Ask Michael, KB9VBR: What's the Best GMRS antenna for hilly areas

A viewer asks: I have a KB9VBR J-Pole antenna, will switching to something with higher gain help me get over a large hill to hit an area repeater? We talk about GMRS antennas, antenna gain, and why the highest gain antenna may not be the best choice
KB9VBR Antennas: www.jpole-ante...
Radio Mobile: www.ve2dbe.com...
Like what you see? You can leave me a tip:
www.paypal.me/...
KB9VBR VHF/UHF Antennas:
www.jpole-anten...
Become a patron! Unlock exclusive content at: / kb9vbrantennas
Support Ham Radio Q&A by shopping at Amazon: amzn.to/2kO6LH7
My Parks on the Air setup:
Transceiver: amzn.to/3lmHoei
Battery: amzn.to/3xBGgbv
Tuner: amzn.to/2ZCNM9l
Folding Table: amzn.to/3xFIp5Z
Throw Weight: amzn.to/32QW2nB
Video Production Equipment:
Camera amzn.to/32UaXNX
Lens amzn.to/31mmDrX
Wireless Microphone: amzn.to/3xFVBb4
Microphone: amzn.to/3daoAdq
GoPro: amzn.to/3pkmP30
Music by license:
www.premiumbeat...
www.soundstripe...
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases
Contact Information:
Questions, comments, or business inquiries may be directed to [e-mail]. If you wish for your product to be featured on my channel, please contact me.
#Hamradio #AmateurRadio #POTA #ParksOnTheAir #PortableHamRadio #GMRS #GMRSantenna #Jpoleantenna

[@rca7591a]

I just received my KB9VBR J-pole antenna for GMRS. This antenna is a beauty. VHF/UHF rf hardware is like plumbing. This antenna is like a work of art. I ought to hit it with some metal polish... 😎😎

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

I'm glad the antenna is working well for you. You can really make them shine with a bottle of Brasso and a bit of elbow grease.

[@WinterSniper-of4wi]

this is my first antena and work well city to city 70miles away and same set with friend… base radio 15amp RG8 40ft

[@HardcoreFourSix]

Go with high gain antennas. Unless you live at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, the higher gain "pancake" pattern will provide better range than lower gain antennas. I live in a mountainous area (NE WA) and high gain works fine. Whatever antenna that you choose, look for one that is designed to be resonant at 465 mhz. Next, get that antenna as high as you can, AND use low loss cable lmr400, lmr600, Heliax for longer runs. I use a KB9VBR GMRS slimjim for mt "go-kit" cheap, compact, and efficient!

[@thebugg333]

I have that jpole, both variants and a comet for my gmrs repeater. In my area, nothing is flat and only being 35 to 40 feet from the ground it makes zero difference. I don't have the money or my wife's approval for a tower...she's already on edge with my 4 antennas on top of my tiny home, she's only aware of 2, with my others being HF. In my opinion, in a metro area with no height go with the jpole. I have a weird coverage area, some areas have zero coverage just 2 to 3 miles away then a small slice 30 miles away I had people requesting repeater access given their elevation may be higher. I keyed up my repeater from Lapham Peak, WI way out of my expected range.

[@DavidMitchell79]

I'd go with the J-Pole for hilly terrain. I'd use the Comet CA-712efc for flat terrain. My CA-712efc at 30feet with 40 feet LMR-400 worked most excellently the Willamette Valley area. But with hills? J-Pole.

[@hillbillytarzan]

I'm right between 2 mountains and I built a 2m 5 element yagi 10' off the ground and I hit several repeaters. It's not even pointed in the right direction for a few, but the way the rf is reflected, it works perfectly. It's all in where you're at and the way the radio waves are propagated. I can't get but 1 or 2, out of 6 or 7, on a vertical. I don't only hear on the yagi, but I talk on all except 2 and if you saw where I lived, you'd wonder how I even worked 1 repeater. May be different for UHF, but try a 5 or 7 element yagi. A 10 element and higher may have a little too much direction.

[@ozone385]

The J-pole will stand up better to high winds.

[@Siskiyous6]

Spend the money on a tower or mast. Height is might.

[@Bradleybox1988]

At 2m and above, it is definitely better to use high-quality, low-loss cable. I run a KB9VBR 2m J-pole with ABR Industries 25400F coax. Expensive, but worth it compared to the losses using RG8X.

[@barrybrum]

Hi, great site! Can my 150' long Off Center Fed dipole antenna be used with a home based GMRS repeater? Or with a connected handheld GMRS?

[@daveN2MXX]

I agree 100%....it has been my experience that colinear vertical antennas shine only when mounted very very high. Definitely buy high quality coax like lmr400 (or kmr400 with similar performance at a lower price) and use the jpole.

[@ozone385]

Also at what angle is the 9 dbi.

[@Aloysius-73]

Also think about wind speed in your area. The GP-9 says is can handle 90 mph winds but I wouldn't trust that. I'm sure the J-pole can handle greater wind speeds. The J-pole would be my choice where I live because of winds and hurricanes.

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Yes! I've had customers send me pictures of their J-Pole after a hurricane. The mast was bent over but the antenna survived.

[@scottendsley8413]

What best gmrs antenna.

[@billwesterlage5949]

Question Please: I have 2 HYS 25 watt handheld radios TC-H25W. I want to be able to communicate between the two at a distance of 6 miles across town. I plan to give one to my daughter. I obtained 2 Nagoya model UT-72G antennas and I was thinking about putting one on my roof, gonna mount it to the chimney and keep the other for the car. Does this sound like a doable plan and is there a Q& A place to go to learn about radios as I am a Novice. Thanks

[@MikeB0001]

Theoretical gain...verts. radiate equally bad in all directions..as the old saying goes..good to get you in my POTA log Michael..Pota has energized my interest again after many years of contesting and DXing...I have no more DX to work so new parks are my "new" DX😊. Michael..do you ever do CW? 73, Mike W2GR

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

My CW is atrocious, since I really haven't used it much since I learned it for the exam back in 1999. But I am slowly reacquainting myself with it and Dave, KZ9V, constantly prods me to do more CW. We may have some CW specific content coming very soon.

[@YayaOrchid]

What coax cable for GMRS portable setup, 25ft and 50ft cables. You mentioned RG-58, RG-8U and RG-8X?

[@asappestcontrol1250]

LMR400 has less power loss

[@meola69420]

I can't attest to GMRS; however it is UHF frequencies, and yeah gain won't help you much. Sure, as mentioned a high gain yagi (directional antenna) might be able to directly knife-edge over the hill, but that's a might, simple height will work better. Even with our UHF crossband repeater on a mountain top with our VHF repeater, there are quite a few nooks and valleys that it is completely blocked in, the VHF seems more forgiving, but it has local null zones, tons of mountains around me. On one of the local mountains I can't pick up either of my local repeaters, but I can pick one up from a town over 100 km away that's up over, 4000ft running at 28W, using a cheapo 1/4 wavelength antenna on my Jeep. If they already have a J-pole I would suggest putting it up on a 16-foot mast to get similar height to the comet antenna, heck use a 20ft window washing pole from Home Depot and get it even a few feet higher, they have 24' telescopic ones at my local Home Depot for $64CAD

[@scottendsley8413]

Tram1486 antenna.

[@lampwatcher9398]

Nice video! Will this antenna work with my Retevis RT97 Repeater?

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Yes it will. I've had quite a few customers use the GMRS J-Pole for their community repeater system.

[@lampwatcher9398]

@KB9VBRAntennas Thank you for responding. Will I need to supply a coax for the connection from the antenna to repeater?

[@KB9VBRAntennas]

Yes you will. I don't provide the coaxial cable.

[@lampwatcher9398]

@@KB9VBRAntennas thank you! Recommended type?

[@marcphillips1020]

Sounds like in the video he recommends LMR400​@lampwatcher9398

[@DaytonaJim78]

Best gmrs for trees

[@JayN4GO]

There’s no difference in real world. Comets fake dbi is a sales pitch

[@DavidMitchell79]

The GP-9 is probably a x by 5/8 wave stacked. So yes, gain numbers are fictitious. The Comet CA-712efc is a CoCo (collinear coax) and uses phased array technology for higher gain.