WRUV394 Posted October 17, 2022 Report Share Posted October 17, 2022 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borage257 Posted October 17, 2022 Report Share Posted October 17, 2022 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). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRUV394 Posted October 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2022 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.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borage257 Posted October 17, 2022 Report Share Posted October 17, 2022 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. WRUU653 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayoverthere Posted October 17, 2022 Report Share Posted October 17, 2022 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRUU653 Posted October 17, 2022 Report Share Posted October 17, 2022 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. AdmiralCochrane 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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