WSEM262

This one has me stumped... Im using a Standard Horizon, out of the box marine radio with a Shakespeare antenna on my boat. This was a textbook installation with no issues whatsoever. I checked SWR and it is 3.3 on high power, but is near perfect 1.1 at low power. My only thought is maybe because I am inside a garage ? The garage is all wood structure with almost zero metal to reflect signal... and none of my other antennas show high SWR when tested inside. Could this just be a poorly tuned antenna ? It's made specifically for the marine frequencies. It's not the radio either... as I tried it on my ham unit and got the exact same SWR. I dont have a pic of the antenna. Will have to update later.

I was recently on amazon looking at wireless home intercom systems. After finding one that looked viable... I was curious what frequencies it used. Lo and behold... it ran on GMRS frequencies... and was obviously chinese-made. That pi$$ed me off enough to not buy it.

Sorry to dredge up an old thread... but this LMR stuff interests me somewhat. My main question is... does the FCC require "proof of business" ? or can this stuff be used for base/mobile private communication ? Reason I ask is... 10 years ago when getting my FFL, the BATF came out to confirm I had a brick and mortar store and had all the proper business licensing, permits/etc... Just wondered if I actually needed to have an actual "business" in order to acquire LMR frequencies...

I put a small Midland in my wifes 4runner and holy mother of god it was such a pain to program. I put exactly ONE repeater frequency in it (our home repeater) and walked away mad as a wet hen. Im already looking at tossing it in the garbage and replacing it with a DB20G if I can cram it in the same small pocket where the Midland comes out of.

Long term... the jury is still out, but sofar it's been working great.

Just a cheapie off ebay. They are normally $115 and I found mine used for $70.

I did spend (less than) $170 on the GMRS radio and amp combo that you originally suggested should have been a single 50w radio. The other radio is a ham unit and wasn't a part of the conversation. You are obviously an abrasive, insecure prick and Ive seen you trolling others here. Are you that miserable of a person that it makes you feel better to criticize others ? Pathetic... and congrats on being the first jackwad to be on my ignore list.

A 50 watt radio wont have the small footprint I needed to fit two radios in my truck... and would still have cost more than the $89 radio + $85 amp I am using.

I tend to agree with this. I bought one without doing any research at all... and was pretty surprised how well it does. It is easily "jail-broken" and works well with a remote RF amplifier to push the max legal wattage into the antenna. 5 watts out of the DB20G = 50 watts out of the amp... which helps keep the radio cool by running at low power. The amp has a fan and heatsink on it. Ive gotten great signal reports and have heard others on the same radio. They sound fantastic.

Im limited by the garage she parks in and the roof rack of her 4runner is literally just a few inches from hitting the door when she pulls in. Thats the only reason I put her antenna on the hood. There really is no other place to go with it. Im not even thrilled with only 15 watts from the Midland... but she insisted whatever radio goes in her vehicle had to be small and discreet. I think I can get the DB20G into the same pocket the Midland is in... so thats the direction Im headed. I just need a suitable antenna for it since I want to have access to the other frequencies to match my truck.

The hood-mounted Midland antenna already drags on the garage door... so ideally something same or shorter is what im after.

I've gotten my truck all situated with a Comet 2x4SRNMO mounted on my roof and Yaesu FTM200D that covers 2 meter, MURS, 70cm and GMRS. Im quite happy with this setup and would like similar (added) capability in my wifes 4runner. Currently in her 4runner I have a Midland MXT115, and MXTA26 antenna on a hood-lip mount. It works great but only covers GMRS. Id like to swap out her Midland radio for my unlocked DB20G and use a short-enough antenna to fit in the garage... yet cover all the same frequencies as my truck radio. She parks in the house garage which only has a 7ft tall door, so antenna options are limited... as the top of her (lifted) 4runner barely gets under the garage door. Nothing can go on the roof at all, so I am limited to the NMO hood mount. Any suggestions ? Im not up to speed on these shorter antennas... I am super happy with the Comet on my truck and wish I could fit one of those on hers too.

Stopped by today. Ill do some research and make some calls Monday AM.

Looks like its the Comet 2x4 for the win. I found some flat 24"x24" aluminum and mounted that under the truck cap as a ground plane. The Yaesu FTM200D runs all my frequencies from 146.520 up to 467.725. Best SWR is 1.12 at 146mhz. Worst SWR is 1.83 at 467mhz. This enabled me to remove the DB20G and MXT26 antenna. Signal clarity is absolutely amazing now. I suppose putting it further from the engine and adding the ground plane really sharpened things up. Never heard it sound so good before.

Not all in use so im good on 462.600

The 462.600 freqency is one that hasnt saturated the area. Im hoping to be the one doing the saturating.

Yes to both.

I had it previously on the roof in place of the GMRS antenna but without a ground plane, the SWR's were getting to an uncomfortable level... so I put it back on the hood and connected the Yaesu to it.

Here in North GA we are pretty saturated by networked/linked repeaters... so I'd like to put my own stand-alone repeater on a tower if possible. I have a repeater ready to go and it's operating as a "backyard repeater" currently. Im using a Comet GP6NC on a 30ft mast off the back of my garage. It's listed online as "Lanierland 600". Antenna is approx 1350ft above sea level. (picture is/was my previous GP9N) I have pretty good range, but there is much higher elevation (approx 200ft) to the South of me which blocks my signal completely. The entire area is pretty hilly. Three options are: 1) Solicit the local golf course (Countryland GC) that occupies much of that high ground to the South... and ask to install a mast/antenna/repeater on the roof of their clubhouse/facility. 2) Track down who owns a tower (Forsyth County I believe) nearby that is on the highest ground in the area. Given that this tower is probably owned by local govt, I dont expect a favorable response. 3) Buy/build my own 50ft tower to replace my 30ft mast. Not sure if the add'l 20ft is worth the $2k it will cost me to do this. Ideas/thoughts ???

OK... I currently have both ham and GMRS licenses... so that 'kinda forces me into using two radios. I have a Mars modded Yaesu FTM200D and a Radioddity DB20G mounted in my 2020 Tundra. The Yaesu is connected to a Comet 2x4SRNMO mounted on the hood lip at the cowl. The DB20G is connected to a Midland MXT26 mounted on the roof rack above my fiberglass topper/truck cap. I understand this is far from ideal... as Im not providing a ground plane at all. In both instances, the SWR's are acceptable (under 2:1) but far from where I'd like to see them. I feel there is much room for improvement in both radio systems. I'd love to just use the Yaesu for everything... but the wide range of frequencies make it super difficult to find an antenna that performs at 2 meter / MURS / 70cm and GMRS frequencies... so Im fine with two radios/antennas. Now for the million dollar question. What are the two best antennas I can buy and where/how is the best place to mount them ? I have decided I am OK with drilling holes in my roof if needed, but that will involve dropping the headliner and pulling half my interior apart. My other concern is overhead clearance... as my truck sits pretty high and it sometimes goes up in the air on my lift, leaving little room for antennas on the roof. Lets hear some ideas... I will followup with my decision and the end result once its all upgraded.

Im curious why the existing GMRS frequencies cant be used as digital instead of analog? Would it create interference with the analog signal? My repeater will do both... and it sure would be cool if it were legal to go digital.

Hmmm... now im thinking again. I currently have my 50w repeater connected via 35ft of LMR600 to a GP6NC on a 30ft mast at 1350ft asl and surrounded by hilly terrain. I wonder if the GP9NC would be better or worse than the GP6NC in this area ???

Understood. I edited my post and will shut up now.

Understood.

So if we are to split hairs... "transmitter output power" could be set to 10 watts and an inline amplifier could be putting out 100 Watts ? The amplifier is not technically a "transmitter". As that is written and possibly interpreted... the transmitter output falls squarely within the FCC rules @ 10 watts. Anything beyond the transmitter doesnt appear to be addressed by these rules.