Handhelds and amplifiers

[mmckenna]

But when transmitting how would you know that the SWR is good without ruining the radio if SWR is very high?

With an SWR meter.
And it's very unlikely you'd destroy your radio if the SWR was a little high. Most hand held radio antenna provide a poor match to the radio. The radios are usually designed to handle it.

On the other hand, putting an external antenna outside your vehicle is going to make a huge improvement in performance.

 

[stingray327]

The only problem I have is that my car is not metal and I used to use magnet mounts on antennas which made it very easy to just stick onto a car made of metal.

 

[poltergeisty]

I've hit a GMRS repeater about 9 miles from here on a Kenwood 4 watt handheld. So watts is something you really don't need. They make a very long foldable antenna with a SMA female adapter, but I'm not sure how good those are. I can't remember the name, but it's like a military antenna.

 

[DeoVindice]

I've hit a GMRS repeater about 9 miles from here on a Kenwood 4 watt handheld. So watts is something you really don't need. They make a very long foldable antenna with a SMA female adapter, but I'm not sure how good those are. I can't remember the name, but it's like a military antenna.

I think you're thinking of the ABBREE blade antenna. For as goofy as they look, they are said to work surprisingly well.

I've hit GMRS repeaters 87 miles away at 4W, and 20 miles away at 1W. With good line of sight, wattage is not especially important as you said.

 

[prcguy]

I play a lot with military radios and accys and have a 5w radio with external amp that is usually worn on a belt with the antenna from the handheld used on the amp. On VHF and UHF simplex and repeater use I've noticed a big difference going from the stock hand held at 5w to the amplifier setup with the same antenna at the same location. There are times when I cannot make contact on simplex or get into a repeater with 5w where 20w works just fine. Power is good.

If some is good then more is better and too much is just right.

 

[poltergeisty]

I think you're thinking of the ABBREE blade antenna.

That's the one. Thanks.

 

[KD8DVR]

Of late, I've been monitoring the gmrs/frs/murs frequencies on my scanner, and I've noticed a lot more activity on those freqs as opposed to the 2 meter / 70cm bands, so I'm considering getting a GMRS license so I can join in on the conversations. If I do get licensed, I'm thinking I'd buy one of those gmrs-v1 radios from BTECH and then pairing it up with the BTECH amp-U25 amplifier I already own for much greater range. Since the transmit power limit is up to 50W (depending on which freq you're xmitting on) for the gmrs service and the max output for the amp is 40W, I figure it should work out okay (the freq range for the amp is 400mhz thru 480mhz).

I was just wondering if anyone here who might also own one of those amps uses it with a handheld gmrs radio and if so, how the performance is? Thanks in advance.

The BTECH amps are made for the amateur bands, so you are likely to experience problems using one of those on GMRS. Best, like someone else has said, is to have a good antenna system. Power doesn't increase range. Antennas do.

 

[KD8DVR]

What is the range on those BTECH BaoFeng 5UVR handheld radios?

All depends on the antenna, the height of the antenna, the terrain you'll use them in. All factors. Expect *up to* 2 miles handheld to handheld in average conditions. With a very high external antenna, expect that range to increase dramatically.

 

[KD8DVR]

What about a mobile antenna for the BTech 5UVR? Do they sell any mobile antennas to increase range for these low cost radios?

UV5R radios are not legal for use on GMRS.

But, in answer to your question, yes. A mobile antenna will increase range, and there are mobile antennas made for this radio.

 

[stingray327]

I think you're thinking of the ABBREE blade antenna. For as goofy as they look, they are said to work surprisingly well.

I've hit GMRS repeaters 87 miles away at 4W, and 20 miles away at 1W. With good line of sight, wattage is not especially important as you said.

BaoFeng makes a radio that is 8 watts double the power over the 5 UVR it is model FHP 8 or something like that.

 

[RemydaCat]

Of late, I've been monitoring the gmrs/frs/murs frequencies on my scanner, and I've noticed a lot more activity on those freqs as opposed to the 2 meter / 70cm bands, so I'm considering getting a GMRS license so I can join in on the conversations. If I do get licensed, I'm thinking I'd buy one of those gmrs-v1 radios from BTECH and then pairing it up with the BTECH amp-U25 amplifier I already own for much greater range. Since the transmit power limit is up to 50W (depending on which freq you're xmitting on) for the gmrs service and the max output for the amp is 40W, I figure it should work out okay (the freq range for the amp is 400mhz thru 480mhz).

I was just wondering if anyone here who might also own one of those amps uses it with a handheld gmrs radio and if so, how the performance is? Thanks in advance.

Is there a model you prefer?