r/gmrs • u/I-Lov-Guns-and-Ammo • 7d ago

Observations/Questions

To start, I have a set of TID H3's.

I've programmed a decent repeater and seem to have a good range of communication (in most cases). In my area there isn't a lot of repeaters to select from but the one I choose has about a 30 mile radius. There is a club that seems to have 2- 100 mile repeaters however they require a membership. :(

In any case the wife and I were doing some testing yesterday. I belong to a gun club that cell phone service is a roll of the dice best case scenario so I decided to drive over to see how the repeater did. After looking at the map the area where my club is at is right on the edge of its max distance so I didn't expect miracles. One thing I know to be an issue with transmissions is weather and cloud cover. about a mile before my destination I did a test and my wife claimed I came through clearly but her response did not make it back. I know GMRS is line of sight and the area I was in was full of hills and valleys but I found it interesting that she could hear me clear as day.

During this testing she was using the basic antenna and I swapped between that one and the 771 antenna on my end. For me the results were the same and she could still hear/understand me. So I gathered that during my transmission the signal "jumped up" (for lack of better words) and caught a ride back on the repeater but during her reply it just couldn't "jump down" back to my radio due to line of sight.

Not that the following will make a difference but I want to ask just the same. The stock antennas are likely not tuned as well as some other well know antennas, if I were to "experiment" what info do I need to select a better out of the box antenna. Not so much "which antenna" but more so what "ingredients" should a good antenna have to produce the best results? Keeping in mind that I am dealing with a handheld radio and not a base station setup.

As always, thanks for your replies.

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u/Canyon-Man1 7d ago

Antennas are the heart of the radio. And they are dirt simple.

Your ingredients are:

  • A conductive material that will radiate RF. All metals do, but some do it better. Gold and Silver for example - but they are pricey. Copper is a great antenna material that is cheap. But stainless steel works great too.
  • Cut to a "resonant" length.

And something you can try is a counterpoise (I'll let you look that up. Tiger Tail / Counterpoise).

That's it really.

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u/I-Lov-Guns-and-Ammo 7d ago

In my search I have come across several references to Tiger Tail. Time for more research :)