Ccleveland1226

I have the radio mounted in my truck, I just wanted as a backup just in case to be able to remove the head unit from the truck temporarily and setup as a base station if needed

Trying to setup backup comms between my house and my mother, she lives alone and is kinda getting up there in age

I'm trying to get 2.5 miles across flat elevation but through a densely wooded area. When I use this as a temporary base the antenna will be outdoors and about 10' off the ground

I have a mxt275 that I would like to be able to take the head unit out of my truck and into the house to use as a temporary base station if the need arose. It wouldn't be permanent so I don't want to spend alot of cash if not needed. From what I have read online, using a mobile antenna as a base antenna requires a ground plane in order to transmit. Would taking a piece of steel plate to stick a magnet mount antenna (like the little stock mxt275 one) work? Or does the plate have to be grounded to earth, or to dc supply ground?