wayoverthere

If the PSU in question can supply enough current, most likely yes. The 25x2 is likely needing 5-6 amps on high.i have a pyramid 10a PSU I use occasionally with the lower power radios that I got from woot for $50ish.

GE are the earliest walkie talkies I remember having too, but it was these https://www.ebay.com/itm/266679045699 On radio shack, I have a CB from there from sometime in the late 90's, and it IS branded radio shack. The mag mount antenna, as far as I know, never had any logos, and definitely doesn't now, though tje connectors have gotten a little corroded.

https://m.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/43107 Here is the link for W4HTP, and yeah, they're on and relaying as I type this.

One other option that comes to mind is the tram 1181, which is rated to cover both services, plus MURS ranges (140-170 & 430-470 MHz) and is on the less expensive side (under $25). Some members have reported good results. My experience showed reasonable SWR numbers (1.3 or so), but in terms of "getting out" it didn't seem to work so well for me.

Pretty much...it was acting like it wasn't posting I do wish we had the ability to delete our own posts.

It really comes down to your use case. If the cheap radio has the features you want, and isn't having desense issues, (or it's less of an issue and you want less expensive handouts ), you're golden. If not, time to upgrade. I have a good mix of radios (from the uv5r to vertex and Motorola), and played with some real world testing along the way. Sitting in the same spot, be it on the windowsill or on the mountain by the repeater sites) I've seen hands on where one is receiving while the the other is not, be it poor sensitivity in one case, or desense in the other. On the mountain (in the vicinity of tv, FM radio, and repeater sites), the uv-5r was receiving nothing, while the little yaesu ft4x was still able to use the close by repeater. When harbor freight will do the job, it may not be necessary to spend the extra money on snap-on.

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They charge a premium for something ....gotta pay for all the advertising and event involvement, I guess. In the ends, they're aiming at a certain level of user, I think primarily the on the trail simplex groups, with repeaters as an afterthought. They do out of the box 'just works' for that user fairly well. I think the group here, by and large, wants a little more than that for our money. Their marketing does work, though, as I suspect a lot of the users here that didn't come to gmrs from a radio background started with Midland (myself included).

https://youtu.be/cOeKidp-iWo

Alinco DM-30tr here...it has a switch for straight 13.8v or variable that I leave set to 13.8. rated for 20a continuous, 30 peak; it's been powering my shack since 2020, and at one point had 3 radios hooked up (2 single band Vertex for 2m & 70cm, and a BTech for GMRS). Currently I just have a dual band yaesu hooked up. I also occasionally use the power poles on the front, either adapted to a 12v socket or direct, for low power needs. It's also not quite enough to run the HF radio at full power (which wants 22a, per the manufacturer), but I haven't gotten around to setting up a permanent antenna for that so I don't use it indoors anyway; have a couple batteries I use for that. As @WRYZ926 mentioned, watch the ratings; most manufacturers just list the "peak" rating, and the continuous is a bit lower once you dig into the specs (and they vary how much lower), but a few actually list the continuous number.

Correct, a node will need Internet in some form, be it cellular or otherwise. While the mygmrs network was not straight Allstar (which is used in the amateur space), it functions similarly. I grabbed this description from the wiki on allstarlink.org, which I think covers it pretty well

Tone mismatch is my first thought as well. The simplex channels shared with repeater outputs makes it harder to tell if you're hearing simplex users, or someone on a repeater. On top of that, the older compact midlands (mxt115 and 275...the USB-a is the giveaway for these) were not capable of using different transmit and receive tones ("split tones"), and were narrowband only. I've managed 60ish miles to a gmrs repeater with 25 watts and a very compromised antenna location (indoors on a shelf), and I've managed 75ish on a 5 watt handheld with good line of sight and a better whip (signal stick, on 70cm). I don't think power is necessarily the limiting factor here.

it was no go for the earlier versions with the usb-a. If I remember right, they replaced some of the early updated (usb-c) versions that shipped set up for all narrowband (for people that complained), and going forward were narrow on the simplex channels and wide on the repeater channels.

My base setup has been down for a bit due to rearranging rooms....prior to that I had a Midland mxta03 (the discontinued 3db whip) mag mounted to an 8"X12" piece of sheet metal on the top shelf of a closet. Little to no simplex here, but it was sufficient to use the repeater 60ish miles out across the valley

If you're looking at eBay, user erac1 is the account for used-radios.com, aka Sunny communications. I've bought from them before, with no issues, as have others, either via eBay or their site. On the radio itself, if the ranges matter, the model suffixes will tell the ranges they cover ...vx-4201-g6 are 400-470 MHz (good for gmrs and covers 70cm if you go the ham route too), while -g7 are 450-512mhz (good for gmrs). There was also a vx-4204 that covers VHF (136-174mhz).

I can speak to the Vertex software, at least, which as far as I've seen, runs fine in Windows 10 (I have a few different versions). Windows 11 and its driver issues are a bit more difficult, afaik. I've been sticking with win10 on my machines. I'm trying to think offhand who the Kenwood gurus are that can talk more on that part... One downside to both the dual certified and part 90 only gear is programmability on the fly; it's somewhere between more difficult and impossible to change tones on the fly on the part 90 gear, compared to part 95e (current GMRS) which are nearly all front panel programmable. In terms of cables, bluemax49ers (both .com and that username on eBay) has covered most of my cable needs, though for the vx4207 I went through quality2wayradios dot com for the cable and software. I'm in the same camp on certification...95e or dual certified primarily, but no qualms about commercial part 90 stuff, with 97/amateur gear in emergency only.

Just to add a few options... If you end up going commercial, Kenwood has some options in dual certified gear (tk880, maybe? Someone better versed on Kenwood feel free to correct me). Vertex Standard also had the vx4207 that's dual certified. (Yes, I'm a little partial to my vertex stuff).

Both good advice....headroom is never a bad thing (and nice if you want to run more than one radio). The 2 extra bits I'll add is that an Alinco has been doing well for me (dm-30tr) since early 2020, and to watch the ratings on power supplies....some only list a peak, and some supplies vary how much the gap is between continuous output and peak output. My Alinco is rated for 20a continuous, 30a peak, and most specs focus on the peak, while Samlex tend to be listed by their continuous rating. Side note: DXE has this nice 23a samlex psu+mount, says for Kenwood radios (tm-281 is listed as one of them, too).

They were going to be my suggestion as well. A little pricier than the general ebay seller, but tested good gear. They ARE on ebay with the username erac1 last I saw. Have bought a couple things from them in the past, and they've been easy to deal with and helpful, zero issues

That looks like the one on ARRL's site, though I don't see an option to download it. https://www.arrl.org/rf-exposure-calculator

Fair point. They've been pretty in-line (or even a little less) on prices of of other things I've picked up, so I didn't look into what the going price is on the 712efc, just looked for in stock.

That's who I thought of too...looks in stock there. https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-categories/antennas-mounts/base-antennas/gmrs-base-antennas/gmrs-omni-directional-base-antennas/1085-comet-ca-712efc-detail

So...based on what I'm finding on the websites...it looks like the "laird connectivity" division that became ezurio is primarily manufacturing and industrial stuff, and the internal antennas to support those. The exteral antnna portion of things already went to TE Connectivity in 2021, apparently. https://www.te.com/en/products/brands/laird-external-antennas.html Haven't looked at it on the computer yet, but their product listing is hard to use on a mobile browser.