SvenMarbles

Well before I got a GMRS license I was a radio hobbiest in a more general sense, and my sort of "workhorse" antenna for VHF and UHF is a Taurus D-1000 discone antenna which lives atop a 21ft mast from ground level. It's marketed as a "scanner antennas" but does state that it's capable of transmitting up to 200 watts as well. I've connected it to a NanoVNA analyzer, and sure enough it has some nice dips at VHF and UHF. About 1.3 at 467ish. Ive gone online to try to find any spec literature on this antenna but come up empty. So,.. since this is sort of a widebanded antenna with transmitting being secondary in importance marketing wise, should I assume that while you CAN transmit on this antenna, it's unity gain? Also, what's the radioation pattern/take off angle like? Am I just shooting a sphere with tons of RF going up to space?

What is a good and not very expensive power supply that can handle the amp draw of a 40-50 watt GMRS mobile to be used as a base station? Turns out the power supply that I have (4 amp, 7 peak) doesn’t even cut if for a 20 watt radio that I have. I'm shopping new radios and as long as I’m doing so I may opt for a 40-50 watt model. It seems that I need a new power supply as well regardless.. So what is a typical amp draw on a keyed up 40-50 watt radio?

So with that being said, what would be the advantage of a yagi with 7Dbi that is directional vs an omnidirectional vertical that is 7Dbi?

So I recently set up a yagi for GMRS that is rated for 7Dbi gain. Compared to a vertical omni directional that might have the same gain rating, am I correct in assuming that there is additional range benefit from the radiation pattern lobe being concentrated into a single direction? Dbi ratings being equal omni vs directional, the directional is concentrating the same power in the same way that you might put your thumb on a garden hose, correct? Or,.. is that rating done with the idea that the furthest point of the radiation lobe achieved a (non-symmetrically) distance representative of 7Dbi?

Most people don’t understand how wattage plays with exponential gain antennas. People will say things like “the difference between 5 and 10 watts doesn’t matter”. That’s true if you’re using an HT in HT form. But if you’re using a 6 db gain antenna on a mobile install for example, that 5 watts is 20 watts ERP. A 10 watt radio would be 40 watts ERP (not accounting for the trivial line loss in a short mobile installation run). If you run your HT in this fashion, in a car, or even wired to an outdoor antenna at home,.. Yes, you might care about the difference between the 5 watts or 8-10 your handheld makes. It DOES matter when you get compounding ERP gains every 3 decibels on a high gain antenna..

I was getting on here to report the same thing.. Ive tried doing the 462 receive and 467 tx, and same thing. It saves, but then when I check back both are at 462.. Ok,… so maybe you have to use offset shift settings or something to achieve the shift.. Tried that, and it ACTS like it works. Keys up and shifts up to 467, with tone set.. Repeater never opens.. Ive abandoned the app/bluetooth programming. Wiped the radio with reset, plugged it into Chirp (what I use for everything else anyway), and everything works perfectly. I’ve seen people on YT go through it and seem to act like everything works fine for them. I wonder if they’re ACTUALLY trying to program to completion and actually use the radio, and not just “demonstrate” how it’s supposed to work. Because it’s been my experience that it does not work,.. And I’m not new to radio programming stuff.. Another odd quirk. Has anyone been able to face-program the radio for repeater shift? My options menu gets to the shift and offset options but won’t allow anything to toggle..

Sometimes I buy radios on the DL without running it by the spousal unit.. I do the purchase in PayPal “pay in 4” so the charges don’t stand out as large on the statement and I’m a ninja about grabbing that package off the porch on my way in and having the item in my pocket by the time the back door opens . Is there a help group for me?

The Tidradio H8 has been demonstrated on YouTube as 10 watts on the meter…

Some models are capable of doing between 6-11 watts, never more than that though..