tcp2525

Nice!!! The DB20 has been a real winner and a great inexpensive performer at 15w on GMRS. A 40w version would be highly welcome just as long as they don't overprice it.

The best advice one can give is to install several runs of the largest diameter conduit in the walls so you can pull wires between floors from basement to attic and everything in between. This way you will have an easy time deploying whatever you plan now and in the future. Conduit is extremely cheap and installing it while under construction is easy and painless. As for a repeater in your situation, don't expect the signal traveling very far. If you can't get the antenna at an optimal height you will be limited to a few miles. Still install the conduit, though.

Soldier is expendable, Baofeng and AK-47 is not.

I totally agree. I'm just saying for the people that want to get the most out of their GMRS installation is to do it right the first time and squeeze out every bit of performance for maximum enjoyment. As we see on the forum we have many people not getting the performance they deserve. Like you said, "close is plenty good enough" for most people.

I'm sure it's just sample variations. I've tested a bunch of meters throughout the years and find that no two meters from the same manufacture will give you the same exact reading. This even applies to Bird meters. Bottom line, one has to accept the possibility that whatever budget meter they use it might be in the ballpark or not. A cheap NanoVNA is the ultimate choice if you're looking to get the best from your installation. This is even more important on UHF.

I second that. There are really only two choices for this task, a Bird 43 meter with appropriate slug on the high end of the price scale, or a Chinese NanoVNA for about $60. I have both and highly recommend Mr. Chung's NanoVNA as I use it for all my antenna building endeavors and checking SWR. I'll even go as far as saying it's totally and utterly foolish and breaks every terrestrial and celestial bounds of human stupidity relying on these cheap meters as I've found them to be off anywhere between 10 to 20 percent off. This even applies to Daiwa meters as well. For the budget minded hobbyist that want fantastic accuracy for only a few bucks, the NanoVNA is the only choice.

Fortunately, I have a bunch of these Transco switches. Right now I have two on top of the tower to switch between vertical and horizontal antennas on 2m and 6m. A bit overkill for those two bands, but the price is right and they are reliable. I'm eventually going to do the same for GMRS, switch between a high gain vertical and a stacked set of yagis.

I only use Transco switches. No fake specs and extremely low insertion loss.

Put a fan behind it and don't worry anymore.

Super Stationmaster https://www.wiscointl.com/celwave/antennas/uhf/pd455/index.htm

I have to agree with that. My friend bought the same model Comet a day after I bought mine and his works perfectly. Sample variation sucks worse on cheap consumer goods than it does with the pro stuff.

I tried the comet CA-712EFC and it was a dud! I sadly had to send it back due it being defective. A side-by-side test against the Tram 1486 showed it failed miserably. This was a total let down as I really wanted that antenna to work. I am considering getting another when this batch is replaced with a new production run. I know I'm the only person on Earth that had a bad Comet.

Got it. I don't know how I missed that in the first place. Damn tunnel vision got me.

I think you answered my question. I definitely don't want to cut into the harness. This thing definitely has a certain degree of down tilt, which is killing performance to the south. My next question would be, do you have any recommendation for a good commercial antenna that doesn't have down tilt?

I have the same data sheet. What's the difference between "beam", which I assume is mechanical and electrical, which I am assuming is done with phasing. Did I misread the title on the data sheet? Just to add, a zero degree tilt would be optimal in this situation.

A question for all you gurus out here. I'm dealing with the antenna in the title that is up about 100' that performs perfectly in the northerly direction, but sucks going south. The hill I have to go over really isn't overly high, but high enough to attenuate an antenna with electrical down tilt. My question is do you guys have any ideas or a source of literature that can point me in the right direction? Thanks.

Kinda same strategy here. I used Ubuntu for years until they "F" it up with Unity. I then went with Manjaro, which I find really stable and reliable making it a joy to use. I do still carry a USB stick on my keyring with Ubuntu since it allows a persistent file. Oh, one thing I also like about using VMs is being able to run all that old Motorola software under Windows 97 (32-bit) that won't even install on a 64-bit platform.

I am a big fan of VirtualBox as well,used it for many years. I find using VMs makes things easier when it comes to drivers and overall performance. I used WINE many years ago and never felt it a reliable option. I'm thinking you might have something going on between Linux and the radio that causes it to hiccup.

As a Linux user myself, I use VMware for all my programming needs. Never a problem and can be moved to different machines if needed.

Yep! It's kinda foolish to not use conduit. It's inexpensive and you don't have to dig again if you have to replace the run or add another. Just because cable is rated direct burial doesn't mean you have to use it that way. I've seen too many direct burial cables get the jacket compromised by small sharp rocks. I won't do a job unless it's in conduit.

That was a good read. Thanks.

That's kinda my point, specs look better on the Heliax. Just trying to figure out why the raves for LMR600.

We have a local discussion here that a lot of pro installers prefer LMR600 over equivalent Heliax. Maybe it's just me, but I'm in the Heliax camp. If LMR600 really is better than Heliax, what are the benefits?

The F150 power is general pretty clean. If you are sure it's the injectors you might have an underlying problem that might leave you stranded one day. Generally you have a few choices for noise, alternator, ignition, and/or injectors. I would definitely go the way you are doing and clean the power up, but don't rule out finding the cause. Sometimes you just can't fix it and masking the issue is the only alternative. Good luck.

Definitely a grounding issue. My suggestion is to also ground the bases of the NMO trunk lip mount. I have a 2013 F150 with the EcoBoost lawnmower engine as well, but I punched holes in the roof, so no issues. The Lincoln had the NMO trunk lip mount on the front hood and I had all my wires and cable in the engine compartment and no noise. The strap will eliminate the noise.