marcspaz

I am extremely well known in the tech world. Not because of things like YouTube or forums, but because of the work I do. So, I have had some unique opportunities and have some test equipment that most people don't have. Not sure what else to say. I didn't mention the KG-1000G. Although I did test that radio, too. I said I had test results from the MXT500 and the Yaesu FTM-300DR, the the Midland was better. I didn't say i did a head to head, because i didn't. I have no video, pictures or anything else. I wasn't comparing them. Over the years, I tested lots of radios on separate occasions. I happened to reference the results if these two a couple of times in a few threads here, because I found them unusual. The reason I tested the Yaesu was because I was having receive problems and was hoping to align it... but I ended up sending it to Yaesu for repair. The numbers I shared were after the repair. My results after the repair matched (close enough) to what is advertised in the owners manual... From the manual "0.2μV for 12dB SINAD (420 - 470 MHz, @FM)" I have no pics, video, etc., because I was just doing it for me and my own benefit. I don't typically post tech stuff on YouTube. Especially bland stuff like Yaesu doing a repair for me. As far as the Midland goes, at a completely different time, maybe a year later, I got a pre-release MXT500 model through a friend who is a pro offroader and was sponsored by them at the time. I bench tested it for sharing information here and it was trash. I spent a couple of weeks working with Roger French at Midland to get it squared away. When it came back, he emailed me a test sheet that included the 12 dB SINAD and SQ4 test results. So I confirmed them at home, too. I didn't video record or photograph any of that testing either, because it's way outside the understanding of most people who come to this forum. We have a lot of new users who just want to know if it's any good and don't need to get in the weeds. While I didn't share much on the KG-1000G, again months apart from any of the other two, I tested that radio for entirely different reasons. Danny Feemster from Cricket Ventures was working with Wouxun to develop the KG-1000G. The radio they sent me was a prototype that was essentially a heavily modified KG-UV980P. It was the only one in existence at the time and I had to send it back after about a week. That was a fantastic radio. I've actually been blessed with being asked by a global tech company to test another prototype just a few weeks ago, though I can't disclose those details yet. Should be interesting to some, when it does get shared. While I still have my test gear, I don't have any of these radios anymore. It's been years in some cases. I can't duplicate the tests without spending a ton of money... not worth it. Seems like you have your mind made up that I'm a liar about doing any testing myself... which I find some irony in. I have no problem steering clear.. but I'm pretty sure if you post some BS, you can expect to get called out again. I tried... just not going to bother anymore.

What I don't understand is, you can make a friendly post like this and politely disagree, but for some reason, even though I have zero to do with Midland or any other brand or radio industry at large (I'm an IT guy by trade) you attacked my character and credibility in a mean way. Have to be honest, a big part of my issue with you in this thread has nothing to do with you not believing me. You have no idea who I am, so I don't blame you. The situation is comfortably in the category of "not what you said, but how you said it." If you were as cordial with you're original concerns as you were with this post, I would have been a lot more receptive. As I mentioned before, no skin off my back one way or another, but if we're going to play in the same playground, you can't get upset when you behave poorly and people here give you grief about it. I am 100% willing to wipe the slate clean... I don't even need an apology... but there needs to be some understanding that not everyone is a sellout and just genuinely has a different opinion. Either agree or disagree. No need to be rude. Seem fair?

It's just another excuse. If he gets called out and pushed for more details, he'll make up some lie to justify acting like a dickhead.

Nickel and lithium based batteries should be stored at a 40% charge and not connected to anything. I personally also put tap over the connections, to prevent anything from touching the contacts and shorting or discharging the batteries further All batteries will eventually discharge to zero if they are in a radio or a charge cradle that isn't on and in a charge state. This damages batteries and can cause the battery to never charge again. Some highend batteries with electronics in them will sleep after they have been out of a radio or charger for some time. Those will appear to be dead, but just need to be reactivated. Storing batteries in the radio will not only discharge the battery, it could damage the radio. There are issues with corrosion, battery leaks and expansion.

This is only true if you are trying to use a scan feature built into a radio. If someone is using a standalone decoder or if their radio has a decoder, they can decode any custom tones if they are close enough to a user or if those custom tones are used on the output. Radios as little as $35 have decoders in them and you can buy a standalone decoder for just a few $$$.

In Ham mode, it only allows transmitting on ham frequencies. On GMRS mode, you can only transmit on the pre-programed GMRS frequencies. In normal mode, you can transmit on every frequency from 136 MHz to 520 MHz. That's pretty much it.

No PM. No apologies.

As others have mentioned, you really can't prevent someone from finding the tones or even testing their way through them. Short of turning the repeater on and off depending on need, you can implement security through obscurity. Though, the more obscure you get, the more likely you are to need a non-compliant repeater and mobile/portable user radios. Split-tone is one means of obscurity. Have the repeater transmit a tone that is different than what is used to unlock the squelch, or no transmit tone at all. Use DCS in and CTCSS out. This would make it much harder to guess... however, if someone is close enough to someone using the repeater, you can always scan the users transmission. Additionally, you can use what is known as "user defined CTCSS". For example, I could use 300 Hz or 2.9 KHz. If you want to get really extreme, you can also configure some units to require the presence of two tones or digital ID's at the same time, in order to open the repeater squelch, known as paging. Some other obscure configurations could include non-standard splits. There is nothing that says you have to use a +5 MHz split for your repeater. There are specific frequencies that we can use, but no mandatory use of any given pair. Meaning, you could have your repeater input on 467.650 and your repeater output on 462.550. So, if you want to have a ton of fun, configure the input of the repeater to be on 467.700 MHz and have the squelch open with a paging tone group of 67.0Hz/1.9KHz, have the output on 462.575 MHz with a DSC of 754, and then use a voice scrambler.

I should. I'll have to slate some time for it when I'm done traveling. It's an XTL5000. I have 3 of them. Two UHF and one VHF. All 110w units. I run the w7 heads because I love the old-school look and feel.

I use several different antennas on GMRS. I use diamond x300 at home, and a diamond x30 and x200 for portable repeater use. All are shared between GMRS and Amateur Radio.

One of my favorite videos of his is one he did for the Combat Crawlers. I have done some volunteering with them, leading a local trail ride. Randy's video was how I heard about them, and learned a friend is actually a regional leader here on the east coast.

At the moment, I only have an FTM-300DR, and FT3DR and an XTL5000. I also have a radio that I can't currently disclose, as am working with the manufacturer to do some testing on it for them. Once I get the OK to share those results, I will, though it's not GMRS related. It would be purely for the geeks to enjoy. LOL I did order a TD-H3 to play with (thanks @OffRoaderX for the review). I am planning on testing that one for use on the trails. I am a trail guide for our club and I'm looking for some inexpensive loaners that also work well. I am excited to see how that one goes. For the most part, I stopped spending money on radios (both GMRS and Ham) and started focusing on building an extreme offroader. That has sucked up most of my funds. However, the truck is almost done. Once I wrap it up and have extra time and cash, I may start buying some radios to test. While his humor is an acquired taste for some, Randy is a very nice guy, knowledgeable more-so than most and I value his opinion on the equipment he reviews. Like the TD-H3, when I do start the tech dives again, I may go through his videos and see what some of the better equipment he has tried lately and focus on those.

A-weighting. I used a Tektronix SA with a standard 1000hz. Edit: I will add that I'm by no means an expert on this stuff. However, I believe A is standardized, as it's a closer representation of how we hear, vs. C is more of a peek measurement. My monitor has Z as well, but I don't think it's used that often anymore. Does any of that sound correct?

I thought you would be satisfied with me posting a comment based on content you so eloquently teed up. If that does work, I suppose you will have to resort to satisfying yourself.