Majik

Ahh I guess you’re right there. It’s a 12V accessory port, not a functional cig port.

I’m running the MXTA25 ghost on a hood-hinge mount on the passenger side. Absolutely not the best location for it RF-wise, but it was the best spot for me since I wasn’t prepared to drill the cab roof. I’ve been testing it out the past few days w an AT-778UVII at ~5/15/25W and it’s done remarkably well. Granted, it does better when I’m pointed at what I’m talking to since it has the passenger A-pillar behind it. My radiation pattern is a bit wonky due to where that antenna sits. But I’m happy with this so far. I’ve been able to get into repeaters with low watts at distance so it’s working for me, despite the non-optimal config.

My current 2021 Tacoma has one. And my 2013 328i had two believe it or not lol But agreed, cig ports are a dying breed and not a reliable source of clean wattage.

Yes, and you only get GMRS channels. No VHF/UHF scanning or VFO tuning.

50W is a lot and generally overkill to hit local repeaters. And in many cases, you won’t get enough amps to the radio to really sustain 50W. I’d say 25W mobile radios are more than plenty. And if you still need a little more range (?), try a higher gain antenna with a better ground plane position. IMHO

Can’t vouch for this myself, but recently found this guy that sells a head detachment kit for the AT-778UVII (which is a great budget 25W mobile radio.) https://www.ebay.com/itm/255048462858 I may try this later. If I do, I’ll post my results.

I, too, shopped forever to find a small ~25W mobile radio with a fully integrated mic or a remote/detachable head. The 20V2 is about the only thing there is in that category, but I was off-put by the reviews and the 20W limit. I ended up with an AnyTone 778UVII 25W mobile radio. This thing is great! And I also recently discovered there are folks out there that have successfully detached the faceplate and ran a cable from it back to the radio unit. There’s an Aussie selling a kit for that on eBay. Might do that later, but for now I’m pretty happy with this thing.