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Hey everyone, I'm hoping to get some help with a bit of a head-scratcher. I recently installed a Btech 50 watt radio with a Tram 1181 antenna on an MNO mount. I've double-checked that everything is grounded properly, and while the radio transmits just fine, the reception is absolutely plagued with noise. Here's the weird part: if I completely remove the antenna from the MNO mount (but leave the mount itself attached to the bracket), reception improves dramatically! It's still not perfect, but it's a world of difference compared to having the antenna screwed on normally. In its normal configuration, the reception quality is worse than my handheld radio, and the range is definitely suffering too. I'm at a loss here. Any ideas what could be causing this? I am thinking antenna but I am not sure. VID-20240417-WA0019.mp4

Looking to pair a Midland MXT275 GMRS radio in a vehicle with a Browning BR-176-S antenna (pic attached). Having trouble researching NMO mag-mount antennas for this in terms of finding one with low loss. Have read these mounts can be very lossy. They all seem to use RG-58 cables and the cable lengths only vary by a few feet (don't want cut it shorter and install new connector). Anyone have strong feelings toward a particular NMO mag-mount (with cable) when it comes to loss considerations? Antenna note: I need a short antenna to get in my garage; want it on the roof of the bride's Forester. Considered a 6db lip-mounted 5/8 wave on the lower corner of the hatch near the rear bumper, but the cost goes up (as does gain) but I felt it might be less "omni-directional" if it were mounted there. Was looking at the Midland MXTA10 antenna but it's discontinued and not available in the more common places. Suspect the Browning might be a bit better quality but, right now, it's the only one I can find that's short enough for my considerations so I think I'm going with it. Anyway, I'm searching for an NMO mag-mount and would love to hear back if anyone has any knowlege about which models might have less loss. The radio is only 15W so I wanna retain as much power as I can.

I hear a lot discussion about the superiority of NMO over Mag Mounts. It usually ranges from very little difference to NMO being a vastly better performer. Those using mag mounts say that if the magnet is big enough and the capacitive coupling solid that there is very little difference. Those with the NMO's say that you can't get a good ground with a mag mount. My question is does anyone have any hard data showing how much improvement can be obtained by drilling a hole and solid mounting the antenna? Someone must have studied this at some point in time or performed some experiments. Thanks! Sasquatch