WRXB215

@jbkalla Nice work, thanks.

And out of place. This is the FRS Forum and the title is about mounting an FRS radio on the roof. 
You’re correct that “there are many different models with removable antennas, so you could attach an exterior vehicle antenna. Most also offer higher power ” but none of them are FRS certified, a point which you failed to make. 

Radio waves don't know the direction in which they are heading - ie: being transmitted or received. The signal is the signal. The trouble you originally described would not be due to antenna height.
Why go through the trouble of raising up the antenna, but avoid doing a simple 5 minute troubleshooting test and report on the results?
 

Pretty sure it’s Times Microwave.,,,   https://timesmicrowave.com

Going off the BTWRs article, Which Wouxun radios are superheterodyne?, I created this spreadsheet and added the BetterSafeRadio versions.  Thought somebody might find it useful.
Excel or CSV format.  Feel free to change or add, or suggest changes.
wouxun-radios.xlsx wouxun-radios.csv

I assume he means https://broadnetgmrs.net/ which appears offline at this point. Google shows posts last week so maybe a domain issue (forgot to pay bill) or something else. 

I can 100% tell you through experience, if you don't use some serious filtering, like found in a duplexer, vertical separation isn't enough unless you plan on using very low power... like 5 watts.
 
I have a portable repeater system the doesn't use a duplexer. At 5 watts, it can have both antennas about 100 feet from each other and it works locally with limited issues. However, if I want to run 50w, or even 200w, I have to separate the two antennas by about 400 to 500 yards to avoid desense issues.
 
I also have a fixed repeater with a duplexer sharing 1 antenna. The duplexer cooks off about half the power, both transmitted and receive. However, antenna placement is going to impact performance more than transmitted and receive losses in the duplexer. You would have to cut your power 4 times to see a single s-unit of loss. 
 
Most people who don't run a duplexer, don't do it for performance benefits, mostly because it's not a noticeable benefit. It's done to save money or to provide rapid diversity in deployment and changing frequency or even bands without having to re-tune or replace the duplexer every time. Such as my portable field unit.

If the cable is less than 25 feet a higher-grade cable won't buy you much.

Not noticeably. You will lose a little more gain, with the additional cable and connectors. But it will be marginal.

Usually, more of a problem with longer runs, say +50 feet. Then coax choices and connector choices start being critical, to reduce loses.

Many of us have long runs of lmr400 with connectors that cost almost as much as the cable. Only to have jumpers of 3-5 feet of rg58 (due to the flexibility and size).

By the way chances, are the mount you are using has rg58.

Most f150 guys just use the third brake light mount due to convienence of routing and installation. The ones I have spoken to have said they feel it isn't optimal. But easy of install and not drilling was worth it. Not sure if any of them tried bonding the mount (ground strap) or if they are even isolated (to prevent dissimilar metal corrosion). One fire dept guy on his f350 went with an aluminum cap and drilled out the cap for 4 nmos. He likes to listen to the boys when he is off duty and will go to call if he thinks he can help.



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How Texas became known as The Friendly State
East Coast GMRS... not so much!

LMR400 is good, you can also get LMR400UF (Ultra Flex).  The 400UF is a little easier to work with since the center conductor is stranded, and has pretty much the same properties as regular LMR400 (see chart below), with only a slightly bit more attenuation, (which I doubt anyone will notice in the real world).
For antennas, most will know that I'm a big fan of the Browning base antennas.  I started with a Tram 6140 (a.ka. Browning 6140), and moved up to the BR-6155.  Just mount it and go, no tuning required.  During the day, over flat terrain I'm regularly hitting repeaters at 40+ miles with only 15w.  At night that extends out to 60-70 miles.  Antenna is only about 30-35' AGL, and is fed by 50' of ABR Industries LMR400UF.
The Laird base antennas (450-470 MHz) are also very good, though more expensive than what is effectively the same performance you get with the Browning.  Something to point out, check the connector on the antenna side.  Some UHF antennas with have a Type N (female) connector on it, not (UHF) SO-239. So you will need an adapter at one end or the other.

I use the Tram 1486 because it is not very expensive, it's relatively high-gain, and it does not look like an alien spaceship on the roof. It was also easy to trim/tune - I got 1.01:1 SWR on the first try.
You should use good/decent coax, but do not listen to "some people" that will try to convince you that you MUST USE hardline or Heliax, or some other $45/ft coax. I am using LMR400, which is plenty "good enough".
You should ground both the mast and the coax (using a lighting suppressor type inline ground block), but i wont get into the details about how/what to ground them to as no doubt "some people" will be starting ongoing arguments over proper grounding techniques any minute now.
 

Repeater users rarely can hear local traffic on simplex. Only when simplex stations are close to the said repeater user. That kind of interference from the repeater is a fact of life and unavoidable. Move to another freq if you are on simplex.

I suggest trying another microphone.
What happens if you speak into the mike?

Sounds like the problem I had with the 1st mic that came with my KG-1000G when they first same out.  BuyTwoWay Radios made up for it and sent me a new one at no charge.  New mic corrected the problem immediately.

Nobody was. 😁

So, your CERT Net was going on and while it was going on when someone checked in you could occasionally hear someone else on the receive frequency.  In other words, when your receiver broke squelch because the repeater transmitted a tone, you could hear the folks in the background who were trying to talk on the simplex receive frequency, is that right?
Could anyone else on the CERT Net hear them, or were they local to you only?
Before you started the Net, did anyone listen with squelch off to hear if the channel was in use?
When you did hear them, did you transmit on 462.675 MHz and announce, politely, that the frequency was in use?
They could have been on GMRS or FRS.  Except during an emergency, they have as much right to be on the channel as your CERT Net.  We share the repeater receive frequencies with simplex users of both GMRS and FRS radios and while it would be ideal for each of us to listen with squelch turned off to hear if a frequency is in use before transmitting, there is no GMRS training that covers that.
It sounds like folks were just using their radios and it happened at the same time as the Net.  If they were using a different tone from you they might not have even heard you.
As far as it being “a violation”, no, it wasn’t, at least in my opinion.  No more than the Net operators were in violation for transmitting on a channel that was in use already by a couple of folks with their radios.
And since you liked seeing the actual regulation regarding emergency use, here’s the one that requires shared use:
§ 95.359 Sharing of channels.
Unless otherwise provided in the subparts governing the individual services, all channels designated for use in the Personal Radio Services are available for use on a shared basis, and are not assigned by the FCC for the exclusive use of any person or station. Operators of Personal Radio Service stations must cooperate in the selection and use of channels in order to avoid interference and make efficient use of these shared channels. 
   

If the simplex channel is trying to check into the net, why not go back to that person on simplex and give them the correct channel they should be using? They think they are on duplex and using the power allowed for a repeater channel.

I was biting my tongue trying not to say that. 🤫🤣

This world never ceases to amaze me. It seems like Alaska would be one of those places you would need a radio the most but no one will ship them there. 🤔
@WRYH211 USPS does ship lithium batteries, they just don't fly them. Ground only so they take longer.

I mounted a Midland MXTA26 to a Third Brake Light bracket i got on Ebay on my Ram..  Very clean install, no drilling and coax easily routes within the headliner through the back side of the third brake light. ..  The bracket mounts between the brake light and the roof chassis and looks like a factory install..  I was going to drill the 5/8" hole in the roof but i ran into this bracket a guy was selling, he never used..  I can easily hit repeaters 75-80 miles out,  The bracket i got was unpackaged and has no manufacture name tags, otherwise i would share that info..   But i'm sure you can find with a google search.  
Edited..  I found the info on the bracket..  It's made by Bullet Proof, here is a video...    These things are a bit pricey...  I got mine for $75, not sure if i would pay the $300 new price..  It is a high quality item....   
 

Yup, not gonna be the first means for someone but it’s great tech to have. I have been on emergency calls with folks that have disabilities; deaf/blind. For those that are deaf, we often grab a phone or notepad.

In a disaster, this gives someone who can’t hear another option if traditional comm paths are down. Cool stuff!

I have 6 NMO mounts on the roof of my F150 (crew cab). All are hooked up to APX mobile radios. I see no noticeable issues. Really will depend on power and quality of radio. Cheap radios and high power don't go well together. 

You will lose range. The antenna will also transmit more directionally. Be slightly more deaf and often have much higher swr, due to the weird shaped/smaller ground plane (compared to the roof).

If range is a concern. Then center of the roof with a high gain antenna, is the optimal answer, almost always.

The cab (windshield and a pillar) will partially shield the signal. Not to mention the 2-3 foot difference in height. The ground plane differences lead to 2db or greater loss compared to a center roof mount. Remember, to get 3db gain (roughly one signal bar) you have to double the power with everything else equal roughly speaking.

Comparably, although it is not as bad as you think. My hood mount antenna hears about 60-75 percent of what it did on center of the roof. Transmits about 75-80 of the center roof mount.

Hence why we always recommend grabbing the drill and mount a nmo. When you do no ground plane antennas, stealth antennas, mag mounts, sub optimal locations. You take a comprimse and add more comprimises. Really comes down to what you can live with.

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Would be good to know where on the vehicle the Nagoya is placed (i.e. roof, trunk, etc.). You want to have at least 6.3" of clear surface in all directions around the antenna (figure 12.5" diameter).  You also don't want it right up against the body or cab of the vehicle, as that will block both TX and RX signals.
Also, the Nagoya UT-72G antenna can be hit/miss.  I know four people that all got them from Amazon, and two have "workable" SWR's on the GMRS band, and two are basically paper weights because they are so bad.  The one that I got is at 1.8:1 on GMRS Simplex (462MHz), and almost 2.1:1 on GMRS Repeater inputs (467 MHz).  Both SWR values are "acceptable", but not exactly great in comparison to other mobile antennas.