GMRS basestation and antenna recommendation ...

[CountryGent]

So, something we've been working on for a bit is a GMRS setup for family communication for in general and for during a disaster. I am amateur radio licensed, while my wife is not. However, my GMRS license covers the family, including her. Our setup is, essentially:

• A mobile GMRS rig in each vehicle.
• A basestation in the house (which is actually a mobile repurposed for said.)
• Communicate via a good, quiet repeater that is in our area. (If, for some reason we felt that was no longer viable, we do have a GMRS repeater my father-in-law gave us that I've toyed with setting up on the hill portion of our land, with appropriate power and antenna.)
• Preprogrammed radios and a laminated family radio operating procedure guide.

So far, so good for the immediate area (where our home is, where the Mrs school is located, etc.). But I would also like to setup a GMRS basestation at my office/work facility which is about 8½ miles from home, as the crow flies. Which brings me to what I am researching at the present. What would recommend for:

• A dedicated, good quality, base station for GMRS that has the maximum output that is legally allowed (50 watts). I'd rather go with a quality transceiver.
• A large antenna for the rig. I will be mounting this on top of the building and running the cable to the first floor where I work. I realize there is maximum height requirements (per FAA), but I doubt it will be a problem.

So, any recommendations for those two components would be great. Thanks.

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[cigars]

I got this for the base station. It's rated pretty good and will hold up to horrible weather. I tuned mine to GMRS 15. Tuning is easy. They include a frequency chart and tell you where to make the cuts. It handles 200 watts so if you get a 50 watt max radio, you will be fine. Take a look at Midlands 40 watt Micro talk.
Tram 1486 UHF Fiberglass Base Antenna w/Mounting Kit
For the vehicle, an NMO mount is best. If you are willing to drill a 3/4" hole in the roof you will get the best performance. You can get NMO L-brackets and hatch/trunk lip mounts though.
Good bets would be Tram, Comet, Nagoya and MFJ. MFJ offers the best bang for the buck. Shop around a bit. I believe that I have one or two of each brand and there's about a nickels worth of difference between them. They are all tune-able. I run my 40 watt Midland through the the Laird BB4503. I've got no complaints.
https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/laird-technologies-bb4503-813
Thre's a slew of others to choose from though.
https://www.theantennafarm.com/cata...0-512-mhz-uhf-196/high-gain-uhf-antennas-214/

 

[The Heretic]

Since I have a ham tech license I have a TYT 9800 quad band mobile that I can use on both ham and FRS/GMRS bands (10M, 6M, 2M and 70cm) - it also receives on 110-180Mhz (with AM Air band). It has cross band repeater and twin receive functionality. It is 50W on VHF and 40W on UHF and 10M.

I have not tested it yet (I have not RX'd any CB although I did listen), but there are some people who say they can TX and RX in the CB band with this. My understanding was that the 10M band on this set is FM only, but again, I have not tested it.

 

[SUPER X]

So, something we've been working on for a bit is a GMRS setup for family communication for in general and for during a disaster. I am amateur radio licensed, while my wife is not. However, my GMRS license covers the family, including her. Our setup is, essentially:

• A mobile GMRS rig in each vehicle.
• A basestation in the house (which is actually a mobile repurposed for said.)
• Communicate via a good, quiet repeater that is in our area. (If, for some reason we felt that was no longer viable, we do have a GMRS repeater my father-in-law gave us that I've toyed with setting up on the hill portion of our land, with appropriate power and antenna.)
• Preprogrammed radios and a laminated family radio operating procedure guide.

So far, so good for the immediate area (where our home is, where the Mrs school is located, etc.). But I would also like to setup a GMRS basestation at my office/work facility which is about 8½ miles from home, as the crow flies. Which brings me to what I am researching at the present. What would recommend for:

• A dedicated, good quality, base station for GMRS that has the maximum output that is legally allowed (50 watts). I'd rather go with a quality transceiver.
• A large antenna for the rig. I will be mounting this on top of the building and running the cable to the first floor where I work. I realize there is maximum height requirements (per FAA), but I doubt it will be a problem.

So, any recommendations for those two components would be great. Thanks.

Is a license for a CB still Required Or only for HAM ?

 

[The Heretic]

Is a license for a CB still Required Or only for HAM ?

No license needed for CBRS: Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS)

 

[cigars]

Since I have a ham tech license I have a TYT 9800 quad band mobile that I can use on both ham and FRS/GMRS bands (10M, 6M, 2M and 70cm) - it also receives on 110-180Mhz (with AM Air band). It has cross band repeater and twin receive functionality. It is 50W on VHF and 40W on UHF and 10M.

I have not tested it yet (I have not RX'd any CB although I did listen), but there are some people who say they can TX and RX in the CB band with this. My understanding was that the 10M band on this set is FM only, but again, I have not tested it.

Keep in mind that while your TYT (I have one too..) is capable of transmitting on GMRS, it's not FCC approved
to do so. That being said, I have Chirped all the GMRS/FRS, Marine, etc frequencies into my handheld and mobile units, for monitoring of course...

 

[The Heretic]

Yes, most of the Chinese/et. al. knock offs are not FCC type approved for FRS/GMRS or amateur licensed operation.

The FCC is not going to hang someone out to dry if they are operating non-type approved transceivers as long as the operation thereof is within the params of the frequencies and licensing you have (or the situation - e.g., true emergencies). Operate on an amateur or commercial freq that you don't have a license for, or operate at a higher power than is allowed, or in a mode that is not allowed - if they happen to notice, they might bust you and fine you and might put operating with the non-type approved equipment on top of that (maybe on the latter).

Personally, I like the fact that it can operate on the different frequencies, whether it is type approved or not. I am not going to operate outside the freqs and modes I am licensed for, but in a SHTF or other emergency, I think it is a good thing to be able to at least monitor as much of the traffic out there that I can. I mostly only monitor anyway - if I want to talk to someone around the world I can do it on the internet. That said, I should practice locally.

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

Thread resurrection.. Anyone knows if there is "sole" base antenna that you can use for GMRS and 10-11 meter?
Thanks

 

[The Heretic]

Thread resurrection.. Anyone knows if there is "sole" base antenna that you can use for GMRS and 10-11 meter?
Thanks

By "sole" you mean a single antenna?

GMRS freqs are 70 cm so you would need to get an antenna that handles 10m also

Amazon.com

I have this one, but I have not tested it on 6m or 10m:

Amazon.com

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

By "sole" you mean a single antenna?

GMRS freqs are 70 cm so you would need to get an antenna that handles 10m also

Amazon.com

I have this one, but I have not tested it on 6m or 10m:

Amazon.com

I have 10-11 meter on mobile. It took me a long time to get the SWR not to go over 1.5 without using an antenna matcher.
I'm thinking about putting them including the GMSR at home. But if I can use an antenna that is not 65 feet in the air like we use to in the 80's, that would be great. I have a HOA but they "might" give me a slack. I try not to go that route if I have to. Let me see these antennas you mentioned. Sorry I'm not up to date anymore.
The one thing also, I cannot use my mobile radio near the garage. It disoriented my remote garage opener and I burned 1 (cheapie) midland handheld emergency walkie talkie. Does that mean I have to use a low pass filter?
Thanks

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

By "sole" you mean a single antenna?

GMRS freqs are 70 cm so you would need to get an antenna that handles 10m also

Amazon.com

I have this one, but I have not tested it on 6m or 10m:

Amazon.com

Yes single antenna. I hope there is.
How long is your antenna mast for the base station? I mean do I still have to follow line of sight with the new 10-11 meter , GMRS FM radio?



10-11 meter

 

[The Heretic]

How long is your antenna mast for the base station?

54"

I mean do I still have to follow line of sight with the new 10-11 meter , GMRS FM radio?

10-11 meter is HF, so propagation is less line of sight and more "bounce"/"Skip" DXing - if you wish. I don't have any real experience with it, except for meteor burst mode (I did testing for a DoD contractor 35 years ago) which is a whole different animal.

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

54"

10-11 meter is HF, so propagation is less line of sight and more "bounce"/"Skip" DXing - if you wish. I don't have any real experience with it, except for meteor burst mode (I did testing for a DoD contractor 35 years ago) which is a whole different animal.

A lot of things I need to get the base and mobile setup.

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

I found this guy

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

 

[parallax]

Thread resurrection.. Anyone knows if there is "sole" base antenna that you can use for GMRS and 10-11 meter?
Thanks

Not that i have ever heard of, i use a dedicated antenna for 100-500 MHZ and a dedicated antenna for 3-30 MHZ.. i think the gmrs and 11 meter freqs are just too far apart.

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

So these GMRS radios uses 50 ohm coax cables? I know that an excellent LM-400 is really expensive. What is the ideal height of lets say a 5/8 wave base antenna from ground to top?

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

I'm considering getting a GMRS + extra freq. base station. Narrowing and debating on these 3 radio. Theyre all dual bands. The one on the bottom is 45 watts.
And the J-Pole Antenna.

 

[brandonlamb]

I have the anytone and jpole but in the O pattern, in my condo in seattle and i can hit all the repeaters around here. Programming anytone is pretty easy with the software and you can do ham/gmrs/whatever. I'm super basic level though so I couldnt tell you if this radio is "good" based on what, other than it works, does what I need, seems to have great reviews, lots of channel memory. I also bought the powerwerx power tray thing with carry handle and psu.

 

[Cerberus Group]

So these GMRS radios uses 50 ohm coax cables? I know that an excellent LM-400 is really expensive. What is the ideal height of lets say a 5/8 wave base antenna from ground to top?

Just get it 4-6 above the highest point of your roof so it has clear sight in all directions.

I use LMR-400, but it's a solid core cable...don't bend it hard or you'll ruin it. If you have places that it will encounter that will force the cable into hard angles, use LMR-400 UF or Ultra Flex