WRUA262

I have both the Wouxun KG-935G and KG-UV9G Pro. Both of these HTs have numerous slots available (999 slots) for programming GMRS (TX & RX) and/or HAM/MURS/Aircraft/ etc (RX only) as well as any PL tones for both simplex and repeater GMRS channels. Great radios and very versatile.

Correct. I programmed my buddy's Baofeng BF-F8HP which is specified as HAM, but found that you can TX/RX GMRS just fine. But you didn't hear that from me... just sayin'

I would venture to say that very few radios actually push a full 50 watts on the high setting.

I pulled those photos off the device reports (pulled from the interwebs) that went to the FCC for approval.

I can save him the trouble. Since I'm not a circuit expert (I think many 'Sad HAMs are though), I can't tell you what might be different regarding the radio board. BTECH GMRS 50V2 vs. BTECH GMRS 50X1.pdf

This ^^^ plus, since he's already got a good feel for the 50X1 unit, he should be able to give a good synopsis of the 50V2 differences, good or bad.

In all fairness, just about every 'Getting Started' or 'Attention' section of most radio manuals contain the same verbiage about smoke/odor, etc. We will see. I just ordered one. The price is right for a 50W unit. It does state that the board has been redesigned, I presume that is a good thing. [UPGRADED] The GMRS-50V2 is major upgrade from the previous generation GMRS-50X1. New features include a full redesigned radio board. All 256 channels are fully customizable, the ability to add or remove GMRS or NOAA channels quickly. PCB updates on the GMRS-50V2 include RJ45 audio output, improved audio filtering, constant 50W power output on GMRS We'll have to see how the @OffRoaderXreview goes once he gets his hands on one (if he doesn't already have one).

While the new usb-c port KG-935 battery is cool, it's actually has less miliamp hours than the standard battery. The standard battery comes in at 3200mAh while the new usb-c battery comes in at 2600mAh. Convenience sometimes comes with a price.

Not sure how to re-calibrate the Surecom. Is that as simple as resetting it or is there some other way to recalibrate it? There is certainly nothing on the chinglish instructions as far as dialing it in. I'll tell you this, I'm not going to spend a bunch more $ buying a more testing equipment that I might use once. If I was making money off it, sure, it would be worth the investment, but I'm not... so I won't.

The Surecom measured the low setting at just over 5 watts, which is exactly where it should be. I have no reason to think that the meter isn't working correctly. Since it gave exactly the same reading into a dummy load as it did the antenna itself, I'd wager that the meter is not the problem. But to answer your question, I don't know of anyone close to me at this point with a different meter to verify the results.

As a follow-up - Bought a 50W dummy load, ran the radio again through the dummy load - ~15 watts, same as when I ran it through the antenna. Next course of action is to get hold of Radioddity and see what they say. I get that the watts may be a little under stated, but 10-12 watts under is a far cry from 'a little' IMO.

Good info, didn't see that before on the SWR meter manual. Came across a Gadget Talk review from a year ago, he put the DB25G on a dummy load at high power and it only came through at max ~15 watts. I feel a little better after watching that review. But then again, Notarubicon measured his unit... let me rephrase... ran the DB25G on a dummy load and it came through at just under 25 watts. Hmmmm. I guess I'll just have to spend the $$ on a 50W dummy load so I'll be able to sleep at night again.

Nothing of metal that would effect the SWR, the antenna is mounted in my attic. Wood frame. foam insulation, asphalt roof tiles. I can live with 1.17 - 1.20. I'll throw on the last 2 ferrites and see what happens. I wouldn't think that I'd be losing that many watts from a 35' LMR400 cable, but who knows? It's reading a full 5 watts on the lower power frequencies.

Checked the power supply. Operating at 13.5 volts, not sure how to check the current on my cheap multimeter, so I'll assume it's doing what it should be doing. Threw on a few ferrite collars on the LMR400 cable next to the antenna feed, adjusted the antenna slightly and was able to get about 14.5 watts out of the unit, and brought the SWR down to 1:17. Minor improvements. Wondering if more ferrite collars would help more. Have 3 on now, 2 more available. How many ferrite collars are too many?