Okay guys, we've discussed the radio's, lets talk about the antennas. I have a Boofang UV-5RTP, with a Nagoya 771G. It works (kind of) on 8 watts, thinking it would transmit from home stronger with an outdoor antenna. Anybody using a handheld radio with an outdoor antenna?

For what it's worth, I am contemplating a Midland 50 watt GMRS mobile mounted in my Jeep, would also slide it out of the mount, and use it indoors utilizing the same antenna.

https://n9taxlabs.com

I have one for 2m/70cm and one for GMRS. Mounted them to PVC.

Can you describe the GMRS antenna to me, and also the components used. Have you ever hooked up a handheld GMRS radio to it? Pictures would be nice if you could.

This is a highly regarded mobile antenna that can be used as a very good base antenna, depending on location. It is a Midland MXTA26 antenna, 6db gain which is great, and single-band GMRS specific, no need to tune it. It will need a mount, a magnetic one will be ideal so you use it on your jeep and at your house, just need to put it on a sheet of metal like a cookie sheet for proper ground plane. I plan to get one for my son for a mobile setup that can double as a base. I plan to get a base antenna, the Comet 712 EFC is the one I'm pretty much sold on; 9db gain, freq. range of 460-470 MHz, perfect for GMRS. It is 10' in height, but weighs 3 lbs. I was going to install it on a telescoping flag pole for height. My 50 watt mobile/base choice is still a work in progress...

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:
Can you describe the GMRS antenna to me, and also the components used. Have you ever hooked up a handheld GMRS radio to it? Pictures would be nice if you could.

They are ladderwire jpole antennas. I also have a 10ft section of 2" PVC I can mount the array on to get it up higher as well. The shorter of the two is the gmrs antenna.

Thank you tigereye313! That looks pretty good, I'm thinking about a 10' piece of PVC with an antenna mounted on top.

quote:

Originally posted by tigereye313:
https://n9taxlabs.com

I have one for 2m/70cm and one for GMRS. Mounted them to PVC.

Yes, I happen tp see these the other day on youtube. I'm considering getting one, and I suggest using a BNC adapter if you have a Baofeng with the SMA male connector, which apparently has a reputation for failing down the road if you connect/disconnect a lot of antennas. Let's see, the UV-5R radio connector is an SMA male, so you would want an SMA female to BNC male adapter? Is that correct?

Yes, I believe you are correct, it would need that adapter.

Yes, but SMA female to BNC male, yes? Because the BNC connectors on the antenna side are typically female, yes?

Google "J-Pole". It's a copper antenna used for 2m. Works well.

I am ready to set up my antenna on the house roof and have all mounting hardware.
I have read discussions of grounding the antenna. Some say yes and some say no.

Looking for input from those that have a house roof mount.

This is for a GMRS repeater.

PC

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Yes, but SMA female to BNC male, yes? Because the BNC connectors on the antenna side are typically female, yes?

I don't know for sure, but yes, that sounds right to me.

quote:

Originally posted by PCWyoming:
I am ready to set up my antenna on the house roof and have all mounting hardware.
I have read discussions of grounding the antenna. Some say yes and some say no.

Looking for input from those that have a house roof mount.

This is for a GMRS repeater.

PC

You need a lightning arrester grounded before the coax enters your house. It grounds the braid (outer sheath) of the coax and has a spark gap to try and take some of the sting out of built-up static charges or maybe even some lightning.

I also ran a ground from the metal antenna tower.

Para, he also sells patch cables that allow you to specify which connector you want on either end. That would take some strain off the connector in the Boofwang.

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Yes, but SMA female to BNC male, yes? Because the BNC connectors on the antenna side are typically female, yes?

I don't know for sure, but yes, that sounds right to me.

I thought you were talking about what tigereye313 is describing.

It looks like he has bnc male as an option on the antennas, so you would need sma female to BNC female.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFYufYDZjN8

Ed Fong makes a good antenna.

quote:

Originally posted by tigereye313:
It looks like he has bnc male as an option on the antennas, so you would need sma female to BNC female.

Thank you. Yeah, this setup seems like a great choice for outdoor use of handheld transceivers like the UV-5R. The price couldn't be more reasonable.

quote:

Originally posted by djinco:
Google "J-Pole". It's a copper antenna used for 2m. Works well.

Caught the Colorado 145 net (2m) this morning on a 70cm/400-470 mhz 17" antenna with GP. Tx is obviously different from Rx but it's nice to hear it.

Got a Yagi reportedly sold as a 400-470mhz, yeah, that's a lot of band for a 3 element. High swr at 462. I need to hook it up to the nanovna to see where it's tuned for and make adjustments if possible.

quote:

Thank you. Yeah, this setup seems like a great choice for outdoor use of handheld transceivers like the UV-5R. The price couldn't be more reasonable.

I like how portable it is, the hooks he sells also make it convenient to hang the antenna about anywhere.

Reception seems to be good from my limited use so far.