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?

Measuring power between the radio and the coax cable (radio side). The coax is 35FT long. But you might have hit on something - the pigtail between the meter and the radio. Its not the same size as the LRM400. Its quite small/thin in comparison. Maybe it can't put through all the watts to the meter due to the pigtail size? The power wires between the radio and power supply are about 18" long or so. The gauge is what came with the radio. The only thing in between the radio and power supply is an in-line fuse. Power is connected through screw-downs.

As far as I know, yes. The radio is set to HIGH. The SWR reading was taken between the radio and the antenna. I'll try taking another reading at the end of the coax next to the antenna. I've rechecked the coax fittings, both ends are tight. Since it's an attic antenna install, no need to worry about water encroachment or weather issues. I'll also try ferrite couplers and see if those help as the coil of coax by the antenna might not be doing its job.

Question: I have a Radioditty DB-25G that I am using as a base station coupled with a 30A power supply, using LMR400 coax (35FT) with a GMRS J-pole antenna (in the attic) from KB9VR. This is a 25 watt radio, but the most I have been able to get on high power to a repeater (462.675) is about 13 Watts. Where am I loosing those 10-12 watts? Through the coax? I have the end of the cable looped 4-5 times about a foot away from the antenna itself. SWR is 1.2 with the the Farsometer 2000 showing FW: 12.94W and RW: 0.121W. Those 10-12 watts seem to be disappearing. On the 5 watt frequencies, it transmits at exactly 5W. Any ideas what would help find/recover the missing watts?

I have a NGGMRS sticker (North GA GMRS group) on my truck. If someone wanted to get hold of me, they'd do it via one of the NGGMRS linked repeaters. No frequency needed. I supposed they could call out for the 'guy in the white RAM with the NGGMRS sticker' if they wanted to reach out. And as for vanity plates, those are only for "Sad HAMS" ?

The DB-25G (what I have) is only $5 more. Pretty good deal, especially considering you can program more than 9 additional repeaters in the unit. That's what sold me. Well, that and the extra 5W.

It is possible I got a bad unit. Lots of static both TX and RX compared to the other units. I've done multiple radio checks and those on the other end said the same thing - better TX on the Wouxun units than the GMRS-Pro. If I can find someone local to me that also has a GMRS-Pro, I'll do a side by side and see what we get.

I have the KG-UV9G Pro as radio as well. I wanted it for the SHTF frequencies, but many departments (police, fire, EMT, etc) have gone to digital so it won't receive those freqs as far as I can tell. Still a great radio and the native programming software seems to be decent. Another place to search for frequencies local to you can be found here: https://www.radioreference.com/

Not a big fan. Was sold on it when I watched the notarubicon review. Bought one sight/review unseen. Got through about 3 minutes of the review and ordered one. IMHO, the radio is just OK as far as RX and TX. It has some nice features (bluetooth, texting, etc) but those (for ME anyway) don't overcome the poor radio performance. I even tried it with a 771G antenna, didn't improve it much at all. I have also both the Wouxun KG-935G and KG-UV9G Pro. Both of the Wouxun radios transmit and receive clearer than the BTECH. My favorite is the KG-935G. Your mileage may vary...