WRYZ926

I occasionally will tune my HF rig to the CB channels to just listen. I hear guys from Puerto Rico blazing on channel 9 and I heard one guy broadcasting political stuff on channel 19 non stop lately. I hear plenty of people using AM, USB and LSB but not much heard on FM here in mid Missouri. I could buy a CB or just open up on of my HF rigs if I really wanted to talk on CB.

All I can say is that is everyone's individual right to vote or not to vote. I have been stationed all over the world and there is still no where else I would want to live. I gave a good many years of my life defending the rights we hold dear. I only want to see everyone exercise those rights.

I know laying the antenna flat on top of the roof is different from laying it flat in a back seat. But I know the 2x4SR does not work well when laid flat inside a vehicle. I have to agree that your propagation pattern will most likely be straight up in the air when laid flat.

I know a few guys that are using the Commountian Kenwood/Baofeng compatible mic and they are happy with them. I know they sound way better than the Baofeng hand mics.

Yes I have a GPS and SiriusXM antenna AKA shark fin. The newer Escapes actually have the Am and FM antennas built into the rear hatch glass so the only antenna on top is the GPS/SiriusXM. But I am also running two mag mounted antennas. I have the luck of the Irish (usually bad) so won't push my luck. I don't want to mess anything up or introduce any RFI/RMI issues. New vehicles are finicky as is with all of the onboard computers. I'll just stick with the two magnet mounts for now since I have everything setup and working the way I want.

I have had my 2023 Ford Escape for a year now and still can't bring myself to drill the roof for NMO mounts. Part of that is due to all of the airbags under the headliner.

The Wouxun KG-1000G Plus is an excellent radio. Yes they are more expensive but close to the same price as the Midland MXT500 and MXT575. The Wouxun KG-1000G is a better radio. Another option for aluminum body panels is the Midland MXTA38 adhesive backed metal disk. I use on an aluminum tool box to hold a Comet 2x4SR antenna on my SxS. I cleaned the toolbox really well and applied the MXTA38 disk. I set a 25 pound weight on the disk for a couple of days to ensure the disk staid put. Of course the tool box is diamond plate. You probably won't have to use a weight with a perfectly lat and smooth surface.

I doubt that every single antenna is fully tested during production. So a few that needs tuned are going to slip out. Most companies are only going to test a small portion of products of any given production run. Otherwise the overhead cost of Quality control would be higher which leads to higher consumer cost.

I'm use to working on and with military generators. Those all ran at 3600 rpms to produce either 240/120 single phase or 208/120 three phase at 60 Hz. Granted I got out of the Army in 1996 and things change over time. I personally would not want to use a hand crank or bicycle generator to try and charge a larger capacity battery. But that is just me. I am with @marcspaz in that I would be looking at a solar charge setup. LIPO4 batteries are pretty light now days. I bought a 100 AH LIPO4 battery to replace the lead acid trolling motor battery and the weight difference was pretty significant. The deep cycle battery weighs around 60 pounds and the same size LIPO4 battery is around 23 pounds. Even the 10 AH LIPO4 batteries are quite a bit lighter than the standard lead acid batteries of the same size.

Like I said, I had to trim my Nagoya UT-72G also. It was long from the factory and had SWR 2.2 on 467 MHz and 1.8 on 462 MHz. Yes that is doable but why waste power output if you can tune the antenna better.

The Tram 1174 is sold as a GMRS antenna according to Buy Two Way Radios https://www.buytwowayradios.com/tram-1174.html?___SID=U The Antenna Farm has the Tram 1174 listed under GMRS mobile antennas too. https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-manufacturers/manufacturer/tram/191-antennas/192-mobile-antennas/gmrs-antennas-mobile-base I even had to adjust my Nagoya UT-72G mobile antenna. There are tolerances in manufacturing so sometimes an antenna will need to be tuned even if it is just a little bit.

Some antennas do need tuned while others come pre tuned. Even some pre tuned antennas still need adjusted a little. The Tram 1174 is an example of an antenna that does need tuned. Mine was actually tuned for the around 450 out of the box. I had to shorten it to get good SWR reading for GMRS.

While this is very true, I personally find it much easier to just use an antenna analyzer. All I can say is go with what method is easiest for you.

You're welcome.

You can use a SWR meter, but it won't tell you if the antenna is too long or too short. Best is to use a NanoVNA or an actual antenna analyzer. Maybe someone local will have an analyzer that you can borrow.

Glad to hear the clamp on ferrites helped you. And yes a 5/8 wave antenna will be better. Even a bottom loaded 5/8 antenna will work fine. The Tram 1174 is a bottom loaded antenna that is about 14-15 inches tall and works quite well for me. You want to get the SWR at 2 or better. I had to trim my Tram 1174 and ended up getting SWR of 1.2 at 462.600 and 1.4 at 467.600.

As Steve stated, a GMRS repeater is no different than setting up a 70cm repeater. He also gave a good list of what is needed. And if any of the amateur guys have any repeater experience, then setting up a GMRS repeater will be fairly easy.

I forgot to ask. Where do you have the antenna mounted? Is it in the center of the roof or on the side?

Well that depends on the amount of RFI/EMI you are getting. Most of the time you can get away with two per cable. I like to put one on each end of the cable. I don't know if that would be possible with your NMO mount. HF frequencies are a different animal and more ferrite beads will help. 5 to 7 clamp on ferrite beads seems to work the best for HF. Normally 2 works fine for VHF and UHF. Again one on each end of the coax when possible. When it comes to power cables, it is best if you can use a large enough ferrite bead to get at least three wraps of the power wires in them. If you don't have the room, then don't sweat it. Again put a ferrite bead on each end. I also did the same with the cable from the alternator to the battery - one on each end. I do suggest wrapping the clamp on ferrite beads with electrical tape or even zip ties to reduce the risk of them falling off. From the sounds of things, I wonder if you have a bad NMO mount or bad coax cable since everything else is the same as before. Look for any cold solder joints at all the connections. Cold solder joints are usually dull looking. A good solder joint will look shiny when new. I suggest going with a 1/2 or 5/8 wave antenna. Even a bottom loaded 5/8 wave like the Tram 1174 will be better than a 1/4 wave antenna. And if you can run a 35" long antenna, then the Midland MXTA26 is a good choice.

I get mine from Amazon and they work just fine. 60 Pieces Clip-on Ferrite Ring Core RFI EMI Noise Suppressor Cable Clip I like that it comes with quite a few different sizes. I use the smaller ones in my shack for computer cables to help with noise since I run my VHF/UHF, GMRS, and a HF radio in my office/shack. They are a. must if one runs any type of digital modes on HF. Are you using the exact same antenna with both mounts? Do you have another antenna to try? That would eliminate the antenna or the NMO mount as a problem. If antenna height is a concern, you can try something like the Tram 1174 which is a 5/8 wave antenna and is still only about 16" tall. It will need to be cut/tuned though. While those 1/4 wave stealth antennas do work, a 1/2 wave or 5/8 wave will work better.

@WRTZ361, I have a few questions for you Did you have the noise issue when using the magnetic mount? How is the radio power leads connected? Having the excess coax coiled normally won't cause any issues/interference. From your first post, it sounds like you are getting interference from the vehicle electric system. Some clamp on ferret beads on the cable connecting the alternator to the battery will help as will making sure the alternator is properly grounded. Also use some copal on ferrite beads on the power connection of the radio. You can also put 1 or 2 clamp on ferrite beads on the coax where it attaches to the radio to see if that helps. I have no experience with the Melowave antennas but you are using a good NMO mount and radio. The reason I mentioned putting clamp on ferrite beads on the cables/wires, is that it can and will help eliminate RFI and EMI issues. I was occasionally getting some noise when I would transmit while my 2023 Ford Escape was running. This was with my Wouxun KG-1000G and TYT TH-7800 radios. I'm using Midland NMO mag mounts. adding ferrite beads to the cables helped. I still get occasional noise but it is way less than before.

I highly suggest you read the PDF that @SteveShannon posted a link to. @WRZR953 I have a ground rod right below where my coax cables enter the house and another ground rod at the base of my antenna mast. Both are tied into/bonded to my service ground which is in the middle of both locations. Follow the actual NEC codes for proper station grounding.

Stress relief is one reason. Another reason for having a loop at the antenna is so you have some slack if ever have to work on the antenna. I have one loop at the antenna end on all of my VHF/UHF and GMRS antennas for slack and stress relief. The single loop has not effected the SWR at all.

Another reason to have a loop at the antenna end is so that you have some slack in the coax in case you ever have to work on the antenna. I generally try to leave one wrap right at the antenna for this very reason. One or two wraps in a coil will not work very well for a common mode choke. It takes a certain number of wraps and they need to be a certain size to make an effective choke.

I have not seen that happen but I have seen a buck get tangled up in guy ropes and take an antenna mast down.