WyoJoe

The KG-UV9G is an HT (handheld transceiver), not a "mobile" (automotive style) radio. The used commercial Kenwood/Motorola type radios you can find on eBay are often mobile radios, although HTs can be found there as well. Many mobile radios offer higher wattage output than what an HT will deliver. Most HTs will put out 5 watts at the most. Midland offers mobile radios (like your MXT275) that put out as much as 40 watts (MXT400) or as little as 5 watts (MXT105). Anytone has a small mobile radio (AT-779U) that puts out 20 watts. B-Tech and Wouxon offer 50 watt radios (GMRS-50X1 and KG-1000G, respectively). A lot of what you decide should be based on how you plan to use the radio. If you'll just be using it to talk to other people in your family while you're out hiking, or while traveling in one car following a family member in another car, then you would likely be fine with just an HT (well actually, a pair of them). If you want to talk to other people while driving to work, for example, or talk over longer distances, then a mobile radio would likely give you an advantage due to both the higher power output and the better antenna that most mobile radios are paired with. The KG-UV9G is probably the most feature rich GMRS HT available. In the mobile arena, the KG-1000G is probably the most feature rich GMRS mobile radio available. Both of these radios, as well as a number of others, allow you to monitor other frequencies, including some ham frequencies. There are a lot of choices out there, but what would be best will depend on how you want to use it.

I click on the blue icon (a dot or a star, depending on whether or not you've contributed to the thread) to the left of the name of the thread to go to the first unread post in the thread.

I've just been using the Unread Content link at the top right corner of the page to view the new content that has been posted since my last visit. It has worked well for me, but it may not be to everyone's liking, since all the new posts in the main forum show up.

wayoverthere is correct. The radio needs to be powered up in order to program it. I use a 12V power supply on my desk to power up my radios. You could run it off a 12V battery pretty easily, or a "jump start" pack if you've got one. Because it comes pre-configured to work in a cigarette lighter plug, you can use any power source that provides it, or you can cut the plug off and hook it up to another 12V source. Regarding whether the radio is EU or USA version, I believe that is based on the stock configuration of the radio. If it came configured for GMRS, it's the USA version. If it came configured for dual band 2m/70cm ham bands, then it would be the EU version. This can be changed via firmware, so I don't think there's any significant difference between the two. On my radio, I left the firmware alone and only altered the programming for the memories, adding several sets of additional repeater channels to accommodate different PL (CTCSS/DCS) tones on each of the repeater frequencies. This can be simplified with the programming software by copying one row at a time. If you click on the row number for the row you want to copy, then press CTRL-C (keyboard shortcut for Copy), then click on the row number for the destination and press CTRL-V (paste), you can copy one row to another row, then edit what you need to by clicking on the ">>" symbol in the "More" column for the row you wish to edit. I found that worked, even though it didn't give any indication that it would work until I just tried it. I could not use the right-click mouse function to enable me to copy a row, as it didn't give me that option, but the keyboard shortcuts did work.

I agree. Having something right in front of you is a lot easier than trying to explain it to someone over the phone, etc. I'm sure you'll get it figured out pretty quickly once it's there in front of you.

Going by the pictures, there doesn't appear to be any difference between them that I could see, other than the label. According to Amazon, the TYT transmit range is between 420 and 450 MHz (70cm ham band), but it receives from 400 to 490 MHz. The Retevis is shown as having a frequency range that matches the receive range of the TYT (400 to 490), but from what I could find, it doesn't specify if this is for both transmit and receive. I'm sure there are ways to expand the transmit range on the TYT, but I didn't look into that at all. I'm sure the same would apply to the Retevis radio, too, it it has the same TX limits. For what it's worth, this also appears to be the same radio as the Midland MXT400, except the Midland is pre-configured and type-accepted as a 40 watt GMRS radio, and costs about twice as much.

My first thought was ensuring you entered the repeater codes on the transmit side of the radio. If entered on the receive side, they will not open the squelch on the repeater. On the Midland, I'm not sure what the menu settings are called, but it would be something along the lines of TXCTS vs. RXCTS. That would be the first thing I would check. The second thing that caught my attention is that you mention CH20 and CH21, which are sequential, and frequencies of .625 and .675, which are not. .650 is between them, so are you sure you're using the correct channels?

I just received the AT-779UV and played with the programming software for a little while. I was able to add channels beyond the 30 that come programmed, and I was able to change the PL tones as well. Besides the "open" (no tones) repeater channels that were included, I added 16 additional repeater channels, this time with "travel" tones on the first 8, and custom tones on the second 8. I couldn't change anything directly in the cell at first, but then realized that if I double click the cell, I could change some fields. For the fields I could not change directly, I was able to change it when I double-clicked the "more" (>>) cell. That would bring up the channel edit dialog box where you can change almost all the settings for that channel, such as channel name, power level, bandwidth, CTCSS/DCS tones (even custom ones). There's even a Tx Off option that I believe prevents transmitting on that channel, although I haven't confirmed if it works because I haven't tried it yet. All-in-all, the software is a bit "clunky," but it gets the job done. Once you create your desired file, you can save it and upload it to your radio. From there, it's pretty easy to download from the radio, make minor changes, save it, then upload it again to the radio.

I am also going to give the AT779UV a try. If it works okay as a mobile unit, I'll buy a couple more for family members so we can use them around town, or when we are traveling together in a caravan, etc. I also have a KG-1000G, and it is a great radio, but the price is a bit steep for something I would be giving to a family member just for occasional use.

There's also the Anytone AT-779UV or its clone, the Retevis RA25. Both come in GMRS variants with up to 20W output. They are small radios (a little less than 5x4x1.5"), possibly similar in size to the Midland MX-115, though probably a bit taller. I don't know much about the programmability of them, but from the little I've found online, they may be limited to only 30 channels.

I have both the KG-UV9P and the KG-UV9G, and using the same cable I've used for my Baofeng and TYT handhelds, I've been able to successfully read from both Wouxon radios with Chirp using the KG-UV9D profile. I haven't tried writing anything to the KG-UV9G, but I had no problem writing to the KG-UV9P.

I would also recommend the KG1000G based on what I've seen and read about it. I have one on the way, but haven't received it yet. Like you, I also have the GM-30 (a few of them actually), and recently purchased the UV9G too. The GMRS radios are what I pass out to family members when I want us to be able to communicate. I think this is a great solution for family communications when hiking, camping, bike riding, etc. They may lend themselves to an SHTF situation, as long as there aren't too many others trying to use the same airwaves at the same time. If you get a Baofeng for SHTF scenarios, my recommendation is to get more than one. They provide much more capability than a GMRS radio by virtue of the frequencies on which you can transmit. GMRS is limited to the standardized channels (actually specific designated frequencies), and in many cases you don't have the ability to transmit "out of band," so to speak. With a dual- or tri- band ham radio, you have a lot more frequency space to work with and you're not limited to specific (channelized) frequencies within that space. While it's true that a $25 radio will generallyget you $25 worth of performance, it's functionality will be largely dependent upon the ability to contact someone with it. If there's no one on the other end to talk to, it won't matter how much you paid for the radio. CCRs are great to use for learning purposes, and if you have several of them, you can pass them out to your friends and neighbors in a SHTF situation. As you familiarize yourself with the Baofeng, you will likely also become more interested in getting your ham license, which I would recommend anyway, since it would allow you to transmit with the Baofeng to communicate with others. If you like the GM-30, there is another CCR that has slightly better specs than the Baofeng, and is similarly priced. It looks nearly identical to the GM-30, but comes in a ham radio variety. Take a look at the TYT-UV88 if you're interested. The other nice thing about the CCRs is that as your interest grows (and likely your inventory of better radios), you can use the CCRs as backup radios.

I have been a licensed ham for several years, but only recently got my GMRS license as well, for exactly the reason you mentioned. Although I would like some of my family members to get their amateur radio licenses, so far none have expressed any serious interest in doing so. With GMRS we can do most of the things I wanted to do if they were to become hams, without them needing to go through that process. What we can't do, as of now at least, is communicate over distances of a hundred miles or more like we could if we were all hams. The primary reason we can't is that the necessary infrastructure isn't there (i.e. linked repeaters), at least not where I would need it.

You can find instructional videos for the NanoVNA on Youtube. Everything I've learned to do with mine was learned from Youtube.

Agreed! Very clean.

My post was a play on a certain YouTube host's pronunciation of the name, but thank you for the clarification.

I thought it was "Walks-on." Oh wait, that's a different YouTube guy (Ham Radio 2.0). Good thing you went with that radio, otherwise you might have had to order from Radioddiddditty, Raddity-iddity, Raddy-oh, or whatever the heck that outfit is called.

Without getting into the complexities of remote control of GMRS radios, I would think the user would still need to be licensed, or would need to be an immediate family member of the licensed user, to operate a system like this. If you are causing a radio to transmit within the GMRS band, I'm thinking you would need the aforementioned license and would need to identify yourself (give your call-sign) as appropriate. The exception would be when you were using an FRS radio within the guidelines of that service.

Of the GMRS radios I looked at, all were made in China with the exception of a pair of Midland Xtra Talk (Bubble Pack) handhelds I have, which were made in the Philippines. While there may be some very limited production of U.S. made electronic products, I haven't seen it for many years in the realm of radio. The exception, when it comes to radios, is the other topic you mentioned, antennas. There are some U.S. made antennas, mostly handcrafted by hams looking to capitalize on their creations. Signal Stuff makes the Signal Stick antennas in Utah, I believe KB9VBR makes antennas in Wisconsin, and I also believe Ed Fong antennas are made in California. In the ham radio world, it is very common for hams to build their own antennas, so there are plenty of U.S. made antennas. Of course, most of them are not commercially available.

From the way it sounds, there are a few things you'll want to familiarize yourself with, but otherwise, I think you should pass the Technician exam fairly easily. Yes, you'll want to know stuff like frequencies, band plans, and some other things. In addition to the resources already mentioned, there are a lot of resources to help you prepare on YouTube. One channel in particular, "Ham Radio Crash Course," has become popular recently. The host, Josh Nass, KI6NAZ, does a good job with providing preparatory materials for the various levels of ham licenses. I would recommend preparing for at least the Technician and General classes. If you pass both, you'll have access to most amateur radio frequencies. Technician doesn't provide much access to the HF bands, but General does for most of them. There is a small portion of the amateur bands that is restricted only to Amateur Extra licensees, however. When you take your Technician exam, if you pass, you may be given the opportunity to take the General exam. If you pass the General, you may be able to take the Extra exam. I took all three on the same day, but didn't pass the Extra exam, so I ended up getting licensed in the General class. As for taking the courses online, I believe there are some ways to do so. I know the Greater Los Angeles Amateur Radio Group (glaarg.org) has offered online courses, but I didn't see any upcoming ones on their website. I'm sure there are other places to take the exams online, but this is the only one I'm familiar with.

If you're looking for a CCR with those capabilities, the Radioddity GM-30 can do so now, with the latest firmware update (v2.06). It could not do some of those things before. It offers 250 memory slots, so 1-30 are the usual GMRS "channels" including 8 repeater channels. I've added 8 additional repeater slots (same frequencies, different PL tones), and a few ham repeaters to the programming on my radio, and it will transmit on all but the ham frequencies. The GM-30 is definitely not on par with the Wouxon GMRS handhelds, but I'd say it's very similar to the Retevis, but with added capabilities, especially with the new firmware. It's also comparable to the Retevis on price (about $40-45 at present).

"What cable did you use to do the update with was it the Baufeng or the Radioddity one? Thanks in advance." I have successfully been using a Baofeng cable with these radios. It may even be one of those "counterfeit" Prolific types, but I'm not sure. It shows as "Prolific Technology, Inc. PL2303" when I run "lsusb" on my computer. Since I use Linux, I haven't had driver issues with this cable, and it's just worked for me out of the box. I am running the GM-30 software under "WINE" but did have to modify a setup file to assign the correct COM port. Other than that minor issue, it has worked well for me thus far.

In the last day or so, Radioddity has released new firmware for the GM-30 radio. It is available on their website now. V2.06 allows the programming of additional repeater channels on which you can transmit. To try it out, I updated the firmware on my radios, then reset them (menu 40). After that I opened my saved configuration, and added eight additional repeater channels to the file, then uploaded the new file to the radios. It seems to be working as it should with the additional repeater channels available in addition to the stock 30 channels. The new firmware/software package allows the configuration of additional channels for multiple repeaters on the same frequency pair, where only the PL tone is different. For those that have been wanting additional flexibility with the programming of these radios, this update should help.

I have been successful using the GM-30 software running on Wine on my Linux computer. My cable is connected to COM port 33, and the software only allowed me to select up to COM port 20, so I had to manually edit the setup.txt file to get it to work. Once I did that, I was able to read from and write to the radio. Before writing anything to the radio, I always read from the radio first. I did that and saved the resulting file as GM-30 Original or something along those lines. I then re-wrote the file back to the radio to confirm that it worked correctly both ways. For me it did. After that I followed the instructions for the Firmware Update (V1.05 at that time). That worked for me as well, and I then reset the radio as the instructions suggested. I made a few minor edits to the GM-30 file, so I saved it with a new name that included the date, and I wrote it back to the radio successfully. A short time ago, I downloaded, installed, and used the updated GM-30 Software (V2.06) to update the firmware and programming of my three GM-30 radios. The new firmware allows you to save additional repeater channels with modified PL tones, so you no longer have to configure it from the front panel if using multiple repeaters on the same frequencies. This makes the radio much more user friendly in my opinion, especially for those that use repeaters extensively. I used the software to program 8 repeater channels with no PL tone, and 8 repeater channels with a PL tone, in addition to the other 22 channels. With the update, you are no longer limited to only 30 channels on which you can transmit. The link to the software was provided by Radioddity on the radio's Amazon page (It can be found in the Q&A section): https://smile.amazon.com/Radioddity-GM-30-Handheld-Repeater-Rechargeable/dp/B08SLR7W7F

I just downloaded, installed, and used the updated GM-30 Software (V2.06) to update the firmware and programming of my three GM-30 radios. The new firmware allows you to save additional repeater channels with modified PL tones, so you no longer have to change it from the front panel. This makes the radio much more user friendly in my opinion, especially for those that use repeaters extensively. I used the software to program 8 repeater channels with no PL tone, and 8 repeater channels with a PL tone, in addition to the other 22 channels. With the update, you are no longer limited to only 30 channels on which you can transmit. The link below was provided by Radioddity on the radio's Amazon page: https://radioddity.s3.amazonaws.com/Radioddity_GM-30_Firmware%2020210402%20%26%20Software_V2.06_20210414.zip