48 replies to this topic

[mbrun]

Last week I ordered a pair of these radios and received them over the weekend. I wanted some HT that could work with repeaters and that could accept an external antenna.


The local repeater I had hoped to use is down for maintenance so I will have to wait to try that. In the mean time, I have tried simplex on mostly level ground HT-HT and was able to reach about 1-1/2 miles with a mixture of woods, houses and fields in between.

So far I like the radios. Physical build quality seems good. My 6-10 year old and going strong GXT-1050 are my point of reference. Range seems to be somewhat better under the same conditions, but admittedly I had hoped to be shocked with much more range given the better antenna on the radio.

I am thinking of putting a base in the home with an external antenna, perhaps 40’ in the air so I can do simplex HT to base, out to perhaps 6-8 miles.

Curious to know, if you have this radio, what your experience has been.

Michael


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[mbrun]

Wow! No one?

Don’t tell me I am the first to buy these radios


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[wayoverthere]

Wow! No one?

Don’t tell me I am the first to buy these radios

You're at least the second. I just don't have a lot of usage on mine so far to report on, as the only time I needed it, I didn't have the wouxun yet, and my area doesn't have the "ham lite" type of community some areas have. Here it's more seen as "frs plus", and people stick to their group. The other uses I had in mind have kind of been on hold with all the covid shutdowns.

[berkinet]

https://forums.mygmr...-radio/?p=15594

[jsouth]

As Berkinet recommends, check the link he posted. I just posted my experience with it there.

[Kugellager]

I would think the Wouxun’s would do better than the GXT1050. I have 4 of the GXT 1050’s and in my testing of my base station setup so far I have been able to talk about 5 miles base to HT from higher spots in my area to my 25 watt test setup with a 1/4 wave ground plane antenna at 20 ft. I get about 1.5 miles HT to HT on the 1050’s. I haven’t tried further than 5 miles base to HT yet.

[Linus]

I bought two of them for use with bicycle riding. When I receive them I will let you know what I think. My girlfriend just got her GMRS license yesterday.

[mbrun]

So far I like the radio and its feature set. Usable range around my home is still only about 1-1/2 mile HT to HT. My wife and I did some tests this past weekend and just could not push it past that. I think the density of trees in most directions away from our house is really limiting us.

One thing we did discover this weekend was the audio quality difference between the KG-805G and GXT1000 is definitely notable. During our tests I switched between between the two models to compare range and she commented just how much better the 805 sounded. Louder, clearer. And I always thought the GXT sounded good. I think we can attribute that to the fact (at least in part) that the KG-805G is operating in wide-band mode.

We are doing some experiments to see what improvements we can achieve if we use an external antenna on the radio at the house.

We may take the radios to a local park and lake to see what additional range we can get.


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[Lscott]

I bought two of them for use with bicycle riding. When I receive them I will let you know what I think. My girlfriend just got license yesterday.

If you do a lot of bike riding a good mobile bike setup could be in order.

 

https://www.dxzone.c...Mobile/Bicycle/

 

A lot of examples can be found from simple setups to the complex with batteries, solar panels and power amps.

[mbrun]

I would be thrilled to get a consistent 5-miles HT to base (home). But more would be nice too. BTW, my GXT are the early FCCID version that were rated 5 watt, same as the Wouxun. I understand current versions have different FCCID and over power. What is the FCCID on your units?

I would think the Wouxun’s would do better than the GXT1050. I have 4 of the GXT 1050’s and in my testing of my base station setup so far I have been able to talk about 5 miles base to HT from higher spots in my area to my 25 watt test setup with a 1/4 wave ground plane antenna at 20 ft. I get about 1.5 miles HT to HT on the 1050’s. I haven’t tried further than 5 miles base to HT yet.

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[mbrun]

Very interested in hearing your results.

I bought two of them for use with bicycle riding. When I receive them I will let you know what I think. My girlfriend just got license yesterday.

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[Kugellager]

I got mine in early 2019 so they should be about 2.8 watts on the HI setting according to the FCC test files.

FCC ID: MMAGXT1050G I had to search w/o the last “G” to get the FCC search to find it. Midland has something like more than 360 filings.

John
];’)

[Linus]

Thanks. I will let you know the results. We plan to use them for bike to bike communications, hiking and skiing. Repeater use may be part of our fun if we get separated by too much distance on the bikes. I had to ride back to my car a few weeks ago and pick her up. The distance may have needed a repeater. In that case the cell phone works.
Part of the search was finding a good finger ptt. We looked at throat mics, but we decided against them. We felt like we were choking.
I bought a finger ptt that works with our existing headphones. BTECH 2 Pin (K1 Connector) to 3.5MM Adapter with Push-to-Talk Button (Compatible with 2 Pin BaoFeng, Kenwood, BTECH Radios to 3.5mm Headsets with in-line Mics) https://www.amazon.c...i_gyoiFbDZSK90H

My girlfriend asked me about the amateur license as well. I am a VEC, and I look forward to her taking the test. I might excuse myself from that exam session. 😇

[radiozip]

I got my 805G on Monday. I've only had the GMRS-V1 prior, and compared to that it does receive better and feels sturdier. Haven't done any tests for range or sound quality yet, I can report when I have time. But so far for a little bit more it seems like a solid HT investment.

[mbrun]

Linus, I have been studying for the amateur license myself. Been looking for a place to take it during the next month of so. Have already taken some of the practice exams and feeling very comfortable. An HT has already been ordered and is on its way.

That is a cool little adapter you found for adapting the Apple headset for use with the radio. Hope that works well for you.

Thanks. I will let you know the results. We plan to use them for bike to bike communications, hiking and skiing. Repeater use may be part of our fun if we get separated by too much distance on the bikes. I had to ride back to my car a few weeks ago and pick her up. The distance may have needed a repeater. In that case the cell phone works.
Part of the search was finding a good finger ptt. We looked at throat mics, but we decided against them. We felt like we were choking.
I bought a finger ptt that works with our existing headphones. BTECH 2 Pin (K1 Connector) to 3.5MM Adapter with Push-to-Talk Button (Compatible with 2 Pin BaoFeng, Kenwood, BTECH Radios to 3.5mm Headsets with in-line Mics) https://www.amazon.c...i_gyoiFbDZSK90H

My girlfriend asked me about the amateur license as well. I am a VEC, and I look forward to her taking the test. I might excuse myself from that exam session.

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[Linus]

The btech headset that I ordered is garbage. On receive, there is a loud pop. One of my headsets has a defective PTT. Junk. Stay away from the headset. I am still waiting for the radios. I tested the headset on an amateur radio. Uv-82.

[mbrun]

Hello Linus. Curious if you have any further experience to share about your experience with the radios on the bikes. And BTW, where you planning to add antenna to the bike or stick with the rubber duck on the radio?

Thanks. I will let you know the results. We plan to use them for bike to bike communications, hiking and skiing. Repeater use may be part of our fun if we get separated by too much distance on the bikes. I had to ride back to my car a few weeks ago and pick her up. The distance may have needed a repeater. In that case the cell phone works.
Part of the search was finding a good finger ptt. We looked at throat mics, but we decided against them. We felt like we were choking.
I bought a finger ptt that works with our existing headphones. BTECH 2 Pin (K1 Connector) to 3.5MM Adapter with Push-to-Talk Button (Compatible with 2 Pin BaoFeng, Kenwood, BTECH Radios to 3.5mm Headsets with in-line Mics) https://www.amazon.c...i_gyoiFbDZSK90H

My girlfriend asked me about the amateur license as well. I am a VEC, and I look forward to her taking the test. I might excuse myself from that exam session.

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[mbrun]

BTW, I have ordered a pair of the new Nagoya 771G 1/2 wave and 701G 1/4 wave antennas to try with my KG-805G radios.

I have also ordered the Ed-Fong GMRS roll up.

Going to be doing some more range testing around me when they arrive.

I am also look forward to winter around here, not because I like cold, but because the leaves will be off the trees and I am really curious to see how range improves in the absence of the leaves.


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[Lscott]

I am also look forward to winter around here, not because I like cold, but because the leaves will be off the trees and I am really curious to see how range improves in the absence of the leaves.

 

That would be an interesting test. I often read where VHF tends to reach further because at the lower frequency the RF is absorbed less by tree leaves etc. I'm not so sure that's the main reason. There is another one that could explain it more called "free space path loss" which has nothing to do with signal absorption or blockages.

 

https://en.wikipedia...space_path_loss

 

http://www.sis.pitt....Fall16/lec5.pdf

 

What it comes down to is the signal strength is expressed in "volts per meter" and is independent of frequency but related to transmitter power.

 

"http://www.bccdc.ca/...ents/Guidelines and Forms/Guidelines and Manuals/EH/EH/Section2Final06062013.pdf"

 

However since one has to use a resonate antenna, or nearly so, the antenna on UHF is roughly 1/3 the "length" of the same type at VHF and thus intercepts just 1/3 of the signal expressed in "volts per meter". Thus the received signal is 1/3 the amplitude, voltage wise, coming out of the antenna. From a power stand point the received signal "power" is proportional to the square of the voltage thus the "power" at UHF would be about 1/9 that at VHF, or in db's, 10*log(1/9), its  9.54db lower.

 

https://www.allabout...oss-calculator/

 

Using the above calculator the path loss is 75.962db with the following data input:

 

Distance: 1 KM

Frequency: 150 MHz

Transmitter Gain: 0

Receiver Gain: 0

 

And you get a path loss of 85.504db with the following data input:

 

Distance: 1 KM

Frequency: 450 MHz

Transmitter Gain: 0

Receiver Gain: 0

 

The difference is. 9.542db lower as expected on UHF compared to VHF for the two frequencies used. The higher the calculated number is in db the higher the loss.

[Lscott]

"www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Guidelines and Forms/Guidelines and Manuals/EH/EH/Section2Final06062013.pdf"