[Reception Question]

Finally got everything in and some good weather to get up on the roof.  Before I tore everything down I went ahead and tested the current setup.  Up at the antenna after running through the 10' coax from the radio to the arrester, then from there to the antenna via a 50' coax, my SWR was reading at about 1.46 and wattage indeed cut in half as Steve suggested it might.  Read at 25.23W.  After running the new M&P (a 9' and a 50') and the new Comet antenna, SWR is about 1.44 and the wattage was 33.0W.  Definitely able to hit the repeater I'm trying to get to.  Able to hear folks responding to my callout--albeit with static.  But I could hear it.  I think at this point geography is the limiting factor but I can live with that.

Original antenna & coax...

 

 

New antenna and coax...

 

Antenna mount...

[Reception Question]

So after a bit of a rabbit hole on the LMR400 vs M&P, I landed on the M&P Airborne 10.  Between that & the Comet, I think I'm on the right path.  All good stuff.  Appreciate everyone's feedback.  I'll report back in a couple weeks once it's all in place.  Thanks all.

[Reception Question]

5 minutes ago, Sshannon said:

There are lots of different types of LMR cables and RG cables. Generally speaking larger diameter cables have less attenuation. Times Microwave makes the genuine LMR cables and for distances like yours LMR-400 is typically considered the minimum.

There are several companies that manufacture cables that are very similar in quality to LMR-400 as well. Messi &Paloni is one I like.

You probably want to steer clear of the knockoff brands from China, such as the KMR400.  I haven’t tried it myself so I can’t definitively say it’s bad, but I also haven’t heard anyone brag about it.

RG213 is good cable for the right application (lower frequencies and/or shorter distances). If you only had to go 20 feet the difference would not matter as much. But hang onto it. You always need a few jumpers. 

Good feedback.  I was just starting to look into the differences between LMR & KMR.  I kinda miss the old RadioShack days where you could just walk in and talk to the local retired Navy guy and he'd give you all the answers.  I'm noticing a lot of LMR400 generally come with Type N connectors.  The Comet CA-712EFC is also an N-Type; however, the radio is a UHF/PL259.  What's the mindset here?  Is it appropriate to use an adapter at one end?  I generally thought you could lose ~3db with each adapter you put in-line.  Or is it more appropriate to get the raw cable and put the correct connectors on each yourself with appropriate crimping/soldering?

[Reception Question]

54 minutes ago, WRWE456 said:

Out of curiosity what distance did the map indicate? Is the repeater on the left side of the graph? The higher one? You do have some terrain in between. The line will turn green when the path is in the clear. It may still work somewhat but that is likely part or most of the problem.

And yes better cable is very important as well.

 

Repeater on right side in the graph. I’m on the left.  30mile distance.

Appreciate everyone’s feedback.  I’m good with replacing the cable. I’m still pretty new to this. For some reason I had it in my head 213 was better for GMRS than LRM when under 100’. And the antenna I had gotten as a gift before I knew to even ask. 
y’all gave me some good things to dig into. Much appreciated. I’ll get to work.

thanks.

[Reception Question]

1 hour ago, WRWE456 said:

Hello and welcome!

What is the terrain like between your antenna and the repeater? GMRS is UHF and is mostly line of sight. It can penetrate some amount of vegetation and homes etc but not hills or mountains.

Use this Line of Sight mapping tool to check your path:   https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/

In the pop up graph you can input the height of the antennas for more accuracy.

Start there.

What a fantastic website!  Mostly trees/woods/typical rural houses.  Elevation may be at issue  I'll also check Steve's suggestion on measuring at the roof/antenna end of the coax as well.

 

[Reception Question]

Greetings all.  I'm still pretty new to this so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  I seem to be having issues with reception.  At-least, I think I am.  I've got a UAYESOK Fiberglass GMRS Base Antenna (https://www.amazon.com/UAYESOK-Fiberglass-Antenna-Repeater-Motorola/dp/B0CF9DV3ZM), about 30' up off the ground (a good 10' above the house ridge line).  It's going into a Wouxun KG-1000G-Plus from a 50' RG213 coax, into an arrester (that's ground out to an 8' grounding rod buried at point of entry to the house), followed by a 10' RG213 coax entering the house, down into the radio.  SWR shows around 1.0 at full 50watts.  (Maybe fluxuate a littlle every once in a while but never over 1.5:1).

Nearest I can tell, this is about as optimal as I can make it.

I can hear NOAA, local Air Traffic Control, local HAM (2m/70cm repeaters) all with this antenna (and it's only a UHF tuned for GMRS).  I have been trying to make contact with folks on a repeater (WMTG600) that's a fair distance away (about 30 miles give or take).  I know my transmits are getting through as I can almost make out folks coming back if I turn off the squelch and just monitor closely.  But I'd have expected to be able to hear much better than this.  

Any thoughts or suggestions on improving reception?  Or, is it just "quite" out there with this repeater and those trying to respond back are really just that far away?

Appreciate the feedback.

[Welcome!]

Greetings all--  New to the community & GMRS in general.  Still learning my way around with GMRS but getting there.  Recently put up a vertical antenna above the house tuned for GMRS.  Have it running into a small 5watt handheld for now but intend on putting in a 50W base station soon.  Made my first contact on a repeater I found on this site (WMTG 600  @WRVE804  once I figured out how to program the tone.  Was actually surprised he could here me given I was a solid 30 miles away through hills & woods and all I had was this little handheld (albeit with a decent antenna).

Do I have it right that GMRS/repeater parlance doesn't use Q-Code system?  Just normal human dialogue?

Anyway, thanks all for the information on this site-- has been very helpful getting me this far.