GMRS antenna mounting

[Nokones]

So, my Diamond CR320 was a waste of money?

For GMRS freqs, Yes!

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[Mark75H]

For GMRS freqs, Yes!

SWR 1.3:1 on 70cm

 

[Nokones]

SWR 1.3:1 on 70cm

70 cm is not GMRS freqs, or should I say GMRS is not 70 cm.

 

[Mark75H]

Correct. Same SWR on 65cm, which is what I meant to type the first time. It's a great antenna. Nothing higher than 1.4 across all 4 bands end to end.

 

[steelponycowboy]

Diamond antennas cheap Chinese crap so I agree. 70cm is a Ham band and NOT GMRS which resides just above the 70cm frequencies. GMRS requires antennas that are pre-tuned for GMRS. ALL Midland antennas meet that criteria. While a 70cm antenna will technically work, it's a poor choice. None of Midlands premium antennas require any ground plane starting with the 48" 7.5db gain Grand Vista whip to the.3db gain Canyon Edge to the higher priced 48"" 6.6db gain Highland Tall and it's 3db gain shorter twin. For most of you the Grand Vista mounted on the spare tire mount on a Wrangler is mote than enough.

 

[Nokones]

Diamond antennas cheap Chinese crap so I agree. 70cm is a Ham band and NOT GMRS which resides just above the 70cm frequencies. GMRS requires antennas that are pre-tuned for GMRS. ALL Midland antennas meet that criteria. While a 70cm antenna will technically work, it's a poor choice. None of Midlands premium antennas require any ground plane starting with the 48" 7.5db gain Grand Vista whip to the.3db gain Canyon Edge to the higher priced 48"" 6.6db gain Highland Tall and it's 3db gain shorter twin. For most of you the Grand Vista mounted on the spare tire mount on a Wrangler is mote than enough.

Agree, Cheap Pandaland Ham Crap

 

[zouch]

perhaps they've changed in the 20+ years since i got mine, but my CR320A has worked pretty well for me for decades already.
Chinese? perhaps. crap? most certainly not.
(and if you ask Midland, they'll tell you their antennas are made "overseas".)

if you're running the 220 band, you don't have nearly as many options for ants. and it sounds like you might be surprised at what you can tune an ant up to work on, especially since mobile xcvrs are fairly tolerant of an SWR mismatch.
does it perform optimally? perhaps not. but it certainly performs quite well enough. simplex games have been quite amusing.

it's all about compromise. if we don't have a metal roof we're willing to mount our ant in the middle of, we're already compromising.

Diamond antennas cheap Chinese crap so I agree. 70cm is a Ham band and NOT GMRS which resides just above the 70cm frequencies. GMRS requires antennas that are pre-tuned for GMRS. ALL Midland antennas meet that criteria. While a 70cm antenna will technically work, it's a poor choice. None of Midlands premium antennas require any ground plane starting with the 48" 7.5db gain Grand Vista whip to the.3db gain Canyon Edge to the higher priced 48"" 6.6db gain Highland Tall and it's 3db gain shorter twin. For most of you the Grand Vista mounted on the spare tire mount on a Wrangler is mote than enough.

 

[NULL POINTER]

None of Midlands premium antennas require any ground plane starting with the 48" 7.5db gain Grand Vista whip to the.3db gain Canyon Edge to the higher priced 48"" 6.6db gain Highland Tall and it's 3db gain shorter twin. For most of you the Grand Vista mounted on the spare tire mount on a Wrangler is mote than enough.

Are you sure about this? The FAQ on the Grand Vista states that all Midland antennas require a ground plane. What am I missing or not understanding about ground planes? Thanks.

 

[mjbenedict]

Are you sure about this? The FAQ on the Grand Vista states that all Midland antennas require a ground plane. What am I missing or not understanding about ground planes? Thanks.

Some require a ground plane for performance, like the stubby 3dB one they sell. It’s the reason I went with the Highland 3dB bull bar antenna which states does not need ground plane. I know it performs much better than the ghost stubby one mounted in same location by my spare tire.

 

[MntGoat]

Any reason not to mount my 50" grand vista on front bumper light bar? Base will be above or close to hood level.

Other option is beside my spare tire.

Trails normally are fairly clear in the middle of the road?

Only worry would be grabbing it while doing recovery work.

 

[Mark75H]

So, it is agreed. My 1.3 SWR is crap.

 

[Nokones]

So, it is agreed. My 1.3 SWR is crap.

1.3:1 VSWR just means the antenna is not reflecting a whole lot of RF power back into the radio. It doesn't mean that a POS Ham Crap Pandaland antenna is going to perform the same as a Professional Grade antenna tuned for GMRS freqs or a Consumer Grade GMRS designed/engineered antenna with the same VSWRs. A matter of fact, the HAM Crap antennae will be worst.

 

[steelponycowboy]

You can mount the Grand Vista up front no issues it is a top firing antenna unlike the Ghost or the 6db gain whip as are all of the other premium bull bar antennas. And yes Midland and every other antenna is made overseas. The difference is that the Midland antennas are not some reworked ham antenna, they are designed in KC MO to Midlands specs and manufactured under Midland’s supervision. They are 100% GMRS from day one not reworked ham junk. Now there are 2 versions of the Grand Vista, the original that has no spring at base and the new one that has a spring which may or may not be available yet (I have one of the new spring versions that Midland sent me to test a few months ago) the spring version would be best up front. The original works best at back using a spare tire carrier mount. It's an pretty sturdy antenna and 50 mile range here in AZ with my MXT575 is not unheard of. I had someone tell me they talked 100 miles from a mountain top in death valley to someone down in the valley which I believe as I've done the same on 70cm in the same area. I have my set up for maximum range as I look at GMRS as much for safety as trail comms. In case of emergency I can most likely hit a repeater to call for help, a plus few of you think about.

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