Hello from NE Ohio

Introductions
1

Hi there, I’m brand new to GMRS radio and am excited to learn a lot from this group.
I recently received my GMRS license and plan to set up a home base. What resources are available to learn more about this build?

I have purchased the following equipment:

  • Wouxun KG-1000G Plus GMRS Base/Mobile Two Way Radio
  • Wouxun DWC30WIN 30A Switching Power Supply with LCD Display
  • Wouxun ANO-050G Mobile GMRS Antenna
  • Wouxun USB Programming Cable (PCO-001/PCO-009)
  • Surecom SW-102 Digital VHF/UHF 125-525Mhz Antenna Power & SWR Meter
    and looking forward to receiving two Wouxun KG-Q10G Handheld GMRS Radios

I’m looking for advice on how to set up the antenna either inside of my second floor room or the outside of the second floor window (HOA restrictions). I’m curious what options are available and what I should know about setting up the home base?

Paul WSCG969

2

A nice collection of bits and pieces, and the comments on the radio are alway pretty good. The shame of course is the antenna. If you had a car roof to mount it on it would be great, but it is a weak link when used any other way. If you cannot have a proper base antenna outside due to restrictions, then a base antenna, that does not need a groundplane would be a better solution. There are some quite modest length, white tube types, and they can be fitted to the cable then placed in the best compromise positions. Indoors clearly give you dead spots in some directions, and potential interference problems, but in my office, i have a marine band antenna in the corner of the window opening, gaffer taped to the pvc frame. It works nearly as well as the outdoor ones on the mast, but only east. West, is totally dead. There are dedicated gmrs ones but many of the ham products catch the gmrs band before their performance dies off. If you buy a proper base antenna you also dont have to worry about tuning and the VSWR meter in most cases.

3

In HOA places - which is so strange to us in other countries - users have made do with a magnet mount under that mobile antenna and a large pizza pan in the highest room in your house. They can’t have any objection to pizza, can they?

4

Hi Paul. I recently made a j-pole for my GMRS base. It doesn’t require a ground plane. RuggedRadios also makes a mobile 1/2 wave magnetic mount antenna that doesn’t require a ground plane. These will serve you well. Your other components look really solid!

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