tweiss3

I thought I saw one thread on cobbling together an amplifier/filter set on RR. I'm not exactly interested in transmitting though, but if VHFLo was available to listen, I would like too listen. If only someone had a way to expand the VHFLo to 6 or 10 meters.......

Yes, I have terminators for both unused ports. It powers up and cycles through channels and zones. I'm still undecided if VHF low is worth doing anything with. I don't see it being used in Ohio anymore, for anything. I also don't want to deal with another antenna.

Waiting on a TNC to N adapter, but I have some more information/observations to add. CH721 head (system) is not terrible to use, but I glanced over the fact that you can only have 1 mission plan. You need the elusive and expensive CH100 to hold more than 1 mission plan. The HHCH has same features/limitations as the CH721 head. Programming is through the brick DB9, not the head DB9. When applying power, read the manual for control head setup. You will get no power/activity if you don't connect the ignition sense wire to power. This is on the head side, if you don't want ignition sense, hardwire the white wire to positive power, otherwise attach it to ignition sense power.

I'm pretty sure there are a handful of comments "pending", including mine. Interesting to read through the comments, they all pretty much mirror my sentiment on the deal.

Did you ever get one? I missed out on picking up one of the touch screen heads.

@kidphc A 100M at my house arrived yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't get home until 11:30pm and promptly passed out. I hope to get some bench time with it this weekend, or in the next week.

This is not necessarily true. Almost all of the current VHF LMR radios with Part 90 acceptance are also granted Part 80 acceptance (marine radio). I think Part 95 is not worth the time/money to request certification for anymore.

They don't. Only the repeater owner is supposed to submit their own repeater.

Bumping this thread. Did you ever put one of these together? I'm looking into one, but I'm missing some information and maybe some hardware. Did you confirm programming can occur directly through the DB9 using an FTDI? Do you have a pinout from the DB44? Any idea on what pins are needed for 3pin keyloading?

I used a Comet GP-6NC at a similar height. It worked decently, however, it snapped in half in a high wind storm.

Some more info, and some questions. The TAC1 battery/charger is a dropship from PowerProducts. Charger is an Endura, which is top notch. I get 14+ hours on a single charge. Would buy again. I ended up buying the 9" antenna from NLT, brand new. It is a significant improvement over the 6" on VHF. UHF/7/800 no noticeable difference. The flexibility of the antenna is a huge improvement as well over the 6". Has anyone found any bluetooth compatibility, other than OTTO? Still looking for a listen only BT ear piece. Anyone else have a VC4000? I think I will grab one, but some of the ones I see for sale don't have the cord, just the charger brick. Any idea where to get the power cord? One other thing, my "feature list" doesn't use the numbers, but lists them by name for most. Anyway to get more information in RPM? I'm interested in a few that I never heard of. Radio info further confuses me.

DX Engineering's 400MAX cable is identical to TimesMicrowave LMF400 Ultra Flex.

Well, few weeks use impressions: 1) OEM Harris battery with 208 cycles on lasts a "work" day listening, and that is about it. I do have a TAC1 4100mAh battery and charger on the way. I'm also on the hunt for a VC4000 charger for the car. 2) The radio isn't as heavy/big as I expected. I do have a Harris leather holster for it, it definitely is better than the belt clip when running around. 3) I didn't intend to use it as a listening device, but it does it extremely well, and is easy to program. Enhanced CC for those that know. 4) The 48 channel (ABC switch) "capacity" is annoying coming from the NX-5k infinite channel selector. Not the end of the world. 5) Bluetooth is a bit finicky. I can do programming over BT, but sometimes it doesn't want to work for some unknown reasons. I have also yet to find anything bluetooth that works with the radio for listening. Annoying but not a deal killer. I may have to invest in the bluetooth Pelator headset before long. Long and short, I agree above with WRKC935's assessment. Its a great radio, and a great option.

I've had some rough/missed/damaged packages from all of them, and it only seems to be getting worse the past 2 years. I did just have a package delivery date move up a full week today. I'll be happy if it does come tomorrow like it says.

I too have the SRH320 on my D74

The "license free" stuff is under the ISM (industrial scientific & medical) licensure and is restricted to 1W maximum. All devices must be type accepted, and may have other things like fixed antennas required. For amateur radio 902-928, same band, but you can do much more stuff. I have some Motorola 900MHz radios I use on amateur that do analog and P25. HT is typically around 3W and mobiles are 30W. Like UHF, 900 is extremely line of site.

Front end overload is a thing. Unless you have experienced it, and observed it side by side with different radios, you likely won't understand or care. The better radios have much better filtering to prevent this. Also, along side better filters, it also creates better selectivity. Also better accessories are available, and audio quality. These are just a few.

The programming isn't hard, but there are extra steps vs some of the other things. It almost follows the line of Astro25 Portable/Mobile process, but with a few extra steps. It looks like zone scan is going to be ideal. I did have to figure out the best way to program my zones like I have my other radios, and I'm doing 1 frequency set for 1 "system" for each zone I make. Anyone know a way to edit the .cv5 files in excel/notepad?

The expensive part is past........ Now I'm looking at building mission plans. Any idea if a frequency can be mixed mode?

So I found one that I was willing to part with my money for. This will be interesting. What batteries are you guys using, OEM, aftermarket?

There has been a ton. This week we had a station come in full quieting at just about 140-150 miles on 2 meters. I've also noticed receiving strong signals from adjacent coordinated repeaters (shared frequencies). This temperature swing has been something.

I rarely hear much when driving during the day. I do hear the brunswick and lakewood repeaters identify on schedule, but never heard another user. My repeater is down due to a broken antenna, but never reaches that far either. We really only use GMRS for family events and trips, being we can often be out of cell phone coverage, and its a ton easier to hit PTT and get their attention rather than pull the phone out and attempt a call. I know some neighborhood groups use GMRS to keep track of each other, especially during long power outages.

I'm not sure about the MTS2000, but the other M stuff in 900 I've played with required hex edits to program in the 902 ham band, but did not use different software.

Is it the 25W or 40W version? Either way, its a great UHF radio that has the capacity for 128 channels to be programmed. It will work well for GMRS if programmed correctly, however, it should be noted that it is not type accepted for GMRS. Do what you will with that information.

I wonder if he is hearing MDC1200 IDs, which aren't technically permitted over the repeaters, but are permitted on simplex.