wayoverthere

According to that email, they're not allowing wideband on ANY of the simplex channels, only the repeater channels...so 15-22 simplex will all be narrow, while 15r-22r will be wide.

Not to mention some have varying height considerations to worry about....one more of those "compromise" aspects. That double 5/8 works nicely on the roof of the truck, but doesn't get along well with the parking garage at work. Likewise with the ca2x4sr that's also up there....do i want to bounce it off of every beam through 5 (or more) floors of parking garage? Stop and fold it before I pull in? Or accept that a 1/2 wave base loaded whip and a comet sbb1 work well well enough for 90% of my usage and are short enough not to usually be a clearance issue, and just swap on the bigger whips when I won't be in that parking garage for a bit (mostly this).

for better or worse, CHIRP is what Btech directs you to for programming software. I'll take a look around my settings in CHIRP and see if i see those settings, though. Edit: haven't messed with it, but the DTMF settings are there in the Settings tab (on the left side) of CHIRP. there's also one for ANI length, and a bunch for DTMF codes. It also looks like it will let you dig deeper in the Browser tab, but a lot of the stuff is either in Hex or code...haven't poked at that too much.

No, they're not natively set up to be paired into a repeater like the kg1000g. Could it be accomplished? Sure, with some custom work on cables. The hard part would be getting the audio from the receiver to the input on the transmitter, and and handling the ptt. I don't Remember if there's a VOX setting or not. I don't know if there's any off the shelf cables that incorporate some or all of the adaptations needed.

The biggest issue with gmrs gear is most of the better (and approved) gear seems to be one off to different vendors, which is why you won't find a ton of ability to cross shop prices on the same model outside of Midland. Buytwowatradios.com is well regarded, as far as I know, and I've had no issues with the few orders I've had from them (have the 805g on the banner ad, another wouxun, and a couple other bits including antennas. For the Btech gear, they're the sole source on that. Radioddity.com has a couple options, and one (db20g) is a twin to the anytone at779uv, which I've only seen on amazon. A few members have one version or the other and are happy with them (myself included, with 2 of the anytone), though one member has one showing lower power out than it should, so maybe some quality control issues.

I found the same page, #9 and the last question are probably most to the point of getting something unlicensed like cb available again, and what's available semi readily now without the need for a test..it looks like S.R.R.S is similar to what the US has as FRS..

Alternate take: perhaps (given the backgrounds) we're overthinking the possibilities, and by screen room, what the OP meant was a literal "screened room" similar to a screened in porch, just meant to keep the bugs away?

They may be ctcss (aka PL) tones or dcs (aka DPL) tones, depending on the repeater. If it's a number with a decimal, that's ctcss. If it's a 3 digit number, usually followed by a N or I, that's DCS.

No disagreement there. Lot of inconsistencies in a LOT of the Amazon listings, and why I try to avoid Amazon for most things radio....very buyer beware on a lot of things. The radio I received does have a fcc Id on it that shows part 95e certification, though.

Went back through the links, and compared to my Amazon history; the second is the one I bought from, the description does mention being 95e certified (though the title is inconsistent, I know), and the FCC id does check out with a 95e grant. In theory, theyre only shipping locked down versions to the States...in reality, one of the two wasn't locked down as it should have been. Which..I bought one of the two to be a ham radio anyway, so they saved me a step.

Photo #3 is what the display on my two radios looks like. Given the functions along the sides of the screen in the first two photos, I wonder if they edited in the screen from a photo of the at778

I'd have to double check version, but I've used radioddity's software with my 2 Anytones as well, and have not checked for firmware updates either.

From pg 26, it looks like that T indicates dtmf mute is set. Page 50 has a menu setting for Speaker Mute...(menu 9). Maybe double check that is set to ctcss/dcs and not something involving dtmf? Manual link: https://www.buytwowayradios.com/downloads/dl/file/id/1411/product/5287/wouxun_kg_1000g_owners_manual.pdf

You bet. The fourm has been (and continues to be) a great resource for me too, and I try to return the favor when I can .

The 1/4 wave are effectively half of an antenna, using the metal mounting surface as the other half (ground plane), similar to the 12" spring antenna you linked. On the other hand, the first one linked (the 15") is a half wave, effectively carrying both halves, which is why it mentions not needing a ground plane. The"base loaded coil" is a way of making it act the same size to the radio, while allowing it to be downsized physically, to some extent. Signal wise, generally the pattern may be a tiny bit less vertically on the base loaded compared to the 1/4 wave, but marginally further in distance...one of those things you'd find if you were on the fringes of range. I've had no clearance problems with 1/2 or 5/8 wave uhf antennas, even in the 7' clearance garage at work, though it doesn't park indoors at home. For reference, mine are on the roof of a single cab, mid 2000's 2wd Ranger clone. In terms of cable run from the magnet, consider your routing carefully to protect the paint, and protect the cable from pinching or kinking. If you're running it in inclement weather, watch the routing for water intrusion as well. I routed mine along the doorframe to the bottom, and turn upward to cross the seal...on the car, similar concept along the trunk seal, though I do have to be careful closing the trunk.

If I'm looking at the right mount, the pull tab is for removing the mount from the vehicle... doesn't appear related to attaching the whip to the mount. https://www.arcantenna.com/products/heavy-duty-mag-nmo-mount-cb-vhf-uhf-gmrs-radios-pl-259-rnmom195sumb12ist https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0345/4055/2323/products/RNMOMMechanical_0db1632b-8a21-49d5-8f0e-d90c3ad34486_900x.jpg

An inch for the mount is a good buffer...I want to say mine are about 3/4". On wind noise, mine isn't the best vehicle to judge this, since it has an aftermarket exhaust (not all that quiet). That said, I've only ever noticed minor differences in noise between the antennas in the windiest conditions...the comet and Browning have tight springs like that 2nd you linked, but they're also both in the neighborhood of 3' tall, with phasing coils along the way. I've run the 70cm tuned version of that first laird and never noticed any noise, and wouldn't expect a difference from that tight spring on the 2nd...good performance too.

Agreed...I have Midland and browning nmo mag mounts on my truck that have hosted a variety of nmo antennas, including a laird 5/8 wave, Midland 3db whip, laird and Midland 1/4 waves, a couple different comets, a signal stalk, a tram, and a pctel for 6 meter. On the length question, I agree with Marc....need more info to say for sure. One possibility is measurements of the whip alone compared to the whip+loading coil base.

For what it's worth, my 50x1 does the same. Alinco DM-30 psu set to 13.8v, and the 50x1 shows 14.1 or 14.2. The icom 2730 that has since moved to the truck displayed spot on 13.8v. The btech also showed a bit higher than a voltmeter connected to a couple lantern batteries in series (was going some testing)..I chalked it up to margin of error with the btech.

I was cleaning this weekend and stumbled on an older set of uniden ecotrek FRS radios. The fcc id isnt even showing in the OET database now ?

I won't call it money wasted, like another poster did, more a cost of learning. I look at it similar to Bob...They all served a purpose, from the gxt handhelds, mxt115, onwards...i just wanted more than they offer, and didn't do enough research before diving in. I will give the gxt's the nod for least favorite for how limited they are, though. No repeaters, all narrowband, no removable antenna, and the tone<>code scheme Midland uses.

Good info on that repeater. Up here, i do have to use receive tones on .575, as there's 2 repeaters in range, plus a hotel using bubble packs for their housekeeping staff.

Encode is your input tone (encoding so the repeater recognizes your signal), decode is the output. For DPL, ive seen it stated that polarity is assumed (N)ormal, unless otherwise stated as (I)nverted.

Mxta26. I wish they still sold their 3db whip rather than the ghost, that worked well without being too tall. This. I've had very good results out of a single band Laird for 70cm.

I'll have to recheck mine, but I want to say it was 1.4 or less everywhere I tested. I have the spring kit, and it's mag mounted dead center on the roof of a single cab compact truck, so decent ground plane. I also remembered I have a small diamond (nr72b, maybe?) that's advertised as dual band...grabbed it for it's small size (trying to to find a better performing dual band/limited clearance option than the Comet SBB1), and it's near 1:1 on uhf, and maybe 1.3 on gmrs. I say "advertised", because it's like 2.5-3 on 2m on the truck, but decent on a piece of sheet metal indoors. Haven't gone back out to see if it likes an "edge" in the ground plane like the compactennas apparently like, still waiting for a break from triple digit highs (they're saying 115 on Tuesday ?)