gman1971

Nah, the Diamond X500N would've been an even bigger monster antenna...
 
G.

That Tram is a monster antenna.  That should do the trick.  The ground plane kit is going to be a huge improvement on your side too.
 
Good luck.  Looking forward to hearing back with the results.

Nice!!
 
I have also tried it, and since then I've made the decision to purchase all my future radios all DMR capable so when GMRS officially allows for digital modulations I'll just switch a channel # and be good to go. I've programmed several intercom systems and I love the features the DMR standard offers, can't really do that in FM analogue. Radios like the Baofeng BF-1801 or the Baofeng DM-V1 DMR capable are like 45 bucks or 29 bucks... not quite as cheap as the BF-888s, but getting there.
 
Love no picket fencing as well.. its crystal clear all the way to the end of reception, then it drops... 
 
G.

I wouldn't recommend doing this. The signals on the ribbon cable are very likely logic signals, some anyway, that have sharp rise and fall times thus a high frequency content. Extending the ribbon cable would be the equivalent of a transmission line. If the line was not terminated in the proper impedance at each end then you get reflections. Those appear as high frequency ringing on the logic level transition edges. The voltages can ring above the supply and below ground which can result in damage to the chips on the boards if they exceed the max spec values. Additionally the ringing will look like extra logic transitions further confusing the logic on the boards. 
 
Once in my younger days I tried to use the expansion slot on the back of my then new TRS-80, it ran between 2 to 3 MHz, using a 2 to 3 foot long un-terminated ribbon cable to the solder less breadboard. I wanted to try experimenting with some computer controlled hardware. The computer wouldn't even boot to the built-in BASIC interpreter until I removed the cable. Lucky nothing was damaged. Lesson learned.

Radio looks good man, I'd say look for a used one on eBay, might be cheaper, but if money is no concern, 175 isn't that bad... in fact, is not bad at all considering how expensive LMR gear is these days.
 
G.

Not yet.  I need to have the trees trimmed.  There can't be any branches touching the antenna or I won't be able to tune it.  We are getting massive amounts of rain and the ground is saturated.  I can't get any heavy equipment in the woods behind the house.  I am holding out for the ground to freeze in February, hoping we can get back there.

Very cool Marc, how you've been?
 
G.

Anyone involved in Winter Field Day this weekend? Daytime comms have been great on 80m through 20m. I made contacts from California to the Mediterranean on 100w and a 80m dipole. I thought the D layer was going to beat me up, but I'm pretty happy with the performance today.
 
I'm not in it for the points or competition... I just love making long distance contacts. Was wondering if anyone else has been involved today.

Many years back, before these CCR became the rage, it was a common complaint of ham users of Japanese handhelds that when replacing the factory supplied "rubber duckie" antenna with a 5/8 wave dipole or a base station antenna that the receiver sensitivity would erode. 
 
This was quickly identified as being a combination of both poor RF front end selectivity and poor dynamic range and IMD .
 
It would be interesting to subject these CCR radios as well as known good commercial grade radios to the rigorous testing of TIA603D.
 
Lacking the complete facilities to do so, it occurred to me that a UHF TEM cell could be put to use to combine a desired signal (12dB SINAD reference) and undesired noise spectrum (rejection notched at desired) from an amplified noise diode generator to perform a Noise Power Ratio test of these various radios having integral antennas. This set up could be used to quantitatively measure radios and rank them on a dB scale of best to worst. 
 
This setup would simulate the "real world" environment of powerful emitters in and out of band of the receiver.

Super cool, thanks!
 
 
 
Actually, only one GD-77s.  The other is either a Midland MXT275, or an Anytone TERMN-8R.  Perhaps they're covering up for the weakness of the GD-77s' front-end filtering with clean output into a low-noise area?  I know I don't have any repeaters nearby, the only thing I can hear from here is, occasionally from a hilltop, a Jacksonville repeater automatically ID'ing, so I suspect I'm in an unexpectedly favorable RF environment.  Terrain is Florida, so flat as a pancake.  I have a few repeaters handy when I go to the beach, but the middle of the state is a dead zone.  Also, I'm the only one who ever uses those repeaters in Cocoa Beach, as far as I can tell; I like to monitor them and SARnet when I'm beaching it up.
 
This place is just a dead zone, for the most part.  Every third time I drive by a park, I hear DMR on channel 16.  Occasionally a kid with a walkie-talkie after Christmases.  But for all I scan, I don't hear much at all. 
 
Edit:  Nah, you were right.  I just checked the maps, and it's closer to 1.7 miles to the grocery store.

Well, people were whining to release it...so they did. Firmware isn't ironed out yet. Expect a lot more updates.
 
Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

"It is the way", that sounds like the Mandalorian, man. hahaha.
 
I have some Kenwoods lying around, but I use Vertex Standard as my primary base/mobile rigs, the software is easy to work with and its free... /\/\ would be nice to have... and none of those are CCR...  
 
G.
 
 

Well, I can't say I agree on your first point (see below), but, I do agree whole-heartedly with your conclusion.
 
 
Agreed. In open space, VHF will travel further, have lower path loss  and better building penetration than UHF (See this paper for more information). On the other hand, UHF may actually work better inside a building because of signal splatter and reflection.

I used the Baofengs for quite a while before going the Vertex Standard route... and again, so long you're aware of the limitations, it doesn't really matter so long it works.
 
G.
 

Yep, I can certainly vouch for that. Since putting a super high gain antenna high up, the analyzer was reading a massive noise threshold.... needed 2 cans (cavities) to bring it down to an "acceptable" level.
 
I think the radio range these days, aside from more TX power, is also limited by receiver being overloaded by RF noise; b/c after finding out the noise threshold at my location I was blown away how high it was... so if you don't have a radio that has a tight front end you won't receive signals from very far...
 
Don't sell yourself short, Marc, you are being helpful to others, and nobody knows everything.... point is that sometimes little tidbits like that are the eureka moment that makes it, even for knowledgeable ppl.
 
G.

He meant the GD77 S, the S model has no screen, and that is an overpriced CCR. The BF-1801 (with screen, a GD77 clone) has its place: its a cheap intercom radio for short range comms.
 
https://www.anyradios.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Radioddity-GD-77S-DMR-Dual-Band-Dual-Time-Slot-Ham-Amateur-Two-Way-Radio-Digital-Analog-4.jpg
 

 
 
I understand, I carry an Alinco MD5, which is basically a small 878, I like having the dual band option, even though I am not a ham, I have pretty much every single ham FM repeater in Wisconsin punched in the radio, in case I ever need help, or in an emergency. Most of these no screen radios are kinda limited for anything beyond store floor intercom (which is what they are designed to do, anyways)
 
There is a noticeable difference in Receiver performance between tne XPR7550 and the XPR7550e. I don't carry one b/c I don't have one, yet. Aside from the price tag, you're boxed in a band, either VHF or UHF... can't do anything to convert... at least I haven't taken one apart to see what makes these radios different... if its a software (firmware) thing, or a physical hardware change.
 
G.

No grandkids here yet... just kids...  
 
G.

Yes... a repeater to a repeater is usually not a good time. Plus, there is delays in key up times, leading to a word or 3 missing from the start of your transmission.

Oh, not to forget the heating taking place on one's cross-band radio from the 'extended keyup times'...

I really need to set aside the few minutes to add the Schererville repeater to my CS800 radios. That way I could chat with you via the Madison repeater! 

after i'm done playing with the CCR radios i program a few freq  and give them to the grandkids and nieces and nephews they don't last long after that but the kids have fun while they do 

When I first entered the DMR portion of ham radio, I got a good deal on a really well cared for XPR7550 (UHF). I had a custom leather holster made for it, along with the D-Ring for my belt. While it looks nice it is quite heavy, at least compared with my current favorite the AT-878 which weighs just over half as much, is about half the size, and has three times the features as the XPR7550.
 
The first time I carried to Dayton for the Hamvention, I found to my dismay that while I had packed a half-dozen HTs along on the trip (why I have no idea!), I had forgotten the charger for the XPR7550!
 
Fortunately, one of my DMR friends had an Impress charger and hand mic at his booth, so I bought both and all was well again. Now I find myself not even having turned on the XPR7550 for nearly two years. I have the software and programming cable, two chargers, two batteries, the leather holster and speaker mic and need to find a good home for this package. I do keep the batteries rotated and freshly charged though.
 
Now I've found that the battery on my GD-77 has gone bad. It won't hold a charge at all. Thirty seconds fresh off the charger and the radio loses power. I'm not sure about replacing the battery. I may just toss the radio in the trash.
 
I need to sell my MD-2017 and Ailunce HD-1 if possible. I just don't need that many HTs cluttering up the house.
 
It's too bad the AT-578 doesn't have a separation kit, as I'd really like that in my mobile. Running it in 220/440 DMR crossband would be nice. At least then I'd get some use out of my 220 HT that otherwise just sits around feeling lonely. I'm blessed with having a very wide-area 220 repeater here in NW Indiana, but no one else either uses it or has a radio...

Something like that, basically the ribbon plugs onto something like that, and then the cable extends to the faceplate... The XPR radios do it like that.
 

Got to try the radio on Madison 700 just now. On just 1 watt, good reports so far. Love the fact that Low is 1 watt, mid is 10W, high is 25W and Turbo is 50W... the 1 W option is great. I can also use the 10dB attenuator and bring it down even further if need be... so far no issues with the radio...
 
Ideally you'd want to convert the ribbon cable to a parallel port, or something, similar to how the Motorola XPR mobiles work... not sure if that can be easily done. Certainly a relocation kit would work wonders for my application on a velomobile where space is at a premium...
 
 
G.

ribbon cables can be purchased fairly cheap at  different lengths even shielded or use aluminum tape for the shielding , would be a good project to give a try without harming the unit