tcp2525

Good information but, the DB20 has excellent RF final protection by cutting back output power the hotter it gets. Trust me, I put my DB20 through living hell and it got so hot that it will burn you. Mine put out 17w when cold and down to 9w when really hot. That said, you would be hard pressed to find a DB20 that has a burnt PA. If only Yaesu could design a dual band radio that is as robust as the DB20 I would be happy.

You did a very nice job and did it right by going with the NMO mount. A permanent install is much more preferred over magnet or trunk lip mounts. I'm glad that you paid extreme attention to details when it comes to airbags and other safety accessories. While it generally and rarely isn't an issue, running your coax close to the airbag isn't a good idea. Fortunately, most four door cars use airbag curtains above the doorjamb and in the roof so fishing the wire through the pillar is an easy and safe route. Again, nice install and enjoy.

Welcome to the forum and enjoy. Great post about the usefulness and benefits of radio communications. My feeling is radio is radio no matter it be GMRS, Ham Radio, or CB and they are all useful and are intertwined. Make the best of all radio platforms and enjoy the forum.

Very true! I used to make the harness back in the day, but I find power dividers more practical and easier to make. Here's one after being tested on the spectrum analyzer, still has the 50 ohm terminations on it. 432 MHz Power Divider totally sealed and water tight. Modified 3/4" Copper TEE on type "M" copper pipe. 11mm Brass Tubing

Damn, I think that I'm selling my LDF4-50a spool ends too cheaply at $1.00 a foot! I must have been board, so I played with a crushed end of Heliax and was able to clean it up with the prep tool. Just experimenting and this piece won't be used and tost in the trash.

I don't remember the size but they are definitely metric.

Finally, someone that knows what he's talking about. Hardline is the only way to go. Stop wasting money on LMR-400 and buy the real deal, Heliax. You'll never find LMR-400 on any of my installations. Might as well use RG-8x and generate heat.

Understand. Don't beat yourself up as we all went down this rabbit hole at least once. Too much marketing hype and other forms of misinformation one expects to find on the internet.

I'm not sure why people feel they are going to get "gain" from a rubber duck. You are going to get nothing but a rugged flexible compromise, nothing more. These type of antennas are designed to radiate just enough to get you to a reliable repeater. The repeater does all the work. Sometimes you get a performer and sometimes not. Anyone that tells you that you're getting "gain" from a rubber duck doesn't understand the purpose of why they put flexible antennas on portables.

I think that the use of FRS radios, which don't need a license, when committing a felony would be a chargeable offense should the Federal government want to go that route.

I dropped my mail-in ballot in the dropbox the first day it was open in Maryland. I did my part and selected the candidate I want to win. Whether or not my vote makes a difference isn't for me to decide. I proudly did my part.

Nice!!! I wish I had pictures of my Pearce Simpson Bengal with the Siltronix 90 VFO connected to a PDL2 from back in the 70s. Talk about a fun setup. I had so much fun and made so many contacts around the world which yielded boxes and boxes of QSL cards. As a ham now, I have absolutely no interest in swapping QSL cards.

Damn, you should have saved the money and went with a quarter wave!!!

Not as old, but I was happy when the 49MHz walkies came out. Much better tech and performance. But I was happy as hell back in the early 70s with the 27MHz walki-talkies. Fun times.

Or do Slow Scan TV like the hams did back in the day.

The bandwidth required would definitely kill GMRS. Just thinking what ifs out loud.

Agree that dealing with these big companies can be a real abstract feces show in the highest order. I'm really happy with Consumer Cellular's drive to give great customer service. When I first went with them I called for customer assistance and was literally talking to a human being in under three minutes, whom spoke marvelous English without an Indian accent. Best part they comprehended exactly what they were actually saying and had a high degree of knowledge. I said to myself, this can't be real. Compare that to Verizon's customer service, it sucks having to go through a computer generated gauntlet to even be considered for a conversation with a human. I love FiOS, had it for twenty years, but their corporate BS is intolerable. Wouldn't it be nice to stream data over GMRS and start our own network?

And don't forget to draw blood. If you don't have a bloody injury, even if it's a papercut,the project will fail. Trust me, that's the way it always works.

They use AT&T. I have to say my cell service has been awesome and reliable. No missed calls or texts. Plus, I can make calls without delay or multiple attempts. And no, it wasn't my phone and Verizon couldn't fix the problem. Of course, Consumer Cellular might put us lower in the pecking order, but I don't see that happening too often. Better service at a lower price is a win-win for me.

Yep, and these are the same people bitching about not being able to contact their loved ones on 9/11. As for Verizon, I'm not surprised as I was a customer since their inception back in 2000 and I left their wireless in the dust because of poor service. It wasn't their stupidly high prices that drove me away, it was they got so unreliable as I was not getting calls or texts days on end. I went to Consumer Cellular and haven't looked back. And don't get me started on their customer support. Getting a human in under 15 minutes is like climbing the Swiss Alps, a real f'n challenge. And once you get one, you have to hope they comprehend English. Oh, and I still have FiOS, which they have yet to screw up.

Mediocre SWR, but met specs per manufacturer. The biggest problem was lack of performance compared to the lesser Tram 1486 antenna. I couldn't get into local repeaters that shouldn't have been a problem. The second one I just got is really performing better than I expected. It's meeting up to the performance claims we read about on this forum.

Yep, it's always good to have a great vendor you can depend on. I've always used DXE and HRO as they resolve issues without all the misery some people have with other vendors. My last 712 was a dud and I had to return it for a refund. I decided to wait until they cleared present stock before ordering a replacement. The second one I just got is the winner.

DX Engineering is the only place, as well as HRO, one should buy from. Great people at both establishments.

Good news!!! The antenna finally arrived today. It was well worth waiting six months for the old stock to be depleted and the new batch to be shipped. My compliments to Mr. Yakamoto for assembling and tuning, he nailed it. A quick sweep with the VNA on my ground jig placing the antenna six feet off the ground yielded 1.510:1 @ 462.550 and 1.019:1 @ 467.725. I also hooked up the HT and was able to hit distant repeaters the first antenna couldn't. That said, I feel a little more confident when I get my fat ass up the tower it should perform really well when I connect the Heliax to it. Happy, Happy!!!

Nope, MIL-Spec RG-400. Don't need a 100' run in a car.