WSAM454

The length of cable needed to get from the tow vehicle to a good spot on the trailer will probably introduce more loss than just using the antenna on the tow vehicle, with the (almost standard) 13' RG58 type coax that comes with most mag mounts.

Not sure about your station plans. If you "... pop a hole to the outside of my house for a base station antenna to be mounted at the roof but I need to locate a good mounting point, penetration point, and pathway to my base station setup.' then how does the joists in the basement come into play? An antenna that close to obstructions can present a higher SWR than the radio might like. Up vertically, in the clear, would be the best bet, other wise there can be many compromises. Using brackets to the side of the house should get you in the clear; I would prefer that to actually mounting it to the roof. (on a tripod or rooftop tower.) TV antennas have/had been mounted on brackets that way for years.

If you are looking for a way to use a "travel tone" on your radio when YOU travel, so you have access to the local repeaters, then I would suggest that you set up additional (new ) channels on your radio, with the same channel numbers that you use at home, but program these with the "travel tone" and use those when traveling. You can name the new channels as T-20R, T-2R1 etc. Whatever will help you differentiate them from your 'home' channels.

Are you sure the jumper cable to the meter isgood? Can you use a double female SO-239 in place of the meter to see if things return to normal. If they do, then something is wrong with the meter. If not, then possibly a bad jumper cable.

I agree. Actually, I put a 15 second time delay relay (rated at 30 Amps) on the power lead to my radio, so it will not get power until 15 seconds after the vehicle is started. The relay turns off power when the ignition it turned off, so this idea will work even with a radio that does not have an 'automatic shutoff' feature, and can save the battery. Just need to find a switched 12V line that is only active when the ignition is "on."

Any chance you have the wrong CTCSS tone set on one of the radios, or its power level is set to Low? Also, an inexpensive SWR meter should be available to see if the radio is really transmitting. It may be, but with VERY low output, so you may hear it in a nearby radio, but it is not developing the power it should. SWR meter and VOM are pretty much "standard equipment" for simple troubleshooting.

Looks like it the same radio as the Anytone 868, which I have found to be reliable.

As TerriKennedy said in an earlier post, "Remember, if both radios are set up to properly use the repeater, that channel (or however you set it up) will not work for direct HT-to-HT communication without the repeater - both radios are transmitting on one frequency and receiving on a different frequency, so they won't hear each other without the translation done by the repeater. Many radios have a mode where they can flip their Tx/Rx settings so you can talk radio-to-radio without the repeater, but let's get the basics sorted out first."

If by 'channel' you mean using the same frequency, then I think you have it.

There can be more than one repeater on the same frequency. If they are near each other, with overlapping coverage areas, then they will usually each use different CTCSS tones to access them. If this is the case, then you would program your radio with the same frequencies on 2 different channels, but have your transmit set to use the correct tone frequency for each. If they do not use a tone on the output of the repeater, then, as mentioned in the above post, you will hear all traffic on either one. If they do use a tone on their output, then you would program than into your receive tone setting for each channel. That way you will only hear the traffic through the repeater on the channel you select.

Thick door rubber striping would be good. You would not be able to completely close a window on the cable without damaging it. Some owners use window deflectors like this: https://huskyliners.com/c/exterior-accessories/vent-visors/?srsltid=AfmBOoqNIPV7B5LNpdnK1Nh6o4QrKHh7Dj8KkBcLiucq96wTuvt_dDHZ Not recommending that particular one, but something like that would allow you to keep the window open a bit and pass the cable through it more safely. Not sure if your vehicle would lend itself to this, or if you even care for the look, but just another suggestion.

The repeater output is 5 watts; about the same as your handhelds, but you will be using it with a higher and somewhat better antenna, so direct communication with others at home should not be a problem, but you most probably will have limited range when mobile, since the repeater output is relatively low and the antenna is only about 2' long. Getting GMRS radios, as OffroaderX suggested will make things a LOT easier for you and your friends to program than 'converting' Ham versions of the radio. (Getting GMRS licenses is also suggested)

It is NOT deformed; the lower area makes it easier to hold the solder against the connector and cable. Not all are made that way, it is not supposed to be straight across at the end. You can touch a soldering iron to it for a few seconds to get the solder to flow a bit better if that will give you peace of mind, but really not necessary.

Most of the antennas mentioned are mobile; the OP specifically asked about tower/roof mount antennas. Most of those for the ham bands will have a higher SWR on the GMRS band. Just how high, and whether your radio will still operate safely is not certain. The only antenna I am aware of that is designed for use on all 3 bands is a mobile one, the Comet CA-2x4SR. My GP-3 has an SWR about 4:1 on the repeater freqs, with reduced power output. You would have to decide if that is OK.

No, if the repeater does not use the CTCSS tone on it's output you will not hear anything! (Not all repeaters use a tone on their output.) As OffroaderX said, you only need to set your transmit for the tone.