Ghost Antenna

[@MarlinWilliams-ts5ul]

I remember as a kid in the 70s when CB radio was hot there'd be guys around with massive antennas 12 ft tall bolted to their pick up trucks.

[@najruqwi7008]

In the 80's my husband had a lifted truck and on the roll bar he had a whip antenna that use to hit the traffic lights 🚥... LOL 🤣 😂 🤣

[@threepistols7]

The positive is at least you guys are out and about testing your equipment :)

[@paulethier3416]

Thanks for commenting. That's the only way you know what you got, is to test. I like to actually go out and try stuff instead of saying "it should".

[@Dram_bam]

Agreed. That little midland antenna is surprisingly good man.

[@paulethier3416]

It really is. I did switch to a better coax and NMO 1/4 wave and I'm very happy with the performance and low profile looks. I've had very mixed results with the ghost antenna. I want to like it but I like the 1/4 wave better. Thanks for commenting.

[@daveengstrom9250]

I have one of those ghost antennas. This is what I found: My wife was at home on the base radio and I was in my truck with the ghost. About 8 miles out she said I just sounded like static. I could hear her just fine. I kept driving for a couple more miles. Same thing. I could easily hear her, I was just down in the noise. That was on a simplex channel.

[@paulethier3416]

Yeah, I've not had great luck with the antenna either.

[@14DFASniper]

I have the Wouxon GMRS 1000G Plus 50W. I have a ghost antennae and could hit a repeater tower 43 miles south of me. It has a 200 ft height advantage with an expected range of 40 miles I was utterly impressed. I still think the larger antennae is going to be best in most situations.

[@paulethier3416]

That's amazing. Line of sight around here kills radios. If we want to get anything more than 10 miles we have to use a mtn top repeater. Thanks for commenting.

[@mattcarolina]

I'm by no means a radio professional, we used CB when I was younger and now I've been licensed and using gmrs for a few months now...glad to see some more real world testing...from my research and again I don't really know what I'm talking about but real world means more than math to me! Anyway from some guys that know a lot more than me testing antennas on their 4x4's it seems the dB gain on antennas isn't the exact idea that dB gain from having more power..I think it's more related to how they work in different terrain and depending on terrain a 3 dB works better than a 5db and vice versa..something you may want to look into but I believe it has more to do with the direction or way the signal leave the antenna.. just some thoughts you could look into..do you have an swr meter ? If not you can get a cheaper on maybe 50$ or so on amazon..the swr being lower more of the energy goes out the antenna and higher swr more is directed back to the radio..the reason not having an antenna while transmitting will burn up your radio..as will a high swr.. I have the Nagoya magnetic mount on my car it's not that big but works great with my handheld .. there are a lot of options for vehicle use. I know ghost antennas work but not usually as well as a longer tuned antenna.. by no means am I commenting to try and educate anyone I'm just trying to learn and I appreciate your video very interesting and great work...look into that dB stuff if it matters to you and think about picking up a little swr meter it might help you and you can use it to tune your set up with a bit of research..lots of vids you can find on tuning using one... good luck and let me know what you figure out! WRZM963

[@gibbsr121]

I have found the ghost antenna doesn't work well with a big magnet mount. Try using a smaller mount. It worked well for me. Great video!!!!!

[@paulethier3416]

Thanks for the info. I'm hoping to do a fender mount soon. The antenna does work well it's the terrain that kills it around here. Do you run a mag mount?

[@gibbsr121]

Yes on my truck but on my car I run a lip mount with the laird trab4503 same as ghost its 450-470

[@gibbsr121]

On my truck I use a laird 3db antenna 5/8

[@CarbonLux-h7t]

Man, i love your editing.

[@paulethier3416]

Thank you. I'm just a guy trying to figure it out. I try something new with each video to try and come up with my own style. Happy you enjoyed the video.

[@michaelbrown4420]

Great video. Probably the best I've seen of someone actually testing their radios and antennas. My only complaint is I would like to see a map or something showing what kind of terrain features or building density you're trying to get through.

[@paulethier3416]

Thank you for commenting. I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the video.

[@robertwynn7686]

I have a ghost antenna and I found it's only good for about a mile or 2. I really don't use it that much but if you hit a repeater with it or on road trips with a group of other cars, it does work better but it does make a nice antenna NMO cover 😊

[@paulethier3416]

I have really tried to like the ghost antenna but its not for me either. Thanks for leaving a comment.

[@PatrickRich]

I highly recommend putting blue painters tape under your mag mount to prevent scratches and rust, just FYI.

[@paulethier3416]

I put gorilla tape on the bottom. That rust wiped right off. I never used blue painter tape but I will give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@brucemurray2520]

Thanks for the video. Informative. Always good to test...

[@paulethier3416]

Thank you for commenting.

[@hypnosiscenternyc]

I'm 73.7 miles from my greylock. ... crystal clear this week in new york

[@SeanReigle]

Higher gain antenna "flattens" your radiation pattern. Also, outside, VHF will perform better in this case. Hope you had fun!

[@paulethier3416]

Thanks for commenting and sharing this info.

[@joeschnell5695]

Something I forgot to mention in comment on your last video--weather also affects uhf frequencies greatly, and that includes any wind as well.

[@paulethier3416]

Thank you. I know fog is a signal killer also.

[@davidschmidt5848]

I have the ghost antenna. And have hit a new jersey repeater from Philadelphia. On a 50 w. Mobile. Which is 20 miles

[@paulethier3416]

Thanks for commenting. I think I could do that with this radio and antenna setup but the mountains kill me. They are in all directions. North to south is best but I'm limited with about 10 miles line of sight in all directions. The repeater I use is 18 miles away and as you saw the ghost was able to hit it but I don't think it was a very strong signal compared to the other antenna. I'm going to run the ghost when traveling.

[@DCDura]

Paul, do you have your squelch just barely closed or turned up to a higher level? You need to put that antenna on an analyzer. There may be a short. Also really helps if microphone is much closer and directly in front of your mouth. Mic that has many controls for the radio is also a compromise =poor gain/modulation.

[@paulethier3416]

My squelch is kinda neutral and set in the middle. I don't mess with it much. I know the SWR is 1.5 on the coax with the 5/8 wave antenna. The mic thing I have to work on. Thanks for asking the question.

[@richardcraven1161]

I’ve got the ghost antenna connected to MTX115, installed INSIDE my truck and can hit a repeater 15 miles away. I am using the supplied lip mount with proper ground plane.

[@paulethier3416]

Sounds like a good setup.

[@martinnormand7458]

Did you check SWR on the ghost antenna?

[@paulethier3416]

1.5 swr

[@bob_mosavo]

@@paulethier3416 That is way too high for a single band antenna 👎

[@paulethier3416]

I'm making a few changes to my setup. Hopefully I can get the SWR down a little. More to come soon. Thanks for commenting.@@bob_mosavo

[@CarbonLux-h7t]

Your 600-mile trip video had me laughing so hard especially you wife reaction.

[@paulethier3416]

Thank you! Happy you enjoyed it.

[@DePalma.]

I use a small one on my truck, but keep a larger midland just in case

[@KennethMarple]

My wife likes the big one

[@Jeffa67]

The gain difference is nearly 3db or half power and reception gain. Ideally to test both antenna's use identical mounts and switch using a coaxial switch.

[@paulethier3416]

Good point. Thank You for commenting.

[@dennisreilly6364]

The small antenna only works in citywide close areas, or flat areas spots, I use to have one. The diamond or comet antennas, do better, however ham radio 2.0 did a review on an antenna called Compac Tenna, which is a short antenna, did very well however he put it on the corners of the vehicle, gave him better signal

[@paulethier3416]

Thanks for commenting. I've had mixed results with the ghost. I actually have better results with a 1/4 wave than the Ghost.

[@FrogRunner4x4]

I installed a mxt275 and have the ghost antenna on a ditch light mount. Think a 32in 6db antenna will do better? We have so many homes, hills, trees, and warehouses in our area that the current set up goes about 4 miles with good line of sight

[@paulethier3416]

Sounds like you have similar challenges as I do. The 6Db will out perform the ghost antenna for sure. However, I've had good luck with a 1/4 wave. It's a good compromise between a 32" tall 6db antenna and the low profile of a ghost. Thanks for commenting and let me know how you make out.

[@MKEPTV]

Definity subscribed and hit the alert button for new video's.

[@paulethier3416]

Thank you!

[@rbrand60]

The suspense was nail biting

[@paulethier3416]

Love the comment. It's hard to keep videos interesting, people have a 5 second attention span.

[@MountainMan7.62x39]

I had to put my player at 2X speed to get through this one.

[@paulethier3416]

Sorry! Tried to make it go a quickly as possible. Hope you enjoyed it anyway. Thanks for the comment.

[@PeacefulExposures]

so what is the big antenna?

[@paulethier3416]

The big antenna is a 5/8 over 5/8 wave 6db gain antenna with a mag mount.

[@Andyswolftraxx]

Is the radio channel set to narrow or wide?

[@paulethier3416]

Wide.

[@jamestomlinson870]

Are you not utilizing repeaters?

[@paulethier3416]

In this video, we were not using repeaters and there are no local repeaters in our area. I’m working on installing one myself hopefully by the summer I’ll be ready for install.

[@jamestomlinson870]

@@paulethier3416 thanks for your reply. I’m currently, begrudgingly, living in San Jose California. I’m setting up mobile radios in both my wife’s and my cars as a backup communications method. We have a fairly large gmrs community in this area with repeaters around. My goal is to be able to reach her from my Jobsite 15 miles away. Through the city.

[@brucel399]

Just curious to what kind of repeater you are planning on putting in service? I have a unit here in South Eastern Colorado that works pretty well. It's a Motorola R1225 that I got off Ebay. Does about 35 watts out the duplexer. DO NOT skimp on your coax. Get at least lmr400 coax. The better the coax the better your machine will work. CHEERS from Colorado

[@paulethier3416]

@@brucel399 Thanks for the information. I'm not sure what I'm going to use yet. This might be a good option for me.

[@kamper4140]

I can assure you if you installed that antenna correctly it would have done that no problem. I have done 10 miles simplex in very similar terrain in Oregon. Just hit a repeater 31 miles out with a 30 watt mobile. Im running an actual nmo mount drilled im the roof and a laird 3db phantom. I have a laird 5/8 over 5/8 as well and it is only marginally better than the phantom. Its your install 💯

[@paulethier3416]

ok, I'll work on that. Im looking at doing the nmo roof mount currently

[@kamper4140]

@@paulethier3416 it's going to get you the best results for sure.

[@kumbassa1]

The base is not attenuated for the specs on the Ghost Antenna. Look at the spec sheet for both concerning ground plane, then try again.

[@paulethier3416]

Ok, thanks for that info. I'm working on a hood mount now. I'll retest and hopefully I will see an improvement with new mount.

[@darrenboone681]

I have a 5 db and my friend haves a 3db we get 3 miles

[@paulethier3416]

@@darrenboone681 What radios are you using?

[@darrenboone681]

@@paulethier3416 I was using a Midland 105 and he is using a daufang to the ghost and I have the 5db Midland antenna

[@darrenboone681]

@@paulethier3416 I'm going to a rugged ridge 25 watt don't know the model

[@justcasey3678]

Next time just put a dummy load, it is equivalent to that ghost antenna.

[@paulethier3416]

I wouldn't say it's that bad but you're right the ghost antenna has never worked great for me either. If I could get more than 10 miles line of site around here it might be ok but in the mountains. Nope! Thanks for the comment.

[@TheYodoc]

I have a difficult time believing that your "ghost" antenna has 3 dBi of gain. If you had said - 3dBi, that I'd believe! I have no doubt that a standard-issue 1/4-wave antenna will out-perform the "ghost" antenna under all conditions. And since you're using a mag-mount, I don't get why you're concerned about car washes. I've been a ham radio operator for 42 years, and I've always taken my cars -- including brand-new ones, to a Motorola radio shop and had them install an NMO antenna mount right on my roof. I've never had any problems with leaks or rust. The last time I had this done on my then brand-new 2014 Subaru Outback, they installed the antenna mount and a 30A power cable, with the power lead and coax ending right under the front passenger seat where my Yaesu FT-100D dual-band transceiver has lived ever since. I just received my GMRS license two days ago and have not bought any equipment yet, but I'll probably go with the Midland, just a higher-power version. And I may also have a second NMO mount drilled into the roof of my car just for that radio. 73 de Larry, K3LT

[@jarredjones8476]

Ghost aka phantom antennas are glorified dummy loads

[@paulethier3416]

I wouldn't say that, they are just more affected by line of sight than other antennas. Thanks for commenting.

[@jarredjones8476]

@@paulethier3416 you wouldn't say that but every radio shop and ham I know that have tested them say what I said 😁

[@paulethier3416]

Ok, I respect your thoughts I was just saying my experience so far has not been that bad yet. In a few weeks or few years I might look back at this and say up Jerred told they were junk.. @@jarredjones8476

[@DonzLockz]

Great test and probably expected results. ⅝ is the way to go with a fold-down hinge mount base.

[@paulethier3416]

I've never seen a fold down hinge mount. Where can I find one of these?