WRJZ939 Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 There is a GMRS repeater that is about 40 miles from me and I'm told the antenna is about 500'. In my yard shed / woodshed / ham shack I have a Diamond x200A antenna and a Connect Systems CS800D. My ability to hit the repeater is spotty somewhat however today someone told me that I'm hitting the repeater but it is darn near impossible to hear me over the floor noise. Forehead smack. Mic gain. Adjusted and then carried on a lengthy conversation with someone. First time ever. I put my "Farsometer" on it and am putting out about 37-38 watts at an SWR of 1.40. Also I have an adapter (N to SO239 so there may be a little loss there). I'm wondering if I grab an MTX500 or KG1000G where the tiny bump in wattage (hopefully 43 or a bit more) would make any real world difference. Also the filtering may be better on a dedicated GMRS radio. The CS800D is a VHF and UHF radio that covers the GMRS bands or at least it did when I bought some years back. Even if I've got this situation squared away, none of what I've said may stop me from buying a new radio anyway. Because that's what I do. Looking for some solid advice from those who may have been in a similar situation where you were just barely hitting a repeater. I can't really push my antenna up much further. Just wondering if a few extra watts with a straight PL-259 to SO-239 connection on a DEDICATED GMRS radio tuned to optimize output for that band of brothers will get a bump in performance. Decent performance bump or gigantic waste of money? Please don't bring up the rules on the radio I'm currently temporarily using. I'm familiar with all that. WSCH851 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sshannon Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 53 minutes ago, WRJZ939 said: I put my "Farsometer" on it and am putting out about 37-38 watts at an SWR of 1.40. Also I have an adapter (N to SO239 so there may be a little loss there). I'm wondering if I grab an MTX500 or KG1000G where the tiny bump in wattage (hopefully 43 or a bit more) would make any real world difference. The bump in wattage will make no difference whatsoever. Quadrupling your power to 150 watts would only make a single point of difference on the S-meter. WRUU653, WSCH851 and WRYZ926 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OffRoaderX Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 58 minutes ago, WRJZ939 said: I'm wondering if I grab an MTX500 or KG1000G where the tiny bump in wattage (hopefully 43 or a bit more) would make any real world difference As Mr. @Sshannon already said, NO . WRYZ926 and Sshannon 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYZ926 Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 How high is your antenna and what type of coax are you using? The loss from the N Type to SO239 adaptor will be minimal. 37-38 watts should be plenty as long as you have a good clear line of sight to the repeater tower. An extra 10 watts won't make much difference. The local GMRS repeater is 21.5 miles away from me. I run my KG-1000G on medium power and get in just fine. My 20 watt KG-XS20G gets into the repeater just as good as the KG-1000G does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OffRoaderX Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 4 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said: An extra 10 watts won't make much ANY difference. Fixed that for you. WRYZ926 and Sshannon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borage257 Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 What height is your antenna at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sshannon Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 1 hour ago, WRJZ939 said: Even if I've got this situation squared away, none of what I've said may stop me from buying a new radio anyway. Because that's what I do. This is the way. WRUU653 and Borage257 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYZ926 Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 Nothing wrong with getting a new radio. I will recommend the Wouxun KG-1000G Plus over the Midland MXT500. I had both and got rid of the Midland. The KG-1000G is a better radio. WSBY419, WRUU653, WSCH851 and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRJZ939 Posted March 30 Author Report Share Posted March 30 1 hour ago, Borage257 said: What height is your antenna at? 30 ish feet or so. RG8 coax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXP381 Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 What gain in the antenna are you working with. A 20w radio will do over 200miles line of site. What do you have in The way? Trees, homes, buildings….. can you get your antenna up higher? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYZ926 Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 50 minutes ago, WRJZ939 said: 30 ish feet or so. RG8 coax I would replace that RG8 with LMR400 or equivalent. You will do a whole lot better with the correct type of coax for UHF. WSAA254, Sshannon and WRUU653 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRJZ939 Posted March 30 Author Report Share Posted March 30 1 hour ago, WRXP381 said: What gain in the antenna are you working with. A 20w radio will do over 200miles line of site. What do you have in The way? Trees, homes, buildings….. can you get your antenna up higher? I’m at sea level surrounded by the Croatan National Forest. Tough to punch through Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRXP381 Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 Id for sure do lmr400 and make sure you have a good high gain antenna up as high as you can before spending time and money on a new radio. Cable and antenna are more important that the radio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
back4more70 Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 14 minutes ago, WRJZ939 said: I’m at sea level surrounded by the Croatan National Forest. Tough to punch through Instead of a new radio, I suggest a chainsaw. Done and done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish47 Posted March 30 Report Share Posted March 30 That Diamond x200A is cut for 2m & 70cm. Yes, it is very close to the GMRS freq range, but it could be making a little difference. I would look at all of your connections and the N to PL259 shouldn't make that much difference. Also those trees love to suck up RF signals. Just my 2 cents- Mike- K9YS/ WSBQ206 gortex2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRJZ939 Posted March 31 Author Report Share Posted March 31 Thanks for all the replies! Much appreciated. Probably still going to buy a new radio though! 9 or 10 is simply not enough. John New Bern, NC KN4FMV WRJZ939 Quote Quote Quote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nokones Posted March 31 Report Share Posted March 31 Dual band HAM antennae are essentially compromised and not efficient for GMRS freqs. You need to determine what is your target freq for efficiency and get the antenna that resonates the best on that freq and take the hits on the other freqs. Knilc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRYZ926 Posted March 31 Report Share Posted March 31 Occasionally you get lucky and a 2m/70cm dual band antenna will also have SWR of 1.8 or lower on the GMRS channels/frequencies. But not all dual band antennas will work for GMRS. I get a SWR of 1.8 or less on GMRS with my Comet GP9 dual band base antenna and a SWR of 1.8 or less on my Comet 2X4SRNMO mobile antenna. As mentioned, the best is to get a GMRS specific antenna that is tuned properly. A good one is the Comet CA-712EFC. WSCH851 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRJZ939 Posted March 31 Author Report Share Posted March 31 This is what I got on my CS800D and Diamond x200A on GMRS repeater channel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdmiralCochrane Posted March 31 Report Share Posted March 31 1.4 SWR means all the incorrectly tuned antenna comments are waste of inconvenienced electrons. Not to be rude, but did you guys not read that in the original comment or do you not know what it means? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OffRoaderX Posted April 1 Report Share Posted April 1 1 hour ago, AdmiralCochrane said: 1.4 SWR means all the incorrectly tuned antenna comments are waste of inconvenienced electrons. Not to be rude, but did you guys not read that in the original comment or do you not know what it means? I'm not sure why, but, I think I like this guy. Sshannon, back4more70, WSBY411 and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRKC935 Posted April 1 Report Share Posted April 1 If you are spotty into the repeater, a directional antenna with higher gain could help. Downside to that is it's going to be directional and only effective talking to that specific repeater. If you only use that repeater, then it's not really as big of a issue. But you need to get a commercial frequency antenna and NOT something for ham. And more elements leans more directional gain. So look for something with 6 or 8 elements. Going from spotty to solid signal into the repeater might not be possible though.. But it will be an improvement. Of course, use the best cable that you can reasonably afford and will work with your installation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish47 Posted April 8 Report Share Posted April 8 On 3/30/2024 at 6:05 PM, Irish47 said: That Diamond x200A is cut for 2m & 70cm. Yes, it is very close to the GMRS freq range, but it could be making a little difference. I would look at all of your connections and the N to PL259 shouldn't make that much difference. Also those trees love to suck up RF signals. Just my 2 cents- Mike- K9YS/ WSBQ206 Ham since 1969- US Air Force Radio Maintenance 1965- til 1985 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
back4more70 Posted April 8 Report Share Posted April 8 1 hour ago, Irish47 said: Ham since 1969- US Air Force Radio Maintenance 1965- til 1985 Randy, you're up... OffRoaderX 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OffRoaderX Posted April 8 Report Share Posted April 8 2 hours ago, Irish47 said: Ham since 1969- US Air Force Radio Maintenance 1965- til 1985 Wow! We are all VERY impressed! You should add that to your forum-signature so nobody ever misses seeing it. PRadio 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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