65 cm waves and foliage

[Guest 8O1Chicago]

Hello all,

Friend moved to Northern Neck area of VA, right on the Potomac.  He told me he doesn't have cellular coverage 5 to 10 miles from his house, I suggested a GMRS base and mobile, along with some HTs for his kids.  Attached are a couple photos of a utility pole mast used for an old analog TV antenna.  Will a decent GMRS antenna be suitable here, mounted on a ten foot mast attached to the top of the utility pole? He estimates it's up about 35 feet to the top.

I am a citizens band operator, there is no issue with an 11 meter antenna in this environment.  Is this going to be a frustrating waste of time for him?  He is looking at a Wouxon 1000G, will a 50 watt radio cut through the leaves and still get out around 10 miles?  He was considering other sites to install a mast, but there are only a few areas on his property that are clear from trees, but those areas get hammered by wind off the river.  

 

Thanks for any input.

[mbrun]

Hello all,
Friend moved to Northern Neck area of VA, right on the Potomac.  He told me he doesn't have cellular coverage 5 to 10 miles from his house, I suggested a GMRS base and mobile, along with some HTs for his kids.  Attached are a couple photos of a utility pole mast used for an old analog TV antenna.  Will a decent GMRS antenna be suitable here, mounted on a ten foot mast attached to the top of the utility pole? He estimates it's up about 35 feet to the top.
I am a citizens band operator, there is no issue with an 11 meter antenna in this environment.  Is this going to be a frustrating waste of time for him?  He is looking at a Wouxon 1000G, will a 50 watt radio cut through the leaves and still get out around 10 miles?  He was considering other sites to install a mast, but there are only a few areas on his property that are clear from trees, but those areas get hammered by wind off the river.  
 
Thanks for any input.

It depends.

Height is king when it comes to UHF frequencies. The higher the antenna and the fewer the obstructions between transmitter and receiver antennas the further the usable range. While there are exceptions, your worst enemy is generally the earth. Put a hill (earth) between two antennas and odds of reception go way down. Trees, houses, barns etc… are obstacles too. Each contributes to signal reduction which translates into loss of range.

So while you will likely get 50 miles and more range between higher power radios and two antennas that can literally see one another, that is seldom the case in the real world.

I live southeast of Cincinnati Ohio in a location that is in the top 90+ percentile of elevation for the region. I estimate my area is 60% trees plus a mixture of homes, fields, farm land and light commercial. Terrain is flat to slightly rolling. With my base antenna at 56’ and with 50w of power I can achieve reliable communications with a mobile unit out to about 4 miles after which reliability falls off. Beyond 7-8 miles all communication is lost. If I lower the antenna to 40’ that range is cut just about in half.

Through that same base antenna at 40’ AGL I can communicate reliably through a repeater 50 miles due north of me. That is because that repeater’s antenna is perhaps 500’ higher in elevation than mine and there are no significant hills or stands of trees in the path between the antennas.

Based on my experience, and in my estimation, if you are heavily wooded you are likely going to need to get your main antenna well above the trees to achieve the 10mile reach you desire.

Here is a website you can use to predict coverage for your specific site.
https://www.ve2dbe.com/english1.html
If you give it accurate transmit and receive facts it should give you the best opinion of what you are likely to achieve in the real world.

Hope this helps.


Michael
WRHS965
KE8PLM