Consequences of running radio without grounding plane

[WRPQ873]

This isn't something I feel like posting, but I kinda need to. I'm brand new to gmrs and just bought my first radio, BTech UV-50X2.

Of course, I also bought some random Nagoya UT-72 antenna and another Nagoya screw-in base, mounted to a wood post. Unfortunately, mounted without a grounding plane and operated at 50w without even checking the SWR.

The actual question is pretty basic: how screwed am I, and can it be repaired?

[OffRoaderX]

Watch this video to see how much damage will occur when transmitting at high-power with a high SWR:

 

[marcspaz]

I think, worse case, you don't get the performance you are looking for and the radio runs a little hotter than normal.

 

I had a customer who installed their own mobile UHF radios and hired me to troubleshoot why some of them weren't working.  Go to find out their installer pinched the antenna cable in the exact same spot on several vehicles, putting a dead short in the antenna cable.  Not only between the leads of the cable, but crushed the cable causing it to short against the body of the vehicle.  I ran new cables through a different part of the vehicle and the radios worked fine.  It's been 2 years and they are still going strong.

 

The video @OffRoaderX shared is a great real-world example of the types of margins you have with protective circuits. 

 

Even some of the most inexpensive transmitters have automatic power limiters which help prevent you from breaking your transmitter if there is a bad, broken or no antenna.  These are called Automatic Limiter Control or ALC.  Manufacturers do this to reduce warranty claims and unhappy customers, even if its the customers mistake.  Coincidentally, it also helps prevent fires. They also install them on radios used in a service where things like power limits and spurious emissions need to be controlled. 

[Sshannon]

On 3/25/2022 at 11:24 PM, WRPQ873 said:

This isn't something I feel like posting, but I kinda need to. I'm brand new to gmrs and just bought my first radio, BTech UV-50X2.

Of course, I also bought some random Nagoya UT-72 antenna and another Nagoya screw-in base, mounted to a wood post. Unfortunately, mounted without a grounding plane and operated at 50w without even checking the SWR.

The actual question is pretty basic: how screwed am I, and can it be repaired?

You ask “can it be repaired?”  

Do you have reason to believe damage has been done?