Coffeemaker

The gutter ground plane is so bad, the SWR is below 1.1 on all 3 bands. But what do I know?

I have a similar problem with my attic GMRS antenna. Even 50 watts doesn't make the trip to the repeater and back any better than an HT in my backyard. The problem is likely the shingles. Try a mobile antenna mounted to a gutter on a side of the house with a clear view to the repeater. It's nice and stealthy and works a charm!

While you can't talk over another user, should the repeater not have a PL tone, you might use your own PL tone to reduce the chatter each of you hear from the repeater. My radios will show a signal on the frequency even if it has a different (or no) PL tone from the one you use. Can you put up a tower or some sort of elevated high gain antenna at one home and avoid the repeater?

Why?

I have had great success with an automotive trunk lip mount and a Comet tri-band antenna mounted to my gutter on 146-224-445 Mhz. It is stealthy. I used a strip of 3/16" x 0.090" brass to reinforce the gutter against the crushing load of the clamping screws. I found out UHF will not pass through my roof/shingles much at all so I had to use outside antennas. I have a 2nd lip mount and GMRS antenna for my GMRS base station. The gutter makes an excellent ground plane. It is narrow, but has significant area. The best antenna would be a high gain vertical with sloping ground radials mounted on a tower that's taller than all the surrounding trees and buildings. https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-categories/antennas-mounts/base-antennas/gmrs-base-antennas/gmrs-omni-directional-base-antennas/1085-comet-ca-712efc-detail Each +3 dB doubles your Effective Radiated Power and the gain applies to receive also. Each +10 feet in height above 20' adds about 2 miles of range.

Yeah, so far Chirp doesn't support it. All this seems odd. I can add all the new transmit "channels" I want to my Wouxon radios.

Chirp does not, yet, support the GM-15 Pro radios. Radioddity said "it is not fully compatible" in an email to me. I was not able to edit the DIY channels with the GM-30 software. I was also not able to add new channels in what appeared to be empty memory slots. With RT Systems software I can add receive frequencies all I want. I have 10 GM-15Pro radios to program for a group. So I bought the RT Systems software intending to add new channels with Sq Tones for my group and leave all the others alone for monitoring. Well, that didn't work either. While troubleshooting on the phone with the nice lady from RT, we discovered the GM-15Pros are locked and will not transmit on any, other than the factory programmed memory channels. My workaround is to take the .550 - .725 high power channels and edit them for the group. I'll just have to use one of my better radios to monitor for other traffic on the frequency. The GM-15 radios are still rather decent and sound good. They get full quieting into local repeaters AND are cheap enough that if you leave one on the roof and drive off, most folks can afford the loss.

The Radiodity GM-30 software is not fully compatible. It will not populate empty memory spots, ie it will not add new "channels".

Increasing 5 watts to 10 watts is +3 dB. Is that worth it?

TippCity625 is a good repeater without much traffic. I have been able to hit it as far south as I-75 and Needmore Rd with a 5 watt HT. Seems like the operator told me the antenna was on a silo, so it's not really tall. That makes it susceptible to the small hills in the area.

But mostly due to built-in error in the meter? The ultimate question was, "do I need to adjust the antenna?" And the answer is clearly enough, no. I'll repeat the test on my Miata. It is shorter and MA's much Al in it.

I have an old rat shack CB swr meter, but they are reported not to work well on UHF. So, I bought a Surecom SW-102. Connected to my Wouxun KG-905G, I get an SWR of 1.00 to a Midland MXTA-26 antenna on the roof of my SUV on all GMRS channels, and about 5 watts. Is that believable? I get 1.25 to 1.33 and 4+ watts on the repeater channels. Darned Good. I've never seen 1.00 SWR. I have a Firestik CB antenna with sloped ground radials in my attic that shows 1.02 -1.03 after several trips to tweak it and I thought that was amazing.

Even if it is, it is a worthwhile investment to keep the whole world at arm's length.

Can you hit the repeaters in Crossville? They have elevation on you.

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You cannot get 50 watts out with only 30 watts in. It will probably take 100 or more watts in to get 50 out. There is no such thing as a perputal motion machine.

How is that possible?

Yes. I have a handful of applications running under WINE and Ubuntu 20.04. That includes '21 HR Block taxware with minor quirks. My last Windows is 7 (after upgrading the GF to Win10). PlayOnLinux helps a good bit.

You won't transmit very far, but until the output stage/output transistors overheat, it shouldn't hurt a thing. With old tube gear and maybe output transformers, I have no idea.

Hi Walter! I do about the same thing on a CX-5. The mag mount is pieced near the center of the roof for max ground plane effect. I pull the cable to the nearest roof rail, hold it with a strip of Velcro and then route beside the rail to the rear hatch. From the ground, there is nothing to see. If you have cross bars, you could run the cable under one of them. You'd be better off if the crossbar was not metal.

The nearest net to me is on a paid, members only system. They don't readily answer email. Should I expect membership to be required to participate?

About 12 miles to one and 10 to the other. Both are on nearby mountains about 1800' above me and on towers. Both of my 805Gs do it.

I have enjoyed my Wouxun (ocean) 805 and 905 handhelds. Both can use repeaters and have excellent power output. The 805s are easier to program, but their filters are weak, meaning high power repeaters will bleed over into nearby frequencies. I have had staticy conversations over a repeater 110 miles away, mountain to mountain, using its rubber antenna. The 905 is a better radio with longer battery life and better filters. It's software is a little more difficult, but not hard to use. It has also linked to that repeater 110 miles away both with its rubber antenna and a roof mounted antenna. A good roof mounted antenna will allow your handhelds to do everything a higher powered mobile will do, except maybe power through a stand of trees.

I spent several minutes with the search function. What is a "net" and what is its purpose? I have listened to a few minutes of net conversations and can see no point, other than proving one's radio works and perhaps that the links work. It doesn't take 100 people from 3 states to prove the system.

ROTFL!! Too bad I forgot to eavesdrop.