SteveShannon

You do not need additional hardware. They use analog audio and they are accessed using your analog radio.

You wouldn’t put your repeater antenna in your driveway, would you? Height is might.

I’m just Steve. You’re welcome!

It wasn’t a waste of my time. As I answered above I’ve never seen any issues with my wife’s mobility scooter.

One thing I have noticed is that there are a few different threads asking about the issues they have with their GMRS 50V2 radios, including one where the radio said 50V2 on the case but the boot screen said 50x1. But I don’t recall seeing any complaints about the KG1000G or plus model. People who have them seem to be happier. The difference wouldn’t be noticeable in range as much as ease of use, quality of build, etc.

Generally speaking a longer antenna will result in a stronger signal for both transmission and reception, as long as everything else is equal. Whether that results in greater range is debatable. Your range on UHF is more frequently limited by terrain than signal strength.

Welcome! I hope you enjoy it here.

I have a friend who had a Chevy Volt. He had really good luck with it but he needed something to pull a trailer. He ended up selling the Volt to fix up his Suburban, which seemed like it was always in the shop. Now he has an older F-150. I hope he has better luck with it.

My wife gets around with Pride Elite GoGo scooter. As far as I can tell I never see any RFI and even when my 100 watt radio is transmitting it doesn’t appear to interfere with it.

I like mine.

At $220 for the price of the KG-Q10H, you’re within $30 of arguably the most durable SHTF radio out there, the Yaesu VX-6. It’s worth knowing about anyway. https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-007681

I have two of the RigExpert analyzers. I really like them. Easy to use with lots of features for someone who enjoys fiddling with antennas. And they are on sale right now I believe. If I was only going to check one antenna though I would just get a decent combination SWR/power meter. The NanoVNA (I’ve got one too) is an interesting tool, especially if you’re testing fittings for insertion losses, but not as nice to use as the RigExpert.

The Yaesu FT5DR receives AM and FM from 500khz to 900 MHz, is rated IPX7 (submersible), and transmits on 2m and 70cm. It might be possible to open it up for GMRS. It’s arguably the best APRS handheld currently available. It’s not cheap, but if you watch the sales you can occasionally find it for $360.

Sorry

The PDC2 was not designed for GMRS frequencies. The specs say 24-30 MHz. You’ll need a different SWR meter.

That’s interesting and unexpected.

The Wouxun KG-uv980 is also a quadband radio that might target the same audience. I wonder how it is.

Although your power supply might be rated to provide up to 30 amps, it had better not be using that much. When transmitting at a full 50 watts you should see somewhere around 12 amps max. When in standby it should only read an amp or so. I would hook up a separate voltmeter and watch what happens to the voltage measured right at the power input on the back panel of the radio. If it sags under 12 volts you have a problem with your power. If it’s not in warranty then I would look for poor connections to the power supply. I had a radio that was constantly resetting and I eventually discovered that there was a bad connection on the power cable. I would agree that it sounds like there’s an internal problem of some kind. I don’t know if you could load the 50v2 firmware. I agree with @WRXB215 that BTech should just replace it.

Welcome, Rox!

It’s a good racket selling radios that don’t work completely correctly with the expectation that your customers will fix them.

What do you do if you get caught in a hail storm?

Welcome and happy new year!

There is a different thread where that’s the case:

A lot can change in two plus years.

How dare you quote me and then sort of agree with me in principle.