Home Antenna

[WSAN654]

So we can talk 5 mile with  no repeater as i don't have permission to use one, going to maybe put home antenna up

was it worth it.

cost.

Thank you

[Guest]

A home base antenna is one of the best things you can do.  Even hooked up to a hand held it makes all the difference.    Many people I know and myself all use the comet 712efc.   I personally get over 200miles with it and a 20w base unit.    Make sure you use the best possible coax. I use lm400 

[WRYZ926]

How far you can talk will also depend on the terrain, vegetation (trees) and buildings around you. Guys high up on a hill in the wide open desert will get way more range than someone in a hilly and/or forested area or urban areas. 

I live in central Missouri so I have a mix of terrain from fairly flat open farm ground to hills and river valleys with a lot of mixture of tree coverage. I can only reach out about 25 miles on UHF simplex and a little farther on VHF simplex. And I am using a 50 watt GMRS radio connected to a Comet CA-712EFC antenna with LMR400 coax, the antenna base is about 20 feet above the ground and 5 feet above my roof.

5 miles should not be any problem even with a 5 watt hand held radio with a decent antenna up high with good coax.

[WRUU653]

8 hours ago, WSAN654 said:

i don't have permission to use one

@WSAN654 check out Deer Meadows repeater. It looks like you may reach it and it is an open repeater. Owner says if you are licensed and use your call sign you are good to go, no request required. 

[SvenMarbles]

Absolutely. Get a high gain antenna, mount it as high as you’re capable. It’ll result in vastly improved simplex range between that station and HTs around.

Repeaters are great, but they’re not yours. How they function or whether they function is ultimately out of your hands. I like best to control all of my own radio capabilities. Just remember height is might. Make use of your highest structure, and then put another 30 ft of mast on top of that . You’ll be surprised what it’ll do even with a 5 watt radio connected.

[SvenMarbles]

I’ll show you some pictures of my low cost “tower” if you’re interested.

[SvenMarbles]

Here’s what I’ve set up at home. Discone atop about 21ft, and a yagi directional beneath. 
 

 

[WSAN654]

11 hours ago, WRUU653 said:

@WSAN654 check out Deer Meadows repeater. It looks like you may reach it and it is an open repeater. Owner says if you are licensed and use your call sign you are good to go, no request required. 

thank you