gortex2

I would find another meter. My FR4000 is consistent at 46-50 watts on my LMR service monitor and Bird Watt Meter.

Unless its in warranty its normally not worth fixing. I'd toss it.

Did you look at the manual posted ? J701 (25 Pin DB25) descriptions are on page 52 of the service manual. RX Audio, TX Audio as well as AUX I/O ports are all there. Those I/O ports need programmed in the radio for the what you want.

I run the Midland 275 in both my jeeps. I use GMRS for trail riding and the Midland is what others have so its the KISS method. I do use it on repeaters around home also.

You dont mention the cable you are using. If you have alot of cable and poor cable it will kill rx as well as tx signal. more power will get out but if the repeater is using less power you wont here it. Balance. Also the antenna is not what I would use but for some reason folks love them

We use the Motorola Talkabouts for SAR training stuff and they are a good little unit for local stuff. I use a set for out of the vehicle stuff while out on jeep events. The are durable units and use alkaline batteries. You can gab a cheap set with WX alert on them for under $100 on amazon.

Tons of GPS boards on ebay that support ttl output. But why ? What are you trying to accomplish with GPS ?

Or your making it to the repeater and they are ignoring you. If your on a portable and not making good signal to the repeater they may only hearing static.

It was 2 weeks ago.

Yes. You need COR on PL not on carrier. The CSQ Detect option will open up on any carrier PL or not.

If you set PL in the radio and are using the csq/pl COR line it should only repeater with PL. Its normally pin 8 or 14

Agree. I tell everyone to start with a 1/4 wave. IF you spend $10 on the whip its expensive and will outperform the pepper shaker all day long. Midland has a market as the overlanding crown will be all over the antenna. I looked them up a few years ago as they are used overseas alot but they were crazy costs for what it is. I think in the US there are multiple antenna vendors that provide quality LMR products. Go with a reputable manufacturer and you'll be happy.

Sounds about normal range for that location and antenna. If on the roof in the center you will probably get aa better signal but I'd just throw a 1/2 wave on your mount and be done with it.

I'd start with aftermarket LED's. Does the radio do this when the vehicle is off ?

Even a standard quarter wave will work better than the packaged antenna. The antenna cable on that magmount is not the best.

As said there are ways to do it but in common practice it does not happen. I did have one customer who had 3 PL/DPL codes as they moved around. We had a TRA attached and a MC2000 remote and they could change up to 4 channels. Same frequency just different tones. This was on an XPR model but its the same radio. In everyday use 1 channel is all you need.

I just read my high power CDM1550LS. As suspected you can only go to 20 watts on low power. I dont think you can do what you want. On my low power (25 watt mobile) it allows down to 2 watts but on this one it wont go below 20.

PL will depend on what you other radios are. I would program it for CSQ in the drop down and leave it with no PL/DPL. Also under options you will need to pick low power. However I dont think low power on that radio is 5 watts. I think its 25/45. You may be able to change it in Radio Wide but I ran into this in the past. I think you need the low power radio (25 watts TX) to get to 5 on LP. They are solid radios but dont support all the low power stuff. Also that is programmed as narrowband looking at your screenshot. The is fine if your talking to midlands in narrowband but if others are wideband they will hear your audio quiter. Most will claim wide band is the only way you can use GMRS but narrow band will work for certain situations.

Ive never heard the reason to move to GMRS was the antenna. I still have CB on both my Jeeps. The main reason was clarity and the advantage of small handhelds to get out and spot with. Maybe I'm off but I also have had GMRS was before the off road community started using it

Larsen NMO Triband is a solid unit.

I have never done direct burial on LDF. I always run it in conduit. 1/2" is pretty stiff so I'd use at least 1 1/2 or 2" conduit and I'd probably load as I go vs trying to pull after especially if you have any bends. Also remember LDF doesn't bend tight so if you have turns use a couple 45' angles vs a 90.

Been saying this for years....^^^^^^ Linking and CCR world is the issue with GMRS now. Its ham lite and it sucks.

Just because it lists it doesn't mean its certified. The grant is here - https://fccid.io/2ACK8TR505D Also its only certified for 95A at 1 watt. As soon as you add MURS to the mix (95J) its not certified for 95A. Just because a vendor says it available doesn't mean it meets rules. Heck I can put an add online and say anything I want. Until the FCC jumps on it people will buy what they want...

DMR/P25 can sound excellent when using proper subscribers and infrastructure. When DMR came to the ham world the only player was Motorola. It was a XPR repeater and XPR subscribers. All was good. Then in came CCR, Hotspots and other poorly designed equipment interfaced to DMARC. Same with the P25 world in HAM. Those that run standalone true P25 repeaters have great audio. When folks build them with analog radios and a raspberry pie things dont go so well.

APX8000 can be had in multiband as a Part 90 subscriber. VP8000 can be had in multiband as a Part 90 subscriber. XL-200 can be had in multiband as a Part 90 subscriber. Many options. With that said you wouldn't spend the funds on the accessories let alone the radio if it was available. Many in the industry use these radios on GMRS and amateur along with LMR systems. You want an all around radio you pay to play. The CCR world is not going to go thru certifications and testing to put out radios like these when they sell them for $25.00. A true quality radio cost is in the certifications, reliability, engineering, and manufacturing cost associated with a radio.