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"Not expensive" and "long range" in radio usually don't belong on the same sentence. If you want long range out of UHF, be prepared to sped time and money. As for antenna, the Laird FG-4603 would be my next choice if you don't want a folded dipole array, which I would strongly recommend. There is a Harvest 2-bay dipole available on eBay that might be a good compromise. Manage expectations: 20 miles from base to a portable, reliably, and out of UHF GMRS will require a decent location, a tall tower/mast and very good antenna (which doesn't develop high SWR after 3 months of being installed), a good feedline (probably look into heliax 1/2" at the very least if you really need a 100' run). And a very good radio/repeater with a receiver that will not get overwhelmed when mated to a good antenna placed that high. Most likely you'll need additional filtering if you use low end stuff. G.

So first thing I would try to do is get your antenna cable alot shorter than 100' between antenna and repeater. Unless its going up a tower the closest is the best. Even LMR will have almost 3dblossi n 100'. That just took your 25 watt repeater to 12.5 and that no duplexer. You will have loss there also. The duplexer is a good unit. Get it tuned professionally and a home repeater should not have issues. Im not a fan of the antenna you picked but I prefer quality. the DB404 would be ideal but know folks dont like the look of it or the price. If you want a small fiberglass stick look at the Laird FG series in the other links on the page. You will find them a much better build than a put together antenna. Manage expectations. I know you want 20 miles. If you can talk that simplex then your repeater may play nice. The GM300 is a good little radio. Built many repeaters in my shop days out of the same parts you mentioned and many are still in service today. The GM is not a continuous duty radio so make sure you have a fan on it also.

Hey Scott: What radio? Which repeater? Luckily they have an authentic Portillo’s about 35 miles south of me in Orange County!

Wow I have gained a lot to think about. I'm going to see if I can get away with shortening my coax and spend a little more and get heliax 1/2". I'm now looking at the Laird FG-4603 antenna as gman1971 recommended since I mainly chosen the Tram 1486 from length and style. Im not expecting fantastic results but a good start that can eventually lead me to where I was aiming for. I appreciate the kind words from everyone here, it's really got me excited to try and figure this out! I guess that's what it's all about

Height is king. Noise floor seems to be less of a problem in UHF, even at <1 mile from a big 1400' angry RF firebreathing tower, the measured RSSI noise floor in the GMRS channels is always in the high -120dBm range.. that's pretty good. The issue with UHF is the 10dB attenuation loss over VHF in long range distances, and the fact that anything it touches attenuates the signal like its going out of style... rain? boom, range goes to crap, snow? boom, range goes to crap, vegetation nearby? boom, there goes some more range... The only thing, like you've stated, that will will fix this is more height. And a good antenna setup. G.

Height and noise floor will be everything IMO If this is going in a private location and is not near any big RF "sites" it shouldn't be a problem for GM's/CDM's

Good, Fast, Cheap. Pick any two The same could apply to radios with: Good Coverage, Low Price, Easy to Acquire. Except you can only pick 1... 20 miles reliable coverage to hand held portables is usually not going to happen with a "garage" repeater at your home location. In years past, I've seen those GR300 desktop repeaters at tower sites with good elevation - and as Gman says, they usually have a bunch of bandpass cavities, preselectors, and pre-amps wired in, which kid of defeats the whole "done on the cheap" - spending $350 for a GR300 vs. $1000 - $1500 for a used Quantar/MTR2000.

If your radio shows receive but you don't hear anything, then the repeater is either transmitting a different tone, or no tone at all. The purpose of the Rx tone is to keep you from hearing other traffic on that same channel, which could be either a different repeater, or simplex traffic (on the repeater output channel, which is shared with simplex GMRS and FRS users). But you don't *need* to program in the Rx tone; you will hear the repeater just fine without it (as you have seen). Does that make sense?

Yo BugKiller, in my opinion the only dumb question is the one not asked. I'm still a noobie, as well, so we are all learning as we go. That said, the length of my rat-tail (aka-counterpoise) was just random. I just tried to match it to the length of the antenna. It seems to work very well, I've even had it coiled around the belt clip to keep it from dangling and it still works great. Don't be afraid to explore and experiment with your gear, it'll teach you alot, along with many here that have lots of knowledge to share. 73