axorlov

Diamond X50NA works with acceptable SWR (1.7)

That's not unheard of. My ham Yaesu gear drains battery when turned off. I now remove battery from FT1XD, and I'm in the process of fabricating high(er) capacity LiPo battery for FT-817 that will include a mechanical switch to disconnect battery. My Kenwoods do not drain batteries, though.

Both measurements show very low SWR. The chan 15 shows 35W forward power, that is expected and close to claimed 40W. Second is just tad below 5W. The 15W-150W switch on the face of the of the SWR meter seems to be depressed for both measurements. Looks like depressed is for 150W range (based on 35W reading for 462.550MHz)? Make sure you have it in correct position for 40W and for 5W readings. You will have more precision in 15W range for the low power measurements. Other than that, everything is nice and dandy. What cable do you use? 50 feet of RG-58U will give you a low SWR reading, and a lot of loss.

Yeah right. Like your Anytone is even capable of going down to 2W. Lol. Proper etiquette demands use of a good approved and certified flamethrower on such things: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RPO-A_Shmel

Says someone with 20W MURS radio. :rolleyes (x33)

Specs for stability and spectral purity are the same between Part 90 and 95(e), so quite a lot of people are using Part 90 equipment. However, from a legal standpoint, they are not legit for GMRS. You would be a better neighbor with good Part 90 radios vs some crappy CCR certified for 95(e).

Part 90 are not legal for GMRS. However, as pointed out by wayoverthere, there are radios certified for both Part 90 and Part 95. Several Kenwoods came to mind: TK-860G, TK-880, TK-8180 for mobile, and number of handhelds too: TK-360G, TK-370G, TK-3140, TK-3170, TK-3173, TK-3180.

I do not own a repeater, but I do have a 25' mast on top of my roof. No security issues so far, in many years. In fact, it may keep your catalytic converter from being stolen: the big mast, the vehicles with antennas parked around, the police-sounding noises from your bedroom window...

Right now there are TK-3173s on ebay, with battery and charger for $70. You'd need cable (another $20). These handhelds have 128 programmable channels, and they work in the upper portion of Ham 70cm band, where repeaters are. They also are Part 95, if it is important for you.

I will elaborate a bit more. Your problem, Arawak, is clearly related to power. The channel 3 (462.6125 MHz), according to your post, shows SWR below 1 (which is not possible, let's say below 1.1), while the channels 17 and 18 (462.600 MHz and 462.625 MHz) show SWR 4. That makes ZERO sense since chan 3 is between the 17 and 18. Possible explanations are: 1) wrong measurement setup (likely); 2) antenna not rated for full power (I did not read the spec); 3) coax and connectors working fine at 15W but crapping out at 50W (less likely).

JTW270 is a cross-needle meter. Channels 15-22 are 462.xxx0, do you push full 50W on them? Do you set the power range correctly on the meter (15W vs 150W)? When you say SWR is 4, what does your meter show for forward and reflected power? Is your forward power about you'd expect? Can you repeat the test with different power from MTX400? Do you have dummy load (UHF-rated) to verify your coax?

Another vote for RadioReference. To get useful info, you do not need to register, just go to Databases (https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/) find your location, see what's around and what standards and modulations. Years ago I used to have a simple trunking BC245XLT scanner, and was able to listen to my towns police, fire, sheriff nearby, jail, CHP, railroad, BART, pretty much everything. Now, with the move to P25, only available sources to listen are CHP, bus company, BART and railroad. P25 scanners are expensive.

Smoke signals! No, not going to work, there will be a lot of smoke everywhere. Light semaphore is not going to work for the same reason. Flag and light semaphore might work for short distances, and just yelling silly is going to work too. Courier on a bicycle might be a reliable way to communicate, if not on a hostile territory. My bicycles are all lubed and inflated, and I try to keep myself in shape with weekly MTB jaunts just for that very reason. J/K, not for that reason. Still, I can do 10-15 miles in a challenging terrain off road, and pretty much infinite distance in the flat paved suburbia. Seriously speaking, the kind of emergency you are trying to be prepared will dictate the details. I'm not trying to be prepared for a catastrophe of a planetary scale (biblical proportions). The big earthquake, or wildfire, or week without power are more realistic threats where I live. Communication plan is important, be it a radio, or light semaphore, or bicycle courier. Start practicing today with your family and intended correspondents. Radio-3-3-3 is a good start to create a plan, adjust to your own needs and means. Make sure you have time schedule, reserve frequencies. What to do when there is no contact is also must be outlined and understood by all parties. And keep these bicycles and comfortable hiking shoes ready.

I copied my answer from the other thread: It shows the group name? On my TK-880 (v2.0, though) the panel always shows channel name. Also, you can reprogram channel up/down buttons, so make sure that your C and D, or whatever you expect to scroll through channels, are programmed to do so. Edit: I just looked at the Menu -> Edit -> Optional Features -> Optional Features 1 Mine are programmed like this: Group Name Text Length: None Sub LCD display: Group number Display Character: Channel Name

It shows the group name? On my TK-880 (v2.0, though) the panel always shows channel name. Also, you can reprogram channel up/down buttons, so make sure that your C and D, or whatever you expect to scroll through channels, are programmed to do so. Edit: I just looked at the Menu -> Edit -> Optional Features -> Optional Features 1 Mine are programmed like this: Group Name Text Length: None Sub LCD display: Group number Display Character: Channel Name

Yes, indeed. On a foggy and rainy day too. Not just feasibly, but reliably.

If all electronics are killed by big enough EMP or solar wind event, people would have bigger problem on hand than radio communications.

It's Kenwood-Yaesu-Icom T connector: https://www.amazon.com/Qiilu-Connectors-FT-7800R-FT-8800R-FT-8900R/dp/B08FCL69QZ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=radio+t+connector&qid=1636219982&sr=8-3 Or with the cable and fuses: https://www.amazon.com/EmBest-Fused-Compatible-Kenwood-Mobile/dp/B00CR00CWM/ref=psdc_597260_t4_B08FCL69QZ

I'm curious, Michael, were you born this way or doctor dropped you? Actually, no, I do not want to know.

You mean simplex on the 462.xxx0 MHz frequency? That's perfectly ok, these frequencies are shared with FRS, the school is entitled to use it. If the simplex was on 467.xxx0 MHz that would be a very different story.

Yes, it's better than FRS, smaller and longer range than many FRS radios. Also, you can reprogram DLR 1020/1060 with your own code without the software, just with the radio alone. Look up Profile ID: https://www.manualslib.com/products/Motorola-Dlr1020-3879768.html

Indeed. All of this should be sorted out before the encryption. Some of this things (time protocol, frequency plan) also applicable to normal life situation: say, when somebody is lost in national park. Or trekking through national park and saving time and battery while keeping in touch with support crew.

I will not repeat what was said above. My experience in Central and North California coast and foothills is the same. There is some activity on FRS around big campgrounds, there is none on the trail. I usually keep my radio on scan when I'm hiking. So, for me, GMRS is strictly to communicate with my family and camping buddies.

That is, unfortunately, a limitation of many (all?) modern Part 95E GMRS handhelds. The number of programmable slots is very low and cannot be expanded, slots cannot be reordered. Commercial Part 90 radios and older Part 95 radios generally do not have such limitations. You may have 100-500 slots and can program and name them any way you want.

Bulkhead antenna connector. But they are usually not that long. Not long enough to reach through your normal 2x4 frame + drywall + siding + etc. Also PL259 bulkhead connector will need a hole bigger than LMR-400 cable would need.