thisguyneedsabeer

Yeah that'll be my next step, going to try a temporary mount using an old projector tripod and if I get better results, I will affix the antenna to the roof permanently with some PVC piping. I looked at the Midland antenna, but I need something that will cover 450-470 as I have some other frequencies in that realm licensed and I'd like to only have to maintain one base station instead of two. So I think the Laird antenna would do better and might be more suited for my vehicle than as an indoor antenna. For some reason the the thought of testing outside hadn't really crossed my mind and I feel rather foolish. I probably can sometime this week. Good call!

The book antenna's location on the book case was high and in a corner close to the ceiling. If I move it toward a window, the SWR stayed the says the same. I lowered the Antenna to be right on my desk, and the SWR was 4.2. If I touch the base, while keying up, the SWR drops to about 1.99. Edit: Not sure if it's important, but I do have a mini-UHF to SO239 adapter on the back of my XTL2500 to attach the antenna. I could not find an antenna I "liked" with a mini UHF connector.

Yes, VHF/UHF. Mcbazel Surecom SW-102 Digital VHF/UHF 125-525Mhz Antenna Power & SWR Meter (https://a.co/d/00tIGLvZ)

I recently picked up this "Bingfu Mobile Ham Radio Antenna Dual Band VHF UHF 136-174MHz 400-520MHz Amateur Radio Antenna Magnetic Base PL259 Male Antenna for BTECH ICOM Kenwood Midland Yaesu TYT AnyTone Mobile Ham Radio" (https://a.co/d/027MJKKi). I have it on top of a book case next to my XTL2500 base station. I haven't been experiencing any reception problems, but as I am learning more and more about this hobby I decided to check my SWR with the popular Surecom SWR meter that everyone seems to use. I was getting about 5.5. I think that's about 45% loss? When I used the "cookie sheet" method as a ground plane, it shot up to 8.5%. Is this the wrong type of antenna for this application? I wanted something indoor, but am starting to think I might need to do a Yagi on the roof and feed the coax into my office. If that's the next best step, I was thinking about this setup: TWAYRDIO Yagi Antenna UHF 400-470Mhz,High Gain Outdoor GMRS Vertical Base Antenna,7dBi Receiver Directional Yagi for Ham Radio,Repeater System,433mhz Device,Fm Scanner https://a.co/d/0iisQNOC UHF CB Coax Cable, 100ft KMR400 PL259 Male to Male Coaxial Cable Low Loss UHF Cable CB Coax Cable for HAM Radio, VHF Radio, SWR Meter, Antenna Analyzer https://a.co/d/06XiBrKX I'm not opposed to spending more money where necessary, but I am trying to keep costs down. I'm trying to make a targeted communication to a buddy ~3 miles away through the city of Philadelphia. Appreciate any feedback you might have. Thanks!