marcspaz

I use the Comet 2x4SR. I have one in UHF and one in NMO. It works great in 2M, MURS, 70CM, and it has a 2.6:1 SWR or better on all GMRS channels, including the repeater inputs. It has about 4dB of 'real' gain on the GMRS channels. It is a compromise across the board to have it all on one antenna. UHF https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-001424 NMO https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-011146 I also have a Comet M-24m that I use when clearance is an issue. It woks better on GMRS than the Ham bands. But, as I mentioned, there is going to be compromise.

I am not sure about everywhere in the US, but in VA and FL, SKYWARN is phone, internet (email/text) and Amateur Radio. ARES does integrate FRS/GMRS into its responses, but it's very limited and we don't train for it on the regular bases. It's use in training (where I am) is very rare because we usually put them in the hands of SAR/USAR staff, VIP and command staff, etc., during actual emergencies when Ham radio folks are short staffed and we need an unlicensed service for them to use, that keeps them in touch with Hams to move traffic to where it needs to go. Not to sound mean, but if you are too busy to study for the test, chances are you won't have time to drill/practice or actually help when/where needed. And that is okay, BTW. To give you some incentive, my wife got her license when she was 12... and had to learn/demonstrate Morse Code. The grandchild of a friend of mine got their license this year at just age 7. I was super intimidated by it, but just took the online practice exams until I passed with a 100%, and then went and took the actual test. It was a lot easier than I thought and had myself freaked out for nothing. I highly recommend spending a little bit of time on it and getting your Tech license. BTW, I recently bought a VHF/UHF handheld Ham radio (which is all you need to get started) for $35. It can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. That is really the intent of GMRS. The service restrictions don't really lend to doing much more. Repeaters greatly expand range, but they are few in some places and none in others, they are privately owned in most cases and have restrictions on power, modulation and information types that make it so its not practical for many cases. That said, I know there are whole communities that are prone to wild fires, earthquakes, etc., that implemented GMRS networks to help the whole community and to empower the community to help themselves. You can always reach out to your local volunteer groups and see if there is anything like that around you.

@SargeDiesel sounds good. yeah,, the standard duty mounts tend to have shorter and thinner screws since it's not intended to hold as much weight. Stores like ACE Hardware should have longer screws. I haven't checked the big stores, like Lowe's or Home Depot, but they may, too.

I went through and looked at my posts. I didn't see anywhere I said I sanded anything. If I mentioned that in another thread or said something that made you think I did, I apologize. I didn't sand down anything. The antenna mount comes with one of two bare aluminum plates that you can put between the set screws and the hood, so the screws don't puncture the hood/paint. I did not use those clamping plates, but rather let the screws puncture the paint and clamp to the aluminum. If you notice in my picture below, I just ran the screws through the seem seal to make the contact.

I suspect you're a tad younger that me, because when I say "in the old days", GMRS didn't exist. I have a frequency allocation chart I bought in 1986 that doesn't have GMRS or FRS on it.

Definitely need to know the make and model of the radio to be the most amount of help. Also, is the radio new or used? The names for the repeater channels look custom. As it stands right now, I am inclined to agree with @wrci350, assuming the software imported all 22 channels twice, plus the repeater channels.

The meter is what some of us refer to as 'close enough' for what we do. Keep in mind, the meter is user adjustable. It likely is calibrated fairly close from the factory. You want to keep your SWR under 3:1 for best performance. I wouldn't touch it.

Yes.

If you are serious about this... I'm here to provide a bit of guidance. Just be ready to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not more), 4 or 5 years of your life, and hire a lawyer. Those Change.Org petitions don't do a damn thing to convince the government to actually change laws, codes or regulations. Currently all frequencies between 9 kHz and 275 GHz have been allocated to some service. You are going to need to hire an attorney to help file a "Petition for Rulemaking" or a "Petition for Reconsideration" to suggest new rules or changes to existing rules (i.e. frequency/channel reallocation). A lawyer that has done this type of work will know what needs to be in the initial petition. As I mentioned, it's expensive and time consuming. Just to let you know how much it sucks... Cobra Electronics Corporation filed a Petition for Reconsideration on September 28, 2017, to just add FM to CB radios. With all the money, influence and resources they have, it took years of follow-up to finally get approval on July 15, 2021. FM CB radios just started coming to market this year. You're talking about restructuring some of the spectrum. I can't image that would be cheaper or faster than just asking to use FM along with AM and SSB.

The part in bold is QFT! That distro block looks decent. If it doesn't come with a cover, keep the connections greased so they stay clean and dry and you should be good to go.

With the exception of repeater inputs, all GMRS channels are FRS channels. Are they on a repeater? Also, unless you are standing in front of the person using the radio and are intimately familiar with that radio, you have no way of knowing if they are using an FRS radio or GMRS radio. You can't even make the assumption if you know they are 100 miles away from you (assuming they say their actual location) that they are on a GMRS radio, because elevation plays a bigger role in distance than power or radio type.

I didn't know about Roland being in the hospital. That stinks. I ha e to run out for a few hours, but I'll shoot you a PM when I get back.

I didn't realize how much coverage was around here either. I met David down in Warrenton, who introduced me to M.W., and M.W. introduced me to the other David in Ellicott City. Opened up a whole new world. One of the ones M.W. has, just northwest of Haymarket, covers from 95 to the mountains, Stafford/Fburg to Tyco/McLean and out to points north and west of Leesburg. There are a few folks up in Annapolis and Glen Burnie Maryland with awesome locations for their base stations that can get into it, too. Same here. Myself and some friends of mine were big time hooked on 2m repeaters prior to meeting M.W. His systems have tremendous coverage that are only rivaled in the 2m segment by Bluemont, Rockville and (maybe) Warrenton. On the Warrenton machine, where there is no shadow, I can work that repeater (and the GMRS machine outside of Haymarket) from parts of WV and Southern PA along the 81 corridor. However Warrenton is so far south, in a shadow, that it's tough for DC metro to reach it. Bluemont has its limits as you center up on DC, with the same performance restrictions as the Warrenton system, along the i81. And Rockville's links are regularly not working because of the voting system. All that made the GMRS repeaters the tool of choice for my family and friends. Between Haymarket, Tyco and a couple of others, we can all chat from just about anywhere around the area. I agree. I am not sure why the publishing is being withheld, but I am sure he has his reasons. He 100% wants to serve the communities with the hardware. Maybe he is trying to avoid saturation and turning into Ham Radio 2.0. That's my best guess anyway. One day, I may ask him. Good deal. I know the feeling. BTW, unrelated... were you the one I heard chime in about how hard it is to pick between Swirlies V. Five Guys? LOL I was talking to M.W. about that a few days ago. I have a friend who owns a 300' commercial repeater in Ashburn, VA. I am going to see if I can introduce the two of them to see if we can help get better coverage out past Fair Oaks, heading north and west. The site owner can be very hard to get along with. Especially when he provides free tower space to volunteer organizations. Hopefully he will be respectful to M.

Fuses/circuit breakers and the Ring connectors for the battery all get soldered. I put the fuses in line no more than 12 inches from the battery (usually less) and just use water proof fuse holders. On some vehicles, I've even added secondary fuse boxes for my radios/amps/etc. that use bolt-down terminals.

I always cut the T connector off and use power poles because that is my standardization. This allows me to move gear to any of my test benches or vehicles and have a standard connector, so it just plugs in. Also, as mentioned above, you can get them in specific amp rating for adding heavier wire. Also, unlike the T connector or weather packs, the power pole connectors are spring loaded, applying more force for less losses at the connector. They were designed to be crimped, but I both crimped and then solder.

As @KAF6045 mentioned, you do need to do the test on both ends while transmitransmitting at the highest power possible. I missed that very important step.. So... what is it on the battery side when transmitting, and then what is it at the radio when transmitting? There should be 0.5vdc difference or less to be considered 'ok'.

For GMRS, just use the same type and location I am, and put the CB antenna on the swing gate. You can use a lip mount, just be sure to get the same style that your antenna uses.

Where are you? Like, what state? I am in VA and have a ton of test equipment, if you're nearby. The best way to check for voltage drop is to measure the power at the source and then at the radio. It should not be more than 0.5v or the loss is considered excessive. The antenna and cables really require an analyzer.

No one here was born knowing anything. We had to learn everything. We are here to help... so there are no foolish questions. Fire away. As mentioned above, the Nagoya NMO-200C (I assume that is what you meant) is not a half wave. It does require a ground plane. You can definitely add a piece of metal to create the ground plain. For best performance, you would want it to be round and at least 1/2 wave in diameter, about 12". 14" would be better. It needs to have a ground wire for best performance, sharing the same ground as the radio and antenna. However it's not 100% required. It will work better, though. Also, the top is an isolator, so the plate needs to be outside with the antenna. I would use a mix of 60 lbs double-sided Gorilla Tape (for instant hold) and RTV (for extended hold) if you don't want to use nuts and bolts to hold it down. I know I wouldn't cut into my top. It's critical to keep in mind that if you put a ground plan on the roof and put a fixed or mag mount antenna, regardless of the way you attach the ground plan, it is not going to hold a very heavy antenna. Highway speeds will eventually rip it off or the top may fail, if you have a heavy antenna or something with high wind drag. If you had a 1/2 wave antenna, a ground plane would not be required. As far as a lip mount that can attach to the swing gate, I have have several JK's... 07, 08, 10, 3 2013's, 14, 15 and 16... every one of them had either a Diamond or Comet lip mount. I prefer either the Comet RS-730 or the Diamond K400 with the appropriate antenna connection (based on your antenna choice and mounting type). Be sure to install the mount on one of the top corners of the swing gate, so the antenna is an appropriate distance from the spare tire and carrier. I used to put mine all the way on the passenger's side (about 2"-3" away from the edge) adjusting it so it clears the glass when you open the back window. This kept it away from the window wiper motor and the spare tire and carrier.

@JeepCrawler98 that was a fun read. Thanks!

At least 7 inches, but try to avoid the first 3 even multiples of 7. After 2 feet, it doesn't matter. If you want to have them on at the same time and be able to use one without turning the other off, put them as far apart as possible.

You aren't missing anything. It works. You can position it at any angle you want. It's a 3 axis.

OK, I'm tracking you on how the bar sits. What you're talking about doing with a riser plate so you can center it should be fine. The roof definitely does not need to be perfectly flat. Whoever told you that definitely does not know what they're talking about. The only time I could think of an issue where you would want the roof to be flat or level as for esthetics to make the antenna straight-up-and-down. But even that is not a requirement.. Vertical antennas is going to work just fine even at a slight angle in one direction or another another. They just don't look as nice.

I use the CP5 on my Jeep. It comes with clamping plates that go between the set screws and the body. So, if you don't want the screws to break through the paint, you just insert the plates. I have an aluminum hood, so I poke through the paint into the metal for proper electrical ground. I have used the K400 on several vehicles with good luck, too. But the Diamond has a tab to stabilize the mount for heavy antennas. I stay away from that one unless I have a heavy antenna I plan on mounting, to avoid accidental damage.

TL;DR is internet slang for Too Long; Didn't Read. It's kinda funny. I see what you mean about the mounts. While they will work (as you're seeing) they just aren't ideal. The one I use isn't ideal either, but it allows for much better performance than the one you're currently using. The best involves drilling big holes, which I'm not doing. Good luck! Looking forward to seeing what you get installed. Yeah, 14 is too small if you are going more than a few feet. When I had my MXT500, I cut the factory wires off and replaced them with 12, and 45 amp power pole connectors.