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Good GMRS Mobile radio?

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jassing

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Looking to get a UHF mobile (not handheld) radio for use on GMRS (a plus would be if the power could be programmatically dropped for frs)

There's a lot of radios out there offering a lot more than I would likely need (as I do not have a ham license, I'd be using strictly the GMRS frequencies)

Any suggestions? Would like the upper range of 40+ watts.

thanks
 

KB7MIB

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Under the FCC rules, you would not be able to use a mobile radio on FRS channels 8-14. You can use it on the FRS channels 1-7, with up to 5 watts ERP, as the GMRS does share those channels with the FRS.
 

KB7MIB

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I'm just putting that out there so that you don't unknowingly jeopardize your GMRS license, or your checking account! LOL

John
WPXJ598

(Me, I'm wishing for a purpose-built GMRS mobile with a specific set of features. But that's just me...)
 

r_eugene1

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Looking to get a UHF mobile (not handheld) radio for use on GMRS (a plus would be if the power could be programmatically dropped for frs)

There's a lot of radios out there offering a lot more than I would likely need (as I do not have a ham license, I'd be using strictly the GMRS frequencies)

Any suggestions? Would like the upper range of 40+ watts.

thanks
I sent you a PM.
 

gewecke

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You should be able to find something like a kenwood tk805d which will give you 40watts plus with 16 channels for $100-150 on ebay, eham, or any of the other sites. I use mine for gmrs and it works great!

73,
n9zas
 

jassing

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You should be able to find something like a kenwood tk805d which will give you 40watts plus with 16 channels for $100-150 on ebay, eham, or any of the other sites. I use mine for gmrs and it works great!

73,
n9zas

Thanks for the advice! I appreciate it.
 

62Truck

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The TK805D that gewecke mentioned is a good solid radio. Nice with the D model is it supports FPP so you don't need the software to program it.
 

jassing

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The TK805D that gewecke mentioned is a good solid radio. Nice with the D model is it supports FPP so you don't need the software to program it.

The software vs. field programming was something I just discovered is a key aspect... some of the used radios I found cant be programmed unless you have some proprietary software..

So far, I haven't found a decent TK805D; just one one ebay that looks in really rough shape & no mic, power cord and rated at 30watts.

-josh
 

N4KVE

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The software vs. field programming was something I just discovered is a key aspect... some of the used radios I found cant be programmed unless you have some proprietary software..
-JOSH
99.9% of all radios that can legally be used in the 462/467 mhz split [GMRS] do require some type of proprietary software. The 805 is a very rare exception to that rule. With the narrow banding deadline quickly approaching, there are tons of excellent wideband radios that companies will have to get rid of, & replace with narrow band radios. This means great deals for people who can still use these radios. Lately I picked up a few Kenwood TK840's for $50 each. They are in nice conition, quite small, & work really well, even on the Ham band. [440-450] They would be perfect for GMRS, but they put out 25 watts, not the 40 you were asking for. But unless you find the TK805, you will have to deal with somebody's proprietary software. Good luck in your search. GARY N4KVE
 
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gewecke

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The software vs. field programming was something I just discovered is a key aspect... some of the used radios I found cant be programmed unless you have some proprietary software..

So far, I haven't found a decent TK805D; just one one ebay that looks in really rough shape & no mic, power cord and rated at 30watts.

-josh


Fyi, I found mine on eham.com several years ago, since then I bought the compatible kmc18a programmable dtmf mic to go with it.
Since then I've seen others like mine on there too. :wink:

73,
n9zas
 

jassing

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(...) Lately I picked up a few Kenwood TK840's for $50 each.(...)

25 watts, well; just means I'd need to invest a little in a better antenna...
if you run into any that you don' t pick up for yourself, PM me a link, or phone #...

-j
 

jassing

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Fyi, I found mine on eham.com(...)

I find eham hard to find stuff -- you can't filter by group; (ie: UHF vs VHF) so you have to wade thru each page and find a uhf post, then check the radio type to see if it'll do....

Maybe tomorrow if work runs slow; Ill spend some time going page by page....

thanks
-j
 

gewecke

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I find eham hard to find stuff -- you can't filter by group; (ie: UHF vs VHF) so you have to wade thru each page and find a uhf post, then check the radio type to see if it'll do....

Maybe tomorrow if work runs slow; Ill spend some time going page by page....

thanks
-j

Well another idea might be to just google this,
Wtb;Kenwood tk805d uhf mobile radio
Any site that has one for sale should pop up in your search. :)

73,
n9zas
 

mmckenna

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I've got a couple of Icom UHF radios I don't use anymore.
I'd be happy to sell them if you are interested. I can program them for you, and include the original software disk. Heck, I'll even throw in my Comtelco 5/8 wave mobile antenna.
 

KB7MIB

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I'll have to keep the TK-805D in mind when I'm ready to buy one. Assuming no one comes out with the yet-to-be-designed radio that I really want lol


John
WPXJ598
 

KX4KDH

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I'll have to keep the TK-805D in mind when I'm ready to buy one. Assuming no one comes out with the yet-to-be-designed radio that I really want lol



John
WPXJ598

What exactly are you looking for??
 

KB7MIB

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I'd like to see purpose-built GMRS mobile and portable radios. I want: all 7 interstital channels with an adjustable, set-and-forget TPO in the menu to achieve =/<5 watts ERP, depending on what antenna you choose; all 8 main channels with...
 

KB7MIB

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...a Low/Med/Hi TPO up to 45-50 watts, and 1 button simplex/repeater selection without having to program them in sperately; 50 tone CTCSS (transmit only/transmit & recieve) and 104 code DCS; remote head capability.
 

KX4KDH

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With the exception of the TPO, the Kenwood TK-830 is the deal. Well, you can program known repeaters with the correct CTCSS/DCS, and you can also have 16 user defined tones on the side...

EDIT: The TK-830 is 35w output.... Sorry. However, you could get the 110w TK-830H, and turn it down to 50w.
 
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