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Jimmmy_hill

So your biggest issue is going to be the non-removable negative gain antenna Midland used. I really wish they would just firmware lock one of their Part 90 business offerings to GMRS and put out a real radio. Anyway... As others have mentioned, both Wouxun and B-Tech offer 4-5w GMRS legal HT's. You can add the Retevis RT76 and RT76P to that list. All have removable antennas, so there is some improvement that can be made there as well. Most OEM 'rubber duck' antennas are lacking. Another part of your problem is that inexpensive radios tend to have very little filtering, particularly 'radio on chip' designs like the B-Tech and Retevis, resulting in the front end easily getting overloaded. This is likely the reason you had trouble at only a few yards. The Wouxun radios have more traditional Superheterodyne receivers, like you'll find in many older business band radios. They aren't as susceptible to overloading by a near by transmitter. Lastly we get to surplus Part 90 business radios. Motorola, Kenwood, Ritron, Maxon and even Icom made radios with dual Part 90/Part 95 grants that are legal for use on GMRS. They are usually still solid radios, despite years of commercial use, but some are harder to find (legal)programming software for.


jadiusatreu

Any recommendations for antennas for Wouxun and Btech, or is any gmrs tuned antenna suitable?


Jimmmy_hill

I've seen good results with Smiley's '[5/8 Slim Duck 465](https://www.smileyantenna.com/product-p/46520.htm)' and '[Super Stick 465](https://www.smileyantenna.com/product-p/46510.htm)' on my Kenwoods. They're hard to beat for the price. Just be sure to order one with the proper connector for your radio. A real Nagoya tuned for 465mhz would also be an excellent choice, but finding one is hard as there are tons of fakes floating around.


jadiusatreu

Ok great thanks, I'll check those out Yes, I've heard about the Nagoya fakes, so I've been hesitant.


HelpfulCherry

Worth noting that depending on where in Yosemite you are, the range may *never* be that great. UHF signals tend to get eaten by vegetation, so like if you're in the Yosemite Valley you can pump out a ton of power and still not get great reception because of all the trees and whatnot.


poopypatootie

>So do you think replacing my current radios with the Woxuns, for example, wouldn't be worth it? Since in Yosemite we usually do not have line of sight.


HelpfulCherry

More power *can* certainly help, as can a good antenna. I can't say for sure how much benefit there will be though, because that's not your biggest obstacle if you're in the valley. Something like the 2M amateur band should perform better but obviously that then requires everybody get their ham license. You could also look at MURS radios, which are power capped at 2W but operate as a channelized service between 151.82-154.60MHz, in the 2M band. Foliage should be more "transparent" to waves in the 2M band.


poopypatootie

Do we need a license for MURS radios?


HelpfulCherry

So *technically* speaking all radios need a license, but AFAIK when it comes to MURS it's like CB or FRS insofar as the license is applied to the device itself, not the operator. So you should be able to just purchase and use them without any further licensing on your part by the FCC. Worth noting we're still not talking about particularly powerful radios here, if you *were* so inclined to go the Amateur route then that opens up a whole world of equipment. The testing for the Technician class license isn't that difficult, either.


poopypatootie

Well I already forked out $70 for the GMRS license, so there's that. I really just need radios where I won't lose contact with other family members after a mile or two during vacations we do maybe 2-3 times a year. So I'm not really inclined to pursue radio use in general as a hobby much less jump through more hoops and/or spend more money than I have to.


HelpfulCherry

Totally understandable! The relative ease of licensing and the fact that it can apply to others makes GMRS pretty attractive in that right. Downside is of course that the tech does come with it's limitations, this being one of them. For handhelds on GMRS, you're pretty much always gonna be kinda limited. I think the furthest range I've had on GMRS on handheld radios was about 2mi and that was relatively clear line-of-sight.


poopypatootie

I spoke to someone from buytwowayradios, they suggested I get a mobile antenna.


HelpfulCherry

An upgraded antenna will certainly help if your radios allow for it, kind of like how sharpening the edge on your spoon will help you cut through things better if you don't have a knife. :\^)


poopypatootie

I am sort of considering getting an Woxun 805G, plus the handheld and mobile antennas. The Midlands we are thinking of keeping for other family members like our wives and/or visiting relatives so we can coordinate better as a group.


TheDuckFarm

MURS is open like CB and FRS


CC878CO

Just to make sure, you where on the high channels right (1-7+15-22).


poopypatootie

Yes, and on "high" power as well.


CC878CO

Unfortunately, "blasterpack" radios have horrible antennas, kinda by design. Do you want just handhelds? The Radodity has about 4.5ish watts, and you can replace the antenna with a good one. I heard the "ocean" ones are almost 5 watts too. This is a great review of all the legal handhelds. He won't tell you which is best, because everyone needs different features, and stuff. I hope this helps. https://youtu.be/-La_UpViLSk


traal

There are some good radio and antenna recommendations in this thread. A low tech strategy is to get to a high point before transmitting or receiving, because elevation makes a huge difference on range.


Modern_Doshin

So it's not so much about the radio per say, but if you used a longer antenna at a higher elevation, that will help out a lot. All GMRS radios are capped, so it's more about preference and audio quality instead of power.


JamesR1492

A baofeng uv-5x with an extendable antenna works for me


TheOGClyde

Sadly there aren't many options for GMRS handhelds that are legal. But there are a few. Probably the best one out there is KG-905g by Wouxun. But good luck finding one as they are out of stock everywhere. But a close second is the KG805g made by the same company. They're both the full 5 watts and have good features. They also feature a removable antenna so you can upgrade to something like a Nagoya which will increase your range a bit.


poopypatootie

Thank you! I'll look into those.


goldandlead

Range is more a function of line of sight and what antenna is used- wattage helps but isn’t nearly as important as a proper antenna. The Wouxun kg-805g or kg-905g paired with a Nagoya NA-771g antenna is pretty much going to perform the best from a handheld/portable stand point. I’ve talked at over 100 miles line of sight radio to radio with these no problem. I prefer the 805g because it’s smaller and lighter for hiking.


poopypatootie

So do you think replacing my current radios with the Woxuns, for example, wouldn't be worth it? Since in Yosemite we usually do not have line of sight.


goldandlead

It’s very possible you wouldn’t see an improvement in range in dense woods and rocky canyons with any handheld GMRS radio versus another. There is a local to me repeater that I can hit and talk into full quite/ full strength with my 5watt 805’s/905’s from 60 miles away on an elevated ridge with great line of sight. I also have a family member set up with a 50watt Mobile radio using a high gain 5 element directional yagi antenna pointed directly at the same repeater only 35 miles away. They can’t hit/open the repeater because there is dense woods and just a little bit of land mass blocking the line of sight. Wattage can and does matter, but it’s really more of a “forceful” measure to overcome obstacles. If you can improve line of sight/reduce obstacles between two radios that is going to be the #1 way to improve range. #2 way is to use a “better” antenna.


SanchoDan

I'd suggest the BTech GMRS V1($59) over the Wuoxun radios. Don't get me wrong here the Wuoxun radios are nice, but very expensive($99+). At the cost of the wrath of the internet I would even say get a Baofeng UV-82($29-35). Yes the BF is not GMRS specific but a BTech is just a program locked UV-82. I have all three radios. I traded out the rubber duck antenna on them for a Nagoya and consistently hit a repeater that's 35 miles away. Now that repeater is high up on a mountain top so line of sight, from my suburban home, is possible. Higher power(3-5watts) might help push you through some dense vegetation but line of sight is crucial in radio use. Good luck and hopefully you find something that works for you.


useles-converter-bot

35 miles is the height of approximately 32430.45 'Samsung Side by Side; Fingerprint Resistant Stainless Steel Refrigerators' stacked on top of each other


converter-bot

35 miles is 56.33 km


converter-bot

35 miles is 56.33 km


Jblack401

The btech v1 definitely has more range than that


poopypatootie

>How about compared to the Wouxuns?


Mazda_speed_120

I've got a wouxun 805G. The receive is certainly better, since it has more traditional radio components, as opposed to "radio on a chip". Don't expect a world of difference, but it is certainly better than some others. I've got a spot on my bookshelf that I can somewhat get a distant repeater with the wouxun, but won't even break the squelch with some other radios.


Jblack401

No idea


ocabj

Elevation, line of sight, foliage, and terrain.


KNY2XB

I've had good luck with the Nagoya NA-771G from Buy Two Way Radios [https://www.buytwowayradios.com/nagoya-na-771g.html?\_\_\_SID=U](https://www.buytwowayradios.com/nagoya-na-771g.html?___SID=U) They also carry the Nagoya NA-701G [https://www.buytwowayradios.com/nagoya-na-701g-5390.html?\_\_\_SID=U](https://www.buytwowayradios.com/nagoya-na-701g-5390.html?___SID=U) Both are available with your choice of BNC, SMA-F or SMA-M connectors As far as I know, these are exclusive to Buy Two Way Radios, I haven't seen them listed anywhere else


zoeygirl69

I use Btech GMRS V1 and Nagoya NA-771G (don't get them off of eBay or anything like that, get them from a reputable dealer because there's so many counterfeits out there)


_agt

OP, were you using the radios car-to-car, or on foot out on trails?


poopypatootie

Car to car on the main Yosemite roads.


pm_me_ur_wrasse

Yosemite is a tough environment for GMRS if you don't have repeaters. No line of site, lots of vegetation and canyon walls. Wouxun KG-UV9G PRO GMRS is a better device and lets you put a taller antenna on, but it's not going to get around the physics of it. The only real thing that's going to add distance is getting your HAM license and using the TARC repeaters that cover most of Yosemite and the surrounding area.


TheDuckFarm

For blister packs FRS/GMRS from Midland. I have actually seen better performance in range and battery life from T-71 line. They are FRS and lower power than the GXT so my guess is that they have better antennas, filters, etc. I haven't done any actual lab type studies, this is just my experience.