wayoverthere

Yes...some antennas are more forgiving (wider range covered) than others. One example is the comet 2x4sr. Covers 2m, MURS, 70cm, and GMRS. On the downside, it's ~36" long. Still available, as far as I know, in both nmo and uhf bases. (I'm partial to nmo for its wide availability, so I can swap whips at will.)

it appears not, someone tried and got denied.

That's one of my favorite references as well. There's also a bit of info toward the bottom on https://www.miklor.com/COM/UV_CHIRP.php#guides If you need help translating some of the terms, the group here can definitely help.

From the bit I can see it looks like it may be the first block is all narrowband (frs) and the second (gmrs) would be wideband on all except the 467 interstitial channels.

I mistyped above... should have been "misusing", not "missing", as in misusing the "flatpack" moniker. I've always thought of the dUplexers as being for in band stuff, and the dIplexers as being for splitting or combining 2 bands (the "di" part), though I know the terms get used interchangeably. I'm running one of the latter in my ham base setup to feed 2 single band vertex decks into one dual band comet antenna.

I've always seen them referred to by that term, maybe I'm missing it. Here is one of the first results from a quick Google: https://www.amazon.com/Fumei-400-470MHz-Duplexer-Frequency-connectors/dp/B07FGFX6Q4

i know it throws out the "one box" nature of the RT97, but i wonder if one would see any improvement bypassing the built in duplexer in favor of one of the cheap flat pack "mobile" duplexers

Well, I've managed to get some successful spots on the map with aprsdroid on an old cellphone (no sim, wifi off), mobilinkd tnc3, and a uv5r...if that helps at all

Yeah, given that it takes the 868 code plugs rather than 878, I wonder which the btech really split off from. I'll give that article a look when I make it onto the computer.

BTech DMR6x2, for example (which I've been tempted by, mostly for the APRS). Itll even use code plugs for the anytone 868. I'm noticing the description only refers to transmitting APRS data, though, and not receiving.

Do you have access to a programming cable and computer? With what you describe, my first thought would be to look at whether it did something wonky with the Rx tone settings (are the tone and type what you thought they should be?), or the squelch levels.

You bet! Alternately, what about just losing the glass fuses and going to ATC fuses with something like this? The yaesu harness I got from DXE uses blade fuses rather than glass, btw. https://www.autozone.com/starting-charging-and-miscellaneous-electrical/fuse-holder/p/bussmann-atc-fuse-holder/32415_0_0 Edit: just saw the same suggestion was made in the other thread

Thanks...I was trying to think of what it was called, and couldn't go look in the app at the time

I went for the Repeaterbook app...the proximity search based on your location is kinda nice, but I don't have anything it can push the presets to over Bluetooth (I think there's just a couple models that can). I've also programmed common stuff in the common areas/routes i travel. I do have the luxury of time, though, since I don't travel all that much. With the LMR radios, I have banks of out of town stuff by region (sf bay, slo coast, coast p25, etc)

At least for the FT4X, Yaesu's software isn't bad..there's a couple things that could be improved, but miles ahead of any of the wouxun, radioddity, or anytone software I've used. I wondered the same about the menu layout on my Icom 2730...To some extent things are at least grouped well, but I can't discern any particular order, or why some things are hidden in an extended menu. That one, i bought the RT Systems software for, so I haven't used Icom's software for that one. It also ended up coming in handy later when I picked up a vx7r from ebay, which came with an old version of RT for that radio, along with a serial cable and adapter to the particular headphone port the vx7 uses. Had no luck getting the serial cable working on my win10 stick pc and usb port replicator, but the RT systems usb cable from the Icom, paired with the yaesu adapter, worked great, and works with the VX7 Commander software as well (which allows MARS mod via software instead of messing with physical components on the board.)

Unsurprisingly, that looks like the same antenna as came with my ft4x. Mine is opened up as well, but I haven't tested power output out of band...I think I've seen the same info as @kidphcon the ft5dr's lower output on gmrs. Have done FPP on the ft4x, and it's not the top of the list of things I want to do. Not much ahead of a baofeng...again, unsurprisingly. Both are doable with some practice, for that occasional new repeater you might want to add, but not something I'd want to do from scratch with a massive list.

It's not full dual band transmit, but apparently the Vertex Standard vx920 (and p920) series have the ability drop in an add-on board to receive the other band (vhf receive on a uhf radio, or vice versa. Afaik, limited FPP can be unlocked on the 929's (mainly changing tones, not full frequency freedom...I haven't dug through that too much yet).

Yeah, from Marc's experience, it sounds like the height gain isn't good for as much of an improvement, range wise, as I'd have guessed, compared to just mounting to the gate or taillight. The main advantage i was looking at is not needing a ground plane (or the ground plane kit mentioned above) compared to something like a 1/4 wave. Getting a little less rf exposure isn't exactly a bad thing either, though.

Would something like this no ground plane Laird be a good option, perhaps just above the spare? At ~15" it'd probably be a little above the roofline, but not so much to be a height hazard (and the spring for some extra protection).

Don't know about the fuse holder alone, but dx engineering has some options from the t-connector down, along with others. https://www.dxengineering.com/search/part-type/dc-power-cable-assemblies?N=dc-power-cable-end-1%3At-style-2-pin

Checked just now, and it will tune down to the right range, and tx & receive am. Not picking up anything on airband at the moment though. That said, I'll be picking the better half up from the airport today, so I'll see what i can hear from closer in. (6m is why I wanted it to begin with ?) Edit: ? forgot the radio on my desk

I'll have to check my vx7r, but I know the icom 2730a in my truck does decently receiving air band from airport a few miles away, on both the sbb1 and ca2x4sr I run it through.

I tried ordering that one twice...lost in transit both times ? I ended up going with this one instead (since my primary use needed a sma-m)., and grabbed a sma-f to sma-f adapter from signalstuff when ordering another antenna: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07CPVF1GG/ Here is one I found as a related item, that has the sma-f end already, and mpd digital tends to be solid stuff, afaik: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KQHH7VC/

My 805g has the base 30 (gmrs01-gmrs22, rept15-rept22), 4 of my local repeaters, and then another set of repeater channels for ad hoc use, plus a few local uhf things (public safety and ham stuff) for monitoring. Where I was aiming with the channel names was making sure the offset was being used...that's where my mind goes first, offset, tones, then range.

I'm not 100% on the names the 935 uses, but it should differentiate between the simplex channels and the repeater channels (which have the proper offset baked in). From there, it's down to proper tx tone for the repeater, and basic range. Where are you transmitting from, and what antenna are you using? If you're indoors (especially with radiant barrier insulation), or if there's significant obstructions like a big hill between you and the repeater, even a few miles could be challenging. Likewise, if the repeater is low level, maybe at rooftop height, that adds a whole lot more obstructions in a few miles. If your settings are good (wouldn't hurt to give details, there's a number on here with the same radio), you may try from closer to the repeater's location and see if that works better. Good luck!