Extreme

Mobile: Kenwood 880 HT: Wouxun 805 Simplex operation. Terrain: 500' pine timbered hill obstructing at mobile end. Once past the hill = 18 mi. LOS down hill into a valley and HT. Perfect 5x5 TX/RX both directions. Blown away that it reached.

Sorry for the delayed response. Was in Montana riding the trails. I ended up with the 880 25w unit. Got 18 - 20 mile reception from the 880 to a HT clear as day in simplex, even with a timbered hill between (on the mobile end of the shot). Was very surprised. Also worked weil with UTVs. Mobile has a 1/4 wave antenna. You should get excellent results with a repeater available.

Welcome from Spring Creek (Elko).

No. At least no mention of it on the Midland page.

Chris, I got excited for a second when I saw your repeater's new listing for Mountain Home. I always confuse it with Mountain City (Nevada), my hunting area. Thought whoopie.. here we go. Oh well, will try to shoot the 100 miles from top of Tennessee Mtn (8000') to your repeater on my Kenwood mobile (25w) next time I'm up there.. fat chance, but I know it a pretty clear shot line of sight to MH from up there. I'm hoping to get to the top of Pine Mtn also and take a shot back toward the Spring Creek repeaters.

I found it easier to program all functions of the 805G via control panel. To my knowledge, DTMF is not available on the 805 and is not mentioned in the instruction sheet. I see no mention of 'step' or 'side tone' either so those must be in the software only. Guess I could plug in and play with the software.. https://manual-hub.com/manuals/wouxun-kg-805g-01-pdf-manual/

Why not just set the radio to "SCAN"?

Pre-programmed used commercial radios (plug'n play) are available for us run-of-the-mill folks. I got mine from used-radios.com and I'll bet some ebay sellers will program as well. UR gave me excellent customer service, programmed the radios to my specs (GMRS repeater tones and button assignments included), and provide a 90 day warranty, which they honored when programming wasn't perfect, with a 5 day turnaround. Yes, I paid more than most ebay radios.

As a noob a few months ago I was heading to Midland then found this forum and ended up with a Kenwood TK-880-1 V2 mobile and a Kenwood TK-3170 HT from used-radios.com. They programmed them both for me to my specs but then I bought the correct cable and downloaded free programming software for both and have done my own programming and setup as well. All this was with a ton of help from the forum. A search here for those topics will reveal the how-to so shouldn't have to be repeated. But the folks on here are outstanding to get you on the path. I also bought a Wouxun 805-G and programmed that from the keypad but had a bit of difficulty with the cable and software on that one. Finally got it figured out with the recommended ebay cable. So, I would go the same route again, with used commercial gear. Glad I didn't spend double the cash on the Midland. Edit/Add: Kenwood 880 is available some places in the 'H' (high power) 40w model. The standard 880 is 25w but if you dig deep in the forum you'll learn that your antenna and it's placement are much more of a factor than TX power.

Asking for a friend, actually a guy on an ATV forum who's installed a dual band UHF/VHF 25 watt radio. How close is too close to the head for an antenna? I'm sure it depends on how often and how long signals are transmitted but from the looks of his photo the antenna and ball will be within a foot of the back of his head. I don't wanna be 'that guy' and bark at him but considering a suggestion. Thought maybe you guys would have something for me. I checked FCC and it's pretty vague, or at best hard to get down to the numbers. Thanks.,

Can you get parts for the 511? I've had mine 20 years it seems but due to lack of use and tossing it around I've misplaced the charger and cable. And since it's unknown when the rechargeable battery was last used, I might need one of those as well. My only complaint with this radio is the fact that the LCD clock is always 'on' and discharges the batteries when in storage. Maybe they've modified that in the new 511. Thanks.

Great outline. I give up.. what's "73"? Ham stuff no doubt.

Welcome. Eagle Rock....?

Since software is generally free... It's good to know the programming cable is the same. Don't know if or which 2nd radio I might get but good to know in advance what's compatible. Thanks.

What's the correct software for 8180K? I have a TK-880 and would like my second radio to use the same cable and software. Thanks.

You know the 805G is programmable via the control panel also..

Yup, KPG-49D for the 880-1. I loaded it into my Windows 7 laptop with no issues. Maybe 968's suggestions will help. Mine was from Hamflies. There's a spot to select V2.0 on Hamflies, I think that's what I used. I'm not sure we're allowed to post links to software here so I've refrained. The only issue I ran into was when it asked for S/N. I thought it was radio S/N and that did not work. It needs the S/N that's in the software files. Good luck.

Yes, I'd be more likely to go for a ham if it were done virtually. Then I could spend even more money on equipment!

Same here. '19 Wolverine X4 with Kenwood TK880. And a Kenwood HT and Wousun HT. I'll be relegated to simplex when camping unless I'm near my local area where there are available repeaters. There are no repeaters near where I camp for extended periods. Without a repeater and someone monitoring that frequency the odds of reaching a random rescuer is slim. But simplex with fellow riders should work pretty well (I've yet to put mine to the test). Go to Map on this website to find repeaters that might be in your range. Lots of folks here with more expertise and experience than I.

FTDI programming cable for Chirp. https://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_odkw=kenwood+tk880+programming+cable&_ssn=bluemax49ers&_armrs=1&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=btech+gmrs1programming+cable&_sacat=0 How to with keypad: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=btech+gmrs-v1+programming

Programming will depend on the brand and model radio. You can tell it here or do a search on the forum for your specific radio to find programming advice.

When programming ham channels into both the 880 and 3170 it pops up "Out of Freq Range" or such. I ignored and said "OK" so I guess I'll have to hope someone hits a repeater when I'm monitoring to see if they work. Mirrored your buttons except: 3 Zones (GMRS, GMRS Repeaters, and ham Repeaters - 880 only). So it will take a conscious effort to go to ham. All set to Scan. A = Talk Around Programming is easy once I got past the apprehension and work it a bit.

Very helpful, thanks. I moved all channels to Zone 1. I forgot about the triangle indicator for Scan, so yes, ham is included as programmed. My first try with 2-way communication between home and town (15 miles and over a mountain, probably 10 mi. LOS + the obstruction). The repeater is on the mountain between. It worked well calling from the grocery store to inside my house, both of us on HT. Odd for me though, was a gal chimed in saying she was on the channel to talk to her boss across town and wondering it it was a "private" channel and should she move. Naw, whatever.. didn't really have an answer. So, are their radios coincidentally setup with the repeater PL, is there bleed, or..?? My wife could hear her as well so have to assume the lady was on the repeater but how and why I don't know. I'll try a simplex channel from home to town next time to be sure we're not hitting from 15 miles with a hill considerably higher than the house obstructing LOS.

Next question(s): Should I put ham channels in a separate Zone? And how do you switch between Zones? I have all my buttons occupied but can change one maybe. My Wouxun 805G displays channels scrolling as they Scan. The Kenwood does not, but just says Scan. I currently have ham channels in Group 2 so wondering if they're actually scanning? No way to transmit on ham to bring up a repeater for any confirmation (legally). Should I leave the in Group 2 or move to Group 1? Conventional. Group 1: Ch 1-7 CH 23 – 31 Button Programming: Selector = CH UP/Down. AUX (Orange) = LAMP S1 = Scan Multi. S2 = Squelch Off Momentary. S = Low TX Power. A = Talk Around. B. Squelch Level. C. Scan ADD/DELETE. Thanks.

Nice. Mine is the K also. Give me something to do on this cold rainy day. Thanks.