Your Next GMRS Antenna!

[@SteelWolf13]

"Never mind. I better run." Perfect timing. >:)

[@temporarilyoffline]

I'm right next to a hospital/ER here, it's nonstop

[@SteelWolf13]

@@temporarilyoffline Ouch. Earplugs, Range electronic noise earmuffs. More insulation....

[@temporarilyoffline]

@@SteelWolf13 It all quiets down around 7pm... except the train, but I actually like the sound of a train horn. I'm weird like that.

[@SteelWolf13]

@@temporarilyoffline Nah that not weird. Wife and I like that sound as well. We can hear our train half a mile away. Kinda comforting that letting us know things are working as intended for over 170 years. Or melodic click-clack. -73.

[@temporarilyoffline]

@@SteelWolf13 We had a very loud train come through here the other day... I was actually a bit worried that something big had happened, but nobody else around us even seemed to notice the sound.

[@seanwieland9763]

2:45 Modern A-pillars are insane blind spots. Modern car makers thinks sensors, cameras, and airbags offsets that visible obstruction, but I miss the older cars with slender A-pillars where you can actually see around them.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Yeah, I agree

[@javabeanz8549]

You mean back when cars were made of real steel, rather than the almost paper mache stuff of today? I understand, lighter makes for better fuel mileage, but then they have to add more to make up for the structural loss?

[@JT-py9lv]

Thanks TO. I'm currently using a DB404 as my Germs Ant. Not mobile for sure. I need to look at one of these for a mobile antenna.

[@temporarilyoffline]

I found an HYS that looks similar, but costs more. This one is a decent price/performance setup.

[@seanwieland9763]

7:45 This part was so cool to see, but also felt like a metaphor for America the past decade or so. 🇺🇸

[@temporarilyoffline]

I really want to know the backstory there!

[@RoyArmy-WREW918]

Ifen your in Benson, check out the Gunfights in Tombstone. I used to do those 20 yrs ago before I got back into Electronics and such.

[@temporarilyoffline]

you was an actor there?

[@RoyArmy-WREW918]

@@temporarilyoffline I was. I'm in San Diego, and back in 2000 my boss, a Tombstone native, got me into reenacting. I spent the next 12 years going to Tombstone and playing with the Actors, as well as with myb local group. Stage name was "Boomer" and my aviator is me at an event in Yuma.

[@temporarilyoffline]

@RoyArmy-WREW918 sounds like fun!

[@RoyArmy-WREW918]

@@temporarilyoffline It was, became a registered living historian, but health problems made me withdraw, so got back into swl, scanners, gmrs, and thinking of ham ...

[@KS0JD]

I see you have the Nano VNA out to do the SWR. This is definitely Simian Certified SWR evaluation. Thanks for the video Steve! 73

[@temporarilyoffline]

SCSWR FTW!

[@victorcharlie7491]

That "5th wheel" 🛞 has alot of potential, your equipment would last forever, no humidity in Arizona, tnx Man!

[@TWX1138]

Travel trailer frames are usually less robust than the frames for cargo trailers. I've wondered about how big a travel trailer one would have to start with in order to cut down the frame to the dimensions of a car hauler while having a frame strong enough for the conversion.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Yeah, it rains so little here that you just get used to leaving stuff outside.

[@victorcharlie7491]

@@temporarilyoffline Yes and when it does rain, it will corrode a whole lot slower without the humidity.

[@TWX1138]

police, then a train, then a plane in the audio background... you just can't catch a break. On a more serious note I was not familiar with 'velocity factor', now I have something else to consider for subpar SWR.

[@temporarilyoffline]

I'm not sure what it is overall, but coax has a ton of specs that come into play and each type of coax is just ever-so-slightly different enough to be nerve racking.

[@SteelWolf13]

Ooo and a desert travel channel vib. Like it. Bet that house in the tunnel could be rebuild and that trailer frame could get "hauled off". Nice little walk around. Thanks.

[@TWX1138]

That tunnel was a wash so that during a flash-flood, the water would have a way to get through to the other side of the earthen embankment without undermining it and washing it out. That's a terrible place to build a house.

[@temporarilyoffline]

It was a cool find, been standing for decades!

[@stahpit1971]

that's a big antenna you have there

[@TWX1138]

Gain also seems sort of lackluster for length. The Compactenna dual band 9" antenna has a published gain of 5dBi. This Retevis has more gain than that, but it's a heck of a lot larger for that extra 1.5.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Why thank you!

[@robertmeyer4744]

Interesting antenna .I have found with GMRS repeaters that information you look up may or may not be correct . The interesting things you find in the desert ! 73

[@temporarilyoffline]

It’s true, sometimes it’s a bit of a crapshoot to find what is accurate.

[@seanwieland9763]

1:54 Would be cool if we’d normalize using N connectors - the waterproof ones - instead of UHF PL-239 for outdoor applications like on a vehicle, in general.

[@temporarilyoffline]

I don't know why n connectors aren't more popular... Make sense to me.

[@davidm.wilson3736]

Hi Steve, Could you move the antenna closer to the (A) pillar ? might sit better, more vertical, and give u better field of vision. Great connector on the end of the pl 259. Have a great weekend.I see there are a lot of Prevost style motor coaches being used for camping. It would be nice if we could get a similar product here in VK land. Great video, have a great weekend. Be safe David

[@temporarilyoffline]

I could put it anywhere really. That was as good a place as any.

[@davidm.wilson3736]

Id buy that frame if you can it would come in handy later for a build, or as cash down the line

[@temporarilyoffline]

Yeah, stuff lasts forever on the desert.

[@tracykennedy7678]

The SWR could have got better because the coax was more lossy

[@temporarilyoffline]

It could have!

[@TalmidAndy]

I had avoided buying this particular one due to so many terrible reviews about build quality and durability. Hopefully a follow up post will come along after a few weeks or moths of use.

[@temporarilyoffline]

So far so good on the UTV on the trails, can't imagine what would be stronger.

[@ChrisKD9YSW]

Interesting

[@temporarilyoffline]

Indeed

[@ChrisKD9YSW]

@ I feel I have an another in mind. Hmmmm

[@Siskiyous6]

Don't need to. YET. Never saw a trailer in the weeds I didn't want to rescue

[@temporarilyoffline]

I wanted to go back...

[@cornbread-KO5RN]

Got that salvage mode going on with the fifth wheel frame , it did look pretty good , I hear metal doesn’t rust as bad in Arizona,maybe it’s because of all the nuclear ☢️ radiation left over from the bomb testing 😎👋🤷‍♂️

[@TWX1138]

there wasn't any nuke testing in Arizona.

[@cornbread-KO5RN]

@ should of been there’s nothing there

[@temporarilyoffline]

That and older stuff was made with thicker metal.

[@timel64]

Frame would make good trailer for side-by-side!

[@cornbread-KO5RN]

@@temporarilyoffline You forgot to ask for thicker metal , next time check with Ape , he knows about everything 😂

[@matthewdavies2057]

When an antenna spec' seems too good to be true it's always the dbi vs dbd thing. Remember dbi is 3db higher than dbd. That explains your magic 6.5db gain figure. In reality (dbd) it's only 3db and that's not bad but no better than most antennas on the market. Same old scam.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Yep, marketing for ya. I care if I can make the contacts, the rest is just whiz bang marketing

[@SteelWolf13]

. Kerchunking. I really hate that. Lets see -CH 15 Freq 462.5500 FMRS 2 W 12.5 kHz GMRS50 W 20 kHz (1) (2) = (1) Shared FRS and GMRS simplex. (2) GMRS repeater output. So you should have given your GMRS call since this was on a repeater.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Right

[@alessandroconcas]

Great video and instructive! PS I'm Italian and prefer listen original English with subs (dont really need but help) instead of italian track that sound "dumb" , think a lot are lost in translations!!!! 73 de iz3qvb ... ciao!

[@temporarilyoffline]

Thanks for watching, ciao!