Newbie in need of help

[WSAT583]

Morning, so a newbie here. My family and I are getting our feet wet with gmrs in order to keep contact together if they’re at their moms or vice versa. 

Three questions-1 is my radio capable to receive AM radio? I see an option and have turned it on but still not sure how to tune to it. 
 

2- where can I get a step by step tutorial on programming without the cpu? I don’t own anything that runs windows(another thing I didn’t anticipate). 
 

3- I can receive transmissions from all over RI it seems but cannot transmit back. Is it due to not being programmed properly?

[WSFL951]

3 minutes ago, WSAT583 said:

Morning, so a newbie here. My family and I are getting our feet wet with gmrs in order to keep contact together if they’re at their moms or vice versa. 

Three questions-1 is my radio capable to receive AM radio? I see an option and have turned it on but still not sure how to tune to it. 
 

2- where can I get a step by step tutorial on programming without the cpu? I don’t own anything that runs windows(another thing I didn’t anticipate). 
 

3- I can receive transmissions from all over RI it seems but cannot transmit back. Is it due to not being programmed properly?

try chirp.

chirpmyradio.com

[WRHS218]

What radio, make/model, do you have? How far apart are the people you are trying to contact? If you can more details maybe folks can help.

[WSAT583]

Wouxon kg1000. Gentlemen I spoke with was in Portsmouth RI I’m in Richmond RI approximately 20 miles away

[WSAT583]

WSFL951 appreciate the input. I’m looking for tutorial on manually programming. I don’t have anything that runs windows so can’t with the programming software 

[WSFL951]

7 hours ago, WSAT583 said:

WSFL951 appreciate the input. I’m looking for tutorial on manually programming. I don’t have anything that runs windows so can’t with the programming software 

You can use either a MacBook or a Linux operating system.

[WSFL951]

On 1/25/2025 at 9:32 AM, WSAT583 said:

Morning, so a newbie here. My family and I are getting our feet wet with gmrs in order to keep contact together if they’re at their moms or vice versa. 

Three questions-1 is my radio capable to receive AM radio? I see an option and have turned it on but still not sure how to tune to it. 
 

 

(e.g., Baofeng) on baofeng I go to 10-11 for r dcs or r ctcss

[DominoDog]

According to buytowayradios.com you can program the KG-1000G from the keypad. You might not even need a PC although you can use one and it might make things more convenient. But to program using the keypad you use menu options 30 and 31, it seems. 

https://www.buytwowayradios.com/blog/2022/11/wouxun-kg-1000g-plus-programming-and-menu-options.html

This link is for the KG-1000G+ but I think they are pretty similar to the KG-1000G

 

Another thing you could consider is renting a cheap laptop for a weekend, downloading the appropriate programming software, and knocking it out. Rent-a-center or Aaron's would probably rent you out a laptop for pretty cheap and as long as it isn't a long term rental they aren't too bad. Don't rent to own though unless you like getting ripped off!

 

EDIT: AM radio is menu options 45 and 46 it seems. See that you found that option, you likely tune using the VFO mode. The radio has a pretty decent receive range. I don't have a KG-1000 so I'm not super familiar with it but many of these radios have similar menus. Someone who has one and is more familiar should be able to correct me if I am mistaken on any of this.

[WROQ359]

You can also buy an inexpensive laptop to program the radio. The Wouxun software is fairly simple to use and can easily run on a laptop running Windows 10 maybe even earlier versions. I've seen older laptops with Windows 10 already loaded for less than $100 and if you're getting into the radio hobby, having a capable way of programming the radios other than by hand is very practical and a worthy investment. 

[WSGL775]

I bought a Microsoft surface that handles this. It works well with chirp and fairly inexpensive. I use for other things as well but mainly radio programming.