gortex2

I'd go to there site and ask questions. Rich run mygmrs linking.

To bad neither radio is a GMRS radio. Both are ham radios and should be used for ham.

Motorola, Kenwood, ICOM all make good commercial gear. For SAR alot of our users utilize ICOM for cost and programmability. Personally I use MSI equipment but I did use alot of ICOM in the past. Kenwood has some good gear also. As far at Motorola there is no need for APX radios. A CDM1250 is a solid little GMRS rig.

This has been discussed a few times. Here is the last post on one repeater.

I only use CommScope FSJ. Also just started using Eupen cable. The EC4-50-HF appears to be very similar. I have run some tests with CommScope connector on the EC4-50HF and so far it appears to sweep and work ok. Only issue with eupen is the lack of support from the large companies. Last check neither Tessco or talley carried anything for it. Thats why I stick to CommScope. https://eupen.us/products/coaxial-cables/

If its at least R9 version it should be wideband on repeater channels.

When I was in the north we ran 4 and 16 depending on the club. My new CB scans and when I was in Moab last summer I heard chatter on multiple channels which surprised me.

Sadly many repeaters talk out better than talk in. With a portable you may be able to hear but will not be able to talk. Its normal.

Probably better to send Rich a message and ask him....

I agree with this however many manufacturers have sone this in the past and are doing some again. Motorola for instance is doing APX and XPR free. The problem is folks complain about the cost of the radio. Cost of a radio can be argued to death but engineering costs and many other process's dictate price. Way more than we need to discuss here. But its also a supply demand situation. IF folks aren't buying new radios it doesn't bring funds into a manufacturer. In the end if you want a quality radio you research as you said and find out if you are capable and comfortable with the purchase you intend to do. Purpose built equipment, ham, gmrs, lmr is jsut that. The CCR world has caused most of the issues with all those services. Good or bad can be argued but the mentality of cheap stuff is much larger than 10 or 20 years ago. I go back to my first HT, HTX202 that I put on layaway at Radio Shack and paid $325.00 for and had no software or any of the stuff anything new has to offer. Our first GMRS mobile was a Uniden Xstal Radio with 2 channels. It had a button with RPT and TA. It was close to $500 which was about what Dad paid for the AMC Hornet that it was installed in !

So first of all the CCR world is the issue at hand. Long before Baojuk and others the ONLY radio you could get on GMRS was a LMR radio with Part 95 certifications. My father bought many for our local radio shops. Hell back in the day it was a crystal so no adding 50 channels. We had RPT and TA to use thats it on our Unidens Anyway I have software for the M1225 Ive had for decades and was purchased when we bought a radio back in the day. As other said the software is pretty easy to find. Folks seem worried about finding software yet have no quams at using a HAM radio on GMRs with a mod.

Offroad and family. The intended use.

Thats the advantage of RAS on MSI gear. No CCR junk on my repeaters. Only users that have the RAS code can access.

If your goal is a base and base only alot of commercial LMR radios are much better suited for that and can be had for less than the ones discussed here. My parents have a M1225 I paid $75 for on ebay. It sits on 1 channel and scans a second repeater. Simple.

For a DB404 you can buy it right here on the site. I've scored some decent ones on ebay, but you need to be looking at the stuff. Talley and Tessco are my go to for DB420 and other antenna's but your going to pay a good price there. https://shop.mygmrs.com/collections/antennas https://www.talleycom.com/ https://www.tessco.com/

Howdo you use the RT97 for a base radio ? Mine only had a power plug on one side and antenna jack on other side. No mic/speaker. Maybe the new ones do. As for cable I'd just go with LMR400 with the closest leantgh you need. Remember the RT97 is only 4-5 watts at the antenna connector. The more loss you can eliminate the better. I'd focus on a way to mount it near the top of the mast with a 3' jumper to the antenna.

I would start with a DB404, unless you plan to move the antenna to a tower in the future. A 420 is a large antenna and heavy. Your not putting that on a piece of conduit. You need a decent mast/pipe if you want it to stay in the air.

Sorry but if a guy doesn't want someone on his repeater then he doesn't need to allow them on it. Granted profanity on it isn't correct but he has no requirement to allow users on his repeater. This isn't ham radio. Many forget about this.

what antenna on truck ?

I would start by doing some research on this forum. I see see no need to do it but apparently many think this is what needs done.

I have all the stuff in my APX radios also and even have a "midland" zone. Its just quick and easy with the midland. For SAR and all my other stuff I only use the APX but lots of times the midland just makes sense. Also allows me to monitor other stuff on my APX while wheeling and use the Midland for trail comms.

I tell this to people over and over about the Midlands. I run APX8000 and APX8500 mobiles in all my vehicles but 99% of my off road use is on my midland 275 just becasue its simple. Go to channel 4, boomch 4, go tochannel 21 go to 21. Simple and wife can even manage it. Dont get my wrong I'm a blue blooded MSI fan and will alwasy have a motorola radio in all my vehicles but KISS is the way to go for GMRS. The other advantage is size and wiring. I hd an XTL in my parents truck. When they got the Jeep Renegade there was absolutely no where to mount stuff. A 275 HHCH worked perfect and was in and being used in 30 minutes.

It appears to be the Larsen KG450UD You can see details on Tesscos site - https://www.tessco.com/product/450-470mhz-glass-mount-antenna-w-14-ft-rg-58-u-264181

First make the repeater work locally. Its not a 5 minute endevor. Once you have good reliable repeater filling your coverage area then worry about linking. No reason to link to be honest.

Skip the home made edfong antenna and get a real LRM antenna. I prefer the Laird FG4600 series but many have had good luck with the TRAM 1486 https://shop.mygmrs.com/products/tram-1486-uhf-fiberglass-base-antenna