VGC VR-N76 | How I have mine set up for APRS and BSS

[@SP9NGL]

Thanks for the mentioning 👌 Here is tip for you: because the radio is locked you can't input 446 PMR channels as long as you didn't tap 10 times on the Battery ( to unlock it ). Try the same tapping trick with "up to date" label and you will be pleasantly surprised 👍

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Thanks! Mine seemed to already be unlocked. This is good to know for those who have a locked one!

[@daniellavoie8379]

Timely video since my N76 should be delivered within 2 days 😊

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Perfect timing! 🙂

[@daniellavoie8379]

​@The_Comms_Channel 15 minutes after I left my last comment, I received my N76. I just completed a firmware upgrade, and it's now at version 0.7.9

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Nice!!

[@aragonep]

Great video, I have the Btech variant , very informative. 73

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Glad it was informative! Thanks! 73

[@LioRMD]

This was a great video that helped me a lot with my Btech UV-PRO, do you think you can make another one with the updated menu and on iOS? thanks in advance.

[@gmdavisphotography3422]

Love the channel and very glad that you are providing coverage of this radio. I updated the firmware on my radio today and it started sticking on transmit. I would turn the radio off and back on and the radio wasn't transmitting anymore. I discovered that it was only happening when i had ID signaling disabled, the id left blank, or both. I haven't been able to find any users manual to further investigate this problem and I'm hoping that maybe you have resources to help me out. I'm guessing that being able to roll back the latest firmware will help but at this point, I'm lost. Any help from you or the rest of your audience would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. - Greg

[@The_Comms_Channel]

It's a bug in the firmware. They're aware of it and it should be fixed now. Go through the update process again and you should be good.

[@mrohloff1]

Btw on your hd2 radio video about the signal popping up on different parts of the spectrum, I hooked up my SDR and every radio does that including my Motorola and ICOMs

[@The_Comms_Channel]

How long were you transmitting? Was it within the FCC requirements?

[@291xMac]

I've seen that happen before If I transmit right next to an SDR reciever. It seemed to overpower the reciever when you transmit and it popped up all over the spectrum and it displays peaks all over the place.

[@drright71]

FYI the login allows you to access the radio over the internet. Kinda like EchoLink.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Ah, good to know! Thank you!

[@jarredjones8476]

Im also in TN

[@HobnailJohn]

When you have APRS running, does the APRS channel need to be one of the active selected channels. Or will it just run in the background as long as the APRS channel is programed into the channel group and digital mode is enabled in the radio settings?

[@davemichaeli5339]

This radio is similar to the BTECH UV-Pro, right? BTECH is claiming that TNC functionality will be added with future firmware updates. Have you seen any similar claims with this one? It would be a great radio at this price point if they can get it working.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Correct, the BTECH is based off this radio. Do you mean full TNC like the Kenwoods? That would be great! I'll check with my contact at VGC.

[@davemichaeli5339]

@@The_Comms_Channel yes, that’s what the BTech folks are saying in their Facebook posts for the UV-Pro. According to them, after a future firmware update, you will be able to connect a phone/laptop via Bluetooth to the radio and use packet radio apps like WinLink, etc. If true, that will be great 👍

[@daniellavoie8379]

Does anyone know how to unlock the VHF outside the 144-148 range?

[@SP9NGL]

Check my comment above "tap 10 times on the Battery info" in the app section Device Status, below software info ( to unlock it )

[@cyrusfield6319]

Anyone no if repeater book can be imported? or the format for the Import function, .csv etc...?

[@TyGunnlaugsson]

Can you make a video talking about the new update supporting KISS TNC? Thanks!

[@The_Comms_Channel]

On it! kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGqQpXqrpKqrY7s

[@TyGunnlaugsson]

@@The_Comms_Channel wow you are fast! 🚀

[@jarredjones8476]

its amazing how they send radios to all these youtubers but not the guy who runs a facebook page for them

[@9165RADIOS]

I just accidentally set channel 32 (any group) as a watch channel, now ch32 overrides everything else when it gets received - HELP?

[@pgrundle]

Is there a way to send out a beacon manually? Cheers!

[@The_Comms_Channel]

From the HT app, you can send your location (or any selected location) using the map pin icon on the bottom right. From APRSdroid, you can use the "Send Position" button. From the radio itself, there isn't really a manual way, but you can go do it in a roundabout way by doing the following: Main Menu > General Settings > Digital Mode: Enable ✅ Format APRS Share Location [set to 10 seconds, wait for beacon to be sent out, turn back off]

[@pgrundle]

@@The_Comms_Channel Thank you but sorry as I cannot seem to locate the pin icon on teh map.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

@@pgrundle which app are you using?

[@pgrundle]

@The_Comms_Channel The latest Android app.

[@yasmanialmaguer]

Is there a way to input DPL tones? I only see PL tones

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Yep, they call is DCS. When you go to program a frequency in the app, scroll down through all of the PL tones and you'll see the DCS options below

[@alzeebum]

I've been playing with one of these radios and it seems that the APRS beaconing is done strictly by the phone app, can anyone confirm? If I setup the radio to beacon APRS every 5 minutes, it doesn't seem to work if I disconnect from bluetooth. EDIT: Scratch that, seems to work fine without the phone after being set up. Was just having trouble reaching a local gateway.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

APRS beaconing works stand-alone. You need to configure the interval at the other APRS page shown at 5:44

[@The_Comms_Channel]

That first page seems to be for Internet (APRS-IS)

[@RabbitStu-M7UTS]

My radiodity ga-5wb (same radio ) works without the app for position beaconing. GPS take a little time to get fix tho.

[@alzeebum]

@@RabbitStu-M7UTS Yeah it is working fine, the radio gateway I am hitting is just tough to reach consistently.

[@howdydoody30204b]

Does KISS capability mean that you could use other apps, like Rattlegram or AndFlmsg, with this radio ?

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Great question! Unfortunately, not. Those apps rely on audio interfaces and KISS is meant for packet radio. It would be a cool feature to have if they could have the radio show up as an audio interface as well. I'll forward the suggestion along to them!

[@howdydoody30204b]

@@The_Comms_Channel Thanks. I think I asked the wrong question, though. Can you send regular text messages, not APRS, via the phone app from one of these radios to another of the same kind, like can be done with the Btech GMRS Pro?

[@The_Comms_Channel]

@@howdydoody30204b No worries! You sure can. You can actually use APRS to send the text messages, or BSS, which is their own protocol. On top of that, the GMRS-PRO actually uses BSS to send its messages back and forth, so you can technically also use this radio to communicate with GMRS-PRO users if you have it set to a GMRS frequency (although the radio isn't FCC type accepted for GMRS use). I discuss this a bit in the GMRS-PRO if you haven't seen it yet kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6uWe2WlnbVrgcksi=cNjv2i-4FVUEF5Vq

[@howdydoody30204b]

@The_Comms_Channel That's great! Then, with the non-APRS method, you can encrypt the msg b4 you send it. Could be very useful.

[@caroleemoreno8086]

Forgive my ignorance, but when do I use BSS, on every channel but APRS frequency?

[@The_Comms_Channel]

You're fine! I would avoid using it on the APRS frequency since they're not compatible. If you're just using BSS for sending messages and positions, I would stick to the packet radio portions of the band (144.900-145.100) or even the Misc/Experimental portion (145.500-145.800) When using BSS at the end of voice transmissions, we mostly use it on simplex when talking amongst ourselves. Using it at the end of voice transmissions on a voice repeater should be fine from a rule standpoint as far as I know, but some other people on the repeater may find it annoying and make a comment. Not 100% sure on that, but something to be mindful of.

[@The_Comms_Channel]

To add to that, if you're not talking to other BSS capable radios, I would also turn it off.

[@caroleemoreno8086]

@@The_Comms_Channel so I finally got RadioMail to see the uv pro kiss. Yay! But after I connect to CMS it says unable to establish connection. Can a smart person interpret this for me and offer insight? Last message I get before it disconnects me is “F>26 Could not establish connection “. Sorry to be such a pain in the ass, but I am so close and would love to get this working.

[@robertgenovese8187]

Do you like this better than the HD2 ? Thanks

[@The_Comms_Channel]

I do. This radio is my new daily driver. Very different radios though so all depends on your needs.

[@c0ba1t]

Just got mine. Does it work with Chirp programming?

[@The_Comms_Channel]

Don't believe so. Super easy to do via the HT app though.

[@c0ba1t]

@@The_Comms_Channel Ok, just asking because I have a database for Chirp for some of my other radios. Thanks!

[@coreyperez13]

I'm really starting to dislike your channel... First i purchased 8 Meshtastic devices, enclosures, antennas, x2 POE switches ... now, APPARENTLY.... I need a new radio...

[@The_Comms_Channel]

We're just getting started 😬😂

[@garymcmeekin385]

It seems like the iOS version of the app is very different in terms of menus. Is it just me?

[@The_Comms_Channel]

I've not tried the IOS app but that's certainly possible. I'll have to try it on my iPad and see

[@garymcmeekin385]

@@The_Comms_Channel Thanks for the video. It's still very helpful.

[@wilfredswinkels]

@@The_Comms_Channel Yup there are a lot of differences. I have trouble setting up my BT PTT mic. (unable to change button settings) can anyone with an android phone check if they are able to do that? there are no 3 vertical dots to select, and the cog isn't showing a setting for the BT mic. Also why is it so chaotic in the APRS settings (they are divided over several menu thingy's)

[@innercityprepper]

ARRRRR I'M SO ANGRY!!!! GRRRRRR!!!!

[@The_Comms_Channel]

😂😂😂 I knew I should have put one at the end of this video

[@rockshelter]

I am very disappointed with the aprs function in this radio. If you want to use it without connecting to a phone dont expect it to reach any aprs gateways, even if you sit on top of them.... Would like to hear what you other guys have experienced 🤨

[@The_Comms_Channel]

I'm able to reach my nearest gateway (4mi.) standalone with no problems. The phone being connected or not shouldn't affect the radios RF performance. Are you able to communicate with repeaters or with others on simplex? If you are and can't hit digipeater/APRS gateways, then you may not be using the correct path.

[@rockshelter]

@@The_Comms_Channel I would really like this radio to work as a tracker in the field , through an igate or a digipeater. I have no problem with ordinary rf communication on this unit, but the aprs side is flaky. It may work for a while but suddenly stop sending packets. I have also compared it to another analog aprs unit and it seems to me the packet signal level is low. I have set it to wide1-1, wide 2-1 I think.

[@kelseystagner7239]

If only it also did aes-256

[@sgthoskins]

I was literally looking at the specs for that too right now.

[@kylefreemason]

I agree….would be the perfect radio for the price