mbrun

Yes I have tested the output power on the radio previously and found power levels to be acceptable. For the sake of this post, I just hooked it up to my dummy load, confirmed input voltage was 13.8vdc and achieved 49.0 watts on 462.6500 and 47.3 watts on 467.6500, 16 watts +/- on the upper mid power setting, 8 watts +/- on the lower mid power setting and 4 watts +/- on lower setting on both of the above frequencies. BTW, do make sure that 13.8v is what the radio is seeing while transmitting, not just when idle. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

@gortex2 , To your question, what lesser expensive GMRS (e.g Part 95e) radios can receive two frequencies at once? Here are four TDR models I know first hand that do that: KG-1000G, KG-XS20G, KG-935G, KG-UV9G. Two mobiles, and two HTs. I cannot speak factually to the competitors of these. As far as the Dual Mode statement, here is what I mean by that. Some radios, like Midlands, are fairly simple to operate for a good chunk of the masses. This has quite the appeal for myself, my wife, and many others. The cross-over radios like the Wouxun’s, BTechs, Anytones, Radioditty, and other radios however have loads of features and setting options that are not essential for the GMRS masses and thus can make the radio intimidating to use. On the other hand, some of those added features have their place and therefore can be appealing. My Dual Mode statement therefore is is referring to radio that powers up with a simple display and essential menu options available only so it is as remains as simple to use as some FRS radios, but with an added mode that enables FPP programming, exposes features and display options that appeal to the less intimidated and power user of the radio. Hope that clarifies my statements a bit. Regards, Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

All very fair statements that I currently do not take exceptions to. I believe I felt compelled based a mixture of things. Here are some: - Initial reports of power deficiencies. - Continued apparent programming limitations, now continued on a flag-ship radio, that unnecesarily limits the number and order of usable memory configurations for repeaters, and even seemingly simplex channel usage. - Apparent continued exclusive use of integral values to describe DCS codes rather that making them available to be viewed and selected directly. As a power user, I want to see the codes without a lookup table. - Apparent inability to monitor and display dual frequencies at once while their lesser expensive competitors do. - Apparent use of ROC. It plays in because of the generally accepted knowledge that they are less performant. This can be clearly be overcome if the implementation can be proven superior. - Hope for a radio for dual modes. One that continued to be Midland simple so my wife could be more comfortable using; while having another with more advanced features and flexibility that would entice the power user group. I take no exceptions to a GMRS radio not being able to listen on amateur and public service frequencies, it is a GMRS radio after all. But what I would truly like to learn is that because it is a flagship GMRS radio that it outperforms all its crossover competitors. Wouldn’t it even be cool if passed the @gman1971 real-world effective sensitivity and selectivity tests? Clearly I don’t have one in my possession and am not hearing anything compelling for me to spend more to get less than what I have now. Perhaps new knowledge will change my tune. But for now let’s just say I am disappointed. Regards, Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

To me, you are clearly on the fringe of that repeater. Seemingly no RF budget to spare. This means minor things can make the difference between getting into and not getting into the repeater, receiving and not receiving the repeater. I remain curious how things work when you use an HT and when using the Nagoya up on roof. Moving on. I see a wire running laterally overhead through your yard in the photo. What is that? If that line is emitting some form of RFI, its proximity to your roof antenna could be causing just enough desense on the radio using that antenna. It could also explain the difference between results with antennas located at two different distances away from it. Even if that wire or any connected electronics are not a noise source, it does have me questioning the presence of other sources of RFI that could be in closer proximity to your outdoor antenna than your antenna in the garage. If the issue existed at my house some of the things I would be doing would be using a VNA to do more investigation of the antenna system, using the same radio for comparison of different antennas, comparing different antennas at the same physical location using the exact same feed-line, and I would be pulling out the spectrum analyzer to investigate RF background noise conditions in and around the antennal locations that have different Rx characteristics. Hope there is a little nugget of inspiration in there. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Actual output power of one radio vs the other can be a factor, which can be caused by a combination of factors include the operating voltage during transmit and manufacturing tolerances. I have a tendency to discount the antenna location factors. The reason be this being that the polar radiation pattern of an antenna is the same as the polar receive pattern for any given frequency. If the antenna emits a strong signal in some given direction, it will pick up weak signals well in that same direction. So performance is always complementary. This being the case, I would tend to look at other factors, including actual difference in radio performance as has already been said. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

My interpretation of the ‘licensed by rule’ rule is that you are licensed to operate in a LBR service only when you abide by the rules. If the rules for a service require the use of certified equipment and one does use such equipment then they are not licensed to use the service frequencies, thus not licensed. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I suggest that your issue is that your two radio are too close together and you are experience desense. The frequency one radio is sending out to the repeater is adversely affecting the ability of the other radio to successful capture the repeaters output frequency because of the level difference between the two. Separate your two radios by about 100 feet and more and then try again. This is a common issue. If affects all RF receivers to various degrees. The better the radios receiver design, the lesser this issue becomes. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I don’t believe that the the Nagoya is outperforming the Comet but I certainly acknowledge and accept what you are experiencing. RF is a weird animal. What experience did you have when you used an HT while up on your roof and communicated with the subject repeater? What experience did you have when using your Nagoya antenna up on the roof at or near the same location as the Comet or the former slim jim? A quick little story that occurred in the last 7 days. There is a 675 repeater in Wyoming, a suburb north of Cincinnati. It is used for the city-wide GMRS net weekly. I am on the fringe of that repeater and seldom participate because of poor signal quality in and out from my location. It is around 22 miles NW of me. Recently I was scanning the band, including scanning of repeater input frequencies, and suddenly I was listening to one side of a conversation from a guy actively using a different city repeater. Knowing him and what repeater he was on I reached out to him to ask his current location. He was about 3-5 miles further away in the same general direction as that 675 repeater; he was using his 50w mobile radio in the vehicle. I only heard him on input frequency for about a minute. What that suggested to me was that there were fewer obstructions between his antenna and mine for that mile or so stretch of roadway he was traveling than there is between the 675 repeater and me. The point of this being, location can be everything, even when that location is seems counter intuitive. Since you know what the Nagoya performance is in the garage, what is like when it is located where the Comet is? Same? Better? Worse? Then a logical thing to ask is, what is the Comets performance in the garage when located at the location where the Nagoya works well? Assuming all else is equal (same radio, same coax, same physical location, same SWR) the Comet should result in a stronger signal into the your radio, and into the repeater from your radio, from most locations where you compare the two antennas against one another. So ask yourself, what is technically different, if anything, other than location? Isn’t radio fun? Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

It just got to wondering how many KG-1000G owners are actually familiar with and use the Priority Channel feature on this radio. So this post is for you. If you a KG-1000G owner, are you aware that you can set a priority channel? Are you aware that, unlike many other radios, even when you are tuned to different channel, and even when both of your receivers are tuned to different channels, that transmissions from your designated priority channel will still come through? Did you realize it will do this when you are not scanning? It is a very cool and useful feature. Yes, it requires the software to preset the channel, but once the channel has been set you can enable and disable the feature from the radio. It makes it sort of like a poor mans “Three-Watch” (as contrasted with Dual-Watch) radio. Of course, poor is relative. When the feature is enabled (function menu 23), the radio checks the priority channel in the background every few seconds. If a transmission is detected, the priority channel breaks through, no matter what channel(s) you may currently be tuned to. Admittedly it has some weaknesses. Recently I submitted recommendations for improvement to make it more useful and convenient to set up. Since this a tips and tricks thread, I thought I would pass this on. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Apologizes in advance if this is double posted here. Yeh, I posted it in the other MXT500 thread as well. It just speaks to my sentiments on Midland currently that I just had to do it. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Apologizes in advance if this is double posted here. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I was out for one of my daily walks. My wife tried to reach me off and one for about 15 minutes. Hearing no response she gave up and went looking for me. She found me safe and sound with radio in hand still walking but asked why I did not respond. I apologized but informed her that I did not hear the calls over the radio. Despite the base radio being set correctly when I got home, no dice, no Tx. Turned out I was at fault. I had disconnected the antenna from the radio the night before doing some testing and apparently I had forgotten to reattach. At 50w the radio survived the periodic calls. Sure is a good thing I did not do that on the day I had her read the whole US constitution over the air while I checked coverage in our area for about an hour. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Mighty impressive numbers on that 8000. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

@wayoverthere plus 1 on the BNC and use of adapters to absorb the wear rather than the radio connector. The HTs that I frequently switch between mobile and handheld use have BNC connectors on them. Antennas have them as well. Easy on, easy off. My adapter cable in the vehicle has 90-degree BNC on the radio end of cable, as does one cable I often use in the shack for hooking up the HT to the base antenna for various tests/experiments I may be doing. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Having measured the sensitivity of the KG935G and KGUV9P I can and say that the base sensitivity of my subjects was about the same. But in side-by-side real-world practice, the weakest signals always seem to be reproduced with less noise and audio a bit more clear on the 9P. I bring up the 9P because I believe it to be identical to the 9G except for the part 95e firmware. I will take the menus, keypad and display of the 935 over the 9. For what its worth. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Correct. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I have to agree, and I believe whole heartedly, that it is indeed a money thing. While the hardware platform on which the radios are based technically is built to serve the needs in many markets, in many countries, the cost of custom firmware, government regulations and certifications for the ultimate market can be costly. If the market is small, or the potential customer’s expenditure willingness is minimal, corners get cut, more compromises occur. I don’t consider Wouxun radios cheap, I don’t consider them to be expensive, and I don’t necessarily consider some of them polished either. What I can presume however is that products that sell for less are less polished, have limited capability, and likely will not perform as well higher priced units. Similarly, I would expect if I paid more I would get more. Call me old fashioned. The programming weakness of the BF, Midlands and other brands is well known and documented on this forum. Many don’t come here until they have made a purchase however. They purchase low or on sizzle and end up being disappointed and wonder why. I have to admit I have chuckled quite a few times when I read some messages. In 2020 when I made the decision to purchase my first repeater capable GMRS HT, I made a personal decision to purchase a KG-805G. I was pleased then, and still am pleased with that purchase. But I also concluded quickly that I wanted more. WIth that I reconciled that I would likely need to pay more. I knew that if I bought down, I am not supporting future efforts to get more of what I want. While some on this forum have taughted the 935G as providing a really good user experience (and I agree that it does) I still desire a radio with an even better user experience. I know to achieve this that there is cost involved. But if there are not sufficient numbers of consumers willing to pay to get it, we live with what the masses will buy. Bottom line. There is no technical limitation that prevents a manufacturer from making, or any consumer from owning, a radio that at can accommodate a large quantity of fully usable configurable memory channels in a FCC Part 95 compliant radio. They and we both just need to be willing to pay for it. Fortunately, at least manufacturer, Wouxun, has made it possible throughout there whole GMRS lineup to fully configure every memory channel available in the model. This ranges from a minimum of 128 on the KG-805G, to 256 on the 905 to 999 on the KG-935G, KG-1000G and KG-UV9G models. Since they have set themselves aside in this regard, I would expect they would do the same on any future models that may come to market as well. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Considering the fact your talking about putting it on a camper top and camper tops typically make the vehicle too tall already to fit into most home and commercial parking garages already, I personally would focus instead on using of a larger antenna featuring some gain, rather than a compromise short stubby ghost-type antenna. The former puts the antenna higher in the air, and its gain equates to a stronger signal, both together translate to a bit more range in many circumstances. You could consider a mag mount for your camper top. Although the top may not have ferrous metal to leverage for securing the magnet to hold it in place, you could instead permanently adhere the base to the roof of your camper. This past summer we helped a family member move. They rented a Ryder truck. We temporarily adhered a mag-mount to the aluminum roof of the box portion of the truck for our journey, and removed it when the journey was over. The SWR was confirmed acceptable before it was secured. Performance met our expectations. If you do put a tall version of an antenna on, do consider a version that has a spring base so that if you do encounter low tree limbs that the antenna can bend over without damaging the antenna or ripping the base off the camper top. There are certainly other options available that others may suggest. Good luck. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Your experience sounds soooooo familiar. Your experience is pretty consistent with mine under similar conditions and setup. I too have loads of trees. Spoiler alert. I expect zero difference in your tests if you swap the radios and keep everything else the same, nor do I expect there to be any more than a small insignificant increase in range if you put high-power mobiles in both location. Since you are experimenting, please do so. We always learn best by doing. Now that you are one your journey to a true understanding of the real meaning behind ‘line of site’ communications, consider this. In my experience, because of all the trees and other obstacles in your path, small increases in antenna height will be met with minor, if not completely undetectable, differences. Double your height and I expect you’ll clearly detect a change, albeit modest. Get one of your antennas above the trees and suddenly things really open up. Get both above the trees and WOW!. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

That’s more like it. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

When setting tones on Wouxun radios there is a specific sequence you must follow or your tones will not be saved. Use the Menu button to access the function menu. Use the rotary control, up/down buttons, or key pad to find the function menu item you want to change. Press the Menu button to activate the function menu item. Make you selection using the rotary control or up/down buttons. Press the Menu button again to save your change. Be aware that the Menu button serves as an “activate”, “select”, and “enter” button. Failing to press Menu after making a CTCSS or DCS value will result in you value not being saved. A word of note. There is a mutually exclusive relationship between the two TX code types and the two RX codes. For example, if you set a TX CTCSS code, then go to the TX DCS function menu, active it and see that it is Off, it you then hit Menu to accept the displayed value, you are in effect clearly both TX CTCSS and TX DCS. So, if you activate a function menu to see what value it has, it is best to get in the habit of hitting Exit, rather than Menu, if you did not make a change it. Of course, if you did change it, you must hit Menu to save your change. Do some experimentation with the CTCSS and DCS menus and I am certain you will relate to what I am describing. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I find nothing wrong with combination of product. Looks like you have a workable solution as identified. I do however prefer to use of a BNC connector on the radio and whole-heartedly agree with the recommendation of using a 90-degree BNC to connector at the radio, whether you are using a cable with a permanent 90-degree connector, or a cable with an adapter. I have and use the the following adapters on my KG-805G https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CVQK466/ If you use a 90-degree BNC adapter for this, make sure you order the 50 ohm version vs 75. I am using the following: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0774FZCXW I own and use an Ed Fong, but I also have an use a Comet CA-712EFC. The comet has more gain, but the Ed-Fong is still viable and can be better choice under certain conditions. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Quite simple…obstacles. Trees, homes, water towers, rolling hills. The repeater antenna is somewhere around 900’ higher in elevation than mine. If you connected my antenna to the repeater antenna with a string, it would pass through very few trees and likely very few or no buildings. In contrast, when talking simplex (mobile or HT to base), the signal needs to pass through many thousands of trees, homes commercial buildings other obstacles. You will hear over and over that GMRS is line so sight communications. This means if you have clear line of sight (i.e. your antennas can literally see one another) you can talk great distances. However, every obstacle you put between your transmit and receive antenna attenuates your signal and thus lessens your effective distance. The worst of these is the earth. Midland gets away with misleading advertising of ‘37 miles’ because they actually can go 37 miles…if both radios are in outer space where there are no obstacles. Hear on earth…typically 1/2-2 miles. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Manufacturer rates it for 112mph. You just need to do your part to secure it well. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I use the Comet CA-712EFC for GMRS. Has worked well for me over the last year. 9dBi of gain, and very well factory tuned. Not necessarily an appropriate antenna if you live in a valley and the repeater is on top of nearby mountain or vice-versa, but appropriate if the terrain is flat to moderately rolling. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM