BoxCar

The RG-8X cable cuts the power being fed to your antenna by half for the 50-foot length in use. The gain of the antenna makes up for the losses in the cable so the result is you are even power wise. From the info you have provided though, it appears you don't have any test equipment. The best place to start will be with a SWR/Power meter for UHF measurements. I would add to that a dummy load handling 50W at a minimum. The dummy load will provide a known value so you can see how well the SWR/Power meter is calibrated. Both items are available from radio shops selling radios and Amazon. While not a recommendation, many people use UHF meters from Surecom that provide the transmit frequency, power being sent, the amount of power reflected back because of impedance mismatch and the percent of power being fed to the antenna. These will tell you how well your antenna and/or radio is performing.

A Yagi is probably your best chance for reliable communications but the one taco6513 is suggesting is 6 feet long. The Browning BR-6356B is 42" and $80 less with close to the same gain.

You may try slitting the weatherstripping and then sealing the slit with some Gorilla Glue or silicone glue.

I would guess the mounting location is the problem. The 32 inch antenna places it above where it is shielded by the vehichle.

Antennas often use the shielding of the coax as part of their ground or counter-poise. It's possible you trimmed too much and affected the loading of the antenna. Assuming it's not a bad connector, an antenna analyzer (vector network analyzer) would answer the question. VNAs can be found on Amazon. I recommend one with the large screen for better clarity.

For the most part, coiling cable has no affect. There are exceptions in that a tightly coiled cable can act as a chock or a balun and change the impedance to the antenna. But then we are talking TIGHT coils less than 3 inches in diameter. Loose coils, about a foot or so are not a problem and they can even be squished down so the coil is more oval or even egg shaped with no issues. Kinks are a different matter altogether as they affect the impedance of the cable at the point of compression. For an SWR meter, there are a great many choices, with the Surecomm units being fairly decent. Dummy loads are rated in watts as to the amount of power they will handle and are also available from many sources. I have an MFJ unit that will handle up to 300W for about 6 seconds and pretty much laugh off 50 w from the typical mobile. The dummy load takes the place of the antenna so the SWR/power meter goes between the transmitter and the load to measure power. Connect an antenna in place of the dummy load and you can read the amount of power reflected back from an antenna to your radio. The lower amount of reflected power the better.

To my knowledge the FCC has never tracked if a licensee continues to use a frequency after their authorization expired. It's usually brought to their attention by someone who wants the frequency, or the operator is causing interference to other licensed users. In the case of the mall, you are a licensed user so report the mall as causing harmful interference to your use of the frequency. The FCC will start with one or two actions, either by sending an agent or by letter. In either case once the ball starts rolling it won't stop. Do your part and file a complaint. Granted it won't be a high priority for the Commission but they will take action especially if you can get other GMRS users in your area to also file.

Should be more than a 1/4 wave or a multiple if less than70 CM (about 2 feet)

The FCC has a program for towers etc. TOWAIR on their website;

It's because they think theirs is more round than yours. It's the NIH syndrome -Not Invented Here.

The FCC has rules regarding antennas and their structure. If an antenna is not more than 20 feet above its supporting structure (chimney, tree water tower etc.) it's under the 6.2 meter rule. Antennas mounted to structures more than 20 feet in height should be registered. Antennas that are more than 200 feet above ground level (and that' the entire antenna to the tip) have to meet FAA requirements for lighting . As MacJack also stated, if you are within 5 miles of an airport there are additional rules that have to be followed.

There is no circulation so the heat can't exhaust. Heat is one of the largest enemies of radio performance and longevity.

There is little difference in performance between the Laird phantom and their 1/4 wave wire stub. Actually, the wire stub is less noticeable than a black or white phantom on say a red car.

Gain in a low profile antenna doesn't buy much as the key to any communications in the UHF range is antenna height. I have a Laird 1/4 wave wire stub at unity gain and it is virtually the same as what you are proposing. The key to understanding gain figures for antennas is to know what the gain figure represents. If it's in dBi. subtract 2.15 from the number to get it's true gain in dBd which is the amount of gain you get on a real antenna. So an antenna with a 2.5 dBi gain has .35 dBd more output than a 1/4 wave stub.

If you asked me I'd say it's a little late to be asking others how his antenna would perform if you have already bought it and will be installing it as soon as you can. It'sa question you should have asked before committing.

Split tones means there are different tones used for transmit and receive. It is one method of keeping the use of a repeater down as some radios are not capable of transmitting one tone to trigger the repeater receiver and another tone to unlock your receiver.

The rules regarding GSMR are clear regarding who can hold a license. Organizations are not eligible - period. That doesn't prevent the organization from buying the radios and passing them out, BUT each user must be individually licensed. The organization can buy, install and run a repeater but they cannot hold a license. The repeater can be set up as a community resource for any user licensed for GMRS. The repeater cannot be used on FRS frequencies as they are not permitted for FRS use.

I was with the Anchorage Fire Dept when the quake of '64 (second strongest earthquake ever recorded) happened. I was at the intersection of Spenard Rd. and Fireweed watching the land roll in actual waves going south along Spenard Rd. The first thing I did was try to go down Romig Hill but the culvert that carried the creek was crushed and the road blocked by the mounded dirt and pavement. I headed east on Fireweed and made it into Airport Heights and from there onto the roads home in Mt. View. After determining our house was still standing and everyone was safe I went to my assigned station, Station #3 where we started doing search and rescue. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries but lots of closed roads and damaged buildings. As our area was the East side we didn't know about the damage along 4th Ave or the Turnigan subdivision. I will say if it wasn't for the hams and their HF equipment letting people get news and information out of, and into the primary damage zones things could have been a lot worse. The ham operators were a real lifeline collecting reports from areas having no available access and providing critical information about the Tsunami that destroyed Valdez and hit both Seward and Whittier. The hams did yeoman duty in keeping information flowing so emergency responders and relief workers were sent where they were needed. Your little repeater in Eagle River could play an important role should something like that happen again. I would think about it being able to keep people together more than closing it off for just your little group.

I'm just getting started and went with ICOM over Yeasu. That means D-STAR. The deciding factor for me was talking to other hams in my area and some I know from my previous life and the overwhelming recommendation was for ICOM equipment.

Although 5 9s is written as shown.

Don't know the name of the logging software but you'll need to just scan the repeater input frequencies for traffic. It doesn't do any good to scan the outputs as they are available for FRS use.

In radio communications with a repeater there are 2 measurements that need to be done. From the repeater site you do a "talk out" or coverage map of the repeater taking the terrain into account. The other measurement is the "talk-in" measured from the mobile to the repeater. Again, you need to factor in the terrain. The program I used to use had an annual license fee of $1500 and we used it to coordinate Part 90 public safety frequencies. At UHF frequencies like GMRS, the signal will refract from hilltops and ridges allowing some signal to "bleed" into and out of canyons and valleys. As you are estimating 100 feet for the height of the repeater antenna you can assume any part of the antenna will allow a signal to be received. We normally used 10 feet for the height of a mobile antenna assuming one having gain mounted on a vehicle roof.

I wouldn't touch the antenna without either an antenna analyzer or SWR meter. The listed measurements usually include the antenna base and that isn't part of the actual radiating portion of the antenna. Going by overall length and cutting one antenna from a different serie to match is a really poor way ofdetermining the proper length.

If his tone is on receive, then your radio needs to transmit the tone. Having no tone on your radio's receive will allow you to hear him whether or not he sends a tone.