dosw

Next thing to sort out: I *think* that when I upload from CHIRP, the scan mode settings aren't retained, or aren't uploaded correctly. Can someone confirm? Set the scan mode from TO (time-based, the factory default) to CO (carrier based) in Chirp. Upload to the radio. What setting does the radio get? This probably isn't a radio issue, more something that I would report to the CHIRP developer who worked on the driver. But first I want to confirm I'm not the only one.

Yeah, I checked the radio and CHIRP; I go up to 48 currently. I store the fully open set (no tones) in 1-30, then actual repeaters with their tones, then some family-use simplex configurations. We have configured one channel in the 1-7 range and one in the 15-22 range, the latter in several power configurations. When using the radios in known close-proximity such as assisting backing up a tow vehicle to a trailer, we use the lower-powered channels and stay away from the channels that repeaters may be using. When we need more simplex range we'll shift over to the 15-22 area. So that ends up getting me up to about 48 programmed channels.

I reviewed my pictures earlier in the thread, and it appears I do have entries in the 30s. 37 is the highest currently. I'll do some more experimentation with CHIRP tomorrow.

Glad the power issue somewhat worked itself out. I really can't speak for the Retevis software. I program mine with CHIRP, and with CHIRP I'm not limited to only 30 channels per bank. Can you share a screenshot of what the programming for you channels past 30 looks like in the Retevis software? Also, maybe give CHIRP a try. Don't forget that you have to download the code plug / image from the radio into CHIRP before you can begin editing.

Could even put it in memory slot 8 since you can't transmit there anyway.

And I ignored the part where you mentioned that CW is not synonymous with Morse Code. The HAM references often seem to use them interchangeably, but yes, CW is a carrier wave or continuous wave, with no modulation, whereas Morse Code is an encoding protocol that is often used in CW transmissions but can also be used in FM, AM, and SSB transmissions, or light transmissions, or banging on a heater duct in a prison.

We ignored the OP's description of the sound, though: "I hear what sounds like Morse Code, but in the form of static bursts, not tones,". I don't typically hear repeaters identifying with bursts of static. I suppose a simple explanation for that could be that the repeater is a bit out of range, and is identifying with CW, so we're just hearing a signal that was mostly lost along the way.

If a signal is transmitted at 5w, narrow band (12.5khz bandwidth), and another signal is transmitted at 5w wide band (20khz bandwidth), we would expect the quality of the transmission to be better in wideband, all other things being equal. We would also expect that a wideband receiver would hear a narrowband tranmission as being a little quieter, though I wonder if that's an accurate description; perhaps thinner sounding. I don't know. And a narrowband receiver receiving a wideband signal would sound a bit distorted as a portion of the signal would fall outside of the receiver's RF hearing. I think I'm understanding that. More bandwidth provides more capability for information-carrying signal to be transmitted and received. My question is about signal path loss. Does a narrow-band 5w signal have a longer signal path since that energy is focused into a narrower frequency range? One of the reasons that SSB is effective is a narrower / more efficient use of energy due to narrower RF bandwidth. Is that correct? This is just a question to satisfy my own curiosity. I realize that it probably has very little bearing on UHF/FM communications, but also... why?

I received mine within a day or two of you -- probably a couple of days earlier, also directly from Retevis, shipped from China. Given that there is no new firmware on the Retevis site for this radio, and that I received mine very close in time to you, I believe we have the same firmware. I don't know how to see the firmware version, though. First, let me say you're right about the manual, it's thorough but thoroughly translated in a version of English that is nearly incomprehensible without reading several times to understand the odd word choices. And it's also correct that the table of menu items refers forward in the manual to pages that don't exist. Fortunately the explanations are included in the manual, just not on the right pages. You are also correct that the memory slots 8-14 cannot transmit, which was called out in a different thread for this radio. Somehow in designing the firmware they thought that memory slots 8-14 were somehow significant, rather than understanding the actual FCC requirements which are based on frequency. You can put whatever you want in those seven slots -- 8-14, but you can only listen on them. On the other hand, with that in mind, you could leave those slots completely empty (CHIRP allows that), and the channel dial will skip past them. Then you can look at the radio as having 186 memory slots, not 200. However, I think your power levels concern might be incorrect. I've got the latest version of CHIRP right now (not "next", but the latest production version), and it does support multiple power levels. I'll include a screenshot. I have also looked at the code for the RA87 driver in chirp, and it hasn't received an update in the actual RA87 driver code since May 18, 2024. So I believe that whether or not we're both using the same version of CHIRP, we're probably using the same driver. Unless there's a code branch that isn't in the repository, that driver hasn't changed. And that driver supports five power levels. It is correct (from what I can tell) that the *manual* is wrong in stating that you can cycle through multiple power levels from the radio's keypads. You cannot. But you can configure them using CHIRP. I will also show pictures of the radio's display showing L2, L3, M, and H. In the attached pictures you'll see that I have GMRS channel 18 stored in multiple memory slots in the radio so that I can quickly/easily switch between power levels for that frequency by turning the memory selector. They're labeled FAM18x where x is L2, L3, M, and H. I use "FAM" or "FM" for "Family channel." That's just my own names for them so that I can quickly switch between them. You'll see at the top of each of those pictures, L2, L3, M, and H in small letters. That's the radio actually telling me in its own words that it is set to a power level other than L and H. In the last picture you'll see a screenshot of CHIRP where I have those "channel 18" configurations set up. And you'll see the drop-down menu showing them. Also here is a screenshot of the CHIRP code repository showing the power levels defined in the RA87 driver for CHIRP. This driver hasn't changed since May 18. I don't know about the Retevis software for this radio, as I don't run a Windows computer, and haven't bothered getting it set up using Wine under Linux since CHIRP does everything I need it to do. I've been meaning to provide some thoughts on this radio after a week of use, but I'm not at a week yet. Nevertheless: The manual is relatively complete but completely obfuscated with terrible translations and tables with page number crossreferences that don't match up. It was probably ported over from the Amateur version of the radio which would have had more pages in the manual. Power levels can only be set "low" and "high" from the keypads. But in CHIRP can be configured to one of five settings. It's a single-band radio. As such, it's configured for being able to listen to 400MHZ-480MHZ. There are versions of the radio configured for the 2m band and for a 300MHZ band, but they're sold by a different vendor under a different name. Memory slots 8-14 are listen-only, regardless of what is programmed into them. The sound quality is very good. I've gotten good responses from those listening to me, and I've also tested with a VOX-activated voice recorder so that I can listen back and hear the quality myself. Power levels are pretty close to accurate. Those complaining that it doesn't produce the correct power level (40w for example) are probably using it with a 12v battery only, not a 13.8v power supply, and not with a vehicle running its alternator, which produces more like 14.5v. If you run it at 13.8 it seems to be very close to 40w on full power. The mic is very light weight; I prefer the weighted feel of the MXT275, by comparison. Also the PTT button is a little less "sure" than I would prefer, but works just fine. Turning off the button-press and other beeps is the first thing I did. It's really annoying to have it beep every time the scan mode finds someone talking. The left and right sides of the radio each have 100 memories, of which you can transmit on 93. You can't transmit on memory slots 8-13. This is a bug in the firmware. But also, if the bug were in memory locations 94-100, would you care as much? If you put nothing in those slots, they won't come up as you turn the channel selector knob. It seems to have a scrambling mode which I think is not allowed by the FCC for GMRS. I haven't tested it to see if it's actually enabled. But it shows up in the manual, and in the menus. You cannot transmit on anything that isn't a GMRS frequency, even if you store the frequency using CHIRP. (A friend loaned me a dummy load.) It will give you the "no way" beep if you try. But you can listen to 446.0000 just fine. I've tested it with a 3dbi antenna and a 6dbi antenna, both easily reaching a repeater 63 miles away with good signal quality, and good quieting. I have line of sight to that repeater from my home (my home is at 5000 feet, and that repeater is about 6800 feet, with the valley floor at 4200 feet). I've also hit a repeater about 22 miles away, another about 15 miles away, and worked simplex within a couple of miles just to test. I have a lot more testing to do to see how the 40w compares to my old 15w radio. Probably less difference than one would think, though. I haven't found a way to turn off dual watch. So if you want the radio to not annoy you with flipping over to the other side as you're monitoring a GMRS frequency, find a never-used frequency, and put a squelch code on it so that it will leave you alone. The "Call" button is confusing, given the oddly translated instruction manual. It seems to be for storing frequencies into next-empty memory slots, but I haven't gotten it figured out yet. The memory labels are only six-characters max. All caps. I really like having a squelch dial rather than only digital settings. For my uses, it's a great value; I paid about $159 for it. And it outputs the power I want, and with scanning and channel storage features I wanted. It's a better radio than my old MXT275 in most ways except for size and the feel of the mic. Sound is better. Flexibility is much better. It has some quirks, for sure. But they're pretty easy to work around once you get it configured with CHIRP.

Do you have a data cable for your UV5G? I have two UV5Gs, but couldn't tell you how to program a repeater into them from the keypad. I know it's a two step process, but to me at least, I find CHIRP more intuitive. Here are the steps with CHIRP: Download and install CHIRP on your computer. Plug in the cable and turn on the radio. Select the Radioditty UV5G as the radio type under the "Radio" menu. Download the current configuration from the radio. In CHIRP, add repeaters and channels as you prefer. Upload it all back into the radio. I realize this is more than two steps. But it's convenient having everything on one screen where you can compare one row to another to verify you've got settings correct, and where you can easily organize your entries into segments within the radio's memory. A cable will set you back $8 to $14, and could arrive at your doorstep as early as tomorrow. Once you've gotten familiar with CHIRP, the familiarity will follow you to other radios in the future. For example, I recently obtained a Retevis RA87. It came with a cable, works with CHIRP, and I uploaded my channel lineup to it within minutes of installing it in my vehicle. Repeaters usually require an input tone to get them to listen to you. And they often send an output tone that you can set your radio to listen for. The input tone on the repeater prevents it from retransmitting a bunch of kids playing on dad's FRS radios a block or two away. The input tone causes the repeater to only open itself up to retransmit when the incoming signal is on the right channel, and transmitting the correct sub-audible tone. When it hears that tone on the frequency it's tuned to, it begins retransmitting on its output frequency. On its output frequency a repeater will usually also transmit a subaudible tone. This is for you, the listener's benefit. If you set that same tone in your radio, it will only open itself up to playing the incoming transmission if the tone is also heard. You are not required to set an RX tone. If you do not, your radio will play over its speaker anything it can hear on the frequency you're listening to. If you do set a tone, it must be the same tone that the repeater is sending, so that it can sense that tone and play over its speaker the incoming transmission. So to summarize: To send a transmission through a repeater you must be on the correct frequency, and you must have your radio set to transmit the tone that repeater requires. To listen to a repeater, you can set no tone (and you'll hear everything transmitted on that frequency), or you can set the repeater's output tone (and you'll only hear that repeater). If you set an RX tone on your radio, it has to be correct or you won't hear incoming transmissions. Your output (TX) tone must always be correct or the repeater won't listen to you.

Just found this: 60w amateur transceiver This appears to be the same radio as the RA87, with an Amateur radio firmware instead of a GMRS firmware. It appears to be a single-band radio, that allows one to choose between 134-176MHz/ 340-400MHz/ 400-480MHz. This model is called Recent RS-900, and is marketed as 60w. Yesterday I found some literature showing that the RS-900 can transmit at 60w/50w, whatever that means (I found somewhere a source that claimed 60w for VHF, 50w for UHF, but I can't find that now. Here's another link: https://www.anyradios.com/product/recent-rs-900-vehicle-mouted-radio/ In this link, you must select the version; vhf, 340-400UHF, or the 400-480 UHF band, which further supports that this is a single band radio, probably configured by its firmware. Using this link you can see the power levels that the RS900 should be capable of: https://twowayradioshoppe.com/copy-of-copy-of-vhf-marineb-transceiver-mobile-radio-rs-900-p4476598.html . In that link, the power levels are listed as 5/10/20/30/50. I think that the RA87's manual claims 5/10/20/30/40. So I don't know if the marketing is inflated for the RS900 (showing 50 max), or if the GMRS firmware for it is capping at 40w, or if the manual for the GMRS version is just wrong, since there are some reviews for the RA87 that claim people are getting more than 40w out of it. Anyway, it doesn't ultimately matter; 35w, 40w, 50w... all about the same thing.

All my computers run Ubuntu Linux. Chirp is easy to install on Debian derivatives; Mint, Mate, vanilla Ubuntu, and so on. I've been using Chirp there for a couple of years. You can also see the list of supported devices on the Chirp website, and even download all of the Chirp source code from GitHub to read through.

I was reading the CHIRP python code for the RA-87 and spotted a few interesting sections: 1: A listing of the actual (targeted) power level for each of the power settings (low, low2, low3, mid, high). POWER_LEVELS = [chirp_common.PowerLevel("Low", watts=5.00), chirp_common.PowerLevel("Low2", watts=10.00), chirp_common.PowerLevel("Low3", watts=15.00), chirp_common.PowerLevel("Mid", watts=20.00), chirp_common.PowerLevel("High", watts=40.00)] 2: The programming indicates that the "left" and "right" side of the radio have rather independent memories. This is also described a bit in the manual. But to be a little clearer, the radio is marketed as having 200 memory slots for programming, and while this is correct, 100 of them are the left side, and 100 of them are the right side. In the highly unlikely event that you would ever need more than 100 repeaters programmed into your device, for example, you would need to program some of them into the left, and some into the right. For GMRS this is not terribly significant; though there may be a few people who use a lot of memory banks, I suspect that most of us aren't using more than 100. If you need <100 total, then you could make left and right both contain the same things. But I suppose for those who want many configuration combinations for GMRS frequencies, you could burn through 100 and have to start using the left side and right side for separate configuration storage. 3: The CHIRP driver for the RA-87 sets "VALID_BANDS" to [(400000000, 480000000)]. It would be interesting to see what happens if one added more ranges to VALID_BANDS. (Bricking the radio is a possible "what happens", though.) This seems to align with what others have posted, that this radio will scan frequencies between 400MHz and 480MHz but not outside that range. It does look like tuning steps can be set to 5, 6.25, 10, 12.5, 15, 20, 25, 30, 50, and 100 (kHZ?). 4: The RA87StyleRadio class definition sets _gmrs = True. I imagine this results in allowing transmission on GMRS frequencies. In searching the code, I do see other radios setting _gmrs = True, or False, and see that other common settings for other radios are _ham, _murs, _pmr... with appropriate bands set in various ways. There is another thread on mygmrs where the question is asked whether the RA87 can scan 2m frequencies (and another comment that the manual doesn't mention any such capability). It is possible that this is simply not a capability of the RA87 hardware, but it would be interesting to modify the CHIRP driver for the RA87 to replace VALID_BANDS = [(4000000000, 4800000000)] with VALID_BANDS = [(1440000000, 1480000000), (4000000000, 4800000000)] ...and upload that to the radio, hopefully not bricking it in the process. I'm sure that adding _ham = True would cross over the no-longer-type-accepted line, though. And who knows if the radio would die a sudden death if one were to key up in 2m. For anyone who wants to look at the CHIRP driver code for this radio: https://chirpmyradio.com/projects/chirp/repository/github/revisions/d644af4b89c8edfe1b59f2f4aa929fc725056edd/entry/chirp/drivers/retevis_ra87.py

Correct. They would have to move the entire screw-in-rods section to below the bracket, and lower the height of the NMO threads so that the bracket's plate could become the backing plate against which the antenna's o-ring seats. Who knows if they'll get it right. Doesn't seem like that hard of a concept but people manufacture what the blueprints say without asking questions, and the blueprints were probably drafted by someone who was just delivering what was asked for, but without fully understanding the problem being solved. Again, the purpose got lost in the several hops between good intentions and implementation.

Interesting suggestion but it defies the explanations provided in amateur radio study guides (here's one: https://www.kb6nu.com/extra-class-question-of-the-day-effective-radiated-power/ ), and in Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_radiated_power ). Putting "not" in caps and adding an exclamation point doesn't make an incorrect statement true. But I could be persuaded that all the reputable sources of information are incorrect if a persuasive argument were made with supporting proof.

I bought a Nagoya GPK-01 ground plane kit, and discovered that it isn't weatherproof. Pictures attached... With the antenna fully screwed down to the NMO threads, the ground plane rods cannot be connected. With the ground plane rods connected, you cannot fully tighten an antenna on the NMO threads. In either case, the O-ring on NMO antennas is greater diameter than the NMO backing on the GPK-01 ground plane kit. I've tried this with an HYS SDN1-T, a Midland MXTA25, and a Midland MXTA26. Each one had an o-ring of greater diameter than the backing of the NMO mount, and each one extended low enough when fully threaded that the ground plane rods couldn't be attached. I reached out to Btech before returning the product because I wanted to make sure that I was not mistaken. Btech responded within a day to say that they were forwarding the pictures and description of the problem for further review. A day later they responded to say that they were going to be addressing this issue "at manufacturing", and would send me a replacement sample for evaluation after the corrections have been made. It'll probably be a little too late for my needs; I will just get a no-ground-plane antenna to put on the sailboat mast, and don't intend to lower the mast again for a few years. But I'm really happy with the outcome of the email to support, since it helped them to recognize a design deficiency, and because they do intend to correct it. Once I've received the replacement I'll post here about it. As I look at the pictures, it seems like the part that the rods screw into could be manufactured so that it's below the bracket, and the antenna could mate against the bracket itself.

Continue asking questions. Answerable questions are great. You didn't mention what GMRS handheld you have. Some models like Midland handhelds don't allow for removing the antenna. But in the GMRS realm that's less common. Nevertheless, before buying an antenna and an adapter, do make sure you are able to remove the one that came with the HT

The RT15 handheld Retevis FRS radios state in their marketing literature that you can communicate with other 22-channel radios on channels 1-5. That tells me that other channels probably have squelch tones set that would prevent you being able to hear other radios on anything above channel 5 (unless you happen to figure out what tone is set in those radios). Set the RT15 FRS radios to channel 1. Set the MXT105 to channel 1 with no tones set (this should be the default configuration unless you've changed something). Now they both should be able to hear each other. And they should work compatibly on channels 1-5.

Looking forward to getting mine in a few days. It's been ordered. I'll put the RA87 in my vehicle, and will demote the MXT275 currently in the vehicle to getting moved back and forth between a boat and an RV (since they're never used at the same time) as needed. I was able to check into a net 63 miles away yesterday using the MXT275, using an MXTA26 antenna, though not with strong quieting. This upgrade ought to help.

100 feet of RG58 could be an issue. You can buy 100 feet of LMR400 and have far less signal loss than with RG58. I'm in the process of assembling the parts to put a GMRS antenna on a sailboat mast, and even though it's rather thick and heavy, went with LMR400 to avoid losing all the gain the antenna produces over the course of a 50 foot run. RG58 will have an attenuation of approximately 10.6db at 100 feet, whereas LMR400 will have an attenuation of approximately 2.7db. It's unfortunate to lose most of the benefit of an antenna through the coax.

With no tones programmed, can you hear the repeaters? Set your handheld on one repeater output frequency with a cheap vox / voice activated recorder attached, and come back in a few hours. Did anyone identify using a GMRS call sign? Hearing activity is the first step.

I thought I'd follow up here regarding the Nagoya Ground Plane kit. From what I can tell (having ordered and assembled it), it suffers from two shortcomings that make it pretty much defective by design. Any NMO antenna from my collection (MXTA25, MXTA26, and a Nagoya 5/8ths wave 17" antenna) cannot fully tighten down against the NMO mount because the ground plane rods are in the way of tightening it down. There is no backing plate around the NMO threads, so every NMO antenna that has an o-ring around its base to prevent water intrusion has nowhere to form a seal. Actually the base of any NMO antenna I've seen should press against the perimeter of the NMO mount. But in the case of this kit, it presses only against the ground plane rods. Therefore, it can't be fully tightened, and even if it could be, it would not be a weatherproof seal. This is for the Nagoya GPK-01 ground plane kit. So this kit is probably getting sent back. Has anyone found an NMO ground plane kit that would be appropriate for a sailboat masthead? I've searched high and low. One that allows water intrusion can't be it.

(d) 467 MHz interstitial channels. Only hand-held portable units may transmit on these 7 channels. The channel center frequencies are: 467.5625, 467.5875, 467.6125, 467.6375, 467.6625, 467.6875, and 467.7125 MHz. (c) 467 MHz interstitial channels. The effective radiated power (ERP) of hand-held portable units transmitting on the 467 MHz interstitial channels must not exceed 0.5 Watt. Each GMRS transmitter type capable of transmitting on these channels must be designed such that the ERP does not exceed 0.5 Watt. Putting that aside (because if I had been following along I would have seen that others already posted the rule), you are 100% correct that it is lazy if the manufacturer has simply designated *memory slots* 8-14 to not transmit, but hasn't placed restrictions on transmitting on *frequencies*. If the mobile radio can transmit on the 467 interstitials just by placing one of those frequencies in a different memory slot, the radio probably shouldn't have been approved. And it clearly is rather braindead for the manufacturer to simply block transmitting on any frequency that has been programmed into memory slots 8-14. It sounds like the embedded system firmware developers didn't understand the assignment. I can see how that can happen, since I work in the software industry. Somewhere some product person heard from legal that they need to prevent transmitting on the 467 interstitial frequencies. And by the time that got from legal to product to a Jira story to a developer, the "why" was forgotten, and the developer just delivered what he was asked: Make it so this radio can't transmit on 8-14.

The amateur technician license exam has some opinions on the topic. Sharp bends in the grounding wire must be avoided, connections should be short and direct, feed line lightning arrestor should be connected to a grounded panel near where the feed line enters the building, grounding rods should be bound together with heavy wire or conductive strap, and tower legs should have independent 8 foot rods sunk into the ground. At least I think those are the answers most relevent to this question.

Set them both to the same channel, first. Next, disable PL tones or DCS tones on both, so that they're both transmitting without squelch tones, and both receiving without squelch tones. Make sure you're not set to a repeater profile or repeater channel. The very first step is to get them talking directly to each other with no squelch tones, simplex. After you've done that, you should be able to begin layering in additional complexity; on a simplex channel set a squelch tone. Be aware that the KG935G+ and the MXT500 have different ways of setting tones. The MXT500 uses code numbers to represent the tones, whereas the other radio probably uses the actual tone frequency. So you'll have to look up in the MXT500 manual how to crossreference the correct code to represent that tone. Of course, all of this should be done in relatively close proximity to each other. Later on when you work repeaters, youi'll need to have the radios separated far enough that they don't deafen each other.