Amature bands VS. GMRS Range

[HHD1]

Here is what I assume is a no brainer question for some. 

Given all things the same as far as terrain, radio, wattage, etc...

Which would have more range in simplex, specifically HT comms, amateur bands or GMRS?  

The google machine is not giving me clear answers, plus I like bugging you fine people with my curiosities. 

[OffRoaderX]

2 minutes ago, nokones said:

approx. 25 miles northwest of Phoenix in "Old People Country" a.k.a. "Limber Dick Acres" where every time your hear a siren there is going to be a future Golf Car For Sale on the near corner and an Estate Sale, which is near a gazillion Jeep trails

This sounds like a beautiful and glorious land of milk and honey!   Literally where we have been house-shopping & planning for when we make our escape from my current State.

[nokones]

2 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

This sounds like a beautiful and glorious land of milk and honey!   Literally where we have been house-shopping & planning for when we make our escape from my current State.

I'm not sure about the milk & honey, but we do have a lot of pucker bushes and giggly weeds and plenty of means to get dirty. I left the same State you're speaking of that is to my left 6 years ago and I haven't looked back nor will I go back and visit. I'm glad I made the move and should have done it sooner.

[BoxCar]

On 5/15/2025 at 11:46 AM, HHD1 said:

Here is what I assume is a no brainer question for some. 

Given all things the same as far as terrain, radio, wattage, etc...

Which would have more range in simplex, specifically HT comms, amateur bands or GMRS?  

The google machine is not giving me clear answers, plus I like bugging you fine people with my curiosities. 

Using HTs, there will be no discernable difference in range for GMRS or amateur frequencies. "

[GreggInFL]

2 hours ago, OffRoaderX said:

This sounds like a beautiful and glorious land of milk and honey!   Literally where we have been house-shopping & planning for when we make our escape from my current State.

Except for the Jeep trails, I thought he was talking about The Villages, FL.

[WRUE951]

10 hours ago, OffRoaderX said:

This sounds like a beautiful and glorious land of milk and honey!    Literally where we have been house-shopping & planning for when we make our escape from my current State.

Amen to that,,  But AZ as a whole does need some work..  

[WRUI365]

Here is a example of LOS communications that say Kenwood dual band ht have done with a Arrow dual band beam antenna and the HT only pushing 5 watts. ISS ring a bell to anyone, voice and packet. There is some advantages with amatuer that gmrs don't have.

 

[WRTC928]

On 5/15/2025 at 7:56 PM, tcp2525 said:

I put my amp in QRP mode and it's idling at 1,300 watts.

I'm of the opinion that on 2m/70cm, anything more than 50 watts is just wasted, with perhaps a few exceptions under very unusual circumstances.

[AdmiralCochrane]

17 hours ago, WRTC928 said:

I'm of the opinion that on 2m/70cm, anything more than 50 watts is just wasted, with perhaps a few exceptions under very unusual circumstances.

Don't tell the EME guys that.   Well, maybe they fit "very unusual circumstances"   LOL

[tcp2525]

2 hours ago, AdmiralCochrane said:

Don't tell the EME guys that.   Well, maybe they fit "very unusual circumstances"   LOL

I generally don't do FT8, but when I do, the amp gets turned down to 600 watts to keep the spirit of making weak signal contacts. When I retire I think that will be a great time for EME.

[marcspaz]

16 minutes ago, tcp2525 said:

I generally don't do FT8, but when I do, the amp gets turned down to 600 watts to keep the spirit of making weak signal contacts. When I retire I think that will be a great time for EME.

 

I can't run more than 100w in any mode that I use my computer for radio control, because the RF messes with my computer. I think it's because of the USB cable, but im too lazy to go buy another one to test.

[tcp2525]

26 minutes ago, marcspaz said:

 

I can't run more than 100w in any mode that I use my computer for radio control, because the RF messes with my computer. I think it's because of the USB cable, but im too lazy to go buy another one to test.

What type of antenna you using? I had the problem with my 80m OCF dipole. I don't think it is a USB problem. A current balun cured my issue. I have USB cables going to all the radios and amp. Even have ethernet cables going to a few radios.

[marcspaz]

1 hour ago, tcp2525 said:

What type of antenna you using? I had the problem with my 80m OCF dipole. I don't think it is a USB problem. A current balun cured my issue. I have USB cables going to all the radios and amp. Even have ethernet cables going to a few radios.

 

Oh! That's good to know. I'm running an OCF 80m dipole, too.  There is a balun at the antenna, but maybe I need one in the house? Maybe on the output of tuner? I have 2 of them that i use when portable, but didn't think about trying one at home. I can try a couple different spots and see what works best. 

[tcp2525]

4 minutes ago, marcspaz said:

 

Oh! That's good to know. I'm running an OCF 80m dipole, too.  There is a balun at the antenna, but maybe I need one in the house? Maybe on the output of tuner? I have 2 of them that i use when portable, but didn't think about trying one at home. I can try a couple different spots and see what works best. 

Keep the original balun on the antenna and put the 1:1 current balun right before it with a short jumper of good quality coax. Get a good balun rated for 5kw from DX Engineering. They are decent quality. 

[marcspaz]

1 hour ago, tcp2525 said:

Keep the original balun on the antenna and put the 1:1 current balun right before it with a short jumper of good quality coax. Get a good balun rated for 5kw from DX Engineering. They are decent quality. 

 

Are you talking about a "Current Choke" very specifically or are you talking about a "Common Mode Choke"?  Many people use Current Choke and Common Mode Choke interchangeably.  These are 2 of the 3 Common Mode chokes that I own... I also have a 100w LDG Current Balun for when I am in the field without the amp (it's not handy for a photo).  I think with the ACOM 1010, the Palomar would be the best choice.

 

[WRYZ926]

I run common mode chokes at the antenna feed points and also use clamp on ferrite beads on all coax and computer cables inside my shack.  A common mode choke helps keep RF from coming back down the coax into the shack. And that is a must especially on 40m.

You can either use a toroid with the proper number of wraps of coax or you can use clamp on ferret beads. You want to use between 5 and 7 clamp on ferrite beads right at the antenna feed point to be effective. Less than 5 ferrite beads will not be very effective.

I had a lot of RF issues with my computer when operating on 40M until I put 7 ferrite beads on the coax at the antenna.

Another source of interference that is often overlooked is network cables. I kept getting interference on my HF radio until I swapped all of my cheap Cat5 cables for shielded Cat 5 and shielded RJ45 connectors.

[tcp2525]

7 hours ago, marcspaz said:

 

Are you talking about a "Current Choke" very specifically or are you talking about a "Common Mode Choke"?  Many people use Current Choke and Common Mode Choke interchangeably.  These are 2 of the 3 Common Mode chokes that I own... I also have a 100w LDG Current Balun for when I am in the field without the amp (it's not handy for a photo).  I think with the ACOM 1010, the Palomar would be the best choice.

 

The one on the right is the exact one I'm using. Thanks for the photo as it helps a lot. Again, I put it real close to the original balun on the antenna.

[WRYZ926]

I had interference issues on 2m when transmitting on 10m when I first installed my Comet GP-9 and my home made 10m inverted v dipole. The 1:1 balun is about 2 feet below the base of the GP-9. I never noticed the issue until I was transmitting on 10m FT8 and talking on the 2m repeater. People told me I had an occasion buzz on my transmission. That only happened when transmitting on 10m FT8 while talking on the 2m repeater.

The fix was five clamp on ferrite beads right at the 1:1 balun and I put three on the coax right at the GP-9. Both coax cables run within 2 inches of each other from the mast all the way until they enter the house.

5 clamp on ferrite beads works for the higher HF bands while 7 works better for the lower HF bands.