jdoolin

I agree with you but his suggestion corrected the problem. He wasn’t 100% sure himself. I did go back to the previous code and the problem returned. I called him back and told him what happened. His suggestion avoid that code pick another you have plenty. Lol  He said it didn’t make sense to him either. He just said he’s had a few friends that have have issues with dcs and just conveyed what experience they have had but can’t explain why and they too changed codes and problem resolved. 

I agree with you but his suggestion corrected the problem. He wasn’t 100% sure himself. I did go back to the previous code and the problem returned. I called him back and told him what happened. His suggestion avoid that code pick another you have plenty. Lol  He said it didn’t make sense to him either. He just said he’s had a few friends that have have issues with dcs and just conveyed what experience they have had but can’t explain why and they too changed codes and problem resolved. 

Well I spoke with a radio guy that programs radios for emergency services and he suggested to try a different DCS code. He is not real versed in gmrs but he did say he thought there were a few codes on the upper part of the chart that could cause some problems. He went into technical details about how Motorola started the whole DCS thing and other manufacturers have added codes to expand on what Motorola implemented but the Motorola ones were tested and verified and the additional codes were not or at least by Motorola. In a nutshell I changed DCS  codes to a lower one on the chart and no more issues whatsoever. 

She was explaining to me as I was talking to her the conversation would start with a strong voice then quickly quiet down to maybe less that half volume and at the time we are just a few miles apart.  I have no clue as to how DCS would affect that but I remembered the issues I had with a couple handhelds.  All I know is after switching to CTCSS its been perfect.  I'm familiar with the different types of tones and I used to program our radios for the police department but our channels didn't use any with DCS.   I've been programming my radios for a long time and I did have a couple of Wouxun handheld radios I couldn't trust to open up every time if I used DCS.   I live in a rural area anyway and don't see having any problem using CTCSS anyway so I'll stick with that.  When we were on vacation in Galveston, several times we had to change channels and CTCSS at times to find a quiet channel. 

I just recently purchased 2 MXT575 units.  They are wide and narrow capable on repeater channels.  At first I was using the included antenna and was pleasantly surprised at the distance but the girlfriend didn't like the look of it on her car.  I didn't care for it either.  I installed Larsen thru glass mount antennas on both vehicles and they work great.  I noticed improvement on the transmit side and receive was much better than the included antenna.  The Larsens weren't cheap by any means but I've used them in the past with good results.  I know some have had bad luck with thru glass antennas.  I used to run Icom radios but I have to admit I do like the simplicity of the Midland and finding a place to mount a full size radio in a 21 Durango is almost impossible so this fits the bill.  I just keep a list of repeaters and tones on my phone if I need to program one on the fly when I get out of my area.   I was able to get the SWR down to about 1.3:1 and one unit is putting out exactly 50W and the other is about 48W.  I have to say I'm pretty impressed.

I just recently purchased 2 MXT575 units.  They are wide and narrow capable on repeater channels.  At first I was using the included antenna and was pleasantly surprised at the distance but the girlfriend didn't like the look of it on her car.  I didn't care for it either.  I installed Larsen thru glass mount antennas on both vehicles and they work great.  I noticed improvement on the transmit side and receive was much better than the included antenna.  The Larsens weren't cheap by any means but I've used them in the past with good results.  I know some have had bad luck with thru glass antennas.  I used to run Icom radios but I have to admit I do like the simplicity of the Midland and finding a place to mount a full size radio in a 21 Durango is almost impossible so this fits the bill.  I just keep a list of repeaters and tones on my phone if I need to program one on the fly when I get out of my area.   I was able to get the SWR down to about 1.3:1 and one unit is putting out exactly 50W and the other is about 48W.  I have to say I'm pretty impressed.