Stubby GMRS antenna question.

[Glad Jeeper]

Mounted mine using a bracket from Cali Raised.

I like this mount!!

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[jav_eee]

Someone should tell Midland. They offer and even bundle these mounts into their offerings!

midland gets away with it because they sell to off-road enthusiasts, not radio enthusiasts. Someone with radio/antenna knowledge does not use midland radios/antennas for GMRS.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

Midland is a radio company and I've had a few friends that worked for them years ago designing radios. They are not an antenna company and their marketing dept simply orders and rebrands other antennas. Their rebranded 6dB advertised antenna is actually around 2dBd gain. The little pud antenna they advertise as 3dB has lower gain than a 6" 1/4 wave whip that is rated unity or 0db gain. That is the marketing department doing their job I guess in making sales by whatever means they can, which happens to be lying.

midland gets away with it because they sell to off-road enthusiasts, not radio enthusiasts. Someone with radio/antenna knowledge does not use midland radios/antennas for GMRS.

Well crap, now what antenna do I use? Are Midland Radios garbage too?

 

[jav_eee]

Well crap, now what antenna do I use? Are Midland Radios garbage too?

Not garbage, just not……. For radio enthusiasts. If you want something you can plug in and key up and instantly talk to others then they’re good. If you like having more control and options then there are other choices. I wouldn’t buy the midland stubby but have no problem buying the laird variant. As for a whip antenna I’d also go with laird/larsen. But I’m a radio enthusiast. The antenna is the most critical part, in my opinion. I wouldn’t skimp on that, again, in my opinion.

 

[Alpine Warthog]

Not garbage, just not……. For radio enthusiasts. If you want something you can plug in and key up and instantly talk to others then they’re good. If you like having more control and options then there are other choices. I wouldn’t buy the midland stubby but have no problem buying the laird variant. As for a whip antenna I’d also go with laird/larsen. But I’m a radio enthusiast. The antenna is the most critical part, in my opinion. I wouldn’t skimp on that, again, in my opinion.

Thanks for that. I was a radio operator for the Air Force back 22 years ago so I remember the basics but I have lots of holes in my memory lol.

I'm going to look into the laird. I want plug and play but I want reliable and effective too. And they don't always come in the same package.
My next project is moving that antenna to the top of my Fiberglass shell. I know I'll need to mount a sheet of metal to create a ground plane but I remove the camper shell from time to time, so I've got to be able to unplug it reliably at the bed as well.
I want to have both CB and GMRS. Still some old timers out there running the CB. And if I ever get into HAM I'll probly mount the antenna on the shell as well.

 

[cranbiz]

I use a Diamond 770NMO antenna. It is a no ground plane antenna and I use it on all my Jeeps and on my Class C.

However it is not specifically a GMRS antenna, it's a dual band ham antenna. It does work well for GMRS though. GMRS is 462 MHZ, 70CM ham (voice) is centered around 444 MHZ. Because I have access to an antenna analyzer, taking about 1/8th" off of the antenna gives me an SWR of 1.1-1 across the 2M band, 1.2-1 across the 70CM band and 1.4-1 across the GMRS band. Caution, don't buy one and just trim it without having a SWR meter or an antenna analyzer. What worked for me might not work for you.

 

[MMMII]

Midland makes a hood mount that I find works well.

 

[xman1564]

There is a member that put a stubby antenna on the center rollbar. The soft top cleared it and he said there wasn't any interfere as far as transmission/receiving goes. So, what short antenna with magnetic mount do you guys suggest?

i run rugged radio mount antenna on L side of my jeep fender side cowel luv it

 

[xman1564]

i run rugged radio mount antenna on L side of my jeep fender side cowel luv it

rugged radio gladiator antennia mount

 

[xman1564]

i run complete rugged radio plug n play system for the jeep gladiator easy plug n play install and 50 wts works great?

 

[xman1564]

 

[Coldtoes]

Midland is a radio company and I've had a few friends that worked for them years ago designing radios. They are not an antenna company and their marketing dept simply orders and rebrands other antennas. Their rebranded 6dB advertised antenna is actually around 2dBd gain. The little pud antenna they advertise as 3dB has lower gain than a 6" 1/4 wave whip that is rated unity or 0db gain.

I am most definitely not a radio guy, so could you please enlighten those like myself which antenna brands you would recommend?

Also will antenna type/dB/low-SWR affect clarity of communication? I don't mean can i send and receive, but the amount of static/noise in the transmission? I've been disappointed that GMRS is not very clear. Better than CB, but not by much. Perhaps that's my antenna? (using a Midland 575, with Midland 6dB antenna).

Thanks for your advice.

 

[cranbiz]

My guess is it's a combination of antenna and antenna location. GMRS is FM communications and CB is AM communications. FM is almost always clearer by nature of the mode of transmission.

What are you using for an antenna and where is it mounted? Do you have any LED lights and is it worse noise when they are on?

 

[Coldtoes]

My guess is it's a combination of antenna and antenna location. GMRS is FM communications and CB is AM communications. FM is almost always clearer by nature of the mode of transmission.

What are you using for an antenna and where is it mounted? Do you have any LED lights and is it worse noise when they are on?

Antenna:
Midland – MXTA26 MicroMobile® 6DB Gain Whip Antenna – Quadruple Signal Output – 32” Antenna https://a.co/d/3jOffQs

Mount is off the driver side cowl. See picture. Ignore the mud, this was the easiest pic to find.

 

[cranbiz]

That antenna requires a ground plane. You have really no ground plane for that antenna and I wouldn't be surprised if the mast of that antenna is too short. While that antenna is advertised as set from the factory, many have reported that it is not and in trying to tune it, they found the mast too short.

The antenna that @xman1564 has is a NGP antenna sold by Rugged Radios (and others). Look here for no ground plane UHF antennas.
https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-...nnas/300-512-mhz-uhf/no-ground-plane-antennas

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