. After doing a little investigation I realized that the programming cable I bought was junk. I replaced it with a quality cable and everything worked like a charm. The KPG-89D software is pretty simple to use. After playing around with it for about 15 minutes I started programming the radio. 20 minutes after I started programming I had all of my repeaters loaded in zone 1 and all of the simplex channels loaded in zone 2. It really couldn't have been easier. I recommend buying your cable on Ebay from bluemax49ers. You'll pay a little more for his stuff, but it works great! If you follow this youtube link and jump to the 1 min mark you can see just how easy this software is to use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-S_DHkcg6o

Many farmers and ranchers use MURS for gate alarms, controllers for irrigation pumps, et cetera.

You're right, 50w max, my mistake. 50 and 65 won't make much of a difference
 
The max allowed power for MURS is 2W, not 5W.
 
G.

For the EVX-53x portables (and 5x00 mobiles) , you might need to align the squelch in the radio alignment menu. I set mine on all my EVX radios to open at -129 dBm, and its night and day. Stock is set to open at -116 which might not be ideal for weak signal work. Most earlier Motorolas (non TRBO) can be also aligned with Tuner to get the squelch to open at about noise threshold... the TRBO radios you need to run tone squelch, otherwise they won't open as low as my "aligned" EVX-5xxxx radios. The Moto 6550 and 7550 without tone squelch will only open at around -122 dBm, with tone squelch they will open all the way down at around the same as the EVXs with the squelch set.
 
G.

For the EVX-53x portables (and 5x00 mobiles) , you might need to align the squelch in the radio alignment menu. I set mine on all my EVX radios to open at -129 dBm, and its night and day. Stock is set to open at -116 which might not be ideal for weak signal work. Most earlier Motorolas (non TRBO) can be also aligned with Tuner to get the squelch to open at about noise threshold... the TRBO radios you need to run tone squelch, otherwise they won't open as low as my "aligned" EVX-5xxxx radios. The Moto 6550 and 7550 without tone squelch will only open at around -122 dBm, with tone squelch they will open all the way down at around the same as the EVXs with the squelch set.
 
G.

I guess this was the culmination of what started with just a couple of Baofengs UV-5R back in 2013ish...
 
So, couple of days ago I finally bit the bullet and got my first XPR7550e, been eyeing those for a long time, form factor and performance, I've even programmed a couple for a friend, but never really tested them.... But now this one is mine... my own, my precious.... hahaha, and I just cannot even begin to describe how amazing this radio is. I ran every possible test I could think of, high RF noise, no antenna, ... everything short of an ISOTEE test (since the 7550e doesn't have an SMA connector)... and the 7550e beat every other commercial grade radio I own by an ample margin. Including EVX-539 portables, XPR6550s... and it utterly humiliated the garbage China radios... it demolished all those CCRS even harder than the EVX/6550 did...
 
We did a 1 watt range test, on foot, one XPR6550 at home, ground floor, and the XPR7550e, along with a few other radios on us. Remember, terrain around here is very hilly, not flat, this is Madison WI, where you won't find a flat piece of land anywhere... So, we walked exactly 1.89 miles distance on 1 watt, ground to ground, before the XPR7550e was the only radio left standing, the only one able communicate with the 6550 at home. Measured RSSI Signal strength on the 7550e screen was -118 dBm @ 1.89 miles. Considering this radio would still produce audible (and intelligible) digital audio all the way down to ~ -129 dBm, I think it still had, at least, 1/4 mile of range left on it...  The XPR7550e was using the PMAE4070A antenna, and all other radios used PMAE4048A antennas, except for the GD77 which used a Vertex Standard UHF antenna since it uses the sticking out SMA (female)...
 
At that distance, 1.89 miles, even my best-tuned EVX-539 portable, with a really good Motorola GMRS antenna PMAE4048A, the RX light was just blinking but no audio could be heard. The XPR6550 was about the same as the EVX-539... the light would  blink, but no audio heard either.
 
All those LMR radios stopped communicating at about the same distance, or around the 1.5 miles mark, and at 1.6 miles the digital robotic/breakup made voice communication 100% unintelligible on all those. 
 
We also tested the following China radios on DMR:
Alinco MD5 (made by AnyTone)
Baofeng BF-1801Radioddity GD-77
Retevis RT-52
 
The Alinco MD5 was the best of the pack, it performed similar to the EVX-539/6550, and also used the same PMAE4048A antenna, but at 1.89 miles the light would simply randomly blink and no audio could be heard.
 
Then the BF-1801, the GD-77 and the RT-52... all those stopped receiving audio completely at about .5 miles from the house, that's right, these cheap pieces of utter crap weren't able to communicate with a Motorola XPR6550 after just 0.6 miles... and you wonder why you don't have any range with these CCRs?...  
 
I think its time to stop wasting money, start saving up for a 2nd hand XPR7550e, just like I did... mine is used, it has a couple of small scratches on the screen...  but those scratches on the screen certainly didn't stop it from demolishing the "mint condition" RT-52 and all these pieces of China garbage...
 
Yes, I know, you need the CPS, you need a cable, heck, you need to actually invest some money to field a XPR7550e... I know, I know it quite well, b/c I also started with x2 Baoturd UV-5R CCR radios... but looking in retrospect I should've gone directly with an XPR7550e, I can safely say that it would've saved me a lot of money, a lot of sleepless nights trying to figure out why my radio range was measured in tenths of an inch rather that in tens of miles....
 
G.

I would say NanoVNA v2, it does everything you'll need.
 
 
G.

@IronArcher
 
No, it cannot be done, b/c it doesn't really matter. I've been sharing some ISO-tee tests figures here, and all I get is people arguing personal opinions, swirling personal attacks and sowing doubt, deflecting from the problem at hand, while painting me as someone who is trying mislead people, etc. So, I've decided its just better to silently laugh watching people fumble around with garbage equipment, always wondering why their ranges are only a tenth of a mile, than me getting all worked up, writing long posts trying to explain things that noone cares.
 
And why it doesn't matter to have any spec chart, of any sort? Well, its very simple: Because we are cheap. Lets just say we had a chart with a bunch of radios, so, you see that fancy XPR7550e, and everything looks great, a +18dBm better effective sens, tight selectivity, and better everything... so you quickly realize this is the radio you want, but then, finally, when you look a the last column, the pricetag... you have a heart attack.... so in your mind you quickly disqualify the XPR7550e, b/c none of things can be that much better than the 59 dollar garbage CCR special... so without having any sense of what a 18dBm difference truly means, or any of the other spec chart parameters mean, all of the sudden, that 59 dollar CCR garbage special becomes the best radio, the same radio Jesus used to call Home before ascending back to Heaven... 
 
Seriously, it doesn't matter.
 
Only way to guarantee learning is making mistakes over time, and if it has to be an expensive mistake over a long period of time, so be it. The more expensive the mistake, and the longer you've made it, the better you learn the lesson, and I can certainly attest to heart to that... until then I'll be laughing... yeah, I am a cruel person, I am gMan the heartless, the troublemaker, the troll... etc etc.
 
G.

I'll bite.
 
So, if you are going to use repeaters to chat with other GMRS licensed operators, then any UHF radio will work. If you want something just to get started then go with a Baofeng BF-888s. It doesn't get any cheaper than 9 dollars, which is, if IIRC, what I paid for one of those last time. Don't expect to break any simplex long range contexts with it... but it will communicate with GMRS repeaters just fine.
 
After playing around with GMRS for a while, then evaluate what you really want, and what the typical usage scenario would be. Is simplex range what you want? or you prefer chatting with other GMRS owners in repeaters? Maybe what you want is Ham radio, and not GMRS, which is a very different license than GMRS. In GMRS there are just 22 channels, so things like VFO, etc... are not needed, you only need to scan 22 channels. Most hams, used to VFO on their radios like to have one, which was probably the thing to have 20 years ago, when everything was FM..., nowadays, however, most, if not all radio communications in UHF are digital modulation (P25, DMR, NDXN, D-Star), which most of these FM radios won't do... so having the ability to scan the entire UHF band won't be of much use when all you'll hear is bleep bleep, thunk thunk thunk thunk (DMR) or a hissing noise like a good old modem (P25, D-star) etc.. So, again, for ham operation a VFO comes in handy since most of the ham stuff is all FM analog. but the rest of the world is moving away from analogue communications.
 
Keep in mind, though, that if its long simplex GMRS range what you seek, you'll need to pay to play.
 
G.

Exactly what happened to me... I spent a ton of money and things didn't perform to my expectations... and 2 mobiles and velcro.. yep,. that sounds like a good plan to me! don't forget the cable!
 
G.
 

I'll bite.
 
So, if you are going to use repeaters to chat with other GMRS licensed operators, then any UHF radio will work. If you want something just to get started then go with a Baofeng BF-888s. It doesn't get any cheaper than 9 dollars, which is, if IIRC, what I paid for one of those last time. Don't expect to break any simplex long range contexts with it... but it will communicate with GMRS repeaters just fine.
 
After playing around with GMRS for a while, then evaluate what you really want, and what the typical usage scenario would be. Is simplex range what you want? or you prefer chatting with other GMRS owners in repeaters? Maybe what you want is Ham radio, and not GMRS, which is a very different license than GMRS. In GMRS there are just 22 channels, so things like VFO, etc... are not needed, you only need to scan 22 channels. Most hams, used to VFO on their radios like to have one, which was probably the thing to have 20 years ago, when everything was FM..., nowadays, however, most, if not all radio communications in UHF are digital modulation (P25, DMR, NDXN, D-Star), which most of these FM radios won't do... so having the ability to scan the entire UHF band won't be of much use when all you'll hear is bleep bleep, thunk thunk thunk thunk (DMR) or a hissing noise like a good old modem (P25, D-star) etc.. So, again, for ham operation a VFO comes in handy since most of the ham stuff is all FM analog. but the rest of the world is moving away from analogue communications.
 
Keep in mind, though, that if its long simplex GMRS range what you seek, you'll need to pay to play.
 
G.

For the TK-8180 I think you need to download and install the programming software for the radio. It should be the KPG-89D located here. There are other locations to find the software. The latest version is V1.61 I believe. Older ones will likely work too. Just make sure you have the serial install key. Normally most of the packages include one in a text file.
 
http://rsws.zapto.org/RadioSoftware/Kenwood/
 
You will also need a programming cable for it too.
 
Commercial radios are great to use on GMRS but are impossible to setup, or nearly so, without the programming software.
 
Any used commercial radio you are thinking about buying make sure you can get the correct programming software and cable for it FIRST. If you can't the radio will end up being an expensive paper weight.

Please, lets leave politics out of this.

Holy smokes... an APX8000, a flagship in the Motorolian Empire... and they call me the snob with a handful of XPR7550e hahaha... 
 
G.

Please, lets leave politics out of this.

I'll bite.
 
So, if you are going to use repeaters to chat with other GMRS licensed operators, then any UHF radio will work. If you want something just to get started then go with a Baofeng BF-888s. It doesn't get any cheaper than 9 dollars, which is, if IIRC, what I paid for one of those last time. Don't expect to break any simplex long range contexts with it... but it will communicate with GMRS repeaters just fine.
 
After playing around with GMRS for a while, then evaluate what you really want, and what the typical usage scenario would be. Is simplex range what you want? or you prefer chatting with other GMRS owners in repeaters? Maybe what you want is Ham radio, and not GMRS, which is a very different license than GMRS. In GMRS there are just 22 channels, so things like VFO, etc... are not needed, you only need to scan 22 channels. Most hams, used to VFO on their radios like to have one, which was probably the thing to have 20 years ago, when everything was FM..., nowadays, however, most, if not all radio communications in UHF are digital modulation (P25, DMR, NDXN, D-Star), which most of these FM radios won't do... so having the ability to scan the entire UHF band won't be of much use when all you'll hear is bleep bleep, thunk thunk thunk thunk (DMR) or a hissing noise like a good old modem (P25, D-star) etc.. So, again, for ham operation a VFO comes in handy since most of the ham stuff is all FM analog. but the rest of the world is moving away from analogue communications.
 
Keep in mind, though, that if its long simplex GMRS range what you seek, you'll need to pay to play.
 
G.

+1 on the ICOM. If you are going ham, then get a ham radio. The purpose of GMRS is not the same as amateur ham operator.
 
CCR = Cheap China Radio. (are cheap, have low performing receivers, tend to have dubious FCC certification, potentially illegal to TX on any band, and they usually put out spurious, or dirty, RF signals out too)
 
I don't understand what MacJack is talking about Motorola radios not being what they used to years back, or the gotcha, maybe he can elaborate a bit more on that?... but the fact, tho, is that they still outperform CCRs by an ample margin.
 
So, I think the ICOM you stated will make a fine first radio. But, if you just need something dirt-cheap to get started in GMRS repeater operation, then know there are much cheaper alternatives to CCRs than the Wouxuns, with identical performance for GMRS repeater operation. My vote goes to the Baofeng BF-888s, at 9 dollars a pop. (or a pair nowadays? ) you can never go wrong with that, the ultimate disposable radio. I have more than a dozen or so of those... 
 
G.

Thank you. I think its kinda obvious, but worth reminding people.
 
G.

With a pretty decent receiver. That radio should not be bothered much by intermod issues... good choice.
 
Unfortunately I don't know much about that radio, but just like JohnE stated, it appears like its a good handheld.
 
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.

PM sent. I need to completely reprogram my XPR7550 because my local DMR repeater owner (W9CTO) switched from DMR-Marc to the Chicagoland Brandmeister system.
 
TIA for the generous gesture!

Fellow Motorolian citizen being a good Samaritan! Nice!! Upvoted!

Front end? what front end?
 
Lets not forget those things put out all kinds spurious RF noise all over the spectrum too... so you are screwing everyone over as well.. .but who cares... when the CCR range is only 1/4 mile all you need is that cheap 50W CCR PA, and crank that sucker all the way up like a boss,... lets boost those spurious dB even further, all that just to extend the range to a whopping 2 miles simplex... 
 
So, you don't mind the interference?, but what about others? so, what happens when your CCR spews all kinds of RF noise all over the band? That doesn't matter? There are some of us who care and spend a lot of money trying to avoid interference to others... 
 
G.