CudjoeCane

I own a Comet 712EFC. It is also the antenna our clubs (joint effort) used on three repeaters in the lower Florida Keys. I also own a pair of Retevis MA 09s. I've donated one for use on a fourth Florida Keys repeater. Both of the ones I personally used worked well right out of the box. Each gave me a flat SWR across GMRS when first put together and tested on a tripod mast with RG-8X, RG-213 and LMR 400. Both reacted to changes in coax type, length, connectors, mounting locations, etc. Not surprisingly, the 712EFC is the better performer, but either can work well for you.

Since my September 8, 2023 post above we've grown from 1 repeater in the Florida Keys to 5. And all of the gear for number 6 has been purchased. Comet 712EFCs have remained our antenna of choice here in the Keys. We have one up the Key West (mile marker 0), Cudjoe Key (mile marker 23) and Marathon (mile marker 50) locations. We have a J-pole up at mile marker 68, but we're sticking with the Comet 712EFCs for our repeaters in Tavernier and then further north in Key Largo. The "Grand Pooba" antennas of our repeater network are a couple of CommScopes up in Miami. Those cost 10 times as much new. We are regularly hitting Miami on RF from both the Marathon and Cudjoe Key QTHs. Occasionally, Key West will also hit them. SWRs are well within acceptable ranges on all of the Comet 712s. Bottom line: the Comet 712EFC are lightweight, easy to set up, easy to take down and good talkers that deliver bang for the buck.

This list used to come with a little manual enclosed with just about every CB radio sold between 1975 and 2000 or so.

Well said.

RG8X is pretty lossy at GMRS frequencies. I'm using RG213 for GMRS patch cables.

My wife just bought me one for Christmas. I'm happy with the unit. I've programmed plenty of channels into it, but wound up using it more as a base. It is not even two months old, but it has not disappointed.

Back to the original topic. Our GMRS club here in the Florida Keys has purchased three Comet CA-712EFCs for southernmost repeater sites. The first one went up in Marathon and has performed reasonably well. I also have one at my base, where I am able to hit a Miami repeater 75 miles away fairly often - though definitely not 100% of the time.

Our radio club installed a repeater in Marathon, Florida in the Keys. We considered a whole laundry list of antennas in our search for a high performing antenna that would be easy to maintain and simple to take down when a hurricane approaches. The Comet CA-712EFC fit the bill and got the nod. We're happy enough with it that we've purchase two more for the next two repeaters we'll put on-line. I went ahead and purchased one for my home QTH, where the Comet far outperforms my old Laird CRX 450 and the 11 dbi gain Yagi I previously used.

Well, my CB gear, whether it is AM, SSB or FM isn't going anywhere. I find CB is still better for roadtrips. Locally (SE Florida) , however, GMRS has really taken off. So I've got both a CB and a GMRS radio at home, in the cars and in the boat.