DB20-G

[WROA675]

If anyone has a DB20-G and/or is familiar with it, please see my request for help (audio anomaly) in the technical section. Thank you in advance.

[EARL5555]

Isn't that radio made by Radioddity? Have you tried their support? support@radioddity.com. Unfortunately, their support is based in China, and this whole week is a holiday there. 

[WROA675]

1 hour ago, EARL5555 said:

Isn't that radio made by Radioddity? Have you tried their support? support@radioddity.com. Unfortunately, their support is based in China, and this whole week is a holiday there. 

Yes, it's a Radioddity. I will reach out to them after their holiday. Thank you for the update.

[EARL5555]

Radioddity support is back in business. I got a reply from them early this morning. 

How do you like the DB20-G? 20 watts for $110 is pretty cheap. I was thinking of putting one in my car, putting a magnet mount antenna on the roof, plug it in to the cigarette lighter, and would be all set (I hope). 

[WROA675]

2 hours ago, EARL5555 said:

How do you like the DB20-G?

So far so good, minus a couple hiccups. As a beginner it is just right for me. 

Easy to navigate, program, and use. Very compact and fits nicely in my rig.

I really enjoy the lighter plug which allows me to take it out and into my office when I want to program it. 

As far as the issue I was having with interference, I was advised to turn if off before I shut my vehicle off and turn on only after I started the vehicle. Since then the problem has not occurred again. I'm not saying that was the core of the issue but it's been working great. 

[MichaelLAX]

5 hours ago, EARL5555 said:

...How do you like the DB20-G? ...

I said multiple times on this forum how much productivity I have received from the $99 retail Anytone AT-779UV, the clone of the Radioddity DB20-G 

And now I have a second one in my home, too!

The only downside is the programming software: it is not so bad the first time you program in your favorite repeaters and Simplex channels. But when you want to easily change the order of Channel after gaining experience, there is no export/import functions to ease this change.

Other than that: 18 watts, cigarette light plug, $20 add-on Mag-Mount dual band antenna, $25 Cup-Mount holder (so no drilling or holes) and did I mention it is only $99 retail!?!

LetsGetReady sells it with free shipping, too!  Ask Bob Yuan about it as it is not listed in their online catalog.

[EARL5555]

On 10/7/2021 at 5:57 PM, MichaelLAX said:

I said multiple times on this forum how much productivity I have received from the $99 retail Anytone AT-779UV, the clone of the Radioddity DB20-G 

And now I have a second one in my home, too!

The only downside is the programming software: it is not so bad the first time you program in your favorite repeaters and Simplex channels. But when you want to easily change the order of Channel after gaining experience, there is no export/import functions to ease this change.

Other than that: 18 watts, cigarette light plug, $20 add-on Mag-Mount dual band antenna, $25 Cup-Mount holder (so no drilling or holes) and did I mention it is only $99 retail!?!

LetsGetReady sells it with free shipping, too!  Ask Bob Yuan about it as it is not listed in their online catalog.

Thanks for the heads-up about the Anytone mobile radio. For the radio in your home, I know that KB9VBR Antennas sells a GMRS J-pole antenna. Unfortunately he has yet to respond to the emails I have sent him. But you could connect his copper J-pole antenna to a metal pole or PVC pipe, and have a good antenna that is easy to set up and take down. 

[EARL5555]

On 10/7/2021 at 3:05 PM, Papatree said:

So far so good, minus a couple hiccups. As a beginner it is just right for me. 

Easy to navigate, program, and use. Very compact and fits nicely in my rig.

I really enjoy the lighter plug which allows me to take it out and into my office when I want to program it. 

As far as the issue I was having with interference, I was advised to turn if off before I shut my vehicle off and turn on only after I started the vehicle. Since then the problem has not occurred again. I'm not saying that was the core of the issue but it's been working great. 

Thanks for letting mw know. Glad that you have solved the issue you were having. 

[MichaelLAX]

1 hour ago, EARL5555 said:

Thanks for the heads-up about the Anytone mobile radio. For the radio in your home, I know that KB9VBR Antennas sells a GMRS J-pole antenna. Unfortunately he has yet to respond to the emails I have sent him. But you could connect his copper J-pole antenna to a metal pole or PVC pipe, and have a good antenna that is easy to set up and take down. 

I use my existing rooftop Comet Tri-bander quite successfully on both UHF and VHF. 

[pcradio]

1 hour ago, EARL5555 said:

I know that KB9VBR Antennas sells a GMRS J-pole antenna. Unfortunately he has yet to respond to the emails I have sent him.

He's probably out of the office.

[EARL5555]

18 hours ago, MichaelLAX said:

I use my existing rooftop Comet Tri-bander quite successfully on both UHF and VHF. 

Thanks. For your mobile radio, what kind of range are you getting going simplex? I know that there are a lot of variables at play, but I am curious about real world performance. Thanks. 

[EARL5555]

18 hours ago, pcradio said:

He's probably out of the office.

Thank you. 

[MichaelLAX]

2 hours ago, EARL5555 said:

Thanks. For your mobile radio, what kind of range are you getting going simplex? I know that there are a lot of variables at play, but I am curious about real world performance. Thanks. 

I seem to be blessed from my two-story rooftop:

Historically, I had the original TV antenna up there rewired to my HDTV, so I would have OTA TV options to cable/satellite.  I was able to watch in HD channel 24.1 PBS from San Bernardino, 64 miles away, until they moved their antenna some years ago.  I still watch channel 24 on my DirecTV.

So, using 146.52 simplex, I am always amazed at the coverage I get to the Southeast (shooting over the Cahuega Pass), East, and West, so far: about 45 miles.

I was watching a similar Live YouTube video the other day: October 10th, 2021 | Simplex 146.52 | Long Beach, CA due South of me, over the Santa Monica Mts.

I was unable to make an impression in its waterfall, but I started a simplex conversation with a Ham to the southeast whose beam was facing 180 degrees in the wrong direction and he made no dent in the waterfall either.

But when he turns his beam around, not only did he come booming in to my shack, I could both see and hear him on YouTube!

I also have had a good simplex conversation on MURS with a new GMRS friend also using a DB-20G who lives about 25 miles north of me, when he drove to a better "line of sight" spot to hit a GMRS repeater and then experimentally converse with me simplex first on GMRS Channel 3 and then a better signal on MURS 1.

Hitting repeaters is very eye-opening, too; because of their height:

Although I could not hit the YouTube video waterfall in Long Beach, I am able to converse easily on the Catalina Island repeater, 147.09, 26 miles to the south of Long Beach, which gives me wide coverage up and down the coast of Southern California.

And, the Frazer Mountain repeater, 447.86, to the North, which is about 50-60 miles from me and even the Double Mountain repeater, 446.32, about 10 miles further north, which gets me wide coverage, including into Bakersfield to the North directly through the repeater (and not through a further linked repeater).

And, the Santiago Peak CREST GMRS repeater, 462.675, about 50 miles to my Southeast, which gets me into San Diego.

And the Chatsworth Peak repeater, 145.24, of the PV Amateur Radio Club, which itself faces west and gets me good coverage into Ventura County and southern Santa Barbara County.

[EARL5555]

1 hour ago, MichaelLAX said:

I seem to be blessed from my two-story rooftop:

Historically, I had the original TV antenna up there rewired to my HDTV, so I would have OTA TV options to cable/satellite.  I was able to watch in HD channel 24.1 PBS from San Bernardino, 64 miles away, until they moved their antenna some years ago.  I still watch channel 24 on my DirecTV.

So, using 146.52 simplex, I am always amazed at the coverage I get to the Southeast (shooting over the Cahuega Pass), East, and West, so far: about 45 miles.

I was watching a similar Live YouTube video the other day: October 10th, 2021 | Simplex 146.52 | Long Beach, CA due South of me, over the Santa Monica Mts.

I was unable to make an impression in its waterfall, but I started a simplex conversation with a Ham to the southeast whose beam was facing 180 degrees in the wrong direction and he made no dent in the waterfall either.

But when he turns his beam around, not only did he come booming in to my shack, I could both see and hear him on YouTube!

I also have had a good simplex conversation on MURS with a new GMRS friend also using a DB-20G who lives about 25 miles north of me, when he drove to a better "line of sight" spot to hit a GMRS repeater and then experimentally converse with me simplex first on GMRS Channel 3 and then a better signal on MURS 1.

Hitting repeaters is very eye-opening, too; because of their height:

Although I could not hit the YouTube video waterfall in Long Beach, I am able to converse easily on the Catalina Island repeater, 147.09, 26 miles to the south of Long Beach, which gives me wide coverage up and down the coast of Southern California.

And, the Frazer Mountain repeater, 447.86, to the North, which is about 50-60 miles from me and even the Double Mountain repeater, 446.32, about 10 miles further north, which gets me wide coverage, including into Bakersfield to the North directly through the repeater (and not through a further linked repeater).

And, the Santiago Peak CREST GMRS repeater, 462.675, about 50 miles to my Southeast, which gets me into San Diego.

And the Chatsworth Peak repeater, 145.24, of the PV Amateur Radio Club, which itself faces west and gets me good coverage into Ventura County and southern Santa Barbara County.

Thanks for the thorough answer. My application would be mobile, not base, so I would be pushing 20-25 watts through a magnet mount antenna. I haven't gotten the radios yet. Have you gotten good results going mobile with these radios? 

[MichaelLAX]

3 hours ago, EARL5555 said:

Thanks. For your mobile radio...

I just realized I answered your question with regard to my home base shack and not mobile.

Mobile is always a challenge here in Los Angeles because of the many canyon passes that I drive, which knock out much simplex and even repeater coverage, depending upon my destination.

I rather enjoy going "repeater hunting" or what I call "GMRS driving" where I go as close to a repeater as I can (sometimes even higher up, like at Chatsworth Peak) and scan the input frequency for tones used to get into the repeater (with my Pofung P15UV or TYT TH-UV88, both of which HTs can scan for CTCSS or DCS tones).

When in doubt and no one is using the repeater, I can always utilize my OCD to manually go from one tone to another on my Anytone AT-779UV (clone of the Radioddity DB-20G) easily and give a quick PTT to see if a repeater exists:

This is much easier on GMRS, which only has 8 repeater channels.

I keep good notes and then see if I can hit these repeaters from home and make new friends! 

[EARL5555]

3 minutes ago, MichaelLAX said:

I just realized I answered your question with regard to my home base shack and not mobile.

Mobile is always a challenge here in Los Angeles because of the many canyon passes that I drive, which knock out much simplex and even repeater coverage, depending upon my destination.

I rather enjoy going "repeater hunting" or what I call "GMRS driving" where I go as close to a repeater as I can (sometimes even higher up, like at Chatsworth Peak) and scan the input frequency for tones used to get into the repeater (with my Pofung P15UV or TYT TH-UV88, both of which HTs can scan for CTCSS or DCS tones).

When in doubt and no one is using the repeater, I can always utilize my OCD to manually go from one tone to another on my Anytone AT-779UV easily and give a quick PTT to see if a repeater exists:

This is much easier on GMRS, which only has 8 repeater channels.

I keep good notes and then see if I can hit these repeaters from home and make new friends! 

Thanks for the answer. My application would be to try to reach my housemate, with each of us having these mobile radios and using magnet-mount antennas, for those times when cellular phone service is out. (Although I hear that you might get through by text message when voice is out of service). The distance between us could be 10-15 miles, so I realize it can be hit or miss. Thanks again. 

[MichaelLAX]

Once I am in the flats of The San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley or the Los Angeles Basin, I get steady clear conversations with the usual mobile picket fencing and various amounts of static depending upon range, etc.

I use a $20 dual-band mag-mount and I am not sure 50 watts would provide much better coverage; although probably a better antenna would do that.

What is the demographics of your mobile to housemate mobile location?

[EARL5555]

1 minute ago, MichaelLAX said:

Once I am in the flats of The San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley or the Los Angeles Basin, I get steady clear conversations with the usual mobile picket fencing and various amounts of static depending upon range, etc.

I use a $20 dual-band mag-mount and I am not sure 50 watts would provide much better coverage; although probably a better antenna would do that.

What is the demographics of your mobile to home location?

Thanks. I am in the suburbs outside of Sacramento. It's suburban terrain, with mostly flat ground, but some rolling hills, maybe 100-200 feet high. 

P.S.: I ran across this chart, which gives estimated ranges for different radio services and power levels. Single-sideband CB (12 watts) seems to be the winner here.

http://hflink.com/hfpack/radiorange/#VehicleToVehicle

[MichaelLAX]

6 minutes ago, EARL5555 said:

Thanks. I am in the suburbs outside of Sacramento. It's suburban terrain, with mostly flat ground, but some rolling hills, maybe 100-200 feet high. 

P.S.: I ran across this chart, which gives estimated ranges for different radio services and power levels. Single-sideband CB (12 watts) seems to be the winner here.

http://hflink.com/hfpack/radiorange/#VehicleToVehicle

No mountains in between, so: GOOD!

That chart is irrelevant as it ONLY includes GMRS with 5 watts; not your 18 watt mobile units, which are more comparable to Ham VHF 20 watts on your charts (although UHF at 18 watts will not be as good as VHF at 20 watts).

[EARL5555]

1 minute ago, MichaelLAX said:

No mountains in between, so: GOOD!

That chart is irrelevant as it ONLY includes GMRS as HTs with 5 watts; not your 18 watt mobile units with mag-mount antennas.

Thank you. Good observations about that chart. Range could probably be improved with a longer (and more expensive) mag-mount antenna. As the old saying goes, "height is might". 

[MichaelLAX]

And/or MURS on your DB-20G's too! 

I have nothing more to say about MURS...

[EARL5555]

1 minute ago, MichaelLAX said:

And/or MURS on your DB-20G's too! 

I have nothing more to say about MURS...

Thanks. I take it that you are not impressed by MURS. Being that the FCC doesn't impose a license fee or a test on MURS, that alone is telling. 

[MichaelLAX]

VHF will always outperform UHF outdoors given other similar characteristics: such as power output, antenna used, etc.

I always LOVE to drive into a Walmart parking lot and listen to the rushed instructions given to their staff on MURS 5: Green Dot! 

[EARL5555]

1 minute ago, MichaelLAX said:

VHF will always outperform UHF given other similar characteristics: such as power output, antenna used, etc.

I always LOVE to drive into a Walmart parking lot and listen to the rushed instructions given to their staff on MURS 5: Green Dot! 

Thank you, Michael. Don't buy a Green Dot debit card from Walmart whatever you do.....there have been lots of fakes sold!