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I have good luck with my Ed Fong antenna and he's really polite when answering questions from new folks--I know, i've asked some of the dumbest ones he's probably heard. I use his pvc encased version. Part of the money he collects goes to the graduate students tuning the antenna for you and they use the cash to help pursue their educational goals....beats the heck out of it disappearing offshore to a big corporation. And berkinet's right, the frequency GMRS is at doesn't lend itself to skipping great distances like the lower ham frequencies and CB when conditions are right. Take a look at the repeater section here, though, and the odds are good you can bounce your signal through a repeater, even through others if they are mutually connected for enviable clarity at awesome distance. I sure hope that doesn't negatively affect your decision to go and stay on the air, though, and wish you best of luck. Please let us (or at least me) know how it's working.

That will be a very long wait. UHF does not skip, it just keeps on going.

If you are try to hit a repeater, 1) You need to turn the repeater function on through the menu options. 2) Set the channel to the corresponding frequency, found on the chart in the manual. 3) Enter the CTCSS or DCS code for that repeater. Find that CTCSS/DCS code on the myGMRS map, or contact the repeater owner for the code if not listed.

I believe the FCC addressed this in: §95.1761 GMRS transmitter certification. © ... No GMRS transmitter will be certified for use in the GMRS if it is equipped with the capabilities to operate in services that do not require equipment certification, such as the Amateur Radio Service. Huh... Doesn't seem to get any plainer that that, I guess.... LoL

Found a function on the MXT400 the other day that I didn't see in the manual. You can scan for CTCSS or DCS on a channel if you long hold the CTCSS/DCS button. The codes will start scrolling. If there are active communications on that channel, it will eventually pause on the code. I've use it on the repeater channels to help figure out repeater tones if there's chatter.