Finding the right equipment

[WRUV394]

Hey everyone.

So I got my liscense just to not be illegal while using my radio on jeep rides and some traveling. However I have a few questions. So as of right now there's not much in the way of repeaters close to me. 16 miles and 20 Miles. I can't reach either of them with my hand held. (Gmrs 9r) (I also checked with a uv5r to see if I could hear any of the repeaters and maybe I got a bunk radio or didn't set the other up right). Anyway I'm in northeast pa, can anyone reccomend a good handheld that seems to work better in the denser woods over the summer or a good base/Mobile one that could reach out to the repeaters around me? I also realise living where I live in pa that the terrain plays a big part in how far I can reach out. If anyone has any good info from living in the mountains of pa I'd very much appreciate it.  Thank you...

[Borage257]

A better HT wont help, you need to get your antenna higher. if you want to try this with you HT, look into a N9TAX roll up jpole with 16' cable. Assuming a 5' radio height this will put the antenna at 21' vastly increasing your range. Granted you have to support the antenna with a rope over a tree limb or have the antenna lashed to a fiberglass pole and attached to a mast of some sort.

 

For more permanent installations you can think of getting pretty high up. In my relatively flat area 25'-40' is good enough for most things. The higher your antenna the longer feed line you'll need. "regular" RG-8x wont cut it. You'll lose a ton of signal (line loss).

[WRUV394]

I will definitely check that antenna out and see if there's anywhere I can get it up higher on my property. I figured it was most likely getting a better antenna issue. But again I'm fairly new to this whole radio thing. Figured someone in my area or similar topography would know what works best as a starting point. Thank you....

[Borage257]

This tool will give you a good idea of lines of sight. https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ Remember RF can be a little funny, but this is a good start.
Look around at different ways to make a 20'-30' mast. Ask your local ham club too, there are many ways to skin this cat. Check FB market place, etc  for masts too.

[wayoverthere]

28 minutes ago, Borage257 said:

This tool will give you a good idea of lines of sight. https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ Remember RF can be a little funny, but this is a good start.

One other good one for line of sight is http://heywhatsthat.com/

[WRUU653]

45 minutes ago, Borage257 said:

This tool will give you a good idea of lines of sight. https://www.scadacore.com/tools/rf-path/rf-line-of-sight/ Remember RF can be a little funny, but this is a good start.

This is excellent.  Thanks for sharing this tool.