New to GMRS Loving It So Far, Looking for Advice on Mobile Setup

[WSIK420]

Hey all,

As the title says, I’m new to GMRS, and so far, I’m loving this hobby! I only got into it about three weeks ago, but let’s be honest: I’m not made of money, so I’m trying to be smart about what to upgrade next.

That said, I think my next step is a mobile unit. I’ve been doing a lot of research and ended up finding this forum, so I wanted to share my beginner setup ideas and see what advice you all have.

I’ve been looking at the BTECH GMRS-50X2 with a programming cable. From what I understand, I probably don’t need 50 watts, since watts alone don’t get you distance — it’s more about the antenna and setup. But the radio seems to have solid reviews and a decent price point, so I’m leaning that way. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Now, I know the antenna is key. I really don’t want a mag-mount, so I’ve been looking into mounting one on my truck — a 2005 Chevy 2500. The problem is, I can’t seem to find a proper NMO fender bracket. Most of what I’m seeing are CB brackets with a 3/8" hole instead of NMO. I know there are clip-on styles, but I’d prefer to bolt it in for a cleaner and more secure install. I would remove the 3/8 part for the NMO-style antenna.

I found a coax cable from HYS (part number TCJ-N1) that looks interesting — the NMO connector comes apart so it can sandwich between a bracket. It’s 13 feet long, which I think might be enough if I mount the radio on top of the dash, but if I go lower (like near the center console), it might fall short. I’ve seen extension cables, but I’ve also read that more fittings = more signal loss, so I’d rather avoid them if I can.

As for the antenna itself, I’ve narrowed it down to two options:

• HYS pre-tuned antenna (B0CZL5DY4T)

• Midland MXTA26

I like both because they’re close to 3 feet tall. I daily-drive my truck, go through car washes, and hit up drive-thrus, so I don’t want an antenna that’ll be smacking everything in sight.

The specs on both seem decent. I usually haul a camper around with a convoy of friends (hoping to convince them to get GMRS licenses soon), and we often go over mountain passes and travel all over. That said, I’ve read that 3 dB antennas are better in hills, while 6 dB works better for flat areas because it flattens the signal. Would I notice the difference much as a beginner?

I’ve also been trying to wrap my head around ground planes. Since I’d likely mount the antenna near the windshield (up on the fender or cowl area), I’m not sure how much metal it will actually be over. That plastic panel under the wipers concerns me. Do I need to add anything to improve the ground field? Or would a solid hood/fender bracket be enough?

I know a pre-tuned antenna sounds great, but I’ve also read that checking SWR is important. I don’t have an SWR meter yet, and I'd rather hold off on that expense if I can. Maybe I could borrow one from someone nearby? Everyone I’ve met in the hobby so far has been super nice, so I feel like someone might be willing to help me check it.

I don’t want to waste money on low-quality stuff or end up frustrated. I’d rather spend wisely and enjoy the hobby long-term. I’d love to hear your thoughts or any suggestions you have for a good first mobile setup.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to keep learning from everyone here. Hopefully I’ll catch some of you on the air one day!

Thanks,
WSIK420

[WSHH887]

Welcome to the fold. I'll leave the technical stuff to guys like Steve. 
 

But I want to warn you someone here will likely tell you GMRS isn't a hoot like HAM. But take heart, their opinions hold no sway. And there's a good thread on how to block this individual. 
 

GMRS user is clunky. I going to start using GMRS'rs.  Hey, it's a couple of letters shorter. 

[tcp2525]

If you're looking for a trunk lip mount this is the best one on the market and comes with everything you need. And the Midland antenna will work perfectly with the Comet mount.

https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/cma-cp-5nmo

 

[gortex2]

NMO Bracket and Mount

https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-categories/nmo-vehicle-specific-mounts/3663-avalanche-silverado-classic-2003-2007-detail

Chevrolet Avalanche (2004-2006)

Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2500, 3500 (2003-2006)

Chevrolet Silverado Classic (2007)

 

 

[AdmiralCochrane]

Will you notice a difference in the antennas?  At normal effective GMRS fars, probably not.  Going for super extended mountain top to mountain top with antennas out of polarization angle agreement, yes.

[GreggInFL]

I'm new to this also and went through the same progression, i.e. HT to mobile, with the expectation of eventually adding a base station -- maybe a repeater at some point. All this would, obviously, require lots of equipment and a modest stack of bucks, especially with more than one vehicle in the household.

I've satisfied all of my use cases and spent a total of less than $150. How? By making everything portable. I have a 25W mobile radio and a small 3dB mag mount antenna. The radio plugs in to the cars' cigarette lighters so nothing is hard wired. I can move it between the cars and bring it inside to use as a base station. As I type it's sitting behind me in a closet atop a pizza pan hitting a repeater that's about 30 miles away. Hell, I could use it on my fiberglass boat but I don't want to explain why I have a pizza pan on the bow.

Is this top-notch gear? Nope, but it works very well for me. I'll eventually upgrade (probably the antenna), but for now everything is working everywhere, and I haven't drilled a single hole.

Oops, forgot the new inside power supply, so let's call it $200 total.

[Majik]

50W is a lot and generally overkill to hit local repeaters. And in many cases, you won’t get enough amps to the radio to really sustain 50W. I’d say 25W mobile radios are more than plenty. And if you still need a little more range (?), try a higher gain antenna with a better ground plane position. IMHO

[MSnow]

I have tons of radios, when I caught the bug i started getting everything that came out and seemed awesome. Unfortunately most of that is marketing. Here is what I found. When it comes to GMRS radios none of them are as good as the Wouxon radios, for mobile the KG1000g plus. The MXTA25 is one of the best if not the best antenna you can get it really is amazing. With that said if your not mounting it with a ground plane like the middle of the roof you would be better off getting a ground independent antenna. Comet has the GI series coming out they are primarily designed for vehicles that are not made of steel, but will work well for fender mounts. The other options that are good are to get old commercial radios like Kenwood, Motorola, or iCom. Hope it helps.

[Bogieboy01]

Not knowing what your locale presents for terrain, i live in the fingerlakes region of NY, and have a mix of plains like and some more hilly terrain, but my mobile setup is an anytone 778uv, with a cheap ghost antenna (stubby) on a mag mount on the back end of my subaru forester next t the stock fm radio antenna, and i can hit the local repeater 30 miles away with no issues. My "base" unit is also an anytone 778 uv, with a cheap amazon "6 db" pl239 mount antenna mounted on a ground plane on the end of a 10ft piece of conduit screwed to the side of my apartment building LOL and that can reliably hit the local repeaters from 25 mi away as well... the mag mounts do make things significantly easier on the cars, aside from what car washes you can use...LOL

[WRUE951]

54 minutes ago, MSnow said:

I have tons of radios, when I caught the bug i started getting everything that came out and seemed awesome. Unfortunately most of that is marketing. Here is what I found. When it comes to GMRS radios none of them are as good as the Wouxon radios, for mobile the KG1000g plus. The MXTA25 is one of the best if not the best antenna you can get it really is amazing. With that said if your not mounting it with a ground plane like the middle of the roof you would be better off getting a ground independent antenna. Comet has the GI series coming out they are primarily designed for vehicles that are not made of steel, but will work well for fender mounts. The other options that are good are to get old commercial radios like Kenwood, Motorola, or iCom. Hope it helps.

.I've got 22 HT's 15 are brand new in the box... Mostly Baufangs     When i got hooked on Hytera HT's i quite playing with the Baufangs.  I still like my Wouxuns  

[Jaay]

6 hours ago, Majik said:

50W is a lot and generally overkill to hit local repeaters. And in many cases, you won’t get enough amps to the radio to really sustain 50W. I’d say 25W mobile radios are more than plenty. And if you still need a little more range (?), try a higher gain antenna with a better ground plane position. IMHO

It Only takes 10 amps max to support a 50 watt transmitter, so not really true. 

[WRTC928]

5 hours ago, Jaay said:

It Only takes 10 amps max to support a 50 watt transmitter, so not really true. 

Yes, but in a lot of vehicles, getting a consistent 10 amps through the cigarette lighter plug can be impossible. Not necessarily, because my Chevrolet Trax will deliver 16 amps all day long, but many vehicles -- especially older vehicles -- won't. 

That said, depending upon where you live and what you want to do, 50 watts may be overkill. The quad-band radio in my truck will deliver 50 watts, but I usually run it on 12. In my location and for what I do, if 25 watts won't get me there, 50 won't either. My take is that you should get a radio that has the features you want, but don't pay extra to get more than 25 watts unless you know you're going to need the extra power. 

Virtually all antennas will work better with a good ground plane, but a trunk lip mount or hood lip mount can deliver well enough for a lot of users. There's a plethora of good antennas and you'll get about as many opinions as there are users, but a few tend to stick out. The Comet 2x4SR is a remarkably good all-purpose antenna and it can perform acceptably on a lip mount. The Midland Ghost surprised me with how well it performed, but I didn't try it on a lip mount. For a mag mount, I've gotten good results with a Nagoya UT-72, although others report that they haven't. The advantage to a mag mount is that you can move it around until you find a suitable ground plane. There are a number of good lip mount NMO units, you just need to keep looking. 

[WRYZ926]

6 hours ago, Jaay said:

It Only takes 10 amps max to support a 50 watt transmitter, so not really true. 

That really depends on the radio, each will be different. Some 50 watt radios will draw up to 13-14 amps while transmitting on high power. The Icom IC-2730A draws 13 amps and the Wouxun KG-1000G draws 12 amps. Each brand/model will vary on how much current they draw.

1 hour ago, WRTC928 said:

Yes, but in a lot of vehicles, getting a consistent 10 amps through the cigarette lighter plug can be impossible. Not necessarily, because my Chevrolet Trax will deliver 16 amps all day long, but many vehicles -- especially older vehicles -- won't. 

Vehicles have not had actual cigarette lighters in them for quite some time now. Those were normally rated a little higher than the accessory socket found in most vehicles now days. Most manufacturers protect the accessory ports with a 10 amp fuse and the owner's manuals state to never exceed 10 amps.

As you said, getting consistent power through a cigarette lighter/accessory port is not the most reliable. Plus you always take a greater chance of getting interference in the radio from the vehicle wiring or rf interference from the radio when using an accessory port.

[Lscott]

On 6/1/2025 at 3:25 AM, WSIK420 said:

Hey all,

As the title says, I’m new to GMRS, and so far, I’m loving this hobby! I only got into it about three weeks ago, but let’s be honest: I’m not made of money, so I’m trying to be smart about what to upgrade next.

That said, I think my next step is a mobile unit. I’ve been doing a lot of research and ended up finding this forum, so I wanted to share my beginner setup ideas and see what advice you all have.

I’ve been looking at the BTECH GMRS-50X2 with a programming cable. From what I understand, I probably don’t need 50 watts, since watts alone don’t get you distance — it’s more about the antenna and setup. But the radio seems to have solid reviews and a decent price point, so I’m leaning that way. Would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Now, I know the antenna is key. I really don’t want a mag-mount, so I’ve been looking into mounting one on my truck — a 2005 Chevy 2500. The problem is, I can’t seem to find a proper NMO fender bracket. Most of what I’m seeing are CB brackets with a 3/8" hole instead of NMO. I know there are clip-on styles, but I’d prefer to bolt it in for a cleaner and more secure install. I would remove the 3/8 part for the NMO-style antenna.

I found a coax cable from HYS (part number TCJ-N1) that looks interesting — the NMO connector comes apart so it can sandwich between a bracket. It’s 13 feet long, which I think might be enough if I mount the radio on top of the dash, but if I go lower (like near the center console), it might fall short. I’ve seen extension cables, but I’ve also read that more fittings = more signal loss, so I’d rather avoid them if I can.

As for the antenna itself, I’ve narrowed it down to two options:

• HYS pre-tuned antenna (B0CZL5DY4T)

• Midland MXTA26

I like both because they’re close to 3 feet tall. I daily-drive my truck, go through car washes, and hit up drive-thrus, so I don’t want an antenna that’ll be smacking everything in sight.

The specs on both seem decent. I usually haul a camper around with a convoy of friends (hoping to convince them to get GMRS licenses soon), and we often go over mountain passes and travel all over. That said, I’ve read that 3 dB antennas are better in hills, while 6 dB works better for flat areas because it flattens the signal. Would I notice the difference much as a beginner?

I’ve also been trying to wrap my head around ground planes. Since I’d likely mount the antenna near the windshield (up on the fender or cowl area), I’m not sure how much metal it will actually be over. That plastic panel under the wipers concerns me. Do I need to add anything to improve the ground field? Or would a solid hood/fender bracket be enough?

I know a pre-tuned antenna sounds great, but I’ve also read that checking SWR is important. I don’t have an SWR meter yet, and I'd rather hold off on that expense if I can. Maybe I could borrow one from someone nearby? Everyone I’ve met in the hobby so far has been super nice, so I feel like someone might be willing to help me check it.

I don’t want to waste money on low-quality stuff or end up frustrated. I’d rather spend wisely and enjoy the hobby long-term. I’d love to hear your thoughts or any suggestions you have for a good first mobile setup.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to keep learning from everyone here. Hopefully I’ll catch some of you on the air one day!

Thanks,
WSIK420

Looks like you've done a fair job of researching your options.

Lets start with the antenna system.

First off I wouldn't worry too much about a few extra feed of coax cable. Likely the mount you will use has RG-58 type cable. A few may use the thinner RG-316, noticeably higher loss, but easier to route through small holes and other tight spaces. With RG-58 the difference between 13 feet verses the typical 17 foot long ones isn't worth worrying about. More on that later.

The antenna is where you shouldn't compromise. The same goes for the location on the vehical. Your usage case may justify two antennas. You would use a cheap quarter wave, about 6 to 7 inches tall, for local communications and repeater access. Then a much taller higher gain one for out on the highway traveling. Both would be better off mounted in the clear on the roof. The quarter wave is so short you could almost forget it's there, even when parking in a garage. While swapping antennas is a bit of a pain some of the folks here do it depending on where they are going to spend most of their time. Oh, the quarter wave is likely the best option when traveling in mountainous or hilly terrain. The radiation pattern gives much better coverage when two or more stations are at significantly different altitudes.

About an extra connector or two and comments about extra losses. I see people frequently get two things mixed up in that area, SWR matching and power loss. Good quality connectors have very low losses when used within their design frequency range, about 0.1 to 0.2 db. The real issue is the typical SO239/PL-259 "UHF" connectors are NOT really recommended for use above about 200 to 300 MHz, but you see them all the time used on UHF, on the back of radios and on the ends of the coax from antenna mounts. The problem with those is the "impedance" doesn't match the coax impedance of 50 ohms. This results in a higher SWR. The more of these you have the worse the match gets. Myself I try to stick with "N", BNC or RG-8x mini type connectors. Those are all 50 ohm types, and have very low power loss.

If you want to go down the rabbit hole with the antenna system design evaluation I did one for my current ride as an example. Most people don't do this, and likely wouldn't need to anyway. I did it just out of curiosity.

https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/483-cx-5-antenna-system-analysisjpg/?context=new

For antenna choices the CA-2x4SR from Comet gets mentioned frequently. It's a good high gain wide-band antenna. If you ever plan on getting your Ham license it's usable on the VHF and UHF Ham bands as is. The price is very reasonable.

https://forums.mygmrs.com/topic/7914-how-is-the-comet-ca-2x4sr-antenna/

There is a very similar antenna now available from Diamond, of course more expensive. Be careful, I see two slightly different model numbers. I believe the one you want is the NR240CA. I see the NR240C sold too, which I think is tuned a bit different. I asked Diamond about this and never got a reply. The spec's for the NR240CA seem to show a slightly wider bandwidth than the CA-2x4SR.

Now lets talk about radios.

As mentioned a 25 watt radio would be good for most every day usage. A higher power radio would be a good idea if you had to communicate through heavy foliage, trail riding on your 4-wheeler for example.

A lot of good recommendations for radios here by other members. Personally I stick with commercial grade radios. A number of the cheaper consumer grade types, including some modified Ham gear, I've played with suffered from poor sensitivity, and worse, poor selectivity and de-sense issues in moderate to high RF environments. The commercial grade radios tolerate the later two much better. I have a large collection of mainly commercial grade hand held radios if you have any questions on these I would be happy to answer them.

https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/249-my-radio-collection/?context=new

This is typical of some of the Kenwood mobile radios.

https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/250-nx-820ghjpg/?context=new

 

 

CA-2x4SR.pdf NR240CA.pdf

[MSnow]

11 hours ago, WRTC928 said:

Yes, but in a lot of vehicles, getting a consistent 10 amps through the cigarette lighter plug can be impossible.

This makes me cringe. I worked in 12v industry for so many years and running anything beyond a phone charge out of the cig plug is questionable at best. Even Garmin's and radar detectors we would 100% of the time hardwire them into better circuits then the lighter plug.

10 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

That really depends on the radio, each will be different. Some 50 watt radios will draw up to 13-14 amps while transmitting on high power. The Icom IC-2730A draws 13 amps and the Wouxun KG-1000G draws 12 amps. Each brand/model will vary on how much current they draw.

Remember your voltage effects your power output as well. My kg1000g+ puts out the full 50 at 14.4 @ 9.7 amps if i pump up the voltage to 15 it puts out 51ish watts at 8amps. Most vehicles while running will have around 13.8v to 14.4v.

[Majik]

23 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

Vehicles have not had actual cigarette lighters in them for quite some time now. Those were normally rated a little higher than the accessory socket found in most vehicles now days. Most manufacturers protect the accessory ports with a 10 amp fuse and the owner's manuals state to never exceed 10 amps.

My current 2021 Tacoma has one. And my 2013 328i had two believe it or not lol But agreed, cig ports are a dying breed and not a reliable source of clean wattage. 

[WRYZ926]

4 minutes ago, Majik said:

My current 2021 Tacoma has one. And my 2013 328i had two believe it or not lol But agreed, cig ports are a dying breed and not a reliable source of clean wattage. 

Is it an actual cigarette lighter port or is it a powder accessory port?

There is a difference between the two. A cigarette lighter will have prongs inside to hold the lighter in while it heats up while an accessory port does not have the prongs.

[Majik]

On 6/1/2025 at 9:41 AM, Socalgmrs said:

The mxta is a great antenna. But needs 12-18” of steel or aluminum around it. Now some people will tell you it will work but it’s like neutering your set up.  Why spend money on a good antenna just to neuter it.  I know midland shows it in a lip mount but it is not a lip mount antenna.
 

The best possible way to mount any ground plane antenna is in the center of your roof with an nmo through mount or a mag mount if you don’t want to drill a whole. 

I’m running the MXTA25 ghost on a hood-hinge mount on the passenger side. Absolutely not the best location for it RF-wise, but it was the best spot for me since I wasn’t prepared to drill the cab roof. 
 

I’ve been testing it out the past few days w an AT-778UVII at ~5/15/25W and it’s done remarkably well. Granted, it does better when I’m pointed at what I’m talking to since it has the passenger A-pillar behind it. My radiation pattern is a bit wonky due to where that antenna sits. But I’m happy with this so far. I’ve been able to get into repeaters with low watts at distance so it’s working for me, despite the non-optimal config.

[Majik]

1 minute ago, WRYZ926 said:

Is it an actual cigarette lighter port or is it a powder accessory port?

There is a difference between the two. A cigarette lighter will have prongs inside to hold the lighter in while it heats up while an accessory port does not have the prongs.

Ahh I guess you’re right there. It’s a 12V accessory port, not a functional cig port.

[WRYZ926]

16 minutes ago, Majik said:

Ahh I guess you’re right there. It’s a 12V accessory port, not a functional cig port.

I haven't seen a cigarette lighter in new vehicles since around 2002-2005 time frame. 

[Lscott]

30 minutes ago, Majik said:

I’ve been able to get into repeaters with low watts at distance so it’s working for me, despite the non-optimal config.

You can always change it later. Once you drill a hole, well that's not going away if you change your mind. I had a buddy who messed up his measurement when he drilled a hole for his NMO mount in the roof of his old van. It got into one of the support beams on the underside. He ended up putting a plug in the hole he couldn't use and drilled a new hole over a bit. We kidded him for a while asking to see the Band-Aid on his Boo-Boo.

Oh, if you do end up at some point drilling a hole. Be absolutely sure you use the right hole saw. The wrong one will really mess up the roof.

[Socalgmrs]

So the antennas you’re looking at are ground plane antennas. Not to be confused with chassis ground.  The radio will work great. The mxta is a great antenna. But needs 12-18” of steel or aluminum around it. Now some people will tell you it will work but it’s like neutering your set up.  Why spend money on a good antenna just to neuter it.  I know midland shows it in a lip mount but it is not a lip mount antenna.  That’s why I don’t like advertising.  If you actually ask midland they will tell you it needs a ground plane. The best possible way to mount any ground plane antenna is in the center of your roof with an nmo through mount or a mag mount if you don’t want to drill a whole.  I saw get the highest gain antenna you can afford/fit for height.  
 

I started with a cheap mag mount ut72. Worked great. As they aged I stepped up to the midland 26 made a huge difference.  As those aged out we went to the comet2x4.  Those made an even bigger difference.  We now run 5 trucks with the 2x4, one older truck with the ut72 and a 25w b tech.  And one of my hands is still running the 26 with a 50w.  They all get about the same distance in the 100mile range in the open.  
 

To the guys that don’t like facts and real world every day experiences, and you like to spend other people’s money by making them feel bad they don’t have a cruddy kg1000…. Kick rocks.  I use my radios more than all of you combined and I’ve had them all.