2m/70cm/GMRS Base Recommendations for Specific Antenna

[CTWaters]

Good afternoon, folks.

I am curious to see if anyone knows of a short base antenna that will do 2m/70cm/GMRS, that is as short as possible?

Want to put up a base antenna but don't want the HOA to start *****in, moanin, and complainin.

In the picture attached, I am wanting it on the patio roof, where the Satellite Dish and Weather Station antenna are at.

That Weather Station antenna is on a 40" mast.

I tried the mobile antenna on a cookie sheet and it doesn't work any better on the HT with the stock antenna.

I was recommended to look at the Diamond X50C2, but I noticed that thing is almost 6' tall.

I am trying to find the shortest base antenna possible that can cover what I am looking for.

I tried the "mobile mount on a cookie sheet" on top of the patio roof in the picture. I didn't get anything better than the antenna on my HT.

Anyone have any recommendations?

Appreciate all the knowledge.

 

[devicelab]

Too bad the Ventenna guy retired. That would be perfect for your situation.

You could try DPD but he doesn't make a dual-band antenna. You could always put up specific bands. Paint them the same color has the house (or other vent pipes) and they'll virtually disappear. He also sells one for GMRS.

Since they're tuned antennas you'll need one for each band.

A discone can also be painted but it may wear eventually and it'll stand out more in certain conditions -- but you could transmit without issue. (You can remove the top vertical for stealth -- if you don't care about low-band...)

 

[mmckenna]

I tried the "mobile mount on a cookie sheet" on top of the patio roof in the picture. I didn't get anything better than the antenna on my HT.

Which mobile antenna did you try? They are not all created equal.
What kind of coaxial cable did you feed it with, and how long was it?
Down below the roofline, you are going to get some amount of signal attenuation from the building materials.

Anyone have any recommendations?

Low profile and keeping HOA happy will limit what you can do.

A discone will cover those frequencies, but will have zero gain. High grade coaxial cable, like LMR-400 or better, will get more signal to/from your radio.

An appropriate mobile antenna will work, but you'd need the right stuff:

Pulse Larsen NMO150/450/758 Antenna

The Pulse – Larsen NMO150/450/758 is a Tri-band Whip antenna with a spring base. *This Antenna Requires a NMO Mount. Please click here to find all Thru-Hole NMO mounts or Magnetic NMO Mounts we carry.

www.arcantenna.com

Add a base adapter so you don't have to do a mag mount/baking sheet thing:

MBCN: Ground plane Kit For NMO to N-Female Mobile to Base Station Antenna Kit for VHF or UHF. Includes Ground Plane Radials.

The Laird MBCN is a Mobile to Base Station Antenna adapter for use with VHF and UHF antennas. The kit includes NMO to N-Female adapter and (4) 22 inch long ground plane radials. NOTE: Whip antenna, mounting pole and coaxial cable are NOT included.

www.arcantenna.com

Mount that to a pole/pipe/conduit and get it up as high as you safely can.

Feed it with appropriate coaxial cable for the length, like LMR-400 or better.

I'm running that Larsen antenna, as well as an EM Wave version, on my work truck. I've used it on 2 meters, 70 centimeters and GMRS. I've also swept them with an antenna analyzer and they'll give you a very suitable match on those bands.

 

[CTWaters]

You could try DPD but he doesn't make a dual-band antenna. You could always put up specific bands. Paint them the same color has the house (or other vent pipes) and they'll virtually disappear. He also sells one for GMRS.

Since they're tuned antennas you'll need one for each band.

I've actually got his GMRS antenna upstairs in the office.

A discone can also be painted but it may wear eventually and it'll stand out more in certain conditions -- but you could transmit without issue. (You can remove the top vertical for stealth -- if you don't care about low-band...)

1st thing I tried! I have a Tram Discone sitting here that I used to use for my Scanner. Hooked it up, threw it about 10' in the air, and hardly any improvement.

 

[devicelab]

1st thing I tried! I have a Tram Discone sitting here that I used to use for my Scanner. Hooked it up, threw it about 10' in the air, and hardly any improvement.

Relative to what? Discone antennas by their nature are not for 'gain' -- in fact, most have next to zero gain. Their broadband design gives them a little flexibility.

What are you trying to accomplish with the antenna? Is this for receiving or transmitting?

 

[CTWaters]

Which mobile antenna did you try? They are not all created equal.
What kind of coaxial cable did you feed it with, and how long was it?
Down below the roofline, you are going to get some amount of signal attenuation from the building materials.

I tried a Comet SS460SB, Comet2x4, and AnyTone Tri-Band. All of which are great antennas on my rig, so figured they would work as good as they do on the rig. Took the mount and antenna off the rig and tried it. With the 460SB and the Tri-Band, I can do 40'ish miles on 10 watts in the rig.

Low profile and keeping HOA happy will limit what you can do.

Yeah, I know. I may just have to pick up the Diamond antenna tomorrow from HRO and give it a shot and see if anyone complains.

An appropriate mobile antenna will work, but you'd need the right stuff:

Pulse Larsen NMO150/450/758 Antenna

The Pulse – Larsen NMO150/450/758 is a Tri-band Whip antenna with a spring base. *This Antenna Requires a NMO Mount. Please click here to find all Thru-Hole NMO mounts or Magnetic NMO Mounts we carry.

www.arcantenna.com

Add a base adapter so you don't have to do a mag mount/baking sheet thing:

MBCN: Ground plane Kit For NMO to N-Female Mobile to Base Station Antenna Kit for VHF or UHF. Includes Ground Plane Radials.

The Laird MBCN is a Mobile to Base Station Antenna adapter for use with VHF and UHF antennas. The kit includes NMO to N-Female adapter and (4) 22 inch long ground plane radials. NOTE: Whip antenna, mounting pole and coaxial cable are NOT included.

www.arcantenna.com

Mount that to a pole/pipe/conduit and get it up as high as you safely can.

Funny you mention this setup. A neighbor HAM down the road has that exact set up, and he even had issues hitting some of the same repeaters I am, so he had me try it to see if I got any difference but did not.

This is just a very weird area. Almost like a bowl, and everyone around here has issues getting out if you aren't in a mobile running full power.

 

[CTWaters]

What are you trying to accomplish with the antenna? Is this for receiving or transmitting?

Both! Any of the antenna concoctions I have tried seem to receive better than the stock HT.

There are a couple repeaters that are North about 45'ish miles around 7K feet that I would love to hit without being upstairs in the office, or one specific spot sitting in my chair downstairs in the living room. If I move my HT 1/2" in any direction, I can't hit them. So I can hit them with an 8 watt HT (AnyTone 878UVII+) with no issues, but have to be in a specific spot. Can't outside in the back yard or anywhere outside of the one specific spot, or the Blade Antenna upstairs in the office.

 

[fog]

I was recommended to look at the Diamond X50C2, but I noticed that thing is almost 6' tall.

That would have been my recommendation, too. It's the smallest base antenna I'm aware of that'll cover what you're looking for. I wonder if you can find some non-metallic paint that matches the color of your house.

I don't know much about the permeability of your building's construction, but my solution to living in a condo was to put several antennas in my attic. I live in a bit of a canyon sort of like you describe, and have found that height is what I need more than anything. But if that's thick stucco outside, this may be terrible advice.

 

[K6GBW]

I used to use a Comet GP-1. It's small and very low profile. It works great on 2m and 440 and it was passable on GMRS. I've since switched to a TRAM 1410 that I use on 2m, 220, 440 and GMRS. No gain but it hits all the repeaters I need. I have it on a small mast on the back of the house and you can't see it from the street.

 

[KB2GOM]

I use this one for 2m, 440, and GMRS:

Amazon.com

 

[AK9R]

Comet GP-1 from different retailers:
Ham City's Amazon store $89.87
DX Engineering $79.95
Ham Radio Outlet $74.95
Gigaparts $74.95

 

[sloop]

I feel your pain (HOA's). I use an Arrow 144 / 440 J-pole located in my attic. I'm able to hit a GMRS repeater 50 miles from me running 25 watts and a 2 meter repeater about 100 miles away with 45 watts, both with full quieting.

 

[N9JIG]

Plus 1 on the GP-1 from Comet. I use it on my AT-5888UV and it works great! I am able to hit a repeater that none of the others I have tried would.

I am thinking of getting a second one for the attic for the scanners, it seems to work just as well if not better than the Omni-X, discones and even the ST-2.

 

[vagrant]

What is the SWR on 462 and 467 MHz on the GP-1?

The OP wants to hit repeaters to the north, but his backyard is on the south side. The OP also noted that the discone was slightly better than his HT, but no info on discone location during testing, nor the coax type used.

 

[KB2GOM]

What is the SWR on 462 and 467 MHz on the GP-1?

The OP wants to hit repeaters to the north, but his backyard is on the south side. The OP also noted that the discone was slightly better than his HT, but no info on discone location during testing, nor the coax type used.

Sorry, I haven't measured SWR. It works well with my twin Moto 1250s on VHF and UHF.

 

[N9JIG]

What is the SWR on 462 and 467 MHz on the GP-1?

The OP wants to hit repeaters to the north, but his backyard is on the south side. The OP also noted that the discone was slightly better than his HT, but no info on discone location during testing, nor the coax type used.

My GP-1 in my attic shows about a 1.6-1 at 467.600 and 1.8-1 at 462.600. It could be affected by other antennas and metal items in the attic of course.

 

[vagrant]

Thank you for the numbers as well as the proximity of metal things.