Antenna question.

[WSHI752]

Alright, so I have a Retevis RA25 mounted in my Xterra. Right now I'm using an NMO mag mount MXT-A26 antenna. It works great for GMRS. I used to have the Nagoya UT-72G mag mount hooked up to a TD-H3. I seemed to be able to get a lot more reception on that set up, using both GMRS and HAM. With the UT-72G, I was able to get NOAA channel 5 in super clear, plus I think channels 4,3, and 1 a little bit. With the MXT-A26, I can only get NOAA channel 5, from the same spot.

I know the MXT-A26 is tuned specifically for GMRS. My question is, should I get the Comet 2x4SRNMO antenna? I would like to be able to just screw it into the NMO mount and not switch out the whole thing. I'm not HAM licensed yet, but I like to listen. And also I would like to have it in case of emergency. Plus I probably will eventually get my HAM license.

[Socalgmrs]

While I like the ut72 and think it would work well for most people the mxt26 is a big step up.  However the 2x4 is a much bigger step up.  It doubled our tx and made our rx much more clear.  Other then one old truck still running the 72 all our other trucks now run 2x4s.  Even with 20w radios if we can see it we can hit it out over 100miles simplex in the clear and we get all the available weather stations and murs comes in RX perfect as well.  

[WRYZ926]

Yes the Comet 2x4SR will be an improvement if you want multi band use. You are correct that you would not have to change the mag mount to go from the MXT-26 to the 2x4SR. All you have to do is swap them out on your mag mount.

I would run the 2x4SR on my Ford Escape all of the time if I didn't have height restrictions to deal with.

[WSHI752]

Thanks guys! Great help.

[WRTC928]

The only reason I don't run the 2x4 on my truck is that it doesn't like the very limited ground plane I get on the back of the bed. It works like a dream on the roof of my car, though. It's probably the most versatile multi-band antenna available. Mine even shows excellent SWRs in the 220 MHz band. A good SWR doesn't necessarily mean it will transmit well on that band -- the ability to transmit is dependent upon the electrical and physical characteristics of the radiating element -- but it does mean that if I try it, it's very unlikely to damage my radio. I likely will try it sometime just out of curiosity.