WRHS218

That is a good idea. If there aren't a lot of GMRS users in you area you can start with you closest neighbors. I did an FCC search for licensed GMRS people in my area and found one in my neighborhood. I purchased a cheap GMRS radio for my well-neighbor's birthday this month. He saw me using mine during a snow storm multiple day power outage earlier this year. I have talked to several other people in our area about getting radio, even a simple FRS radio to begin with. From there we'll try to encourage folks to turn them on when the power goes out (like it did last night), during bad weather, wild fires in the area etc. It seems the biggest hurdle is to get non-radio nerds to see the value of having a non-cell phone method of communication. Good luck and have fun.

I bought an old style (non tempered glass) screen protector for a tablet and cut screen protectors for all of my radios. While a screen protector will not stop a broken screen from a direct impact it will help and it keeps my screens scratch free. I have dropped several of my radios and still have pristine screens. As far as radios go, depending on you radio budget, the KG-905G is built like a tank and the aforementioned KG-S88G is my go everywhere radio, compact and tough.

To anyone who might be wondering you can go to your present location, sort of, from using the "Browse Repeaters" button. You can set your distance to search in the settings within the "Browse Repeater" area. That didn't seem to be available using the "Map" button until I logged out and then back in. It now shows my location on the big map. I'm sure it was my mistake. The app is great and much smarter then I am.

Is there a way to show "my location" on the map using a phone's location. That would be handy when travelling in an unfamiliar area on back roads. I know nothing about apps or how to make them. So far the Beta is very fast and easy to use. Thank you for all of your work.

I purchased the KG-UV9G (not the X) for my son-in-law before the X version came out. It came with all of the SHTF frequencies already programmed. It is a really nice radio. I have the KG-935G Plus. Of course it didn't come with SHTF frequencies but I have added everything I wanted and ended up putting most of what came on the UV9G on the 935G Plus. The UV9G (and the newer X version) is a superheterodyne receiver where the 935G Plus is a Direct Conversion receiver. As far as performance goes they are both about the same. We have used both radios talking to each other with the OEM antennas out to about 3.7 miles in a mountainous area where we didn't have direct line of sight and had clear communication. That is a little unusual and other areas in the mountains we don't get that range. Anywhere he could hear and talk to me I could hear and talk to him. They both work repeaters well. He is going to purchase the 935G Plus as he and I just gave his grandfather our KG-905Gs to use on his ranch. The 935G Plus has more volume than the UV9G which is good for me. I really don't think you could wrong with either radio. Both companies have great customer service. Sexy wrist strap aside, If I could only have one, I would probably go with the KG-935G Plus. You could just sell a body part and buy both! Have fun with which ever radio you decide on.

I ended up uninstalling the old app, reinstalling it and signing in and then there was the Join button for the Beta. A few minutes later I had the update. I have the Beta version now.

I have had the old Android app installed for over a year. Do I need to uninstall it and then reinstall to get to the beta version?

I used to have to wear a full face type respirator and sometimes a SCBA in my job. Every time I used one of these I would have to maintain radio coms. We never used any of the options you linked to (it was a long time ago), we just had a handheld that we would hold up to the exhale valve to talk and then hold it up to our ear to listen. We were in a mostly hot, loud, hazardous environment. It wasn't an every day event so the money wasn't spent for a good solution.

I don't have the official answer, but from what I have observed/heard they are still analog. I have been around several huge rail yards and all of the radio traffic was analog. The EOT/FRED are analog tones as well. I have poked around on the interwebs and I can't find anything about moving to digital.

It was meant as light hearted sarcasm. Something that fails when typing. It is my favorite GMRS radio.

I went to radioreference dot com and searched for railroad. There are several hundred frequencies that I programmed into my radio. I don't know which are in use where so I made a scan group for railroad.

Yep, I haven't figured out how to TX on 2m with the 935G. And even if I could we all know that would violate numerous FCC regulations and I would never, ever, at any time, do that!

I took another trip from CA to TX. My wife was with me this time so I didn't geek out as much as I usually do. I had programmed all the GMRS repeaters along the route into my KG-935G+ as well as all of the 2m repeaters. I had my Yaesu VX-6R with me as well. My route avoided most large cities. I scanned all of the GMRS repeater and simplex frequencies, along with 2m, 70cm repeaters and call freqs. I heard a little 2m and GMRS repeater traffic in the CA central valley and then didn't hear anything until KIngman, AZ. I heard 2m traffic there. There was a little GMRS/FRS traffic in Flagstaff. I didn't hear anything else until I got to Central TX. I was on FM roads so that is no surprise. My destination was Beaumont, TX, where my youngest daughter lives. There was quite a bit of 2m traffic there as well as a GMRS repeater in the Beaumont area owned and operated by a GMRS club. I had joined the club last year to get access to their repeaters. One reason I like the 935G is I can listen to railroad frequencies. My path half way across the country was along major rail lines. So I had one radio just scanning those frequencies all the time. I heard a lot of train stuff which I enjoyed. It is interesting to hear a train crew talking to a dispatcher in the middle of the Mojave desert. On the way back I-40 in Flagstaff was funneled to one lane and the traffic was stopped. I called out on a 2m repeater and a GMRS repeater and got no response. I heard a couple of people talking on GMRS and talked to them and it turns out the were using FRS radios in a campground. It was a good trip. The addition of scanning RR frequencies was fun. My wife even got to the point that when she heard the EOT (end of train) signal she would start looking for the train. Enjoy your radios, they can make roads trips more fun even if you don't talk to anyone.

Yeah, I'm pretty much a moron as I didn't look at the picture. #5 is the grey wire and it looks like #7 is the non insulated wire. I can't see the black wire so I could, but won't, assume where it goes. I tried to get a picture but it didn't help. OP, please let us know when you have the answer.

I took the screws out of the plug end and separated the assembly enough to see the wire colors and what I got was inconclusive because it looks like there are two whites. Those may have stripes but I just couldn't see. Anyway: 1 - White 2 - Red 3 - Blue 4 - Green 5 - White * 6 - Yellow 7 - Couldn't see the insulation 8 (Center pin) - Couldn't see the color * Could see white but couldn't tell if there was a stripe

I was chastised by a "helpful" HAM two decades ago for inadvertently using a 10-code with a fellow off duty LEO on 2m. It just amazes me how HAMs will use Q codes on voice and end their transmissions on 2m with 73s and then complain about other people. Of course, I don't play well with others.

I have my KG-935G programmed with all of the railroad frequencies. It doesn't scan as fast as a stand alone scanner but it works well for me. I have even caught a few defect detectors out in the middle of nowhere. I use it on long trips and can hear yard traffic. Sean

You have obviously never been there in early Autumn...

Don't of any classes but there is a user here that has a youtube channel where he explains a lot about GMRS, using repeaters, programming and more. Search the tubes for Notarubicon and take your sense of humor with you or it could be a rough ride. I have never met Randy but he seems like a nice guy.

I used that antenna on my Toyota SUV that has a heavy duty rack for over a year. I have a NMO mounted through the roof that I used for 2m. I have since replaced the 2m antenna with a GMRS antenna and use it instead of the Nagoya. I now use the 72G on my wife's Honda with no roof rack and see no difference in TX or RX. Same radio, same antenna. I understand this is anecdotal and of course, YMMV.

I only have the 935G, so I can't compare. However, the 935G has been an excellent radio. I also have a 905G and a S88G which are both superhet radios. I can't tell any difference between them and the 935G. All very good radios. The IP66 rating was a selling point for me as I am often in dusty or wet enviroments.

Thanks

I have several different radios for which I use the manufacture's software to program via computer. Each radio has its own software and I can't copy/paste from one to the other. All of my radios are now listed in CHIRP. If I were to read the radios with CHIRP can I then cut and paste from one radio's file to another radio's file even if the radios are different brands (as long as both radios are capable of TX/RX on the same frequencies)? I have manually programmed several hundred frequencies into one radio and would like to move those to another radio or two. Some are GMRS repeaters along a cross country route and others are railroad and other frequencies.

Our little mountain town just got over 5 feet of snow in 3 days and most people in my small area are snowed in. We lost power for three days, got it back for 7 hours, and then lost it again for another 26 hours. During that time cell service was working. I spent one day with other neighbors trying to open up driveways and move some downed trees. Everyday I would leave the house to do get a vehicle unstuck or try to clear a path to the wood shed or start and stop the generator, etc. Instead of using cell phones to keep in touch with my wife we used our GMRS handhelds. I also used them to stay in contact with other family near by. I found it much easier to use the radio than a cell phone with gloves on and in heavy snow. My wife even said she was glad we have them. One neighbor was inquiring about the radios. We share a well so it would be nice for him to have one as today I needed him at his house while I got the well pump and system thawed and restarted after getting power back. Our radios may be a fun to have tool/gadget , but, they are a great tool to have when you need them.

538, I live 17 miles from the South (Highway 41) gate of Yosemite NP. The last time I was in the valley I couldn't find any repeaters. There a couple in the Mariposa area but I can't reach them. I have used 5w handhelds in the valley that have worked pretty well. The valley is relatively flat but there are tall tress everywhere. If you are going to hike to the water falls handhelds should work well even if some of your folks are in the camping areas. BTW I grew up in Beaumont. Sean