HAM, CB, FRS, GMRS, Etc... what is your setup?

[prerunner1982]

My range sucks. I think my antennae is in a sucky spot. On one of the bolts holding the cowl on.

What kind of range are you getting?
Was the station you were trying to talk to behind you? (The metal of the vehicle on the same "plane" as the antenna can block signals as can the human occupants)
Trying to talk to the same person every time? (Maybe it's them and not you..... heard that a time or two)
But really it's considered line of sight communication and antenna height is a key factor in how far you can communicate, but sometimes you have to compromise. Mounting the antenna to one side of the vehicle or on the corner of the vehicle will skew the signal towards the direction of the most metal mass. Next time try to orientate the vehicle so the greatest signal is pointing in the direction you want, to see if that makes a difference..... if that is the rear of the vehicle as I noted above the windshield, roll bars, people.... can block some of the signal.

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[prerunner1982]

I'm thinking about moving mine from the roof to the A-pillar just so I can leave it up all the time and not hit trees offroad and drive thrus/garages in town.

Have you looked at the ghost antenna? If that is still too tall you are cutting it close getting into places. Higher is always better if you can get away with it.

 

[LUV2JEEP]

Here's my updated setup. GMRS antenna on one bracket. Ham on the other. Definitely helps to have spring mounted antennas.

 

[anotheraznguy]

Here's my updated setup. GMRS antenna on one bracket. Ham on the other. Definitely helps to have spring mounted antennas.

which bracket is that one?

 

[Jdsmoke]

What are the side lights as well?

 

[DrPerez007]

which bracket is that one?

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...t-antenna-turn-signal-mounting-bracket.55867/

LUV2JEEP can tell you specifically which lights he used. I used Amazon.

 

[LUV2JEEP]

Here's Amazon link. The brackets are Mopar A pillar brackets. I really like them. Lots of places to mount anything you want and held on by 4 bolts. ~$130
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[nostatic]

Topsy NMO mount with Comet SBB7 dual band, Topsy 3/8” mount with Firefly. Have a CoolTechLLC mount for the back, when the GMRS antenna shows up I’ll figure out which is going where (will run a 275 with the 33" antenna). Had an issue with 2m full power transmissions causing my led headlights to flicker. Moved the antenna towards the rear a bit and added some ferrite chokes. Seems to have sorted the issue. I’ve also got a through glass antenna on the side window of the hardtop but there’s no substitute for size

The Comet will fold down if need be, if the Firefly stays up front I'll likely add a spring.

Firefly tuned well but the connector at the radio end isn’t done well. Will cut it off and replace it. Not much activity though, only put in a CB in case that’s what others are using off-road. The dual band was below 2:1 across the entire 2m band, 1.2:1 around 145MHz, Ideally would like that minimum a bit higher but can't really tune the Comet. Placement ends up being the variable.

 

[nostatic]

I disagree!!! It's not a dumb question! (lol)

We are selling Midland's radios now and have opted to stock both the 275 and the 400. My personal opinion is that the 275 is the best choice for *most* Wrangler owners. It is simply so dang easy to "mount" - because you really don't have to mount anything. Just use our MicMount (or equivalent) and you're done. But for the real enthusiasts who wants every bit of power available, the 40-watt output of the MXT400 is tough to beat.

We have a GMRS all-in-one bundle on the website that provides everything you need as a Jeep JL owner to get into GMRS. The bundle includes the MXT275 Radio, Midland's best 6db antenna, Midland's coax (with removable end for routing), our JL NMO Ant mounting bracket and our MicMount. We have that at an introductory pricing.... to try to help get a long overdue groundswell from CB to GMRS going! This bundle is here.

We're working on a way for those folks who purchased our JL CB antenna bracket in the past to re-use this bracket with the Midland 6db 32" antenna and Midland coax.

I bought one of the CB mount sets but haven’t put it on yet (used the antenna fittings on a fender mount). Am about to mount yours to the rear but may end up running an NMO antenna. Does your NMO mount have a 3/4” hole or 3/8”? I know some NMO mounts will work with either but I didn’t prototype the mount yet and maybe it needs to be a bit wider to accommodate the NMO antenna base?

-edit- nm, actually read the description on your website . I would be interested in either swapping or buying just the mount if possible (assuming the rest of the hardware is the same).

 

[nostatic]

A couple of thoughts based on the conversation.

- antenna placement is a mix of art and science, though mostly science. CB (11 meters - part of HF), 2m (VHF), and 70cm (UHF) all behave differently due to their frequency/wavelength.

- there are different types of “ground” - DC, RF, and “ground plane”. Without going into gory detail, the first two are typically about noise and SWR, the latter mostly radiation pattern.

- CB, being fairly long wavelength, often has at best a quarter wave antenna. And in fact most antennas have that quarter of a wavelength done by wrapping wire around a piece of fiberglass (rather than a straight 96” whip). Quarter wave antennas live or die on the ground plane. The antenna will use whatever is available - hood, shield of the coax, even the ground itself. The efficiency of each those are very different.

- 2m, 70cm, and GMRS (which is adjacent to 70cm ham) are much shorter wavelength and you can get longer than a quarter wave pretty easily. In fact you can get multiples of different wavelengths - that’s how an antenna can tune on two very different frequencies. When you’re longer than a quarter wave, ground plane becomes a bit less of an issue. Some makers say their antenna is “no ground plane needed”. I don’t buy that unless it is a center fed dipole (which they are not), but if you have a length that is, say, multiple 5/8 wave, it is less sensitive to the ground plane.

- RF energy at higher power is dangerous. 4 watts isn’t a big deal, but if you’re running over about 10 watts you need to think about where the antenna is relative to your head. If you’re pushing 50 watts, I’d like the antenna as far away from my head as possible. But for performance you want to have optimal ground plane so it is a balancing act.

- solar and atmospheric conditions impact all bands but in different ways. As the solar cycle increases, CB range can vastly increase. Back in the 70s I talked across the country on 4 watts. Right now we’re seeing a lot of tropo ducting in CA, and VHF and UHF are going long at certain times. Possible to hit Hawaii On 2m with 50w or less.

- UHF is typically thought of as line of sight, but the signal can also knife edge and do some other tricks. It also is better inside structures than VHF. When conditions are right, CB can have very long range - hundreds or thousands of miles. Horses for courses. Long haul aircraft use VHF for most comms, but when over the ocean or poles they use HF to talk to operations (eg 11.282 MHz). The problem with HF is that it isn’t consistent. I’ve had conversations with stations in New Zealand where their signal goes from S9 to S1 in a heartbeat.

all the more reason to run all three

 

[nostatic]

I'm currently using the Yaesu FT-8900 but would like to move to the new Yaesu FTM-300. Just wondering if I can get the control head to fit in the same location.

might want to hold off on the 300, I’ve not heard great things from owners. The 400 was/is a solid radio, but doubt the faceplate would fit there. I have the faceplate for my Kenwood V71 in the same place as you're using.

 

[Steven]

@nostatic, what are you hearing about the 300?

 

[nostatic]

@nostatic, what are you hearing about the 300?

i know one guy who had it - kept cutting out during transmit. Yaesu wanted him to pay for shipping to fix it, he returned it instead. Have heard of some other complaints but don’t know the details of them. The FT3 had some complaints as well, usually about audio quality/level and the Bluetooth implementation. I had one briefly, but I just don’t care for the way Yaesu does their ui and menus. Also had ftm400 and 991 at different times as well. But I’m an experimenter and have some specific ways I want a radio to work so ymmv.

 

[anotheraznguy]

i know one guy who had it - kept cutting out during transmit. Yaesu wanted him to pay for shipping to fix it, he returned it instead. Have heard of some other complaints but don’t know the details of them. The FT3 had some complaints as well, usually about audio quality/level and the Bluetooth implementation. I had one briefly, but I just don’t care for the way Yaesu does their ui and menus. Also had ftm400 and 991 at different times as well. But I’m an experimenter and have some specific ways I want a radio to work so ymmv.

Also the ftm300 is made in china. I was looking at getting the 300 or 400 but the 400 being made in japan was the deal breaker for me.

 

[Jmonroe]

Cooltech, regards your kits.

I have your CB tailgate bracket and the Firestik antenna I bought from you but have yet to install.

I've decided I'll install GMRS before we head west again but the 17' coax that seems to come with every antenna would be almost twice what you'd likely need for a hood/fender or cowl mount antenna base. Any reason the cable can't be shorter?

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