SteveShannon

That’s completely wrong. To calculate ERP you take the RF power input to the antenna and apply the gain.

I don’t know what the elements are made from. If they’re stainless, soldering becomes more difficult, but StaBrite solder works well for stainless. If they’re aluminum you won’t be able to solder them with normal techniques but you could crimp on an extension. I would scour the aluminum surfaces and apply penetrox to the surfaces.

Your investment isn’t a total waste. Although I haven’t tried that antenna I know of forum members who have and got decent results. Do you have an antenna analyzer so you can sweep it? And disregard negative comments from 381. For some reason that’s what he does more often than not.

Mobile, but it certainly could be used for base if you give it a mount with a ground plane. The MXTA26 comes without a base.

Midland mxta26.

On the first one, did you check the SWR before you cut it? Was SWR higher or lower? It looks like you have two different versions of the antenna.

Define “worth the price”. It’s truly a subjective question. Good antennas can really make a difference, but most of the better manufacturers already include a pretty decent antenna. I like having extra batteries but I don’t have headsets and hand mics for all of them. Having extra batteries makes a “rapid charger” less necessary. Your comparison to firearms is a reasonable analogy.

I don’t know anything about hate or controversy over squelch. Now, politics is a different matter. But let’s just see if we can get you back to hearing repeaters first and then transmitting to them. I already posted with a suggestion to change squelch mode to Tone, rather than TSQL. In that mode your receiver will let everything through. I like to work methodically through different things to rule them out. Once you hear the traffic on the repeater just fine then we can tackle transmitting. Now if you’re concerned about carrier squelch, that could also interrupt listening and there are some deeper settings in some software defined radios that affect carrier squelch. But actually activating repeaters comes down to two things: transmitting on the correct frequency and transmitting the necessary code or tone so the repeater doesn’t disregard your call. Of course this assumes you’re within range.

A long run of lossy coax will always result in lower SWR measured at the radio. The choice of radio should have very little effect on the actual SWR. Some SWR meters won’t detect reflected power well at low power levels. Or maybe it’s just a well tuned antenna.

What changed? Or more to the point, what did you change? Squelch settings on your radio will have no effect on activating repeaters, but could prevent you from hearing the repeater. So I would suggest changing squelch mode to Tone, and definitely not TSQL, first. That way you can hear the repeater as long as you are on the right frequency. Then just listen to verify that you hear the repeaters when others activate them.

Sometimes RF from an antenna lower to the ground doesn’t have to struggle to get through as much foliage as when the antenna is raised to the same level as the thickest leaves.

Yes, it’s frequently done. You’ll need an adapter to go from the connector on the radio (SMA usually) to the cable for the antenna which will almost certainly be a PL-259 connector. SO-239 is the female connector that mates with a PL-259.

Did you bolt them together somehow to reduce movement of the joints?

The antenna might be a problem, but 100 feet of rg58 is a worse problem at uhf frequencies. Less than a tenth of your power ever makes it to the antenna.

That 6 db difference is true for 100 feet of LMR400 compared to 100 feet of RG8x, but for any other distances the losses must be scaled up or down according to the distance. For instance, at 200 feet, the losses through LMR400 will be about 6 db (3/4 of the power is attenuated), but the losses through RG8x will amount to 18 db, meaning only 1/64 of the RF power reaches the antenna; 63/64 is attenuated. Putting that into ERP values with a 6 db antenna and 50 watt output radio, 12.5 watts makes it through the LMR 400 to the feedpoint. Then the antenna adds 6 db gain so the ERP is 50 watts. For the RG8x, 50/64 watt makes it to the antenna (0.78125 watts) and the ERP is 3.125 watts.

If it’s the same call sign as quoted in the first post it should be very easy for you to look up.

Ms. Carter, Really, as WRXB215 suggests, the best thing you can do is attend either a nearby GMRS club, or perhaps even a ham radio club. The concepts are exactly the same either way.

I like how Reeves distills the requirements for antennas. I serve on the NFPA (but not the technical committee that does the NEC) and it’s difficult writing code that’s clear.

And we’re so glad you grace us with your superiority.

Good job figuring that out. I’m not sure I could have.

I did. As I explained it doesn’t require that the radio be an amateur radio, only that the user have an amateur radio license issued by the FCC. So, a licensed amateur radio operator could operate any kind of two way radio. Of course FCC regulations would require that a person also have a license for the service being used.

I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t see how GMRS can be considered Amateur Radio. GMRS can be used for business purposes, requires certified transmitters, and is very clearly differentiated in the regulations from Amateur Radio. However, the law clearly doesn’t require that the radio be an amateur radio. It simply requires that the user have an amateur radio license issued by the FCC. So, get a technician class license also.

Welcome to the forums. You’ll fit right in. There is an ignore list. 381 is on it for a few people. I could be too.

This is the one that I think will be the solution. I'm on my way to try it right now. Thanks again, Amaff. That was it. Before I had been adjusting the Step Size down in the channel list. The menu item #6 isn't even visible if you're not in VFO mode. My Step Size had been set to 25KHz. I have set it to 5KHz now.

You may be able to put "None" in there. It's not required in any case and I don't know why it reports less than 100%.