Extending handheld range

[Taz670]

Hey everyone, I’ve got another newbie question if you all don’t mind. I want to try something with my handheld just for fun. I received two retevis ailunce ha1g radios as a gift and I like them as a beginner radio. I would like to get an adapter, coax cable (if needed) and a small antenna to attach to my handheld. I’ve seen handhelds being used like this but I need help as to what type of adapters for my antenna port, cable & antenna to maybe try. I’ve seen handhelds being used with yagi antennas but if I understand correctly the yagi antennas have to be very precise as to the direction of the repeaters. Please correct me if I’m wrong and would like advice/tips as what to try. Thanks! 

[Socalgmrs]

How far do you need to get?   Have you tried a 771?   Line of sight my hand helds with 771 antennas do over 30miles.   With a 48” foldable they will hit 40miles.   If I hook them to my cars roof antenna with a mag mount 50miles is possible.  And if I hook it to my 712base antenna 75 miles is zero issue at all.   

[kidphc]

Are trying to do ht to ht?

Most handheld radios with antennas utilize a sma connector. So your radio will have an sma male or sma female connector and the antenna will have the opposite gender. You can look online for photos. The one with the hole is the female

You can go one step further and get the proper connector to something like a bnc connector. Why? Sma connector the threads and pins can get damaged fairly easily. So if your disconnecting and connecting a lot, a connector with a bnc will be useful to not damage the radio or antenna.

As far as yagis. Yes, they are directional. They usually have about 20° cone (about 3-5 elements) for for direction. The higher the gain, the narrower the cone gets.

Gmrs, UHF and SHF are very line of sight. So if you want distance you need to get above obstructions. Ie, buildings, trees, terrain.

Sorry for being long winded.


EDIT: just checked, according to Mikor that radio has a female sma connector on the radio.

So something like a male sma to so259 connector should work to connector to most antennas. Pl259 is the male connector on most coax and so239 is the female counterpart. Please check the coax to verify connector if pre-installed. Because it could be N type, which would require different adapters.


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[Borage257]

Antenna height matters the most for extending range on GMRS, followed by antenna gain. 

Use BNC to SMA connectors for quick change antennas. The BNC mod will allow you to easily change between different whip antennas and "external" antennas like mag mounts, Jpoles and yagis. 

Smileyantenna has antennas specifically resonant on GMRS. 

smileyantenna.com/SearchResults.asp?searching=Y&sort=5&search=465&show=8&page=1

 

ZBM2 does too

QP Whip Antenna – ZBM2 Industries

 

Amazon.com: DHT Electronics 2pcs SMA Female to BNC Female Convert Adapter for Two Way Radio BaoFeng UV-5R FD-880 : Electronics

Amazon.com: DHT Electronics 2pcs RF coaxial Coax Adapter SMA Male to BNC Female goldplated : Electronics --Think you'll need this one

[Taz670]

1 minute ago, WRXP381 said:

How far do you need to get?   Have you tried a 771?   Line of sight my hand helds with 771 antennas do over 30miles.   With a 48” foldable they will hit 40miles.   If I hook them to my cars roof antenna with a mag mount 50miles is possible.  And if I hook it to my 712base antenna 75 miles is zero issue at all.   

Well, I don’t really have a particular set range. I am new to GMRS and I am just wanting to try these types of setups to see how far I can reach, to learn more about these setups & about GMRS. Thanks for the reply and info, I will check it out. 

[kidphc]

Well, I don’t really have a particular set range. I am new to GMRS and I am just wanting to try these types of setups to see how far I can reach, to learn more about these setups & about GMRS. Thanks for the reply and info, I will check it out. 

Because everyone's terrain and situation is different. Go test... no one answer, unfortunately. So ask away, this is what the forum is for.

It is a hobby so l have fun, and ignore the aholes out there.

Also I edited my original post with the connector type.

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[Taz670]

5 minutes ago, kidphc said:

Are trying to do ht to ht?

Most handheld radios with antennas utilize a sma connector. So your radio will have an sma male or sma female connector and the antenna will have the opposite gender. You can look online for photos. The one with the hole is the female

You can go one step further and get the proper connector to something like a bnc connector. Why? Sma connector the threads and pins can get damaged fairly easily. So if your disconnecting and connecting a lot, a connector with a bnc will be useful to not damage the radio or antenna.

As far as yagis. Yes, they are directional. They usually have about 20° cone (about 3-5 elements) for for direction. The higher the gain, the narrower the cone gets.

Gmrs, UHF and SHF are very line of sight. So if you want distance you need to get above obstructions. Ie, buildings, trees, terrain.

Sorry for being long winded.



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I have no set distance or destination in mind. I just wanted to try this type of setup, learn about it as I’m doing it and just see how far I can reach and what I could pick up. If I reached out and picked up a repeater (other than the one close to me), another ht or other radios then that would be great. If I don’t hit anything then I will keep learning and tuning things. I’m not trying to go so fast that I overwhelm myself. That’s why I want to learn what my ht can do before moving to a different type of radio. Plus I’m just enjoying it. Don’t be sorry, you gave me a lot of information that I did not know and greatly appreciate that. Also, I am about 10 minutes from the beach so there are plenty of open areas. The yagis being very directional was about all I knew about the yagi antennas until you gave me more info about them. This is why I like posting on here because everyone here has been helpful. Thanks for the reply & info. 

[Taz670]

Thank you @Borage257

[kidphc]

Another thing with a quality mag mount, recommend nmo style, additional connector. You change your ht to a psedu mobile. Just don't expect miracles? Your dealing with less than 10 watts.

For me at least, most ht antennas are a waste of money. This includes tactical gigantic antennas like the abree 48" folding one. Even on my ham/lmr hts, small exceptions.

Personally, I wish I had saved the money for something like an at779uv/db20g for a starter mobile/base with a quality antenna setup.

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[Borage257]

Generally speaking in flat open terrain, 6 ft of height above ground level (AGL) an antenna will reach out about 1 mile. 30ft AGL antenna height will reach out 8 miles to an antenna at 6ft AGL. I have done 75 miles with a yagi into a 400ft AGL repeater tower from my roof (35ft AGL) with a yagi and my HT.

 

The At-778uv is a pretty good starter mobile.

[Taz670]

Thanks everyone, all the tips and advice is much appreciated more than I can express. 

[bobthetj03]

Do you have any trees on your property, or a high rise apartment you can hang an antenna off the balcony? The BNC adapters are a great idea to convert your HT to using multiple antennas, and will reduce the stress to the SMA connectors if you decide to add coax to an external antenna. 

A roll up J-pole, or "slim jim antenna" is a great way to toss an antenna into a tree or hang off a ledge, or even put up on a telescoping pole for added range. 

https://n9taxlabs.com/shop/ols/products/dual-band-murs-gmrs-slim-jim-with-10-or-16-foot-cable/v/DUAL-MUGM-LONG-BNCM

Or, go full redneck and toss a NMO style mag mount with a NMO antenna on a cookie sheet and toss it on your roof. It could double as your mobile antenna on the roof of your vehicle, provided your vehicle has a metal roof. 

 

[WSAM454]

Alternative to the cookie sheet on the roof is a mag mount on the top of a window or in-wall mount air conditioner, especially on the second floor.