'Dedicated' GMRS Base?

[WSAF837]

Hi all, I've just been wondering if anyone knew of a GMRS base station type radio that runs off AC straight from the wall without having to adapt a DC mobile unit? Even if it's one that's not currently available, I can check the used market of course. 

 

Thanks in advance!

[WRUE951]

7 minutes ago, WSAF837 said:

Hi all, I've just been wondering if anyone knew of a GMRS base station type radio that runs off AC straight from the wall without having to adapt a DC mobile unit? Even if it's one that's not currently available, I can check the used market of course. 

 

Thanks in advance!

GMRS only base station?, i don't think you will find one not using a DC Power Supply.  You can find some Kenwood's, Motorola's & Hytera commercial radios that can be programmed to GMRS on eBay, some being dual purpose repeaters.   Why are you against using a DC Power Supply?

[SteveShannon]

I’ve never seen one. Even most ham radios designed to be used as base stations require an external power supply. 

[WRYZ926]

As Steve mentioned, most transceivers require an external dc power source. Even dedicated 100/200 watt amateur base transceivers require a 12v power supply.

Part of the reason is that internal power supplies need to be small enough to fit into the case along with everything else which means using a switching power supply. Switching power supplies can cause electromagnetic interference - EMI and radio frequency interference - RFI. Having the AC to DC power supply separate and in an all metal enclosure will help shield the radios from EMI and RFI. Though that is not a guarantee.

Take a standard ATX computer power supply out of the computer case and it can/will cause EMI/RFI issues with nearby transceivers and other electronics. The EMI/RFI gets even worse if you remove the case.

[mb523]

I've seen a couple of these style 'base station' kits that let you mount your radio into a housing containing the power supply to make for a nice clean setup. This one is for an ICOM radio but I've seen them for other brands too. Any mobile radio should fit as long as the dimensions are the same! 

https://www.buytwowayradios.com/ict-cs120-20ag-ic04.html

 

Goodluck and happy radioing!

[WRUU653]

39 minutes ago, mb523 said:

I've seen a couple of these style 'base station' kits that let you mount your radio into a housing containing the power supply to make for a nice clean setup. This one is for an ICOM radio but I've seen them for other brands too. Any mobile radio should fit as long as the dimensions are the same! 

I like the look of the Icom one. Retevis has one that you can get with the RA87 as well. 
https://www.retevis.com/products/rmb87-40w-desktop-base-station-radio-kit

[BoxCar]

One additional kit is Anytone GJ-0854. The PS and mount hold a radio that's 1 1/2" high (40mm) and a 5/8" wide (119mm) from here: Base station power supply

[SteveShannon]

Astron makes really good (but not inexpensive) power supplies and they have a line of different ones with radio enclosures. 
https://www.astroncorp.com/slim-line-w-housing

[Davichko5650]

18 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

Astron makes really good (but not inexpensive) power supplies and they have a line of different ones with radio enclosures. 
https://www.astroncorp.com/slim-line-w-housing

Used these at my previous employer with our Kenwood Nexedge radios. Rock solid, as you'd expect from both brands!

[WRYZ926]

The Astron power supplies are worth the extra cost when compared to some of the cheap power supplies on Amazon. I just replaced a 50 amp TekPower switching power supply from Amazon with a 50 amp Astron switching power supply. The TekPower was only a year old and it started making noises whenever I transmitted with my 100 watt HF radios and also put noise in my transmissions.

Now for a truly clean power supply, you are going to want a linear power supply, but those cost more than switching power supplies.

[nokones]

At one time, Motorola had a Base Station Consolettevwhich was a radio, speaker  and power supply in a box with a desk top microphone or a boom mic that were 4 or so channels. I doubt that they still have those, but I sure there are some still out there. I think the last series radios they used may have been the Astro Spectra, not sure if they used the XTL series radios.

[SteveShannon]

28 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

Now for a truly clean power supply, you are going to want a linear power supply, but those cost more than switching power supplies.

I just ordered an Astron 50 amp linear power supply. From Gigaparts or DX Engineering it’s $200 more than from Ham Radio Outlet. 

[AdmiralCochrane]

HRO for the win!

[LeoG]

Antenna Farm has it for about $30 more than HRO.

[WRUE951]

16 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

I just ordered an Astron 50 amp linear power supply. From Gigaparts or DX Engineering it’s $200 more than from Ham Radio Outlet. 

just curious, you going to use it for an Amplifier?  or Radio?

[SteveShannon]

13 minutes ago, WRUE951 said:

just curious, you going to use it for an Amplifier?  or Radio?

For my hf ham radio transceivers and accessories.  I have one of those powerpole distribution panels that I plug into the power supply. I plug my handheld chargers into it rather than powering each one with its own wall wart. I also plug in my tuner and SWR/wattmeter, but that’s a very light load.  I was using a 30 amp Samlex switch mode power supply, but the fan started going on even though there was almost no load and while I was watching the internal voltmeter swung down to 5 volts, even though the output voltage remained rock steady according to my fluke. This 50 amp linear supply should be acoustically quieter.  I never detected any RF noise from my switcher on any band.

[dosw]

I have a "cheap" Jesverty SS-30V switching power supply. It has a pair of screw pole connectors, two Anderson ports, and both USB-A and USB-C. It works fine with my Wouxun KG-UV980P, Retevis RA87, and Midland MXT-275. I've never needed to plug in more than one thing at a time. I also bought a cig-adapter to Anderson port, so that I could plug in the Midland using its 12v plug. Anyway, I sort of put off buying one, but once I did, I'm glad to have it.

 

It makes a lot more sense for the PSU to be a separate piece. Building a PSU into each "mobile" device to call it a base station device just adds cost and size to the radios and limits where they can be used a little more. It's pretty nice to just be able to use any 12v powered radio with this PSU. Plus it will easily handle any 12v accessory, not just radios, so long as they're under 30A.

[WSAF837]

On 7/9/2025 at 12:15 PM, mb523 said:

I've seen a couple of these style 'base station' kits that let you mount your radio into a housing containing the power supply to make for a nice clean setup. This one is for an ICOM radio but I've seen them for other brands too. Any mobile radio should fit as long as the dimensions are the same! 

https://www.buytwowayradios.com/ict-cs120-20ag-ic04.html

 

Goodluck and happy radioing!

Thanks! This type or similar would likely work just fiine. Two follow-ups though. First, is at least the width of most mobil units reasonably standard? I would think they would be dor purposes of mounting in a single or double DIN space in a vehicle right? And can power supplies like this handle more than one radio per unit, or will I need one for each mobil type radio I want to use indoors?

 

[SteveShannon]

9 minutes ago, WSAF837 said:

Thanks! This type or similar would likely work just fiine. Two follow-ups though. First, is at least the width of most mobil units reasonably standard? I would think they would be dor purposes of mounting in a single or double DIN space in a vehicle right? And can power supplies like this handle more than one radio per unit, or will I need one for each mobil type radio I want to use indoors?

 

I’ve never seen a mobile radio designed to fit either a single DIN or two DIN space.  Most mobile radios mount under the dash, in a bracket attached to the dash or console, or under the seat.  You will need to check the dimensions of the radio you buy before ordering it.

You probably won’t be transmitting on more than one radio at a time so a single power supply should be fine as long as it has enough current capacity.

[WRYZ926]

Remember that the advertised amperage of power supplies is the peak amp draw and NOT the continuous power draw. You can figure the continuous power draw will be 75% to 80% of the peak amps. Most 30 amp power supplies are only good for 22-24 amps continuous.

I run my Icom IC-2730 and my Wouxun KG-1000G with an Astron 30 amp power supply and it does fine since I never talk on both radios at the same time.

I tried running my Yaesu FTDX-10 or Icom IC-7300 with my LDG AT-1000ProII auto tuner on the 30 amp Astron. Tuning with the LDG would be enough to cause the 30 amp Astron to go into protection mode and shut down. Either radio and the LDG tuner runs fine on the Astron 50 amp power supply.

[LeoG]

I think the Astron 50 said it could deliver 35 amps continuous.

[WRUE951]

8 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

For my hf ham radio transceivers and accessories.  I have one of those powerpole distribution panels that I plug into the power supply. I plug my handheld chargers into it rather than powering each one with its own wall wart. I also plug in my tuner and SWR/wattmeter, but that’s a very light load.  I was using a 30 amp Samlex switch mode power supply, but the fan started going on even though there was almost no load and while I was watching the internal voltmeter swung down to 5 volts, even though the output voltage remained rock steady according to my fluke. This 50 amp linear supply should be acoustically quieter.  I never detected any RF noise from my switcher on any band.

one of my buddies will only use Astron for his AM Amplifiers, claiming a switching PS wont hold up long under continuous high load use.    I currently use a DuraComm switching rack mount for my repeater and works well.  It has a fan alarm and very seldom does it ever kick in...  

[MSnow]

Closest thing you could get to what your looking for is a Repeater and run it in base station mode. Btech makes one and I think retivis. But with that said all they are is a mobile radio with a power supply crammed into a box. In fact if your being technical almost every electronic runs off dc voltage so when you plug it into AC its converting it to DC it just has the power supply built into the device. So the answer is buy something like a Wouxon KG1000G Plus and get a Power supply and enjoy, because its the same thing as any other base.

[gortex2]

Still do. XTL Consolette is all over for cheap online now, newest is APX 8500 Consolette. I have multiple 7500 Consolettes in my office. 

[SteveShannon]

15 hours ago, LeoG said:

I think the Astron 50 said it could deliver 35 amps continuous.

37 continuously, 50 amps at a 50% duty cycle.