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wayoverthere got a reaction from WSDF258 in ICOM IC-F21GM setup of two used radios (newbie)
Bluemax49ers has been my source for cables for most of the LMR radios in my collection, and some of the software as well. It does look like he has a cable for those Icoms, too, with an option to add the software.
https://bluemax49ers.com/product-explorer/icom-ic-f21gm-ftdi-programming-cable-opc-i478/
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wayoverthere got a reaction from WRUU653 in ICOM IC-F21GM setup of two used radios (newbie)
Bluemax49ers has been my source for cables for most of the LMR radios in my collection, and some of the software as well. It does look like he has a cable for those Icoms, too, with an option to add the software.
https://bluemax49ers.com/product-explorer/icom-ic-f21gm-ftdi-programming-cable-opc-i478/
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wayoverthere got a reaction from SteveShannon in ICOM IC-F21GM setup of two used radios (newbie)
Bluemax49ers has been my source for cables for most of the LMR radios in my collection, and some of the software as well. It does look like he has a cable for those Icoms, too, with an option to add the software.
https://bluemax49ers.com/product-explorer/icom-ic-f21gm-ftdi-programming-cable-opc-i478/
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wayoverthere reacted to dosw in How is the Comet CA-2X4SR antenna?
I would have expected that laying it flat against the ground plane would cause it to reflect a lot. So I gave it a try. Standing up, at 465MHz, on a pizza-pan ground plane, it measured 1.6:1. Laid flat it measured 2.3:1. So it got worse, but not terribly so. Nevertheless, VHF and UHF FM is supposed to be vertical polarization. Orienting the antenna horizontally isn't going to really help anything except clearing your garage roof.
However, at 2m, it got much, much worse. Something like 5:1. I didn't write it down. But standing in the upright position, in the 2m band, it's down to about 1.2.1.
Your mileage may vary. Laying it flat against a larger ground plane, one with a radius large enough that the entire antenna is adjacent to the metal ground plane, is going to be a lot worse. Maybe bad enough that "some people" would be right. I know even in the vertical position, I was having reflection / high SWR issues when I put reflectix along side the antenna to cover the opening necessitated by a window air conditioner in sideways sliding windows.
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wayoverthere got a reaction from WRUU653 in How is the Comet CA-2X4SR antenna?
That was my thought as well. Curious what the pattern would be laid down, but in the end it boils down to folding and unfolding each time, or picking up a shorter whip.
Personally, I'd park and measure at the lowest clearance point, and go from there to see what my options were for whip length. The ubiquitous 1/4 wave is around 6" and pretty inexpensive (not much over $10 last I looked), and a solid option of you have the ground plane for it, and the no ground plane 1/2 waves are around 12", iirc
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wayoverthere reacted to WRUU653 in How is the Comet CA-2X4SR antenna?
Aside from the performance issues already stated I imagine that in the folded down state it might be inclined to whip around in the wind at speeds spanking your car as you travel the highways and byways.😂
Okay I realize that probably wouldn’t be your use scenario. All kidding aside I would swap out to a shorter antenna while using parked in the garage, something that stays vertical but isn’t affected by the height restriction.
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wayoverthere got a reaction from WRUU653 in (UPDATE) Favorite Magmount Antenna?
I've had good results with multiple Midland mag mounts carrying a variety of antennas. Seen very few negative reports on the mxta26 antenna, and what I did see was related to potential used\damaged product received from Amazon. I had good results with a Browning br1713bs (similar to the mxta26 in size and configuration).n the other whip I have is NLA, so as an alternate smaller gain antenna I'd look at 1\2 or 5\8 wave Laird whips. Ground plane or not, depending on the mount. I want to say it'd be the 4502 for GMRS (450-470mhz)...have used the 430-450 model and it was great out of the package without tuning.
Have had great results with the comet 2x4sr for ham, but the swr was a little high for GMRS, though not unusable (2.0:1 on 467, iirc)
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wayoverthere got a reaction from Lambda in (UPDATE) Favorite Magmount Antenna?
I've had good results with multiple Midland mag mounts carrying a variety of antennas. Seen very few negative reports on the mxta26 antenna, and what I did see was related to potential used\damaged product received from Amazon. I had good results with a Browning br1713bs (similar to the mxta26 in size and configuration).n the other whip I have is NLA, so as an alternate smaller gain antenna I'd look at 1\2 or 5\8 wave Laird whips. Ground plane or not, depending on the mount. I want to say it'd be the 4502 for GMRS (450-470mhz)...have used the 430-450 model and it was great out of the package without tuning.
Have had great results with the comet 2x4sr for ham, but the swr was a little high for GMRS, though not unusable (2.0:1 on 467, iirc)
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wayoverthere got a reaction from Elmo777 in Rugged Radio GMR45
https://kv5r.com/ham-radio/mobile-antenna-placement/
I forget if I alluded to it in this thread or another (or started to mention it and then deleted), but this page has the graphic that shows the relative loss for different mounting types and placements. Mag mount in the center is very close to the ideal (permanent hole/mount) loss-wise, evidently.
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wayoverthere reacted to SteveShannon in Rugged Radio GMR45
It has been a while since I looked at them, but there’s also a way to use existing coax rather than dropping your headliner and pulling in another cable:
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wayoverthere got a reaction from WRUU653 in Rugged Radio GMR45
https://kv5r.com/ham-radio/mobile-antenna-placement/
I forget if I alluded to it in this thread or another (or started to mention it and then deleted), but this page has the graphic that shows the relative loss for different mounting types and placements. Mag mount in the center is very close to the ideal (permanent hole/mount) loss-wise, evidently.
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wayoverthere reacted to SteveShannon in Rugged Radio GMR45
Does your Escape have a gps antenna on it? Maybe you can use this and route the cable through the existing hole https://www.l-com.com/nmo-mount-combo-28-db-gps-glnss-vehicular-antenna-nmo-mount-sma-connectors-ll195-cable-hg-gpsglnmo195-sma?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD9ns-nsNx68a39JmpChg0pu-IwbE&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsoe5BhDiARIsAOXVoUsk2dsrso9-Jaurjo8QZROWHV8p4mL-ixUhIR51gPVsTpMz_sSN9MsaAprNEALw_wcB
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wayoverthere got a reaction from SteveShannon in Rugged Radio GMR45
https://kv5r.com/ham-radio/mobile-antenna-placement/
I forget if I alluded to it in this thread or another (or started to mention it and then deleted), but this page has the graphic that shows the relative loss for different mounting types and placements. Mag mount in the center is very close to the ideal (permanent hole/mount) loss-wise, evidently.
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wayoverthere reacted to SteveShannon in Rugged Radio GMR45
I understand the hesitance, but we’ve all seen hundreds of vehicles our entire lives that have permanent antenna mounts in their roofs. They look better than having a cable laying on the roof.
Why not get full enjoyment out of the truck for as long as you own it? It’s like suffering with cheap cupboards, worn out flooring, and an inefficient furnace for 30 years and then fixing up your house to sell it. None of the comments I’ve seen from people who sell or trade off vehicles with permanent NMO mounts make me think the value is affected.
I don’t know if you’ve looked into the Bulletproof Diesel third brake like mounts, but that might be another option. Finally, there’s a company that makes replacements for the factory GPS or satellite roof mount antenna that provide an additional two way radio mount. If you’re interested I’ll see if I can find them again. I’m not certain what models they cover.
I would compare the strength of self adhesive steel disk trick on top of the roof to the large magnet under the roof liner. I’m not certain that two magnets on either side of an aluminum roof will have as much attraction. Try both methods and let us know, please.
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wayoverthere reacted to Elmo777 in Rugged Radio GMR45
I have done the coax under the door edge seal in the past, not a huge fan of it running across the roof, it works but not ideal. Leaning towards a solid mount somewhere on the truck, just need to find a spot that makes sense.
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wayoverthere reacted to WRXB215 in Rugged Radio GMR45
I have no firsthand experience with the KG-1000G but I have heard nothing but good about it.
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wayoverthere got a reaction from Elmo777 in Rugged Radio GMR45
Good luck on the radio search 👍 perhaps some can chime in with firsthand experiences with the kg-1000g.
For the magnet, that's a good (and creative) idea as well. The other consideration with a mag mount is cable routing. While I've absolutely done it (mostly ran 2 till I moved one antenna to a fender mount), it does eventually take a toll on the paint at both the mount and wherever the cable runs on the body. In my case that was mostly where the cable tucked under the edge of the door seal at the top.
On routing, I had a seal i could tuck under, follow the rear edge of the passenger door seal down, and loop up and in at the bottom (single cab compact truck, rarely had passengers). Current crew cab, the seals are tighter and don't hold the cable well, and all 4 doors get used regularly, so mag mounts are less optimal and mostly saved for when I'm running solo...have a comet 2x4sr on a fender mount for regular use.
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wayoverthere got a reaction from WRUU653 in Rugged Radio GMR45
No experience with that radio, but on antennas...
If you're willing to drill a hole, doing a roof mounted nmo is optimal; if height/clearance is an issue, a 1/4 wave antenna is only 6ish inches tall, while a 1/2 or 5/8 wave will provide some gain without adding too much height (at around 12"). If clearance is no concern, Midland's mxta26 has lots of good reports but it's close to 3 ft tall.
Alternately, there are 3rd brake light mounts (spendy) and fender mounting brackets as options; these may work better with a 1/2 wave "no ground plane" antenna....I haven't tried the mxta26 to say how it would do in that configuration.
Truth be told, there's tons of antenna options out there, with gmrs sitting so close to some of the blocks of business and public safety
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wayoverthere got a reaction from WRUU653 in Ordered a new radio.
Truth be told, since I don't have much time to play radio, I don't remember all the limits either, even 3 years in.
unless I'm doing something on a set frequency like ft8, I have a printed copy of the ARRL band chart near my "shack" (desk in the office) and a PDF copy on my phone and double check myself regularly.
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wayoverthere got a reaction from WRUQ357 in Ordered a new radio.
Truth be told, since I don't have much time to play radio, I don't remember all the limits either, even 3 years in.
unless I'm doing something on a set frequency like ft8, I have a printed copy of the ARRL band chart near my "shack" (desk in the office) and a PDF copy on my phone and double check myself regularly.
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wayoverthere got a reaction from SteveShannon in Ordered a new radio.
Truth be told, since I don't have much time to play radio, I don't remember all the limits either, even 3 years in.
unless I'm doing something on a set frequency like ft8, I have a printed copy of the ARRL band chart near my "shack" (desk in the office) and a PDF copy on my phone and double check myself regularly.
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wayoverthere reacted to Elmo777 in Rugged Radio GMR45
Thanks for the advice, i'm thinking of passing on the radio. @socalgmrs had mentioned of installing an earth magnet under the roof liner and using the magnetic mount, i would have never even thought to do that so i may do that once i find the right set up. Appreciate the feedback and advice.
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wayoverthere got a reaction from Elmo777 in Rugged Radio GMR45
No experience with that radio, but on antennas...
If you're willing to drill a hole, doing a roof mounted nmo is optimal; if height/clearance is an issue, a 1/4 wave antenna is only 6ish inches tall, while a 1/2 or 5/8 wave will provide some gain without adding too much height (at around 12"). If clearance is no concern, Midland's mxta26 has lots of good reports but it's close to 3 ft tall.
Alternately, there are 3rd brake light mounts (spendy) and fender mounting brackets as options; these may work better with a 1/2 wave "no ground plane" antenna....I haven't tried the mxta26 to say how it would do in that configuration.
Truth be told, there's tons of antenna options out there, with gmrs sitting so close to some of the blocks of business and public safety