Base to mobile simplex help

[kwd001]

Im hoping you guys can help a newbie. My main goal is to achieve good simplex comms from my base (home rooftop tripod mount) to and from my truck. On both ends are baofeng uv-6r 5w HTs. At base is 50' rg8x direct from HT to 2m base antenna (firestik) on roof (about 40' high). I'm attempting to reach it from the other unit in truck with a cheap magnet mount antenna but only getting rx at base from about .75 miles over flat terrain (west Texas). What do you recommend for the truck for good MURS/2m tx/rx? With the height of the base and the flat terrain, I expected much more range. I don't think the base is the problem. I need to know what the best option for the truck is. I'm studying for the ham exam and using MURS until I get my license.

 

[TLF82]

Without going into the legalities of it all...

You have lots of factors not playing in your favor. Your coax at those freqs will have about 2.5db of loss. Next the antenna you are using is not tuned for those frequencies. So your SWR is eating up power as well. Best case scenario is you are getting 2.5 watts (probably less) at the feed point of you antenna.

As far as your mobile, without knowing the specs to the antenna its hard to say, but guessing its not tuned for MURS/commercial either. So, you run back into the loss of the coax and the SWR mismatch.

Next, the baofengs are not known to have great front ends (receivers) so they are not going to pick up the already weak signal very well.

 

[KE0GXN]

Deleted...wrong thread, my apologies.

 

[kwd001]

Thanks K5TLF. I believe you are correct; I also think my mobile magnet antenna is a weak link on the tx side. I had a ham buddy come over and tx from my home unit and I drove out in the truck and was loud and clear about 5 miles out. I agree; I ordered a truck stake mount and 2 MURS antennas. One will go up on the roof and one on the truck. Once I get my tech license I'll switch over to the 2m's and keep the MURS antennas for hunting, hiking, etc. I plan on getting a couple yaesu mobiles and replace the handhelds at home and truck.

 

[wa1nic]

Diamond® Antenna ~ F23H Monoband Base Station Antenna

 

[chief21]

One of the biggest issues is probably your RG8X coax... not terribly efficient at VHF and even worse at UHF. You're losing a lot of signal in a 50' run.

If you're serious about radio, get the best quality coax (with the least loss) that you can afford. LMR400 would be best if it's not too pricey for you. Without a good antenna system (antenna + coax) even the best radio can not perform well.

John AC4JK