Two antennas, one radio

[AndyOnTheRadio]

I have two GMRS antennas that are not the same. Is there any way to combine them for one radio for better reception or transmission via a splitter or something like that?
 

I don’t think this would be possible. I just thought I’d ask. Thanks!

[SteveShannon]

1 minute ago, AndyOnTheRadio said:

I have two GMRS antennas that are not the same. Is there any way to combine them for one radio for better reception or transmission via a splitter or something like that?
 

I don’t think this would be possible. I just thought I’d ask. Thanks!

With an antenna switch you could select the one that works best. 
Combining antennas is more complicated. If you simply connect them in parallel you end up with an impedance mismatch and a minimum SWR of 2:1. 
A combiner may be built or purchased, but you really need to consider what you hope to accomplish by combining the two antennas. Will the combined antennas cancel out each other?  Will they result in greater gain? Which direction because increasing gain in one direction necessarily decreases gain in another. 
In other words, it depends.

[WRYZ926]

Well if you phased them together then you would have a directional antenna instead of an omnidirectional antenna. And using a duplexer/diplexer will actually cause you to loose output power. You are better off just using the better of the two antennas by itself. Also make sure to use quality coax designed for VHF/UHF frequencies.

[Willie]

2 hours ago, WSEZ said:

BaHaaahahaa.... I thought this was gonna be a (2 Girls 1 Cup) type of topic!

TMI brother...

[Socalgmrs]

1 hour ago, AndyOnTheRadio said:

I have two GMRS antennas that are not the same. Is there any way to combine them for one radio for better reception or transmission via a splitter or something like that?
 

I don’t think this would be possible. I just thought I’d ask. Thanks!

Why? Bad rx or tx is usually not going to be fixed with 2 antennas.  It would cost more in parts then buying one good antenna.  

[AndyOnTheRadio]

58 minutes ago, Socalgmrs said:

Why? Bad rx or tx is usually not going to be fixed with 2 antennas.  It would cost more in parts then buying one good antenna.  

I had two sitting around and wondered I could use them together. I wanted to ask to see if was possible or if I would open a portal to another universe. 

[WSEZ]

BaHaaahahaa.... I thought this was gonna be a (2 Girls 1 Cup) type of topic!

[RIPPER238]

I may do one really good antenna for 2 radios. But will only use one radio at a time. 

[TrikeRadio]

The only idea I ever thought about for having two live antennas at the same time on one radio... was having a general antenna plus a yagi pointing specifically at a further away repeater that your main antenna cant always hit.

But that could just cause a lot of problems too ... I don't even know if that would be practical or a good idea. I will leave it to others with actual understanding of the technical aspects (which I do not have) to comment on this idea.

[WRYZ926]

2 hours ago, TrikeRadio said:

The only idea I ever thought about for having two live antennas at the same time on one radio... was having a general antenna plus a yagi pointing specifically at a further away repeater that your main antenna cant always hit.

But that could just cause a lot of problems too ... I don't even know if that would be practical or a good idea. I will leave it to others with actual understanding of the technical aspects (which I do not have) to comment on this idea.

That would be fine if you use a coax switch and just switch between the two. I have been thinking about putting up yagi antennas for 2m, 70cm and GMRS along with keeping my vertical omni antennas. But that means even more coax cable runs into the house or to an outside remote switch.

But yes it would be more headaches that it would be worth trying to connect both antennas to one coax cable.