maddogrecurve

My SWR has not changed, it is very good, around 1.3 all through GMRS/FRS. So I am not worried about it, and since I am only running HT's, I am not worried about loosing power, I have none anyhow LOL>

I just made a dual band antenna out of two coat hangers Ended up scrapping it due to over-trimming the 150mhz band portion. I the video I saw had the coax connected directly to the coat hangers via the terminal strip, but when I remake mine I am going to use jumpers and connect an SMA male connector onto it for my SMA female coax connector. Anyhow, I just welded the stinger onto another groundplane antenna using brass rod that I bought to make tumbler pins for locks. They are 12 inches long and I am going to install them full length, and run my analyzer on it and see where it resonates and trim it from there. Just curious.. I do not know how well brass will work, but I have plenty of brass, so/239's, and coat hangers, so I can play.. WRMQ982

Sadly, I just looked at my coax that is going under my hood! it has two nasty creases in it from me closing my hood onto it! I have a fender mount oand am running RG58 coax. I did not know that the foam padding made a difference at all. I may need to notch my hood a little or re rout it?? The damage is done though, or can I try to re-fluff the insulation? Any help would be appreciated please! Jeff WRMQ982

I just made this one! GMRS resonant! ugly, unlike yours, but it works!!!

LScott, That is cool that you did this type of antenna with BNC connectors! I would have never thought of using anything other than SO-239. I am not an Amateur operator, I have always been interested in it, and have been into C.B off and on for 34 years and antennas have always fascinated me. I am finally getting serious about getting my Tech license and after that may progress through the ranks, we shall see. I have been listening to a couple of "nets", one at night and one in the morning and I love how disciplined they are ran and how polite everyone is! So much better than C.B.

Exactly!!!! That is where I am at! I have no one to talk to and am studying to get my Ham license so why not play with antennas! I love creating things and experimenting with design (also design and print 3D objects). I have a magnet mount antenna for my car and a fender mount as well, but nothing for my home yet, that is why I am playing with building them. My girlfriend probably would not let me hang a big antenna on the house so I have to be discreet.

Wow! That software looks way over my head! I am studying for my Ham license, but am not that far along LOL. I will look into it though, I think it is good to understand radiation patterns and all of that good stuff.

Awesome! I plan on making some J-Poles for portable use (like to rest on a tripod), and some copper pipe dipoles as well.

Very nice! I think it is more fun than talking on the radios! If I could find a job in an antenna factory I would be in Heaven!

Make yourself a dipole! Two wires some solder and a SO239 connector! Or you can use aluminum tubing or copper tubing as well. I am going to make one out of tubing because I have no trees to string wires up in. I have a small dipole stapled to the outside of my shop currently being used as a scanner antenna that resonates really well on the 470mhz band, though no repeaters in my area, maybe 70 miles or so is the nearest.

Greetings!!! Anyone make their own antennas for the field or for home? I cut an old homemade dipole down to 470mhz and am using it as a scanner/gmrs antenna in my shop (stapled to the outside of my shop) right now but am gathering materials to make a copper pipe/pvc vertical dipole that I can raise over my roof. WRMQ982

Gothmog05, We have to remember that the coax becomes part of the antenna! I do not understand it all really but the length of the coaxial cable does make a difference, but probably not as much as what you saw going on. I had a recent issue with SWR as well on a new antenna install, I put a new PL259 connector on my RG8 coax (I have put many connectors on) but the PL259 was not the right size for the RG8 so I had struggled to make a good solder joint on the center pin. I could not get the antenna tuned well at all and ended up cutting too much off of it for GMRS! Long story short, I put a new connector on, and ended up trimming the antenna further down so that it resonates on Murs channels for that radio LOL> Did your terminal fit the coax properly?

Michael, Very cool tool you have there! I have one in my Amazon shopping cart, just waiting to pull the trigger! Looks like you have the big one? Anyhow, I do not have anyone to talk to, however I finally got the code to access a repeater so I have been testing my Nagoya magnet mount coming to and from work on the highway. So far 23 miles on this little antenna and to be honest that is amazing because the terrain is not easy to navigate! CB is blocked after about 10-15 even with my 102" whip and running my good radio. This area is in a gorge, high mountains and a windy highway, so the signal has to maneuver around the mountains to go anywhere. I will try to test my rubber duckies in the morning, though i do not have much faith. For now I can reach the repeater from my office at work; I work in a food manufacturing plant and my office is upstairs, right in the middle of the building, I do have a window in my office, but not to the outside world, just to the open foyer area where the other windows are.

How do the factories test them?

I love that antenna test jig that the guy made! I have been thinking of something like that myself but wondered how I would make it simulate an HT. I guess that it would be difficult as the radios are designed to have us as the counterpoise. I suppose that we could touch the jig while we test the antennas maybe? When I have tested my antennas, I have laid them down onto plywood and tested them that way. Some have good results, some poor, the best SWR's are from the TwayRdio foldable 2M/70 CM antenna on GMRS and 2M/70CM. The stock antennas are horrid! But like it has been stated before, there is no real way to accurately duplicate what is going on with an HT antenna while it is hooked to a radio. Thanks again for sharing the links.

Thank you for your efforts! I wish that there was a tried and true method of testing HT antennae! I wonder how they test in the factory? I am going to purchase an analyzer and see how that works with the little buggers....

Very wise words my friend! I love to test, test, test! I am having issues getting trustworthy HT antenna test results with an SWR meter however. I have to use a jumper between the antenna and the meter and from the HT to the meter which adds line length to the antenna, however I did hook up a super long foldable C.B HT antenna directly to the meter and tested it. Not sure how trustworthy the results were, but the SWR was at a 1.9 on 1 and 40, so I feel "Okay" about using it. My little UHF/FHF antennas do not give me consistant results though. I have the two BF radios, one UV5R and one GMRS V1, and I purchased aftermarket "super long range" antennas for both of them prior to purchasing the radios.... Don't ask me why... Now, where I live, I here FRS traffic all of the time, and I have no repeaters in my area, and only have made a few contacts. So I do not have a means to real world test these antennas. I did make a dipole for my shop "resonates on GMRS 467......" really well, but not well on FRS, and have two mobile antennas that I use. Still not enough traffic to even really test the bigger antennas.

Very true! They also set up hospitals with radios and antennas, I saw 10 antennas on a hospital and wondered why it had all of those antennas. I googled it and found out that Hams work with public health and safety to get them set up with coms on many bands in case of disasters. I do not know how many people need to be licensed at the hospital, but I am sure that there is at least a few. Hams are my hero, and soon I will be one of them LOL!!

If it is like the UV-5R the receive will suck on it!! I love the B-Tech GMRS V1 though, the receive is twice as good as the UV-5R.

I have keyed up my GMRS V1 made by B-Tech while listening to a cheap bubblepack radio and I cannot hear the unkey!! I may end up having to use beeps if people have a hard time knowing when I unkey (if I ever find someone to talk to that is).

Looks slick! I hope that the PVC will hold up! I live in a very windy area, but wish to try PVC as well, though I am fearful that the wind will splinter it like a darn toothpick!!

Pretty sad! C.B is about dead also, I mean I can raise people, but it is not common like it used to be! Of course I don't talk much either, I mostly listen to audio books. Where I live there are no repeaters for GMRS, there are two ham repeaters, but no one uses them, and I hear a couple of people speaking Spanish on a GMRS frequency during the day (I think it is a shuttle service). Other than that, I hear travelers and I cannot get responses like the rest of you.