Extreme

Any input or experience on this unit? Paired with Baofeng BF-F8HP. A pal bought the setup and I'll be programming his radios so curious, since I never heard of these amps before. I think he's planning on it for his CJ-6 with the Nagoya 771. Critique of both amp and HT welcome. I probably would have steered him in a different direction but wasn't consulted..lol. Oh, and is the F8HP FCC Part 97 certified? Thanks. Brain freeze, obviously should have read Part 95.

There is a repeater in my area with no ID when it's brought up, just the squelch break you describe, but it works just fine. To know if it works I'd advise you get a second radio at a distance that cannot be reached via simplex and try to communicate with one another on the repeater channel.

Still unable to Read from the 76P with the 'authentic' Retevis cable (Prolific) but inserting data into the spreadsheet, filling out 'options' like Weather button on the side worked fine and uploaded to the radio. Weather channels are where they should be. Saved .dat file and loaded into a 2nd HT. The 76P has NO Wideband capability. Did the Firmware update using this: https://www.retevissolutions.com/blog/How-to-upgrade-Retevis-RT76P-GMRS-radio-firmware-for-NOAA-function

I have a couple Retevis HT and companding is an option in the software. These radios will not allow wideband so expect less than optimal performance with repeaters that run wideband. Would selecting companding in the HT improve it? Maybe off the wall question but there it is..

My 880 has top mount speaker but I get your point. Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Is the 8180 considerably better/more desirable than the TK880?

DoubleQWOO - Yikes!

Revisiting remote head mount for Kenwood TK-8180. Instead of the Cherokee (that will go in-dash) I'm thinking of putting it in my '18 F350 using the Built right dash bracket that's already in place. So I'm wondering if anyone has done the remote install of the 8180 and might be able to give me details on the head mounting setup? Does it have to go in a DIN sized bracket or... ? The pictured bracket is installed in the center 'basket' on top of the Ford dash. F150/350 are the same. https://www.builtrightind.com/collections/dash-mounts/products/builtright-industries-dash-mount-2015-2020-ford-f-150-raptor-2017-f-250-f-350 I guess I could just mount the complete radio on this bracket and save $100 instead of the remote mount. Thanks.

And you can get them that mount in a 3/8" hole.

Pretty much my thoughts on the 805G. Named repeaters, front panel prog for the most part, and simplicity of single band. Reach local repeaters with factory antenna and work well off-road simplex. Still like my TK-3170 and the new Retvis 76 is ok also, but dual band takes some getting used to.. great price and good performance so far, but had fixed antenna. Will likely hand off to young grandsons for off-road use. Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

I certainly wouldn't announce in a public forum that I plan to break federal laws. Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Or get an XJ... Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Hit and miss for me loading to the radio with R76 software. I have the authentic Retevis cable coming Saturday so will see how that goes. Managed to get 2 radios loaded after many attempts and various sequences plugging in, power up, etc . Managed to setup using keypad but a PITA. I'll let you know how it goes with the new cable ( provided I get my laptop back from repair with a dead battery). Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

ME TOO! Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

TADA! it is. My Devices & Printers folder was showing Com Port initially but not lately. Digging deeper in to the Device Manager, confirming Com 9 in my case, and choosing equipment type in the software solved the issue. Which it was I'm not sure and don't care.. lol Thanks to you and to Mark @ BlueMax for reaching out to help. Your solution worked before I tried his, which is nearly the same..

Yes, I have tried that, multiple times. Will give it another go when I'm not quite so testy about it.. lol. The Kenwood programming is done, I just wanted to verify and compare it to my other radios (Wouxun, Retcvis) to be sure they all match up. Thanks.

Whelp, while programming multiple radios over the past week I ran into an issue with my KPG-22 cable. I quit showing a Port under Devices. Figured I'd fried it by trying it with either the Baofeng or the Rectvis radio.. don't remember which. So, I just go a new one from BlueMax and although it immediately loaded the drivers and acknowledged as such, I'm still not finding a port assignment. Went to BM and downloaded driver from there as well and it just instantly completed the process. Still no port assigned and the KPG-101D will not Read from the TK-3170. Tried a different USP port on the laptop also. When I 'open' it from Devices it states "Device is working properly". Any hints on something simple I'm overlooking? I've emailed Mark for assistance as well. Thanks.

Man, I asked the typical Amazon shopper question that is already in the product description.. tried to Delete but this is the best I could do..

Port was matched correctly. Got a BF dedicated cable today but delivered the radios back to the owner so can't test. Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

My owned list: Wouxun 805G (2) Kenwood TK-3170 Retivis 76P (2) IMO of course: I prefer the Wouxun because I can adjust from the front panel. Software is ok but Kenwood is superior. Kenwood is great but needs to be laptop/software programmed unless modified for FPP and I'm not sure that's possible on their HT. Not field adjustable for CTCSS, etc. Software is excellent. Retivis 76 is ok but I seem to prefer single-band GMRS for simplicity's sake. I just got these so only one day wheelin' with them. Just finished programming Baofang 5Rs for a friend and hated Chirp. Mostly because of my ineptitude maybe but other software was more straight-forward for me. 5R is not FCC cert. and is discontinued, but I think they have new models that are compliant.

At your age (mine, too) are you willing to wait for the Feds to make a move on this for $3.50/year?

I found it cumbersome.. but then someone had to point out things I should have found on my own with some reading. Connectivity has been the biggest bugaboo for me.. sporadic read/write to radio.

Very helpful. I got it done finally. My biggest problem is getting the radio to communicate with the software for read/write. Lots of fooling around with sequence of connecting and powering up.. very sporadic whether it will connect. With luck my new Baofang dedicated cable will resolve this for next time.

Nope. I'll get on that. Thanks! Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

The 88.5 is default. Won't go to "OFF" with software but can be done manually. These settings got repeaters up and running. Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk