8nannyfoe

Thank you! I couldn't find it...KUDOS!!

I have a Midland MicroMobile 105 and as owners of this radio know, it has a unique power cord that plugs into the back of the radio. Its a small plastic adapter that has connects the positive and negative cords to the radio. I have searched around on Amazon and Google and can not find the radio side adapter for this radio. Not the cord itself, but the radio side. I would assume its called the female side? Anyway, does anyone know where I could source this part?

Sorry, I left out I already have a completed solar powered setup. My GMRS setup will be installed there in a couple months and Im looking to know if there will be noise on GMRS specific setups/frequency. I think you are giving example how to set up a solar powered system because you didn't have noise? The way I worded my question is confusing I guess because in my initial question, I was asking if you HAD noise describe you setup. Bad wording on my part and am just trying to clear up if you did or didnt have noise with your GMRS setup. Thanks

I see you have both the GMRS and a HAM call sign. Was your advise for a GMRS specific system or a ham setup that you had experience with? The reason I'm asking is I think some of the upper end ham equipment is super sensitive on HF? I may be totally wrong on that point, but I believe the guy in the youtube video I watched was on HF. GMRS frequencies may not have the same sort of noise from solar equipment? And just for reference, what is the device called that filters power going to the radio? Even model names you had success with? My cabin is off grid and solar powered with a pure sine wave inverter. I won't be there for a couple months and am planning ahead because the delivery service up there takes forever and is quite a PIA.

I recently saw a video on Youtube where the person is a firm believer that solar power causes noise in his ham radio operations. It was awhile back and I don't recall the specific frequency he was operating at nor can I remember if his solar powered set up was strickly DC or a DC to AC inverter (either modified or pure sine wave) At any rate, I am interesting in setting something up solar powered and am looking for GMRS user experience. If you had noise, please let me know the type of solar set up you had going on during your tests (DC setup mention with PWM or MPPT please), OOORR AC inverter and also please mention if it was modified sine wave or pure sine wave). Thanks in advance!

You likely wont be the last to do this mistake. This forum truly is a great resource!! If it hasn't been done yet, maybe even let BTWR know their is a solution or at least let them know how to direct their customers to a solution. I can appreciate they don't want to get involved in distributing non OEM software but it would really help BTWR save some face if they could offer a solution.

I use a hybrid PL "system" to quiet a bunch of unwanted chatter, especially at campgrounds. Use a channel as your "hailing" channel with your radios set to this hailing channel (simplex). On this channel use a rare DTS PL code. The only time anyone breaks that squelch you know exactly who it is saying "hello". The other person quickly acknowledges they are on the air, by replying, "jump to alt" Both parties know to go one channel down where no PL is set on that channel. Once you are familiar with your area and channel usage you will find the correct channel setup that works. This way we know we are not stepping all over someone else's convo during your convo because we can hear if there is another convo going on. I tried the squelch/monitor thing in the beginning but it was somewhat inconvenient. For some, they prefer not to listen to squelch while monitoring to see if someone is on the channel or continually holding down the monitor button.

HI Mike. I live in Florida which is basically flat. I have similar range experience as you (17.6 miles from repeater). My HT (5w) can hit the repeater, but it is mostly unusable. BUT, my 50w Wouxon blasts through all the cinder blocks, shingles, and terracotta roofing around here that is slowing down my 5w HT from reaching the repeater and I have NO PROBLEMS holding a clear convo on the Wouxon (with it's antenna being only 6' off the ground!!!).

Follow up: So the HT/mobile desense issue....was not the issue. The problem was no one was on the radio last night when I tried. Both are able to make the 17 plus mile trip to the repeater. The static sounding "tail" is exactly what I was hearing from both the HT/mobile units. From the testing I did, I learned several additional things. I am shocked and impressed with the range this Wouxon 805 has! Repeaters are game changers. And lastly this forum is an invaluable info source. Thanks for all the input!

Hi Michael, So I will experiment with the "desense" issue today. Never heard of that before. I've used plenty of radios in simplex and that was never an issue before so I didn't know it would happen with a repeater. Also I have never heard of a "tail" . That explains the equal (volume and duration) static sound "report" I got from the repeater regardless of which radio I was using. Apparently both are able to open the repeater. Hopefully, desense is keeping them from communicating and it not be a worse problem.....ie....out of range. Big thing, its NOT the AGC feature somehow canceling me out.

I live about 17 miles from a repeater. I believe this repeater serves my area and requested access. I was granted permission to use same. I was supplied a quick response and the PL = XYZ. I am new to GMRS and have never talked on a repeater. I entered the supplied PL under the encode and decode line in my programing software. This repeater also has an audio AGC enabling all users to sound the same. The tower has an expected range of 15mi on an HT / 25mi on a mobile. Sitting in my home, on my 5w HT I get the same experience as I do on my 50 watt mobile when interacting with the repeater. When I release the key, I hear a static sound response for about 2/3 seconds. This response is the same sound and duration whether from my 5w HT or my 50 watt mobile. It doesn't matter if I click the mike key for a second or talk for about 30 seconds. Same static response that occurs AFTER I let go of the key. I even tried monitoring channel 20 and it gets the same response as well. Just looking for feedback on what I'm doing wrong.

I searched the keyword "companding" on this forum and it had nothing about the topic. These two responses are a perfect explanation. thanks guys!

This is a perfect explanation. Summed it all up! Thank you.

From what I can gather the compander is for reducing noise. The manual states its useful for long distance communications. What is the benefit of having it off? Don't we always want less noise short or long range? Its almost like that should be an automatic built in feature but yet it gives us the option to turn in on in the Wouxon kg1000.

Yes its only a scanner for the other bands.

Very new to GMRS.....or really any type of radio. (Messed with CBs 30 years ago) So I have purchased a complete (mobile, base, and HT) system for my GMRS needs. That need is, off grid comms in upstate NY that has little to no cell phone coverage in many spots near the city I live. The radios I was using were Midland mobiles and a pair of Motorolas. I bought a Laird fiberglass GMRS specifically tuned antenna because at the time, I saw no need for an antenna used for dual band. So I now have the new Wouxon k1000 as my base station and as many know it receives multiple bands. From what I know, antennas are the name of the game in radio comms. So far, in messing around with the radio, I have not heard any traffic on the other bands and I suspect its my Laird GMRS tuned antenna? I know the 2m band will have plenty of traffic and that may be interesting to listen to. I have no clue what the other frequency have to offer in terms of listening value. So the question is do I need a separate antenna to hear each of these other bands? Is there a multi band antenna I can use that will give me the same quality signal as my GMRS specific tuned Laird? I was recommended the Tram dual band base antenna and opted for the Laird instead as it is tuned specific for GMRS frequency. Its great and I have an SWR of 1.0. BUT I'm not sure now if that was a good purchase given my new radio purchase and the band options it brings to the table. Should I move forward with a bunch of antennas or is the traffic so minimal that it wont be worth doing? (I hear that the 220 band is dead in most areas in the US for example)

Well that seals the deal. 1/4 wave it is! Thanks everyone for chiming in!

From my experience / location, I have a guess how they came up with these numbers. They set their squelch on 9!

Hmm....so the hatch mount would mount near the bumper (lower) portion of the hatch? Would be pretty low and have alot of "null area" blocked by the body of the car? I actually like this idea though if it would outperform the 1/4 wave or Phantom. Yes, the puck style has many bad reviews so I never considered them.

HEY!! I just posted about this very question! Which performs better for you? The 1/4 wave or the phantom?

Interesting. A fold over will outperform both of the options I gave? Never thought of that, but honestly, I don't think she would want that anyway, just more of a data point I'm interested in. The cap is not gonna be something I would do as I dont want to be climbing on the roof that often. Open to other options also!! keep em coming!

So, I finally got approval to drill a hole for a hard mount antenna. ONE small caveat to the deal. It must be covert as possible. My wife said theres no way I will be installing the Midland 6db antenna on top of the car. (something about a remote control looking car bla bla blah...LOL). So I found the tiny 1/4 wave antenna and a phantom antenna. The wife said that one will look like I left a soda can on the roof but still says its ok. SO, which one is better? I will be pushing 50watts on my new Wouxon . The main reason I ask is I read a comment that someone said the phantom antennas are glorified dummy loads!! Yowza! I don't want that! But its claims 3db gain? Could I get some real world range examples and feedback on both the phantom antenna and the 1/4 wave stubby please. (to give an idea of my local terrain, I am flat here in Florida and live in a fairly populated SW Florida area with plenty of cinderblock single story homes. My current antenna is the tiny stock antenna that came with my Midland 105. I get an average of about 2 miles RX/TX to another identical rig. 4 miles to my "home base" set up with a Laird antenna.

Thank you for this! Very informative! You just made this forum great!!

Yes, I was referring to Midlands GMRS 6db antenna and not the tiny magnet one that came with the MTX105. I chucked that immediately LOL. So let me ask you this since you had both. Do you think raising the Midland antenna up equally as high as I would raise the Laird (35' peek of roofline), they would perform comparably as they performed at ground level? Or would the Laird somehow begin outperforming the Midland antenna for some reason? Techy question I suppose, but it would be great to know because I would prefer the Midland, as its appearance is not as bold.

Yes, lol....you are correct. So the old Midland antenna was also mounted in the same spot/height as well. They basically performed equal with a slight edge to the Laird. (couple hundred yards talk advantage) On this basis, if I raised them both equally, am I to assume they will perform equally (basically) or does the curve of improvement lean more favorably to the Laird as the height increases? Honestly, if they perform equal at the low height I'm suspecting they will perform equal on top of a mast? I actually would prefer the tiny profile of the Midland. The Midland did not have a ground plane either BTW in my test of the Midland 6db gain antenna.