New to gmrs and looking for advice

[WSKM915]

25 minutes ago, WSIF574 said:

Ok if the antenna is let’s say a house 15 ft or so. Its range won’t be much more than 4-5 miles in heavy wooded areas. My repeater ( RT97L 21 watts out with SWR at 1.4:1 )is at 25 ft. And out here with nothing in the way I get 6miles max. Antenna height is the most important. Next if you up the wattage with a mobile to 20-50 you might be able to push through to it. But if it is something like a retivis 97 with only 5 watts out you won’t receive 

What would be a good mobile radio and antenna for around max $400? I live in ga and own a retired police car. Probably not the right place to ask but I feel like if I put a mobile gmrs unit and antenna on/in my vehicle that I will run in to some legal issues.

[SteveShannon]

3 minutes ago, WSKM915 said:

What would be a good mobile radio and antenna for around max $400? I live in ga and own a retired police car. Probably not the right place to ask but I feel like if I put a mobile gmrs unit and antenna on/in my vehicle that I will run in to some legal issues.

Personally I like the Radioddity db20g. It sells for around $100 but during sales can be had as low as $80. 
For a GMRS antenna I like the Midland MXTA26.  It’s usually around $60 but midland has sales from time to time. Sign up for their notifications. 
That antenna requires an NMO mount.  Your ex police car might already have a mount of some kind or at least a hole for it. 
What will you do with the other $240?

 

[WSIF574]

8 minutes ago, WSKM915 said:

What would be a good mobile radio and antenna for around max $400? I live in ga and own a retired police car. Probably not the right place to ask but I feel like if I put a mobile gmrs unit and antenna on/in my vehicle that I will run in to some legal issues.

No legal issue with that. 
I have a B Tech GMRS 50 Pro with a retivis 32 inch NMO on my jeep. The B TECH might be overkill if you don’t need/ use  all the features.  But I do like it. I would go with Steve’s suggestion from above for the radio. But I had better SWR on the repeater channels with the retivis antenna than the midland he suggested. 

[WSKM915]

11 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

Personally I like the Radioddity db20g. It sells for around $100 but during sales can be had as low as $80. 
For a GMRS antenna I like the Midland MXTA26.  It’s usually around $60 but midland has sales from time to time. Sign up for their notifications. 
That antenna requires an NMO mount.  Your ex police car might already have a mount of some kind or at least a hole for it. 
What will you do with the other $240?

 

Lol thank you for the advice. I will be ordering a mobile unit soon. 

[WSIF574]

Just curious as to what repeater in GA you are trying to use , if you don’t mind me asking? Would like to look at the topography around it .

[WSKM915]

2 minutes ago, WSIF574 said:

Just curious as to what repeater in GA you are trying to use , if you don’t mind me asking? Would like to look at the topography around it .

The Brooks ga repeater.

[WRTC928]

4 hours ago, WRYS709 said:

Yes, but at the cost of losing access to all of the interesting people on GMRS... 

It doesn't have to be one or the other. The two services serve different purposes. I wouldn't want to give up my friends on GMRS or the ones on ham.

[WSKM915]

11 minutes ago, WSIF574 said:

No legal issue with that. 
I have a B Tech GMRS 50 Pro with a retivis 32 inch NMO on my jeep. The B TECH might be overkill if you don’t need/ use  all the features.  But I do like it. I would go with Steve’s suggestion from above for the radio. But I had better SWR on the repeater channels with the retivis antenna than the midland he suggested. 

I have seen a lot of reviews on the b tech and heard lots of good. I have also heard good about the radioddity. I’m not set on either still considering both.

[WRTC928]

29 minutes ago, WSKM915 said:

What would be a good mobile radio and antenna for around max $400? I live in ga and own a retired police car. Probably not the right place to ask but I feel like if I put a mobile gmrs unit and antenna on/in my vehicle that I will run in to some legal issues.

Unless you're actually impersonating a law enforcement officer, I doubt you have anything to worry about. @SteveShannon recommendations are solid, but there are several other good options as well. IMO, it's probably not worth spending more money to get power above 25 watts unless the radio has other features you particularly want. In most cases, there's a pretty big bump in price between 25 and 50 watts. You'll probably be able to do most of what you want with 25 watts and you can learn what features and power you really want in your next radio. Nobody stops after one. 

[WRTC928]

FWIW, if I were buying a GMRS mobile radio today, I'd probably go with one of the Midland MXT series. I like being able to put the radio itself under the seat and control everything from the handset. Modern vehicles don't have a lot of space for radios. The BTech GMRS-20V2 is another option with all the controls in the handset.

[WSKM915]

3 minutes ago, WRTC928 said:

Unless you're actually impersonating a law enforcement officer, I doubt you have anything to worry about. @SteveShannon recommendations are solid, but there are several other good options as well. IMO, it's probably not worth spending more money to get power above 25 watts unless the radio has other features you particularly want. In most cases, there's a pretty big bump in price between 25 and 50 watts. You'll probably be able to do most of what you want with 25 watts and you can learn what features and power you really want in your next radio. Nobody stops after one. 

I will stick around the 20-25 watt range and watch some videos to see but the radioddity is very tempting.

[WSKM915]

2 minutes ago, WRTC928 said:

FWIW, if I were buying a GMRS mobile radio today, I'd probably go with one of the Midland MXT series. I like being able to put the radio itself under the seat and control everything from the handset. Modern vehicles don't have a lot of space for radios.

Something I wanted is exactly what you’re talking about where I can put the unit under my seat. So that I will just have a mic with a screen on it.

[WSIF574]

20 minutes ago, WSKM915 said:

The Brooks ga repeater.

Ok it is a roof top antenna and there is a bit of elevated area to the south /south east. I’m going to bet it’s a low power one for around the property. You will do better with a mobile and good antenna than what the repeater is putting out  I would skip trying that one as a goal unless you need to talk to someone very close to it  not may others around there. Find friends on GMRS and just use simplex 

 

 

[WSIF574]

26 minutes ago, WRTC928 said:

FWIW, if I were buying a GMRS mobile radio today, I'd probably go with one of the Midland MXT series. I like being able to put the radio itself under the seat and control everything from the handset. Modern vehicles don't have a lot of space for radios. The BTech GMRS-20V2 is another option with all the controls in the handset.

I have a 20v2. It’s currently on its way back to them. The RX side slowly went out on it until it stopped last week. Had the screen say Good Bye on start up multiple times and had to unplug and reinstall the mic to clear it. Not a recommend from me. But their customer service is awesome. Had questions about my 50pro and got answers with in a few hours 

[WRTC928]

4 minutes ago, WSIF574 said:

I have a 20v2. It’s currently on its way back to them. The RX side slowly went out on it until it stopped last week. Had the screen say Good Bye on start up multiple times and had to unplug and reinstall the mic to clear it. Not a recommend from me. But their customer service is awesome. Had questions about my 50pro and got answers with in a few hours 

That's good to know. 

[HHD1]

6 hours ago, WSKM915 said:

and get a more powerful radio.

Power is not nearly as important as height. It doesn't take much power if you have a clear Line of Sight.  As the saying goes, height is might.  Get your antenna up as high as you can. Or travel to the closest hill.  But if you're trying to build a base at home, a rooftop antenna or tower will be your best friend. You'd be surprised how far 5 watts can travel.

[HHD1]

3 hours ago, WSKM915 said:

What would be a good mobile radio and antenna for around max $400?

May I suggest, before you start blowing a ton of cash on radio stuff, take some time to learn some more about how it all works.  You just learned a bunch so far today. I know this is exciting.  I get it.  But, I'd hate to see you spend a bunch of money, just to find out that you actually want something else.  Spend some time with the equipment you already have.  And read through the contents of this forum.  Use the search bar to look up answers to questions that you have.  Chances are, somebody already asked.  There are some very knowledgeable veterans here.  Tons of good information.

By the way, welcome to the Forum.  It would be cool if you did a little more with your profile.  Add some pictures.  Show us your radios.  

My Name's Jake.  You'll see me around.

Have fun.

[NCJeb]

24 minutes ago, HHD1 said:

Power is not nearly as important as height. It doesn't take much power if you have a clear Line of Sight.  As the saying goes, height is might.  Get your antenna up as high as you can. Or travel to the closest hill.  But if you're trying to build a base at home, a rooftop antenna or tower will be your best friend. You'd be surprised how far 5 watts can travel.

HERE HERE on this

 

I’ve mentioned in other threads an antenna upgrade for my base setup (which maxes out at 15W), which literally is an old cookie sheet my wife was going to throw out mounted on the roof, with a 2 dB gain 1/4 wave antenna (in simple terms, a cheap basic antenna meant for a truck). Just getting up about 15 feet off the ground boosted range from barely 5 miles to solidly 11 miles in rough terrain and forest.

 

All that to say, to echo some sound advice given to me when I started a few months ago, don’t be afraid to save some $$$ and go more mid-power, because other factors make as much or more of a difference.

 

To direct towards your original question, with a little 2W HT I originally could barely break into my local repeater, and couldn’t be understood. That same radio exact connected to the new antenna setup works just fine, which makes for a great backup option if the base has no commercial power. Something like that (a higher antenna) might help you in more ways than you might expect. It sure has for me!

 

Welcome to the forum, welcome to this niche of radio, and welcome to the hobby!

[WSIF574]

56 minutes ago, HHD1 said:

Power is not nearly as important as height. It doesn't take much power if you have a clear Line of Sight.  As the saying goes, height is might.  Get your antenna up as high as you can. Or travel to the closest hill.  But if you're trying to build a base at home, a rooftop antenna or tower will be your best friend. You'd be surprised how far 5 watts can travel.

This is very true but the OP was having problems hitting a repeater while driving and all the way to his home. Turns out he was trying to hit a low power repeater that is for large property with an antenna on the roof, in a heavily wooded area and has hills between home and repeater. So for him best option in my opinion would be mobile radio and quality antenna. Extra wattage will help push through the forested area he is in 

[HHD1]

 

6 minutes ago, WSIF574 said:

Extra wattage will help push through the forested area he is in 

I don't know if that's true.  How much wattage will it take to push through material that absorbs RF at 467 mHz?

[amaff]

1 minute ago, HHD1 said:

 

I don't know if that's true.  How much wattage will it take to push through material that absorbs RF at 467 mHz?

He said it'd help. Which it will. 

Whether or not it will help enough to actually make it work is another question.

[HHD1]

10 minutes ago, WSIF574 said:

he was trying to hit a low power repeater

The TX power of the repeater has nothing to do with it's receiving ability.  As well as the TX power of his radio has nothing to do with it's RX ability.  How much power before the leaves of the trees and the hills say, "Okay, let it through." ?

[WSIF574]

10 minutes ago, HHD1 said:

The TX power of the repeater has nothing to do with it's receiving ability.  As well as the TX power of his radio has nothing to do with it's RX ability.  How much power before the leaves of the trees and the hills say, "Okay, let it through." ?

I understand that. If you read my earlier posts to the OP. I said to stop trying to hit a repeater that is for a small farm/property get a better radio and antenna and the performance of that would exceed him using a HT in his car to hit a repeater setup for a farm

[HHD1]

7 minutes ago, amaff said:

He said it'd help. Which it will. 

Whether or not it will help enough to actually make it work is another question.

It might just be a matter of, hey I got my GMRS License. Now I want to talk to people.  

But does he know anyone else with a radio? This person may be a HAM at Heart.  

All we know is that he/she has a goal of hitting repeaters that are found on the maps of MyGMRS.com.  Clear line of sight is the easiest way.  Signal propagation through a earth and foliage is something different all together. 

Will this person stick around this forum long enough to learn?  We will see.

[HHD1]

3 minutes ago, WSIF574 said:

I understand that. If you read my earlier posts to the OP. I said to stop trying to hit a repeater that is for a small farm/property get a better radio and antenna and the performance of that would exceed him using a HT in his car to hit a repeater setup for a farm

I have read all the posts in this thread.  You don't need to worry about my advise.  Work on your own.