TXFitz
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Posts posted by TXFitz
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On 12/12/2022 at 2:11 AM, fe2o3 said:
'Fitz. has it cooled off enough for ya?
Yes sir. Sorry, I have not checked in here in quite some time. Finally got my base antenna (Diamond V2000a) that is a tri-bander for 6m, 2m and 73cm and Nano VNA scan shows VSWR 1.4 to 1.3 across all the GMRS freqs. I've got it 30 ft up on a flagpole and been chatting a bit on the Sheraton Dallas repeater.
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That dish post will do a fine job. The below clamps (you'll need two) will work on a post up to 4 inches. I'll be using an old satellite dish post in my yard to erect a 20 to 30 foot mast.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NZ7RZK9?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
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18 minutes ago, KAF6045 said:
Not really... It may be tunable, but you'll need to shorten it a fair amount but you won't be able to use it for 146MHz, 445MHz (I'm picking mid range of most repeaters), AND 463MHz (rounding up) even if you use a reversed antenna selection switch (instead of picking from two antennas, sharing one antenna with two radios -- a bit of a risk as they aren't perfect and some signal leakage can feed back down the "off" side... and with 100W out, that leakage might be enough to damage the receive input of the other radio. I really need to modify my shack by using four switches to allow for || with two antennas, and then X with the two [bottom are radios, top are antennas])
463MHz is ~65cm. Assuming quarter-wave whip, you are looking at cutting 1.25cm off the antenna (half an inch); most don't have that much adjustment range using set screws and shifting the whip.
Looking at the manual for the GP-9... It is NOT tunable, it is manufactured "tuned" for the 2m/70cm bands, and appears to be phased/stacked half-wave antennas (2m half-wave is 1m and this antenna is 5 of those in length, 14 for 70cm unless trapped internally to a shorter length).
(nice, but pricey... I'm halfway through installing an MFJ ground-plane 2m/70cm that I've had for half a decade onto the end of the garage... Need to get suitable hex-head wood screws for the five attachment points -- and a day when the temp&humidity aren't so high! Running a "wire rope" with adjustment turnbuckle between the house eave and garage eave did me in today [this is for me to loosely spiral the coax around, rather than have 10-15ft of coax dangling between buildings])
I suspect 445 and 463MHz are close enough that fitting a GMRS antenna in parallel (on the other side of the mast) is going to cause problems -- detuning of both, possible reflector/director effects making the pattern of the antennas somewhat directional... AND OVERLOADING the receive circuits of a unit when the other is transmitting.
Thanks KAF6045 I did find the GP-6NC GP-9NC that are dual band and tuned for GMRS so that appears to be the best route for me for when I include 2 meters to my set-up.
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I'm in the same position as WRPH745 where I've got my GRMS license and will be working on getting my ham technician license so I want an antenna that will work on 2 meter, 70cm and GRMS. I am thinking about the Comet GP-9 dual band (no plans for 6 meters). Is this antenna tunable or will it have good SWR for GMRS band out of the box. Anyone else using this antenna for GMRS? Thanks in advance for the input.
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On 8/1/2022 at 3:02 AM, fe2o3 said:
'Fitz,
Most any UHF-capable ham radio is capable of listening to GMRS or anything else up to ~ 470-MHz. Getting them to transmit is another story entirely. Your KG1000 will let you listen to more than you thought existed.
If you and Nitro wanna get together sometime and talk radios, by all means, just lemme know. I'm available most any time.
-Rusty-
I'd like that when it cools off Rusty.
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On 7/28/2022 at 5:47 PM, NitroNarco said:
TXFitz, I'm probably newer at this than you
I've had no luck connecting with listed repeaters so far. Could be my settings, could be my radio won’t reach.
I've only had my license for a bit over a week. I've listened with the HTs but have yet to talked to anyone. I just received my Wouxun KG1000 and will be setting it up as a base with a mobile antenna.
Rusty, I'd like to learn more about your ham radios that will listen
to GMRS. I am thinking about studying for my ham license but want to listen to all the bands before I make the leap.
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I'm a newbie as well and in Prosper near Custer and Prosper Trail. I only have a HT at the moment but have a mobile/base ordered. Are there any repeaters we can reach in the area?
BTECH GMRS-50X1 50W...
in General Discussion
Posted
I had one along with a Wouxoun KG1000 and the receiver on the BTECH was pretty poor. Side by side direct comparison using the same antenna. I would not recommend that BTECH model.