Radioddity DB20-G

[RKClark]

I just recently received my FCC GMRS license.  I am new to GMRS and reviewed many radios, purchasing a Radioddity DB20-G mobile unit.  I am planning on installing the radio in my truck and was looking at the Midland Micro Mobile Ghost MXTA25 and mounting it to a ditch light bracket; however I currently am using a LT-UT72 19 Inch,VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Super Loading Coil antenna and I am not getting any reception.  Any idea on the best antenna to use?

 

I live on the Southern Tip of Illinois and see that there is a repeater about 50 miles away in Harrisburg, Illinois and a couple repeaters in Western Kentucky. How do I access these repeaters or are they too far away? 

 

Any advice for the GMRS beginner would be greatly appreciated.

[TOM47]

6 hours ago, RKClark said:

I just recently received my FCC GMRS license.  I am new to GMRS and reviewed many radios, purchasing a Radioddity DB20-G mobile unit.  I am planning on installing the radio in my truck and was looking at the Midland Micro Mobile Ghost MXTA25 and mounting it to a ditch light bracket; however I currently am using a LT-UT72 19 Inch,VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) Super Loading Coil antenna and I am not getting any reception.  Any idea on the best antenna to use?

 

I live on the Southern Tip of Illinois and see that there is a repeater about 50 miles away in Harrisburg, Illinois and a couple repeaters in Western Kentucky. How do I access these repeaters or are they too far away? 

 

Any advice for the GMRS beginner would be greatly appreciated.

I HAVE A FEW DB20-G INSTALLED THAT I SUPPORT.  THE BEST COMBINATION FOR THAT RADIO I HAVE FOUND IS THE NAGOTA UT-7G Nagoya UT-72G High Gain Magnet Mount GMRS Antenna (462-467 MHz) (buytwowayradios.com) FOR THE ANTENNA AND THE Amazon.com: Pyramid PS9KX Universal Compact Bench Power Supply-5 Amp Linear Regulated Home Lab Benchtop Converter w/ 13.8 Volt DC 115V AC 70 Watt Input, Screw Type Terminal, 12V Car Cigarette Lighter: Car Electronics FROM  ANAZON TO USE IT INDOORS WITH A COOKIE PAN FOR A GROUND PLANE UNDER THE ANTENNA.  TOO HOT OUTSIDE HERE NTHIS TIME OF YEAR.

IF YOU END UP NEEDING A BETTER ANTENNA CONSIDER THE NAGOYA 770G ALSO TUNED FOR GMRS Authentic Nagoya NL-770G High Gain Mobile GMRS Antenna (UHF Male) (buytwowayradios.com) AND CHECK OUT DB20-G GMRS Radio Review and Tutorial - YouTube

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by TOM47
ADDED COMMENT

[MacJack]

Congratulations and welcome to the GMRS family   I do have that antenna and I have it mounted on my steel bumper of my jeep and it's marginal but I do not have the same radio.  Trusting others will weight in.

MacJack  

[RKClark]

33 minutes ago, MacJack said:

Congratulations and welcome to the GMRS family   I do have that antenna and I have it mounted on my steel bumper of my jeep and it's marginal but I do not have the same radio.  Trusting others will weight in.

MacJack  

What radio do you use if you don't mind me asking?

[MacJack]

I have two KG-805G for the girls as it light and simple to use...I use for myself a KG-905G as I like the groups scan and all the other high tech features.... more then the girls will ever use.  I got them from https://www.buytwowayradios.com and will tell you I had an issue with the first 805G as I THOUGHT IT WAS DOA.  It was not, I used CHIRP software and blow away some key files in the config.  So I got my second 805G and backed up the factory settings first before changing anything...  Then took the factory setting backup and wrote to the first 805G and fixed it... Sent email to https://www.buytwowayradios.com and said it is working now and stop shipping replacement which they pulled off the truck.  

I have told others on this forum if you did not do a backup PM me with your email address and I will send it to you.  In fact the President of https://www.buytwowayradios.com email me and asked if I would send him a copy of this backup file for his support team as many of his customers use CHIRP in my case on a Mac no PC's.  CHIRP is not a standard programing software but IMHO better to use for programing over the Wouxun PC program which is limited on cut and paste etc.

Hope this helps... I believe that a radio is a personally choice...  you pick what is best for you and your family.  I like FCC Part 95 certified radios, with good sound and range.  Most importantly a firm that will stand behind the product even when the user like me screws up, no questions asked.  I did feel bad not doing a backup before changing program on radio... I know better being in the software business.  Under full discourser I have twin adopted Chinese daughter here in the USA, now 50 yo with grown kids.  China government is so screwed up but the people are more or better American then us.  Some of the firms in China want to make good radios to sell in US and live under the Communist dictator government.  What I'm saying is I will support free Enterprise even in a Communist country.  Capitalism will win over any other isms.  Off my soap box, thank you for letting me to vent.  OK if Forum ADM delete my post.

MacJack    

[TOM47]

4 hours ago, MacJack said:

I have two KG-805G for the girls as it light and simple to use...I use for myself a KG-905G as I like the groups scan and all the other high tech features.... more then the girls will ever use.  I got them from https://www.buytwowayradios.com and will tell you I had an issue with the first 805G as I THOUGHT IT WAS DOA.  It was not, I used CHIRP software and blow away some key files in the config.  So I got my second 805G and backed up the factory settings first before changing anything...  Then took the factory setting backup and wrote to the first 805G and fixed it... Sent email to https://www.buytwowayradios.com and said it is working now and stop shipping replacement which they pulled off the truck.  

I have told others on this forum if you did not do a backup PM me with your email address and I will send it to you.  In fact the President of https://www.buytwowayradios.com email me and asked if I would send him a copy of this backup file for his support team as many of his customers use CHIRP in my case on a Mac no PC's.  CHIRP is not a standard programing software but IMHO better to use for programing over the Wouxun PC program which is limited on cut and paste etc.

Hope this helps... I believe that a radio is a personally choice...  you pick what is best for you and your family.  I like FCC Part 95 certified radios, with good sound and range.  Most importantly a firm that will stand behind the product even when the user like me screws up, no questions asked.  I did feel bad not doing a backup before changing program on radio... I know better being in the software business.  Under full discourser I have twin adopted Chinese daughter here in the USA, now 50 yo with grown kids.  China government is so screwed up but the people are more or better American then us.  Some of the firms in China want to make good radios to sell in US and live under the Communist dictator government.  What I'm saying is I will support free Enterprise even in a Communist country.  Capitalism will win over any other isms.  Off my soap box, thank you for letting me to vent.  OK if Forum ADM delete my post.

MacJack    

WELL SAID!

[RKClark]

Thank you very much for the response!

[RKClark]

On 8/8/2021 at 4:52 PM, MacJack said:

I have two KG-805G for the girls as it light and simple to use...I use for myself a KG-905G as I like the groups scan and all the other high tech features.... more then the girls will ever use.  I got them from https://www.buytwowayradios.com and will tell you I had an issue with the first 805G as I THOUGHT IT WAS DOA.  It was not, I used CHIRP software and blow away some key files in the config.  So I got my second 805G and backed up the factory settings first before changing anything...  Then took the factory setting backup and wrote to the first 805G and fixed it... Sent email to https://www.buytwowayradios.com and said it is working now and stop shipping replacement which they pulled off the truck.  

I have told others on this forum if you did not do a backup PM me with your email address and I will send it to you.  In fact the President of https://www.buytwowayradios.com email me and asked if I would send him a copy of this backup file for his support team as many of his customers use CHIRP in my case on a Mac no PC's.  CHIRP is not a standard programing software but IMHO better to use for programing over the Wouxun PC program which is limited on cut and paste etc.

Hope this helps... I believe that a radio is a personally choice...  you pick what is best for you and your family.  I like FCC Part 95 certified radios, with good sound and range.  Most importantly a firm that will stand behind the product even when the user like me screws up, no questions asked.  I did feel bad not doing a backup before changing program on radio... I know better being in the software business.  Under full discourser I have twin adopted Chinese daughter here in the USA, now 50 yo with grown kids.  China government is so screwed up but the people are more or better American then us.  Some of the firms in China want to make good radios to sell in US and live under the Communist dictator government.  What I'm saying is I will support free Enterprise even in a Communist country.  Capitalism will win over any other isms.  Off my soap box, thank you for letting me to vent.  OK if Forum ADM delete my post.

MacJack    

Thank you for your detailed response. It's greatly appreciated and I'll check them out!

[MacJack]

You are welcome...   Detail is from many different posts so now the first time view of your post will have to meat with the potatoes.  

MacJack

[OTH]

Pease note that the LT-UT72 19 Inch,VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) antenna is for the 2 meter and 70cm ham bands and would not be resonant on GMRS frequencies. 

OTH

[TOM47]

 

1 hour ago, OTH said:

Pease note that the LT-UT72 19 Inch,VHF/UHF (144/430Mhz) antenna is for the 2 meter and 70cm ham bands and would not be resonant on GMRS frequencies. 

OTH

THAT IS CORRECT, HOWEVER THE Nagoya UT-72G IS A High Gain Magnet Mount GMRS & MURS Antenna (462-467 & 151-155 MHz) .  THE G AT THE END OF THE MODEL NUMBER MEANS IT IS PRETUNED FOR GMRS AND NEEDS NO TRIMMING!! Nagoya UT-72G High Gain Magnet Mount GMRS Antenna (462-467 MHz) (buytwowayradios.com)

[MichaelLAX]

On 8/10/2021 at 9:14 AM, RKClark said:

Thank you for your detailed response. It's greatly appreciated and I'll check them out!

How are you enjoying your DB20-G?

[TOM47]

7 hours ago, MichaelLAX said:

How are you enjoying your DB20-G?

I HAD TWO BUT GAVE THEM TO RELATIVES TO GET THEM SRARTED, GREAT ENTRY GMRS MOBILE.

[TOM47]

4 hours ago, TOM47 said:

I HAD TWO BUT GAVE THEM TO RELATIVES TO GET THEM STARTED, GREAT ENTRY GMRS MOBILE.

REPLACED THOSE I GAVE AWAY WITH A COUPLE OF WOUXUN KG-XS20G'S.

[MichaelLAX]

What advantages did the Wouxuns have over the DB20G’s?

[TOM47]

1 hour ago, MichaelLAX said:

What advantages did the Wouxuns have over the DB20G’s?

NOT MUCH. JUST PREFER THE BRAND AND SOFTWARE.  OTHERWWISE SIMILAR FEATURES AND MORE EXPENSIVE!

[MichaelLAX]

Yes: but I can’t figure out how to transmit on 2 meters and 440MHz and MURS on Wouxun like I can on DB20-G

[donniefitz2]

I started out with the DB20G in my Land Rover for off-roading. Once I got deeper into GMRS and got ready to setup a base station in my home office, I decided I needed a better radio for my desk. You know, a "real" radio. I ran the gamut of CCRs and a few commercial Kenwood mobiles. All fine radios. Had fun messing around with them.

After spending a few hundred dollars, making a few Amazon returns and fiddling with connectors to power sources, I ended up with another DB20G on my desk and I couldn't be happier. This little radio is truly a powerhouse for the money. It's got the right amount of info on the display, good usability, receives better than anything else I've used and I can hit every repeater I want to (including one 108 miles away, owing more to my antenna than the radio). Once you enable the UHF mode, more options become available too.

Both of them put out decent power. The first one I bought maxes out at 17.2 watts on the 467 channels and this latest one hits 18.1 watts on those channels. Pretty decent. Anyway, I now this thread is a bit old, but I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. 

Maybe I should write a review. 

 

 

[MichaelLAX]

Yes, I now also have two (mine are the clone Anytone AT-779UV): one in my car (my first mobile in 60 years in wireless radio) and now one in my shack.

I only have three concerns for improvement:

1. The CPS programming software does not allow for import/export and requires a full rewrite when making major changes.  I have ameliorated this problem somewhat by making categories and leaving blank channels between categories for easy insertion later for growth.
2. It cannot scan for tones being used by others on the input and output channels of repeaters. I work around this problem with a $30 HT that has this feature.
3. I am waiting for the DB50-G: if they can do 18/20 watts for $99; a 50 watt version that beats the market prices of $399 down to $369 of the other models at that high power.

2 hours ago, donniefitz2 said:

Maybe I should write a review. 

Absolutely!  I only reflected on the negative or missing items; you should also let the readers know its advantages, which are numerous, as well.

[donniefitz2]

I agree that the software is bad. I'm a software developer and it kills me to see the kinds of very simple to fix bugs that remain from version to version. You can copy and paste between rows of the same document, you just have to use the key commands. You can also delete rows by using ctrl delete. But, there are many things that would be so easy to improve if one could get their hands on the source code for that CPS, which all of the CCR's tend to use. 

Scanning tones would be nice, but it's not a deal breaker for me. I too have a GM-30 that I use to do that if I need to. A DB50-G would be great, but I'm realizing that form my location, wattage is overrated. I'm sure it would be an advantage for mobile use though. I think I will write a review eventually. 

[MichaelLAX]

9 minutes ago, donniefitz2 said:

You can copy and paste between rows of the same document, you just have to use the key commands. You can also delete rows by using ctrl delete.

Explain to me the utility of these features; since they seem to only be available to channel information already manually written into the DB20-G software

I like to keep a master list of channels in a format that is easily edited in Excel: csv.

Then, when I need to make an update or modification, I can do so in the Excel master version and then export/import into the various programs for my radios that have this function in the CPS programming software.

For example for my TYT-88UV, I can use CHIRP for such importing, and then go back to the TYT software to read the newly updated and modified codeplug and then make changes as needed that are only available in the TYT software and not in CHIRP.

Yes, a rewritten program from source code, or at a minimum CHIRP would be a big solution to this problem.

[donniefitz2]

Yes, you're right. You can only copy and paste in the document you have opened. You can't copy and paste between programs of any kind. So, you have to first add everything manually but you can at least move things around in the CPS. For instance, you can cut and past to move a bunch of channels up or down. It's very primitive. 

But, it's less primitive than the KENWOOD TK-840 software (another radio I own), which is DOS...so I'm not going to complain too much. 

[tcp2525]

Gotta agree, the DB20 is a fantastic radio for the price. The software is horrible, but I'll live with as once programmed one will use it very infrequently afterwards. Definitely, Harry S. Chung did a great job designing this radio for such a bargain. I also use one for the base.

[donniefitz2]

Here's something I haven't been able to figure out about the DB20G. I can't change the power setting per channel via the mic. If I hit the "fun" then 0 button, nothing happens. Anyone else have this issue? @MichaelLAX, I consider you the resident expert on this little thing . Any ideas?

[MichaelLAX]

Be sure to use the A-Fun button, then 0-Pow button on the Microphone  to toggle between H, M and L. 

I use L for GMRS 8-14 and MURS.

[donniefitz2]

Hmm. When I do that, it just does nothing. Weird. I'll have to dig around and see if something is up with my settings.