First mobile setup, are these parts good? Are there better parts I should be using?

[WRTZ361]

Radio: Wouxun KG-1000G Plus

     https://www.buytwowayradios.com/wouxun-kg-1000g-plus.html

Antenna Mount: Melowave NMO Magnet Mount

     https://www.buytwowayradios.com/melowave-mtm-1435.html

Antenna: Melowave Shadow GMRS Mobile Antenna

     https://www.buytwowayradios.com/melowave-anm-133g.html

[Hoppyjr]

There will probably always be “something better” but that stuff could work.

What are you mounting it in?

The radio seems to have great reviews.

[Guest]

Are there better parts in the world? Yes.  Do you need better parts?   That’s up to you.  Does this set up work for you?  I personally can’t stand ghost antennas of any kind, but if it works for your needs then No you don’t need “better”parts.  If it doesnt work for you you’re going to need to upgrade something.  It’s Always best in my opinion to spend the time and money on good coax and good antenna.   A radio is a radio and all transmit about the same per watt but an antenna makes all the difference.  I hope it works great for you and your needs 

[WRTZ361]

I am mounting it in a jeep Cherokee, I was thinking middle back roof for the mounting location, But only because I was reading somewhere about ground plane in regards to vehicle mounts. Might not be a concern for GMRS, but I dont have any preference at this point.  

[WRTZ361]

1 minute ago, WRXP381 said:

Are there better parts in the world? Yes.  Do you need better parts?   That’s up to you.  Does this set up work for you?  I personally can’t stand ghost antennas of any kind, but if it works for your needs then No you don’t need “better”parts.  If it doesnt work for you you’re going to need to upgrade something.  It’s Always best in my opinion to spend the time and money on good coax and good antenna.   A radio is a radio and all transmit about the same per watt but an antenna makes all the difference.  I hope it works great for you and your needs 

Do you have any suggestions for antennas you have had success with? My only GMRS experience is with HT's . I think the parts should work for me, but I wont know till I build my first one. 

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, WRTZ361 said:

I am mounting it in a jeep Cherokee, I was thinking middle back roof for the mounting location, But only because I was reading somewhere about ground plane in regards to vehicle mounts. Might not be a concern for GMRS, but I dont have any preference at this point.  

Yes you’re going to need ground plane with that antenna so the rear middle of the Cherokee Atleast 8-12” from the rear will be great.     Mount it all up and see how it goes. 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, WRTZ361 said:

Do you have any suggestions for antennas you have had success with? My only GMRS experience is with HT's . I think the parts should work for me, but I wont know till I build my first one. 

Your radio is great.  Many people I know run them and love them.   I’ve got a few trucks and a couple radios at the house and other hobbys so I’m always on a budget so never had a kg1000.    I always get the tallest antenna with the highest gain I can afford.  But I don’t have a garage or parking structures or anything to get in the way.   Run what you have and see how it works out. 

[WRYZ926]

I can't speak about the Melowave antenna, but their NMO magnet mounts are good to go. I use one for my 38" Comet 2x4SR antenna on the back of my SxS. I am currently running a KG-1000G as my base station and a KG-1000G Plus in my car and they are good to go.

[Lscott]

55 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

I use one for my 38" Comet 2x4SR antenna on the back of my SxS.

Just a general comment. That antenna does need a GOOD ground plane for the stated performance and SWR figures. I just wish there was a ground independent version.

[WRYZ926]

24 minutes ago, Lscott said:

Just a general comment. That antenna does need a GOOD ground plane for the stated performance and SWR figures. I just wish there was a ground independent version.

An expanded metal rack makes a pretty good ground plain for the Comet 2x4SR antenna. Here is a photo of the rear rack on my Honda Pioneer 500. I have the antenna set in the center of the rack.

 

Here is a phot of the rack before installing the antenna.

[Lscott]

9 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

An expanded metal rack makes a pretty good ground plain for the Comet 2x4SR antenna. Here is a photo of the rear rack on my Honda Pioneer 500. I have the antenna set in the center of the rack.

 

Here is a phot of the rack before installing the antenna.

That's about as good as it's going to get. The match should be fairly decent over the operating range.

https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/268-ca-2x4sr/?context=new

 

[WRYZ926]

The Comet 2x4SR works well for 2m, 70cm and GMRS. I tested the the SWR while inside the garage and the highest I got was 1.6 to 1.8 at 467 MHz. And I know being inside the garage and the metal garage door tracks effected the SWR reading a little. I have no problem receiving and transmitting and always get good signal reports.

I would love to put the Comet 2x4SR on the roof of my Ford Escape but it is too tall to fit into the garage or the VA parking garage.

[WRUU653]

11 hours ago, WRTZ361 said:

Do you have any suggestions for antennas you have had success with?

Since your radio is GMRS specific on TX I would go with an antenna tuned for GMRS. While I like the comet antenna and I own both I would recommend the Midland MXTA26 for GMRS. 

[Lscott]

18 hours ago, WRYZ926 said:

I would love to put the Comet 2x4SR on the roof of my Ford Escape but it is too tall to fit into the garage or the VA parking garage.

There is a spring bottom section which will prevent damage to the roof top and antenna from tree branch strikes.

https://cometantenna.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/CA-SPR-instructions-x-1.pdf

[SvenMarbles]

That all checks out to me. Install it, run it, and decide if it works well for you. Don't see why it wouldn't.. Stay with lower gain mobile antennas. I'll be the only one on here to tell you that probably, but trust me. Or actually TRY both and see for yourself. Everyone else is just reciting ideas.

[SvenMarbles]

4 minutes ago, SvenMarbles said:

 

 

[WRYZ926]

59 minutes ago, SvenMarbles said:

That all checks out to me. Install it, run it, and decide if it works well for you. Don't see why it wouldn't.. Stay with lower gain mobile antennas. I'll be the only one on here to tell you that probably, but trust me. Or actually TRY both and see for yourself. Everyone else is just reciting ideas.

Actually it depends on the type of terrain, foliage, structures that one is operating their radios in. In flat/open areas a higher gain antenna is better. A lower gain antenna will work better in hilly areas or areas with lots of obstructions.

I have a mixture of everything around me here in Mid Missouri so I run a Nagoya UT-72G which has about 3 dBd of gain. It works well for the most part. Now I do run a high gain antenna at home mounted up on my roof.

[SvenMarbles]

1 hour ago, WRYZ926 said:

Actually it depends on the type of terrain, foliage, structures that one is operating their radios in. In flat/open areas a higher gain antenna is better. A lower gain antenna will work better in hilly areas or areas with lots of obstructions.

I have a mixture of everything around me here in Mid Missouri so I run a Nagoya UT-72G which has about 3 dBd of gain. It works well for the most part. Now I do run a high gain antenna at home mounted up on my roof.

You’re exactly right. And I’ve tested a variety of things in a variety of environments, on a variety of LOS frequency ranges. The lower decibel rated antennas round out the radiation pattern in such a way that a 30ft elevation change a mile up the road doesn’t just choke out a signal. 
 

Conversely, on a wide open flat plane, the higher decibel gain antennas “put the thumb over the garden hose” a bit for a little bit more punchy audio. 
 

It’s been my experience that, all things considered, it’s just never worthwhile to take that 2.3-3db gain off of the car in favor of the 6+. Because guess what,.. in that wide open plane, that lower gain antenna gets out as well. So why not just roll with something that gives you the best chance of WORKING all of the time? To not prioritize that over being able to “sometimes have punchier audio” seems silly. 
 

So everything considered, and just generally speaking,… The lower gain mobile overall just works better . Only if you’re just an absolute turbo-nerd about sounding the absolute best in modulation does it make it worth it to unscrew and rescrew something different. Or you want to be able to step over someone.  You’re just as readable and intelligible on the lower power. 
 

Claims ERP or wattage being the difference of hitting a repeater or being heard by a station, on UHF, given the exact same conditions and terrain, are a fallacy..

I genuinely think many people simply don’t understand this about antennas, and always assume to buy the highest gain mobile antenna possible. 
 

Yes, for your base that you have up high on a pole, get the gain. Not mobile though…
 

 

[WRTZ361]

On 4/24/2024 at 9:51 AM, SvenMarbles said:

That all checks out to me. Install it, run it, and decide if it works well for you. Don't see why it wouldn't.. Stay with lower gain mobile antennas. I'll be the only one on here to tell you that probably, but trust me. Or actually TRY both and see for yourself. Everyone else is just reciting ideas.

Thanks for the info. You are in fact the only person yet to advise against a 6db antenna. I am mainly in hilly environments, so probably better with a low db antenna.  I have heard no one bring up ground plane issues with this setup, but I have read on other forums that a magnetic mount will give you higher SWR numbers due to RF coming back down your cable. Additionally it has been stated that magnetic mounts don't have a true ground plane as it is insulated from the vehicle roof. If this information is not necessarily true, I do not want to spend the extra time getting up inside my headliner to install a through hole type antenna connector.  If it will make a substantial difference to do so. I will spend the time installing a through hole type. Anyone have experience with both?

[SteveShannon]

29 minutes ago, WRTZ361 said:

Thanks for the info. You are in fact the only person yet to advise against a 6db antenna. I am mainly in hilly environments, so probably better with a low db antenna.  I have heard no one bring up ground plane issues with this setup, but I have read on other forums that a magnetic mount will give you higher SWR numbers due to RF coming back down your cable. Additionally it has been stated that magnetic mounts don't have a true ground plane as it is insulated from the vehicle roof. If this information is not necessarily true, I do not want to spend the extra time getting up inside my headliner to install a through hole type antenna connector.  If it will make a substantial difference to do so. I will spend the time installing a through hole type. Anyone have experience with both?

A ground plane antenna doesn’t require a DC connection to your roof. Magnetic mounts make a capacitive connection to your roof in spite of the paint, rubber base, etc.

I live in the mountains and a 6 db MXTA26 antenna is just fine. But it’s important to know whether that gain number is dbi or dbd.
I would agree with Ryan if he was recommending not to use a higher gain antenna but 6 db antennas still have 3 db gain 10° above and below horizontal. That’s 17 feet of rise in 100 feet of horizontal distance. 
This guy likes the MXTA26. 

 

[WRTZ361]

That makes sense. I will have to do some research into those gain numbers for information sake. It sounds like I won't be sacrificing anything by using a magnetic mount. 

 

[SteveShannon]

15 minutes ago, WRTZ361 said:

That makes sense. I will have to do some research into those gain numbers for information sake. It sounds like I won't be sacrificing anything by using a magnetic mount. 

 

An antenna that's advertised as 6 dB gain, is probably 6 dBi, or 6 decibels of gain with respect to a theoretical single radiating point called an isentropic antenna.  

One of the simplest antennas is the dipole.  A dipole has 2.15 dBi or 2.15 decibels of gain with respect to an isentropic antenna.  That establishes an additive offset of 2.15 dB.

Most antennas are labeled with respect to dBi, even if the manufacturer doesn't include the correct unit. But sometimes they're labeled as dBd, meaning the performance of a dipole is the reference point.

An antenna that's advertised as 6.15 dBi is 4 dBd.

And you will definitely not lose anything by using a magnetic mount.