SteveShannon

It on your highest level profile, not the forum profile. Toggle the switch that says Weekly Repeater Digest:
 

I like making my own wire antennas for ham radio and I have an antenna analyzer and a nanoVNA which both help with tuning (interchangeably-you don’t need both). It’s one of the more rewarding aspects of amateur radio, and tuning an antenna that is designed to cover the range of frequencies to a specific frequency such as for GMRS is straightforward, but there’s a learning curve for the process and the tools. Like many hobby projects it can be very frustrating if you don’t have a mentor close by. 

The higher the frequency the shorter the wavelength and the smaller the opening that can penetrate. 

Thanks for the responses guys. I think now it is just easier to buy one. I might try to tune one eventually just to get the experience. Looks like there are a couple with good reviews on Amazon. 

Thanks for all the input! 
Oh, and if you are a DAD, Happy Father's Day in advance!
 
 

Hi Brad,
Antennas are much more than simply a good SWR reading. A dummy load will provide nearly perfect SWR while emitting very little RF.
All antennas have gain, which is a concentration of the emitted RF in a particular pattern, expressed in dBi or dBd.  
If you have time, knowledge, and the right tools it’s possible to make and tune an antenna to perform as well as a commercial antenna.  I wouldn’t advise it for someone who’s eager to get on the air though.  And if your time is valuable it’s unlikely you’ll save money. Most antenna are already made of materials unlikely to corrode although sometimes manufacturers screw up and use set screws that are not stainless.

That would be a lot of hugs. I'm 1 of five boys and all of us are married, plus five grandkids. 

My Mom is 75 years young today.

I would clean up the language. Anything more can still be done later if necessary. 
 

Hi Brad,
Antennas are much more than simply a good SWR reading. A dummy load will provide nearly perfect SWR while emitting very little RF.
All antennas have gain, which is a concentration of the emitted RF in a particular pattern, expressed in dBi or dBd.  
If you have time, knowledge, and the right tools it’s possible to make and tune an antenna to perform as well as a commercial antenna.  I wouldn’t advise it for someone who’s eager to get on the air though.  And if your time is valuable it’s unlikely you’ll save money. Most antenna are already made of materials unlikely to corrode although sometimes manufacturers screw up and use set screws that are not stainless.

Which is BS. If we were trying to do anything 100% on our own we'd still be living in caves eating whatever grew on the land and whatever squirrel we could manage to hit with a rock.

Every occupation and hobby has some people who look down on others.  There’s no denying that. But if you feel that anyone who has had to pass an exam to get a license looks down at you, the problem might not be entirely them. I’ve been taught a lot over the years by licensed plumbers and electricians who have been very helpful.  Not one of them gave me the feeling that they looked down on me.

I've had them say to me well I had to pass a test and endure ongoing education.  Well big whoop.  I had to learn my trade 100% on my own without help from a myriad of teachers and employers.  School of hard knocks as it's known.
I'm sure they'd have a harder time with my profession then I'd have with theirs.  Love it when they say carpenters are a dime a dozen.  Ya, crappy ones maybe.

The group of guys that I met on air on CB, and in real life, were a lot more welcoming to me than the group I met on air when I first got my ham license. We had more fun than the hams at that time too. 

Well, I'm one of those that had to pass three tests to get my license and I'm not on a pedestal looking down on anyone. And that first bunch of hams that I met didn't know I was active on CB either. They were just a bunch of douches, which is why I didn't hang around their club much longer after I found out their true colors. 

That's only 4 paragraphs... 😄

No. As long as you do it right/dont screw it up, you lose nothing.. 
The SWR is a good indicator to let you know there are no shorts in your coax/connectors and the antenna is not way out of tune - but yes there is more:  Does it actually work?.. and the answer is probably yes...  
You are already WAY over-thinking all of this. Just install everything, double-check with your SWR meter, then go enjoy your radios.  

Seeing  higher return power would be due to the antenna having a high SWR as it is reflecting power back down the coax.
That's why a dummy load should be used to test power output as the dummy load is a perfect 50 ohm match and should show a 1:1 SWR. That takes out coax loss and reflected power returning down the cable.

I have no idea why anyone would want to. 

You are seeing loss from the coax and/or the antenna. Using quality coax and a good antenna with some gain will help overcome any loss. A dummy load will show a perfect match of 50 ohms, there won't be any loss with the dummy load.
@OffRoaderX was that a simple response? I know I have a ways to go to catch up to @SteveShannon 😅

I still have a ways to go before I reach @SteveShannon status 🤣

less than 10 paragraphs and no big technical-sounding words, so you did good!

This is correct.. The antenna on both my Jeeps is mounted on the rear tailgate where all of the "experts" have decreed it "will not work!!!1" because the lack of a perfect ground plane..
It is true the antennas would likely perform better with a good ground plane but both antennas have an SWR of around 2, and I regularly talk with people dozens of miles away, and was able to hit a repeater 93 miles away.  

If you use sort by date, you can usually figure out whether you are about to repeat something someone else posted a week earlier.  Sort by votes can hide this from you.

Yeah, toting around an HT with a  5 foot antenna is a little annoying! FRS is a little more convenient and less obvious when you are walking around.