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No, we were a few blocks from the closest evacuation line.

DX Engineering, Ham Radio Outlet, Gigaparts, Max Gain, R & L Electronics, and Amazon all have a wide variety of adapters. Until you gain more knowledge your surest option might be to go to a nearby radio dealer or amateur radio club with your radio, antenna, and transmission line and get some personalized help. Edited to add: no forgiveness is necessary for your lack of knowledge. We all started out with little or no knowledge at some point in time. I think what’s making this more challenging is that you are introducing several different extreme levels of technology at once, like expensive hardline and cheap NanoVNAs. You’re trying to determine whether hardline is good but without a background that would make it easier to discuss. We’re making it worse (unintentionally) by using jargon, or speaking in technical shorthand that probably is just word salad to you. We’re saying things that might end up costing you lots of money in tools you might not even need. When I was getting started I ended up buying a large assortment of SMA adapters from Amazon. I never used most of them, but because they were extremely cheap I didn’t care too much. So, let me back up a little: What tools do you actually have that might be helpful? Do you have a plain old electrical multimeter with an ohmmeter or continuity tester? The most important tests you can initially do for a used cable of unknown quality can be done with your eyeballs and an ohmmeter: First, visually inspect it to make sure it’s not skinned, pinched, crushed, kinked, or any other kind of obvious physical damage, Then use the ohmmeter to make sure the shield is continuous from one end to the other, Next, make sure the center conductor is continuous from one end to the other, and Finally, put one lead on the center and one lead on the shield and check to make sure that they are not shorted together. An ohmmeter will use DC for this test, so you should see a very high impedance, probably in the mega ohms range. Using a NanoVNA (or an antenna analyzer that covers the correct frequency range) will allow you to test more conclusively, but really, if you’ve passed the above basic test, hooking it up to a radio will tell you if it works or not. Next, let’s figure out that connectors that you included in the photograph. You actually have two connectors screwed together in that photo which appears below. The large connector on the bottom has been cut off the hardline. The small connector on top may be unused or may have been removed from a piece of smaller coax, possibly LMR400 or RG8, I can’t tell. The photo shows a finely knurled section. Unscrew the knurled collar from the piece immediately below it. They should be separated at the red line. Then show us what two connectors you really have. I think the upper, smaller, connector is probably N male and the hardline fitting should be N female.

Ok, stay vigilant and be safe.

This is what I come here for.

Those are not the towers I'm looking for.

That thought did cross my mind. I'll be back there in November at which time I'm taking a road trip to confirm.

Usually you would only need one at the top of the cable to carry its weight. Then you would use cable staples or screw in clamps fastened loosely enough that it doesn’t crush the cable. At that tension they might not actually keep the cable from sliding through, but they keep it from flapping in a wind.

Here are some of the Laird antennae I have available and use. From left to right, I use the Laird 1/4 wave unity gain with my Kenwood TK880-1 on my Porsche up in the hills and mountains during the Porsche Driving Tour runs with great success; the middle antenna is the B4502N non-ground plane 2.4 dB 1/2 wave I use with my Motorola XTL5000 on my 21 Silverado Dually Diesel; and the right antenna is my Laird B4505NS non-ground plane 5/8 wave 5 dB antenna that I never had to use so far. Based on the information posted, you should be ok with the quarter wave unity gain antenna. Try that one first and if you feel you need a little more antenna than the 1/2 wave B4502N that is propery tuned would be the next antenna to try. The 1/4 wave unity gain does not require any tuning.

This is the type of cable staples I use in a pneumatic stapler.

OK, then... We have a live one here. Part of what I do for a living is track down and market vertical real estate for commercial radio use. So while you may think I don't know what I am talking about, I can assure you I do. So I will now just spell it out. If you don't have interest from ham operators then you are wanting too much money, or your tower is crap. But it could be a combination of the two. There aren't but two reasons that a tower that is height X can be 'easily extended' 30 feet to height Y. It's either some crankup deal or someone got lazy and decided to not stack the rest of the tower. And you are in the same state as this https://www.kxan.com/news/national-news/ap-200-foot-radio-station-tower-stolen-without-a-trace-in-alabama-silencing-small-towns-voice/ So anything to do with a tower in that state is sketchy to begin with. But maybe that's where the tower came from to begin with. If you are actually wanting to generate profit from the site, advertising it on Craigslist ain't gonna help. Neither is finding hobby radio web sites and forums thinking you are going to find paying customers. And assuming you have already approached all the commercial radio shops and got laughed out of the building and are marketing to hams and GMRS users on web forums tells me this thing must be a peach of a tower. Which is why I mentioned that if the site is marketable and desirable you might consider listing it with the big three vertical real estate companies. They will come in, tear down your crap, put up a multi carrier tower and let you park your stuff on it and PAY YOU to do it. But of course the site needs to be desirable to them. My guess is it's not. So, like the ham's and numerous others have said. Good Luck.

Put the mag mount on a cookie sheet or 16 inch pizza pan and test again. Unless your antenna is specifically marked as a No Ground Plane required, it needs a ground plane as the ground plane is actually an integral part of the antenna's makeup.

I told my wife to delete that!!!

Some people like them. Those people also look like this.

Some people hate to hear them. Many of us simply don’t care. We were able to diagnose one of our member’s microphone issues because we recognized his Roger beep. It’s your radio, as long as you’re following the rules operate how you want.

LMR400 has a foam dielectric which is easily crushed. The cable clamps shown above can be used if you use enough and don’t tighten them excessively. But for long vertical runs cable grips are better: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/tmv-hg-400t?seid=dxese1&gclid=CjwKCAjw3P-2BhAEEiwA3yPhwBQFfsHloWHuY750CdbwhKPstOsOuQFcAUln4HS7V3X9C65I_PFpuBoCIysQAvD_BwE

You can use this website to generate tower coverages in your area, and even display multiple coverages at the same time. It won't be circles like you are asking because of terrain, but it will show you the coverage of the repeater so long as you know the coordinates and height of the antenna. It asks for other information as well like gain, you can just ballpark it unless you need something very accurate. https://www.ve2dbe.com/rmonline_s.asp

I've been very pleased with my Wouxun KG-Q10H and KG-935G. Both work well and the weather alerts are nice.

In my experience those with use more than 10% of the time are usually used by people who won't let you get a word in edgewise and/or you don't want to listen to anyway.

I have made several new friends due to my involvement with GMRS as well, but it truly is a "bring you own contacts" type of service. With roots in business and family purposes, it never really was for socializing with strangers or making new friends. While that is an anomaly among us radio dorks, it doesn't account for much activity, nor much of the growth in user base.

I don't think you need a "more powerful antenna." 7.2 miles isn't terribly far. Any reasonable outdoor antenna up on your roof (maybe in an upstairs window even) should be able to do that. Try removing the tone squelch on receive on the repeater channel. Do you hear the repeater?

Regarding not finding friends via GMRS... I think OffroaderX's comment to be quite humorous; but not my experience. I have found quite a few new people that I can now call friends since I got my license.

As UHF is primarily line-of-sight, increased power either from the transmitter or antenna gain does not equate to further distance. The increase is in signal density or available RF energy in the same area. The two things most responsible for better service are antenna height above ground (AGL) and our friend, signal density. Antennas increase signal density by "squishing" the radiation pattern from a ball shape toward an egg shaped oval. The higher the antenna gain the more the signal is "squished" flat. The biggest help in your situation will be getting the antenna higher above ground level.

if you have a 3D Printer there are tons of free files for cable clips in all sizes available on-line. Print them with ABS fillimant for UV protection.. They print failry fast and the various options will suite any need..

Aside from the ground plane (a good observation from @BoxCar), make sure you are programmed on a repeater channel (23-30, 31-38…) as mentioned by @WRQC527 . These will have the preset offset. Otherwise you may be trying to reach the repeater on simplex.

Well, with all of this super advanced technical information that has been bestowed upon me, I have decided to leave my Roger Beep in a state of perpetual WTF. Thanks for all of your opinions

@mitzvah your original post was random and not a cohesive train of thought. A bit of fun was had at your expense. I recommend you try reading your own post before posting it. This isn’t the first time people didn’t know what you were trying to say. Moving on from that @SteveShannon I think has some good advice for the hearing issue which must be frustrating. Cheers

Look, I had the same problem understanding your question that they did, so I simply ignored all the bullshit about radios and antennas and answered your hearing aid question (or at least what I interpreted as the question.) A wise person once told me "If you're not getting the answers you want, maybe look at how you asked the question." You included a bunch of confusing bullshit, whether as an attempt to be funny or perhaps you thought we would understand some analogy. You removed your antenna and inserted the symbolic 1500 foot mountain between you and us and now you’re upset that we cannot hear you. Don't take it out on this forum because you posted a bizarre unintelligible plea for help.

Because it doesn’t make sense. It looks like two separate thoughts, with the only commonality being the 1500’ mountain. Maybe it makes sense to you, but you failed to explain what you are asking in a way that the rest of us can understand. Frankly, it looked like a drunk person late night posting. If you can explain what you’re saying maybe we can help. (1) “So to fellows we will call them #1 and #2 are in a flat desert and 10 miles apart. Both can TX and RX each other. #1 removed his antenna, he thinks he is TX but #2 can't hear anything. #2 tries to TX #1, but #1 does not hear anything. Now we add a 1500 ft tall mountain between them and #1 and #2 can't hear each other. RIGHT” (2) “So I wear hearing aids. The last pair cost me $5,000. plus I had to pay a $500 maintenance fee. They claimed they were making adjustments to my hearing aid, But there was a 1500 ft tall mountain between us. So I stopped paying the Maintenance fee, and darn the hearing aids stopped working. What do you guys think.”

Another option is 7/16" coax cable staples. They work well for LMR400 and RG8 size coax. https://www.menards.com/main/electrical/electrical-tools-accessories/wiring-fasteners/gardner-bender-reg-coaxial-cable-staple/pr-50/p-1444431022313-c-6448.htm

As I said in my above post about losing my Firestik II on a Jeep run, I received my replacement Firestik II 5 Foot antenna a couple days ago and the early morning temps today were in the 80s so I made time to tune the new antenna. My spare antenna was only a 2 Foot Firestik II antenna. I was able to tune the new 5 foot antenna to 1.0:1 across the board. The meter needle did moved off of "0" but barely and it was not even close to "1.1:1. I have never seen a tune almost perfect like this before. Just for giggles, I rechecked the 2 Ft. Antenna and I was 1.2:1 to 1.3:1 across the board. On my next Jeep Trail Run, I'll use the 2 footer antenna on the trails and just use the 5 Foot antenna for highway use only.

Oh, "some people" would VERY strongly and VERY vocally disagree!

I don't care either way. I recently signed on to a repeater. The owner requested that I disable my roger beep. He is gracious enough to open his repeater to all users. I am happy to abide by this simple request. I do find it odd that anyone would have a strong opinion about this, one way or another.

I appreciate the input guys!!

*The NotARubcion has entered the chat-room* ...your radio, your choice.... *The NotARubcion has left the chat*

No..just no

Perfect! Thank you, gentleman

Obi Wan Steve: "These are not the towers your looking for, move along"

Maybe you’re not really seeing the repeaters that you think you’re seeing.

I think car monkey hairspray, but big toe likes rocky road. Hair gel makes fun times but trees are there. Your sister wash with hose but I still like pie. [emoji482]

...

I guess it is sort of like the stock market... when everyone is freaking out because they don't understand the reality or the long term ... time to buy at a discount.

This is for Part 90. GMRS is Part 95. The rules and definitions of terms from one to the next vary, since Part 90 regulates things like public safety and business radio while Part 95 regulates personal radio services.

I live in the Mentor Ohio area here, also new to GMRS, got my license about 2 months ago and a handful of radios for a trip to Yosemite at the beginning of August.

Mother in laws, on the other hand, require special certification and licensing.

Same here in Summerville, SC. I listen mostly as there id no one around here either so, I just the scan feature. BUT HEY, GMRS isn't like CB's. Although I get to use mine when we're off roading in the Jeeps...

Welcome to the forum, but, if you are using GMRS to find new friends you have chosen the wrong hobby. GMRS is more for communicating with existing friends while driving, hiking, etc. For finding new friends/talking to strangers, ham radio or the Grindr app might be a better choice.