Extreme

Any issue installing a "No Ground Plane" antenna (1/2 or 5/8 wave) on a ground plane? Any benefit? Just brainstorming on a 2nd antenna with some gain to play around with where my 1/4 wave is mounted. Likely makes more sense to get a ground plane antenna in 1/2 or 5/8 wave, eh?

I have some lots in Walkerville if there's interest in putting a GMRS repeater up there. Not living there now but don't know why it couldn't be done. Should provide hella range from there, overlooking the valley toward the Highlands, Fleecer Mtn, Pintlar, I-15 corridor and toward I-90 West toward Deer Lodge.

Agreed. I've been trying to say just this to my off-road buddies who're getting their first mobiles. A lot of them are in Jeeps with fiberglass tops so that's an issue and they're leaning toward longer antennas to get them above the top. I was lucky enough to have a perfect spot for an 8 x 8" ground plane for my 1/4 high at the rear of the LJ. It is cool that they're getting away from CB and into GMRS. Better in every way on the trail or hunting in my experience. Guess I could take this to the Jeeps & Radios thread. Thanks for the feedback and reminding me of radio 101.

Thanks Marc. As soon as I read this I realized I'd been taught this here a few years ago when pondering antennas... sheesh. My 1/4 is great in the mountains but we do have some extremely long shots with potential for more reach. I've hit a repeater from 50 miles so don't know what better I could ask. I might consider a 5/8 to play with.

Will I gain any performance (distance and/or clarity) with one of the base loaded antennas over a 6" 1/4 wave? Both would be on the same 8" square ground plane on my Jeep. Wondering if the added height above the roof will be of much benefit. The 1/4 is working fine, just nit-picking. Spring loaded base would be a must if I go taller. The ground plane would remain the same. Assuming all will screw onto the existing NMO mount. If they need tuning, I'll likely opt out. Guess I could experiment and be careful to swap to the shorty in the overhead brush. UHF High Gain Antennas: Laird TE Connectivity B4503S (theantennafarm.com) 5/8 wave is 15" UHF High Gain Antennas: Laird TE Connectivity B4505CS (theantennafarm.com) 1/2 wave is 31" UHF Quarter Wave Antennas : Laird TE Connectivity AB450 (theantennafarm.com) 1/4 wave is 6"

Asking for a friend. Is your tailight mount GMRS antenna working ok? He has a '99 TJ that he runs topless, has a rack on the back and is asking me about which antenna and mount (hard or mag mount). Since I run only 1/4 wave on a ground plane I don't have a solid answer for which antenna type and mounting solution might work best for him. 1/2 wave, 5/8, etc., etc.. I'll continue through the thread from the end backward to see what I come up with. Kind of talking him out of the Midland and leaning him toward the Wouxux 20w.

What's the Map for Dummies on the new format? All I see are google style streets, etc.

Very near to my experience on/off road with one exception: a stuck hunter actually contacted us from about 10 miles when we were driving by his general area in route to another recovery. He scanned us chatting on 16 with his HT, shouted us down, and got himself 'scheduled' to be recovered. They had walked 7 miles out and had many more to go with zero cell coverage. We got him on our way back from recovery 1.

If the auto carwash is a concern they make a cap to install after unscrewing antenna base.

Bigger. Bracket mounted under sun visor clip with existing holes. Wrangler is a different ball of wax with removable fiberglass roof. Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

XJ remote 8180 Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Should be posted somewhere under jeep & radios. Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Not specifically, but mounted complete Kenwood TK-8180 on the aftermarket rollbar overhead 'plate' in my LJ and a Kenwood 8180 remote faceplate in an XJ. Both are apples and oranges for you so no real help. Just didn't want to leave you hanging.

Asking for a friend. (I run used Kenwoods). I'm too lazy to read the entire thread so looking for an 'in a nutshell' favorite GMRS only radio for my club's mobile needs. A few of the guys are running out and grabbing Midlands; if they asked me I'd steer them in another direction (we have repeaters available to us). One kid is asking now for his rig and with the good luck I've had with my Wouxun 805G HTs I'm leaning him toward the Wouxun brand. Right track. Sound like a good review here. I'll go over to BTWR and look around but would love some feedback.

Some debate on this one. I'm not smellin' what he's steppin' in. In a nutshell he says transmitting w/o Load will not damage a radio. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3r2K96hsGc&t=297s&ab_channel=NotaRubiconProductions

Thank you! Apologies for barking.

What happened to the Inactive (and the other selection) on the MAP to find repeaters. My local repeaters and many I use in 3 states are no longer viewable from the map. I appreciate it costs money so get the Ad Blocker request but did we need to change the capabilities too. Thanks folks.

If I'm correct, 7 x 7" is minimum for 1/4 wave ground plane. I had the 8 x 8 x 1/4" aluminum plate laying around from another project so just primer/painted it. Also, the fiberglass top will not deter RF propagation and unless I run a branch along the top nothing should hit the antenna.

3rd try Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

More Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

FWIW Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk

Ran the coax down the vertical tower that holds the 3rd brake light, across the bottom of the swing out tire carrier to the passenger side corner, then above the bumper to the vacant area under the tub, above the rubber flap that's behind the rear wheel, then a small hole in the inner fender/tub next to the rear most rollbar mount, along the top of the tub lip and along the rollbar (under the wrap) up to radio mount. I did make my own 239 connection on the radio side so I could thread bare coax through the body while minimizing the hole diameter. Wrapped everything outside the tub in split or flex tubing and it's all secured with either stick on zip tie mounts or aluminum rubber insulated hold downs. With a small bit of slack at the swing out tire carrier hinge it flexes enough to not bind. It limits my carrier to only open 90* but I have no need to open it further. It clear the raised window. IMO a 1/4 wave antenna with a decent ground plane is superior to nearly any mag mount or lip mount. Someone questioned whether the brake light tower would flex.. emphatic 'No'. Also, the 8 x 8" x 1/4" thick plate clears the wiper by 1/2" or more when operated. Ran my aux reverse light wiring along the same route and mounted them on the bottom of the tire carrier. Pictures to follow.

@bobthetj03I cruised through the TJ forum to find a picture of your TJ to see if you have a 3rd brake light. Check out my antenna mount on my LJ earlier in this thread, maybe it will interest you. Works very well.

Yup, had the "searching" on an 8180. Friendly member here did his best to help me out but I never could get positive results. Although this particular 8180 was an ebay purchase, I simply contacted www.used-radiios.com and they kindly took the radio and made the necessary changes for a small charge + shipping, and got it back to me within a week or so. Awesome service, but I knew that, having purchased multiple used units from them in the past. I've yet to power it up but I'm sure it will be fine when I get around to programming.

Didn't want to start a new thread so did the search and found this one. My remote mount TK-8180 has been shutting down after steady use on the trail. My timeout is set to 30s but often don't give it a lot of rest between TX bursts when on the trail. What I get is power off, blank screen, but a constant click-click from the speaker. It has never done this from idle. After pulling power from the unit and an hour or so of down time, it fires up and operates normally. Dawned on me that the placement under the passenger seat of my Cherokee XJ might have been a poor choice, now realizing that's the path of the exhaust and that I have the heater going full blast at times while hunting, and with folks in the back seat. I looked through the service manual and it states operating temp to 140* F. What I was looking for is whether there's a High Temp Shutdown or fail-safe on these radios. Did not find that. Regardless of whether it gets that hot under there and rather than shotgunning replacement components, I thought a good first step would be to move the equipment. Prolonged radio life would be a big bonus as well.