mbrun

Choosing which scan group you want to scan from the radio is an easy matter with multiple Wouxun radios I own. However, programming which frequency range belongs in each scan group does in-fact require the software. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Menu Item 43 (SC-GROUP). The radios scans whatever scan group you have active in this setting. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Good Day TDM. In a lab environment, when they measure an antenna to derive its radiation pattern, they reference the center of the radiating element(s). So it would seem logical that if you were doing scientific experiments with antenna and wanted to compare the coverage of two antennas in real-world space, you too would reference (or mount) both antennas at the same elevation, using the center of the radiating element as the reference elevation. For simplicity, let’s say the smaller antenna had 2 foot radiating element and the larger had 10’. If you mounted the 2 foot antenna at 45’ AGL to center of radiator and wanted to contrast it against the other, you would mount the 10’ at 45’ AGL to center it its radiator. For the sake of a fictitious example. Assuming that the gain of the 2’ and 10’ were both the same (they would not be), the power used was the same, and both were mounted at 45’ to the center of the radiator, I would expect the shorter antenna to win the range contest because its center of radiation is higher above the horizon. Whereas if you compared them both by mounting the bottom of the radiator at 45’, now suddenly the 10’ would win because its center of radiation is higher than the smaller. Now let’s switch to reality. For GMRS, the longer antennas have more gain because they are in-fact some form of collinear antenna design. They are actually comprised of an array of multiple antenna stacked one on top of the other. This has the effect of increasing the effective antenna gain (squashing the donut as some would say). So, if you have an antenna mast and it is 45’ off the ground and achieve range ‘X’ when using a simple ground plane antenna, you will achieve range ‘Y’ when using the 10’ collinear antenna. ‘Y’ will be greater for two reasons. First, it is a higher gain antenna. Second, because the center of radiation is higher. If you live in a valley and need to communicate with radios on the ground in the valley as well as others high on the nearby hills/mountains then a lower gain antenna is usually better. If the terrain is mostly flat to rolling, than a higher gain antenna becomes a candidate. One finally thought. If you live in an area with lots of trees (as I do), a low gain antenna mounted well above the trees is probable to substantially out perform a high gain antenna located below the tree line. So while we say that height is everything, which is true, what is is really all about is getting the antenna above all the obstacles (trees, buildings, earth, etc...) that reduce its range. Good luck on your project. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

BuyTwoWayRadios, as the sole importer, would do well to either work with Chirp and/or RT Systems to get official software support for all the GMRS radios they are selling. The Wouxun software works, but is so elementary and feels like it was written in the 80s or 90s, and not even on par with Windows 95 software IMO. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Field selectable power setting is one of the weaknesses of the KG-805G. I too wish it had it. Even my Midland GXT1000 handhelds field adjustable power settings in alignment with part 95e rules. It would be nice to see a upgrade version of the radio emerge that fills in the feature gaps. I also believe strongly that the radio could be made field configurable without the need for software or a full keypad. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Hello learfixer. Welcome to myGMRS. Go to this site and enter the coordinates of the repeater and your proposed antenna. https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ Do your best to enter realistic antenna elevations as well. If it shows that there is no earth between your antenna and the repeater antenna, and your antenna is above the surrounding tree line, you have reasonable chance of hitting that repeater. I have one 50 miles away I can hit with my antenna at 56’ using just a 5 watt HT, but this is an exceptional condition. I also have a repeater 8 miles away that I cannot get in to, even at 50 watts and my high antenna. I cannot bet into the latter because the repeater antenna is so low (30-40’ AGL), is about 150’ lower in elevation than me and there is not clear line of sight (lots of earth) between us. Earth and other obstacles between your antennas are your enemy. Antenna and antenna height are more important than radio. I have done all my communication experimentation with a lower power HTs connected to various external antennas and at various elevations. Focusing on what it takes to achieve good communication with lower power has been incredibly sobering and valuable. I highly recommend it. Good luck with your project. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

There often is a driver that needs to be installed. Driver was supplied to me on both models of cord I purchased. I am running windows 10 both work with the driver installed. I believe driver can be downloaded from BTWR website as well. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Glad it worked. BTW, did you add your antenna elevation at both ends? Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

BTWR informed me months ago that there will be no user upgradable firmware for the radio. They did not confirm whether they would update the firmware of the radio if it was sent back to them should a new version become available. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Chirp does not officially support the KG-805G yet (to the best of my knowledge). While you may have luck with it, you may also brick it. Best bet is to start fresh using the factory software that is free from BTWR website. Load in the standard code plug (without any changes) that is also available from the BTWR website. Then, if loading the standard plug back into the radio does not solve your problem, you are likely looking at buying a new radio. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Hello again. First off, I own a number of the GXT1000 handhelds so plenty of real-world experience. Depending upon where you are when you operate them your range will vary. In my case, near me, those radios are good for about .5 miles of reliable communication from my home down down the street. Every obstacle between the two antennas decreases their usable range, including the earth itself. This is true of EVERY GMRS radio. If you take them into outer space, or get on top of two mountains they may be good for the manufacturer’s absurd 36 mile marketing value. Take them on a boat and communicate boat to boat you may get 4-10 miles or more depending if you are inside or outside the boat and how high above the water you are. The GXT radios are not repeater capable radios. You will need different radios for that. I use a Wouxun KG-805G radio for repeater access. Range is a little better than the midland HT to HT. But, when I use with a repeater with a super high antenna, and use use with external and higher placed antennas the range goes up dramatically. Keep reading through the posts on this forum and you will learn a lot. Again, Welcome. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

There are a lot of factors to consider. Let’s start with the basics. How much power does the repeater actually draw when transmitting. Although it is rated at 5 watt output, it may very well draw 12-15 watts or more power. You will want to confirm this as this identifies your worst case load load scenario. You need to know how much power it draws when sitting idle, while powered on but doing nothing. This establishes your best case scenario. How much time do you estimate the repeater will actually be transmitting per day? This value combined with the numbers above will then help you establish how much power is needed to keep you operational for 24 hours. If you were packing in battery packs as your sole means of power, the amount of power needed per day can easily be used to calculate how much usable battery capacity to carry in. Now, if you are going to use solar to recharge the batteries, you need to establish how long you anticipate (worst case) that you might be without useful sun for solar charging. This number of days multiplied by the watt hours of power needed to run the radios per day then helps you determine the minimum usable capacity of battery packs you need to bring in. Now, the type of battery pack you go with will also be a factor. Lead acid batteries should not typically be deep cycled routinely, although they can in a pinch. When designning a system that uses them it is pretty common to assume you would only ever use 50% of their capacity so you would want twice the needed capacity as its rated capacity. On the other hand, if you use one of the various lithium chemistries you will be able to leverage more of the batteries rated capacity before you must recharge. OK, now that you know how much battery capacity you may need, now you turn to sizing your solar panels. You need solar panels that can deliver enough power during daylight hours to operate your repeater, with plenty of extra capacity to recharge the batteries from the previous night or past several rainy days. So since all of the above factor in and we don’t yet know any more particulars, let’s start simply. Let’s say your repeater actually consumes 15 watts. Let us be absurd and assume it would transmitting all day long. For the whole day the repeater would consume a total of 360 watt hours of power (15w x 24hr) or approx 30 Ah (1.25A * 24 Hr) of 12vdc power. A deep cycle battery with a REAL usable capacity of 100Ah has about 1200 watt hours +/- of potential energy. From the above your can see that if you truly had 100Ah of usable capacity, with a 15w continuous load you could perhaps run just over three days on this battery. Now, if you drop your repeater transmission time to say only 5-10% of the day, then your battery will last you quite a bit longer. Finally. If 360 watt hours is the worst case operating scenario, then solar panels capable of replenish this 360 watts daily, plus more for charging the batteries is in order. But, if your worst case daily usage is only on the order of say 50 watt hours, then you need much less in the way of solar panels. Now it is all about the numbers. What is the specific scenario you are trying to satisfy? I think you will be able to do the math from here. Hope this helps. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Welcome mullo. There is lot to read here and a lot of active folks ready to help. BTW, in GMRS there is no broadcasting. Instead it’s all about two communications. Enjoy your stay and share your knowledge. Regards, Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I believe your conclusion to be correct. This topic has been discussed and debated many times before, and I do believe someone on this forum, perhaps even within the last 60-90 days, provided some very useful information that provides clarification. My takeaway for years has been that there is a relative rare case in GMRS where a need can exist to establish a permanent point-to-point link between two transceivers that will always and forever only communicate between themselves for as long as they exist. (Think two microwave-like dishes pointed at one-another on towers 50 miles apart). When such condition exists the links are then limited to 15w. My currently understanding is that the terminology stems from terminology that exists (or did exist) in the land mobile radio service from which GMRS evolved. And since there are grandfathered licenses out there that date way back in time, the language remains and continues to add confusion to modern-day GMRS licensees. The circular reference in the Fixed Station definition reference grossly adds to the confusion. As always, I am willing to be educated. Yet after near twenty years I have yet to learn anything more credible than that. Do a search on Wikipedia for the terminology and you will end of with a few more nuggets of both clarity and confusion. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I believe the accompanying description in the manual to be misleading. TX = Fan on while transmitting only. HI-TE/TX = Fan on when temperature is high or when transmitting. ALWAYS = Fan Always On, regardless of temperature or transmitting. In effect, the fan will always be on when transmitting, period. Beyond that, the fan is on when temperatures are high; always when you set it as such. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I love the fact that you got the field strength meter out to contrast the two antennas. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Hello EagleFlight. Welcome to the forum. Enjoy! I own these radios as well and have concluded that they are indeed a good value. Having used them now extensively, including relentless experimentation, it is with the utmost confidence I can say that trees, their foliage and perhaps ever other physical object between the two antennas does indeed decrease their range. The more obstacles, the greater the cumulative affect. Case in point. In my immediate vicinity the land is 60% trees or more, the rest a mixture of sparsely located homes (1-6 acre lots), fields/yards and light commercial (gas stations, grocery, etc). Land is mostly flat to slightly rolling. In one direction, talking through the trees I can achieve perfect communication using HTs only up to .4 miles, reliable but noisy out to .6 miles, and thereafter unreliable, noisy and partially usable out to 1.4 miles. If I go another direction (through fields, very few trees, a few houses and a Walmart) but the same basic topology, I can achieve perfect communications at 1 mile plus. The key difference is the quantity/density of trees between the radios. In my environment, trees have proven to be my greatest obstacle. I enjoy have them around, but they sure can be a pain where good RF range is desired. I thought you might appreciate the contrasting experience. Again, welcome to the Forum! Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Honestly, for as much as I hate to say it, I think this is where we need the FCC to step in, flex its muscle and start making some public noise and examples out of folks using illegal and non-performant product on FRS and GMRS frequencies as well as unlicensed folks using amateur frequencies. It does not help the future of GMRS when anyone in this community condones use of illegal equipment in any way, including, but not limited to, lending assistance to someone asking questions about use of equipment that is known to be illegal in the service. Yes, I am all about freedom, but freedom balanced with due respect of our laws. Just one man’s opinion. YMMV. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I truly believe that a visual channel busy indicator should be FCC mandated on all GMRS and FRS radios. While the monitor button is mandated, the visual indicator is not. For the purpose for which I understand the FCC requires the monitor button, a clear visual indicator, like an LED would be far more effective and useful for letting users know the frequency is being used. I would imagine that it is seldom, if ever, that the typical user presses the monitor button to check for traffic before they press the PTT button. A one-cent part could make a huge difference. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

The entry level Technicians exam is fairly easy, but I personally took (and still take) the examination process quite seriously. I wanted to get my ham ticket 40 years ago, but was put off by the CW portion of the exam. Only this past year did I learn it was no longer a subject that was tested on, so with this knowledge I finally decided to study for my license. I obtained both my Technician and the General Class upgrade. I now am actively working towards the Extra Class. For me, amateur radio is all about gaining knowledge, experimentation and then working and collaborating with others that share that passion. Some get into it just because they want to use the cool cheap walkie-talkies that are available now. Many folks I have heard say ‘just memorize the answers’. For me, that was the last thing I wanted to do. Yes, I wanted to pass, and I new I would given my nearly 40 years working in a branch of the communications field. However, I have always admired the hams and looked up to those that were took it seriously. I knew many that had some good solid technical chops. I was not going to sell myself short if I entered. I studied the books, went on lots of learning trails to fill in knowledge gaps, then took many practice tests and researched each topic when I got something wrong until finally I knew I could get every possible question right. You can feel pretty good about yourself and your accomplishments when you study, I know I did on test day. As I reflected on passing each exam, I realized that passing was truly nothing more than just earning my ticket, my permission to enter. I learned that the knowledge gained in the testing process was just a drop in the bucket compared to what there is know. There is still so much more to learn and so little time to learn it. I wish I had not waited. Don’t sell yourself short. Take it seriously, then get your ticket and enjoy the learning process which is the amateur radio hobby. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

I make zero assumptions that any repeaters will be up and available in a time of serious local emergency involving a grid-down scenario (especially long-term), unless the repeater was put up and maintained for that express purpose and eventuality. I know of no such system within radio range of me. The closest candidate (but one I cannot reach) lives on a hospital and is known to be powered by the hospitals main emergency backup system. For most individuals, putting up a repeater is a technical and costly challenge. Add in the investment and maintenance costs for a quality long-term grid-down power backup system and suddenly the repeater, antenna and duplexer costs are dwarfed. Most will not invest in something that they receive no immediate benefit from. For those with repeaters co-located on a commercial tower site, some maybe connected to the local UPS and emergency power generators. That is good, but other equipment may be given emergency power priority. As I continue my personal GMRS and amateur radio journey, my focus is optimized simplex communications, such that operation is not reliant on repeaters. Working repeaters in a time of need will just be the sweet icing on the cake. Wayoverthere, perhaps you have discovered a need and the opportunity for pulling local resources to support a mission of creating and maintaining that ideal local site that you and the community can count on during a time of need. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Hello Kirk, and welcome to the forum! I have been using FRS and GMRS off and on for nearly 20 years. This is the first time I have heard the suggestion of there being a ‘reluctance’ to use PL codes. You have me curious. What is the nature of the comments you’re hearing that give you this impression? My personal perspective follows. While I do use repeaters, my primary reason for having GMRS is simplex. There are times I operate both with and without PL codes. More often without them. I use codes only when I am in an area where there is heavy use of the frequencies and I want to leave my radios on for extended periods but only want to hear traffic from my group. After all that is the reason PL codes came into existence in the first place. They provided a way for different businesses and other groups to share a frequency without having to listen to with each other’s conversations. My personal experience has also shown that without codes, when in an area of low RF noise that the receiver will open squelch at a slightly greater distance without the code than with. Then there is the “real” interference thing. Two people cannot operate on the same frequency without adversely affecting the reception by the intended listeners residing within their shared coverage area. This is true no matter how many PL codes there are. The use of codes masks the presence and use of the frequency by others. A knowledgable and respectful two-way radio user knows not to transmit when the frequency is in use. When PL codes are active it is easy to overlook the fact that someone else might be talking and complacency will result in unintentional interfering transmissions. If no PL code was being used, it would be pretty obvious if someone else nearby was using the frequency. I hope this helps. I look forward to hearing more about the reluctance. Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Welcome Ted. Good to have you here. There is a lot to absorb, and a lot of folks to help you do it. Regards, Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

Glad you are having good experience. If I interpret correctly, you are operating 50 watts using an indoor antenna. If so, for the safety of you and your family, make sure everyone remains a safe distance away antenna when transmitting. Here is a link to one free online calculator you can use to determine what the safe distance is in your environment. http://hintlink.com/power_density.htm BTW, get your antenna higher and you will be even most amazed at what you can do. Enjoy! Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM

No. It has everything to do with the equipment you are using. If the equipment you are using is certified for FRS then you do not need to apply for a license. If you are using equipment certified for GMRS, you must have a license. Previously the rules were interpreted like you describe by many users. In 2017 the FCC eliminated that ambiguity. They now make it clear that to use FRS and GMRS frequencies you must use type certified equipment to be legal. That also translates to also mean that if you are using GMRS equipment, you must have a license. As part of their ruling, pre-existing equipment with power less than 2 watts were legally reclassified as FRS. Anything with more was reclassified as GMRS. There are no longer any more legal “hybrid” FRS and GMRS radios. They are either one or the other, not both. Yes, max power for FRS is 2 watt on channels 1-7 and 15-22. Channels 8-15 are 1/2 watt for both FRS and GRMS. Regards, Michael WRHS965 KE8PLM