After more antenna research for the GMRS/MURS bands…

I was thinking most any dual band 2M/70CM ham antenna would work fine for me to operate on the GMRS and MURS bands but it is not really true. The antennas can not tune effeciently to those frequencies. I am finding if I want to operate mainly in those bands I need an antenna designed and tuned for them.

In trying to keep costs down I found a few to consider that seem to do the job.

This one I found on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Band-VHF-UHF-Base-Antenna-Ham-Commercial-MURS-GMRS-FRS-DBJ-1-/121467477149?

 

It might be other places but it appears to be a kit that requires some assembly and a piece of PVC pipe and the hardware to mount it. I can not find a company that sells it complete. It appears to be an individual making them and selling them on ebay.

Then there is the Slim Jim sold by Two Way Electronics which appears to be a very portable and affordable unit that can be portable, hung on the wall inside the home or used with a piece of PVC to to mount it on a mast outside or in the attic.
http://www.2wayelectronix.com/Dual-band-MURS-GMRS-Slim-Jim-Antenna-dualmurs.htm. Here is the owners web site with more info and ideas on how to mount and tune the antenna. http://www.n9tax.com/Slim%20Jim%20Info.html

 

The other options is a little more expensive but seems to be the better built and designed J-Pole Antenna meant to be mast mounted and seems to be indestructible and made by Arrow. http://www.arrowantennas.com and click on Open Stub J-Pole and the band you are looking for.

 

Another company makes a single band GMRS mast antenna. It is not dual band but seems well made and with plenty of gain made by DPD Products.  http://www.dpdproductions.com/page_gmrs.html

 

So far these appear to be the best options I can commercially or to buy to operate efficiently on the GMSR and MURS radio bands.  Of course there are tons of homebrew plans and options that can be made. You can made a simple 1/4 wave ground plane to your own J-Pole or Yagi or Loop antennas. Here are many plans here.  No matter what you do, the best plan is to use an antenna that is designed to do the job you want it to do.

No matter what antenna you end up with, you will need a SWR meter to test it with. You can spend a lot of money on these for sure. About the least amount of money you can spend and still get one that works and works across the 2M and 70CM ham bands is the http://redmancb.com/custom-lighted-workman-104-swr-watt-power-test-meter-vhf-uhf-ham-radio-120-500-mhz-dual-band/. It is not perfect but seems to get you on paper and some idea of where you are.

73 and see you on the air.

 

Buiding Antennas for Ham Radios

Ones I might buy for now:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jetstream-JTD2-Workman-T734-Discone-Scanner-Antenna-w-CB-Ham-Radio-Transmit-/191338047276?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

http://centerfireantenna.com/antenna-menu/deluxe-discone-antenna/.

Here is a review and step by step assembly of it as well. Seems like a great antenna for the money!  http://advancedsurvivalguide.com/2010/09/15/review-centerfire-deluxe-discone-antenna/

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-METER-70CM-HIGH-GAIN-BASE-ANTENNA-SLIM-JIM-DESIGN-6dB-gain-over-J-Pole/191033883337?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D25879%26meid%3D6ac689becaaa4167826df57c0a3ff4f9%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10819%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D111469372466&rt=nc

http://www.ebay.com/itm/144-440-MHz-HIGH-GAIN-BASE-ANTENNA-STEALTH-DESIGN/201167782539?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D25879%26meid%3D59ba21173a65486cb97275b248a7c8eb%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10819%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D191033883337&rt=nc

 http://www.ebay.com/itm/VHF-UHF-scanner-or-Ham-base-antenna-2-meter-70-cm-/301323935084?_trksid=p2054897.l5676

http://www.amazon.com/DHT-Handheld-Antenna-Baofeng-Quasheng/dp/B00COKNKS8/ref=pd_sim_e_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=09RGPHPA3JVWDQQBB0RQ

http://www.amazon.com/SMA-Female-UHF-RF-Adapter/dp/B00ATEDHXE/ref=pd_sim_e_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=09RGPHPA3JVWDQQBB0RQ

http://www.amazon.com/Station-Antenna-ANLI-Amateur-Radio/dp/B0093N20D0/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1411454205&sr=1-4&keywords=dual+band+antenna

http://www.amazon.com/TRAM-1480-Amateur-Dual-Band-Antenna/dp/B003H3J4NQ/ref=sr_1_14?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1411454205&sr=1-14&keywords=dual+band+antenna

 

SWR Meter

http://www.amazon.com/SWR-Power-METER-VHF-Radio/dp/B002KYE190/ref=pd_sim_e_23?ie=UTF8&refRID=0C5GPVDXXHNMYRF9ASRF

http://www.amazon.com/ASTATIC-PDC1-RADIO-WATT-METER/dp/B00J5LNB56/ref=pd_sbs_indust_9?ie=UTF8&refRID=1N99XMAYYBWC06J1H7SY

http://www.amazon.com/Astatic-302-01768-PDC7-Compact-Meter/dp/B000VXKINA/ref=pd_sbs_indust_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=1N99XMAYYBWC06J1H7SY

http://www.amazon.com/ASTATIC-PDC1-Workman-jumper-CX-3-PL-PL/dp/B00HMDQ4RQ/ref=pd_sbs_indust_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=1N99XMAYYBWC06J1H7SY

http://www.amazon.com/Astatic-PDC1-100-Watt-Meter/dp/B004ULN610/ref=pd_sbs_indust_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1N99XMAYYBWC06J1H7SY

http://www.amazon.com/Astatic-302-PDC2-Field-Strength-Meter/dp/B000KEUFME/ref=pd_sbs_indust_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1N99XMAYYBWC06J1H7SY

http://www.amazon.com/Astatic-PDC5-Meter-Power-Matcher/dp/B003E2USLM/ref=pd_sbs_indust_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1N99XMAYYBWC06J1H7SY

 

 

2 Meter vertical from PVC

http://www.mikestechblog.com/joomla/ham-radio/ham-radio-antennas-category/99-build-2-meter-vertical-antenna.html

2 Meter info in general

http://www.hamuniverse.com/2meters.html

Apartment Antenna

http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-1622

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bMNm57YUbA

http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-012750

http://www.nonstopsystems.com/radio/frank_radio_antenna_cobra.htm

http://www.2wayelectronix.com/Dual-band-MURS-GMRS-Slim-Jim-Antenna-dualmurs.htm

http://www.2wayelectronix.com/Portable-Antennas_c3.htm

http://www.2wayelectronix.com/Dual-band-2m-70cm-Slim-Jim-Antenna-with-16-rg-58-dual-slim-16.htm

http://www.dxzone.com/catalog/Antennas/Stealth/

http://www.g4ilo.com/stealth.html

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/tis/info/pdf/128040.pdf

http://www.arrl.org/limited-space-and-indoor-antennas

 

This is for the GMRS and MURS

http://www.2wayelectronix.com/Dual-band-MURS-GMRS-Slim-Jim-Antenna-dualmurs.htm

 

Diamond 7900A mobile antenna

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantm/0142.html
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/3175
http://www.aesham.com/nmo/diamond-antenna-sg-7900anmo/

Other 2M and 70CM Antennas

http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php?topic=45646.0;wap2

http://www.w5fc.org/files/how-to/j-pole/MENTORFEST_ANTENNA.pdf

http://www.cebik.com/

http://forums.radioreference.com/amateur-radio-antennas/276792-2m-70cm-dual-band-dipole-antenna.html

http://amateurradio.bz/2m-70cm_vertical_dipole_antenna.html

http://dk7zb.darc.de/Duoband/dipolduoband.htm

http://www.worldwidedx.com/threads/a-2m-70cm-vertical-dipole-diy.137926/

http://9amtalk.net/new2/sites/default/files/DualBand2.pdf

http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamants.html

http://9amtalk.net/new2/sites/default/files/DualBand2.pdf

http://vk2zoi.com/articles/dual-band-half-wave-flower-pot/

http://www.w6ier.org/images/W7LPN%202m-70cm%20Verticle%20Dipole.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y6cgXTrFNM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-DPVuyU8Pg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2AyfBMRztw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4GAug1MqDM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEewjkU4u5o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7R4C0_dzDZ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar6pfj-Xhk0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLqmvgbXKyUuT91FqXttYfzPtUAWDslutq&v=l_E4OnvyjzM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr7vSu1PBLw

http://www.hamuniverse.com/antennas.html

http://www.hamuniverse.com/kl7jrindoorloop4010.html

http://kk4eqm.com/?tag=antenna

http://www.instructables.com/id/Quarter-Wave-Dual-Band-VHFUHF-Ham-Radio-Antenna/

http://www.hamuniverse.com/kl7jrindoorloop4010.html

http://ve3hg.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/

http://g0kya.blogspot.com/2010/10/more-on-20m-eh-antenna.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+G0kyaAmateurRadioBlog+%28G0KYA%27s+Amateur+Radio+and+Propagation+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

http://g0kya.blogspot.com/2009/01/20m-eh-antenna.html

http://hackaday.com/2014/01/13/tape-measure-vhf-yagi-antenna/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hackaday%2FLgoM+%28Hack+a+Day%29

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/331326043280?item=331326043280&lgeo=1&vectorid=229466

http://www.hamuniverse.com/shortwaveantenna.html

 

Ham Band Info

http://www.hamuniverse.com/shortwavebandfreqs.html

http://www.eham.net/newham/bands

http://www.arrl.org/frequency-allocations

 

Other hardware

http://www.amazon.com/Steren-205-750-50-Feet-UHF-UHF-Mini-RG8x/dp/B004EFNHXE/ref=pd_sim_e_29?ie=UTF8&refRID=0C5GPVDXXHNMYRF9ASRF

 

Mobile

http://www.amazon.com/Original-Antenna-UT-108UV-SMA-Female-wholesaler/dp/B00DTQ4A6M/ref=pd_sim_e_21?ie=UTF8&refRID=0C5GPVDXXHNMYRF9ASRF

http://www.amazon.com/BROWNING-BR-180-Amateur-Dual-Band-Antenna/dp/B003H3DTGE/ref=pd_sim_e_25?ie=UTF8&refRID=0C5GPVDXXHNMYRF9ASRF

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NAGOYA-RE-02-Mobile-Antenna-Ground-UHF-F-10-1300MHz-For-Car-Radio-KENWOOD-ICOM/111406831381?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D25879%26meid%3Da535ffe96ab84ee8bda2179083593651%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10819%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D360738973794&rt=nc

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Workman-KS-2-Rare-Earth-Magnet-VHF-HAM-Radio-Antenna-w-BNC-144-148-900-/360738973794?_trksid=p2054897.l5675

 

GMRS MURS

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Band-VHF-UHF-Base-Antenna-Ham-Commercial-MURS-GMRS-FRS-DBJ-1/121442985659?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D25879%26meid%3D6ac689becaaa4167826df57c0a3ff4f9%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10819%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D111469372466&rt=nc

http://www.ebay.com/itm/UHF-Base-Repeater-Antenna-ham-70-cm-GMRS-FRS-commercial-5dB-gain/111469372466?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D25879%26meid%3Df7051b29c7e74454b8cd677c26af2325%26pid%3D100010%26prg%3D10819%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D24%26sd%3D111406831381

 

 

Baluns

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balun

http://www.eznec.com/Amateur/Articles/Baluns.pdf

http://www.hamuniverse.com/balun.html

 

 

Cheap and Emergency Repeater set up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KrH86Dzhnc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY24xWERCBg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REocFY78Pyg

 

 

 

 

Portable Handheld Ham Radio Baofeng / Pofung

I always wanted to get involved in ham radio. I wanted to atleast get an affordable radio that I could monitor and start to listen to and familiarize myself with the community and see if I really wanted to get my license. The price range was prohibitive. They were always too expensive just to “try”. Enter the Chinese mfg that makes a radio that is very popular with ham radio enthusiasts, Baufeng.  The UV- 5RE PLUS seems to be the most popular model. The Pofung UV-B5, seems to be about the same radio. There seems to be some move to re-name Baofeng to Pofung. They are the same mfg. and even the same software CHIRP can be used to modify them. The best thing from Amazon, you can get a fully functional dual band handheld ham radio with 2 day prime shipping for a little over $30. Now that got my attention. At that price range, why even buy the bubble pack FSR/GMSR radios. For $70, I can get a pair of these and program them the same freq in channel mode so it operates the same there and then I have the rest of the 99 programmable channels that I select with anything else I want. Without a lisc, I can not transmit on most but I can listen and even scan channels such as local police and fire in some areas, local business like the local towing company and ambulance company which is all a lot more interesting than bubble pack radios from Walmart!

The post will be where I start the discussion and post the links I find interesting or worth investigation in my fun adventure!

Here are links to sites with data and info on these radios and how to use them.

http://baofengtech.com/
http://baofengtech.com/

http://uv5r.net/

This site seems to have a ton of info on all the radios made by this mfg: http://www.miklor.com/

http://uv5r.net/review-of-the-baofeng-uv-b5/

I found them on Amazon for the best price and service so far: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BXVOKTW/?tag=uv5r.net-20

Here is the Pofung manual: http://www.miklor.com/UVB5/pdf/UVB5_Manual.pdf

Here is another supposed improved model by the same mfg, the GT-3 : http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-GT-3-Transceiver-Chipsets-Upgraded/dp/B00HHOL1HI/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1410246013&sr=1-3&keywords=baofeng+gt-3

http://uv5r.net/quick-baofeng-gt-3-review/

http://uv5r.net/the-best-hf-verticle-antennas-on-the-market/

http://uv5r.net/swap-it-out-the-best-antennas-for-the-baofeng-uv-5r/

http://www.csgnetwork.com/antennagpcalc.html

http://uv5r.net/the-best-shortwave-radios-and-do-it-yourself-kits/

http://www.miklor.com/COM/pdf/AntennaTestingW9MDB.pdf

http://uv5r.net/swap-it-out-the-best-antennas-for-the-baofeng-uv-5r/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AT3RO2K?psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/Pofung-BF-S112-Two-Radio-Speaker/dp/B008RZ0EQ0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=003WZ90831ZFHGPTF0AW

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KDRV91E?psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-GT-3-Mark-II-Transceiver-Dual-Band/dp/B00GCZVXPI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1410246013&sr=1-1&keywords=baofeng+gt-3

http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-Programming-Cable-BAOFENG-BF-888S/dp/B00CP0I474/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P

http://www.amazon.com/Radio-Protection-Baofeng-UV-5R-UV-5RE/dp/B00D8UF0WW/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P

http://www.amazon.com/Tram-1185-Amateur-Dual-Band-Antenna/dp/B0045EQUBK/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_14?ie=UTF8&refRID=0HJ6HDBYPFVNQ4TBZSF0

http://www.amazon.com/DHT-Handheld-Antenna-Baofeng-Quasheng/dp/B00COKNKS8/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_11?ie=UTF8&refRID=0HJ6HDBYPFVNQ4TBZSF0

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BJEFRIQ?psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009KY1V5A?psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYP4RA0?psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KDRV91E?psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/Hypario%C2%AE-Nagoya-Antenna-Kenwood-BAOFENG/dp/B00HUDU1V8/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_9?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P

http://www.amazon.com/ExpertPower%C2%AE-430Mhz-Antenna-BAOFENG-KG-UVD1P/dp/B008Y2SPH6/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P

http://www.amazon.com/ExpertPower%C2%AE-430Mhz-Antenna-BAOFENG-KG-UVD1P/dp/B008Y2SPE4/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P

http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-3800mAh-Battery-UV-5R-L-ExpertPower%C2%AE/dp/B00ATTVKFQ/ref=pd_tcs_compl_e_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PEAGB43B3D87SBEZ58P

http://www.amazon.com/Baofeng-GT-3-Transceiver-Chipsets-Upgraded/dp/B00HHOL1HI/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1410246013&sr=1-3&keywords=baofeng+gt-3

Here is a Video review with tips :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAaJHG-jEas

Use them with the FRS/GMRS bubble pack radios:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsymHdt1GA4

From Tom’s Radio Room:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqAFovS4wp0

Antenna video review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVJDwy6Fj7A

How to hack them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQCTBnD8dBM

Programming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bsjkCBm33Y

Baofeng UVB5 + homebrew 2m diapole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E00kMNScCsg

As comms for preppers, security and survival:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkjn1oyD4YQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNcP4NMwzQU

The BF-F9 seems to cover the 2M band (220)
http://chirp.danplanet.com/issues/1077

The KT-980HP in Europe is the BF-F8HP (High Power) for the US market. While the KT-960, is the older UV-5R model as seen here in the states and such, http://www.k-po.com/INTEK-KT-980-HP.2.html

Here is the link for the high power model but it is not available when I checked.
http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8HP-TRI-POWER-Dual-Band-Transceiver/dp/B00MAULSOK/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0YHNZA46826547AKHXR7

 

http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-UV-82L-Two-Radio-Black/dp/B00F4OOMQ0/ref=pd_cp_e_1

http://www.amazon.com/Pofung-UV-82-Black-Two-Way-Radio/dp/B00E4KLY34/ref=pd_cp_e_0

http://www.brickolore.com/2012/12/baofeng-bf-f9.html

http://www.baofengradio.co.uk/bf-f9/

http://threeoldcrows.com/shop/magento/baofeng-bf-f9-tri-color-lcd-display-dual-band-uhf-vhf-handheld-transceiver.html

http://www.409shop.com/409shop_product.php?id=109152

http://www.buytwowayradios.com/products/baofeng/bf-f9-bw.aspx

http://mt.cricketventures.com/mt/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=2&tag=BF-F9&limit=20

http://chirp.danplanet.com/issues/1077

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Delectronics&field-keywords=bf-f9&sprefix=bf-f9%2Celectronics

http://www.miklor.com/COM/Review_F8HP.php

http://www.brickolore.com/2014/08/baofeng-bf-f8hp-high-power.html

http://chirp.danplanet.com/issues/1765

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/11882

https://www.facebook.com/PofungBaoFeng/posts/815295771848625

http://radioaficion.com/cms/baofeng-bf-f8hp/

http://www.miklor.com/COM/Review_F8HP.php

http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8HP-TRI-POWER-Dual-Band-Transceiver/dp/B00MAULSOK

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BF-F8-Porable-BAOFENG-Walkie-Talkie-Ham-Radio-with-Emergency-Alarm-Scanning-/141380548460?pt=2_Way_Radios_FRS&hash=item20eaeff76c

http://baofengtech.com/bf-f8hp

http://baofengtech.com/bf-f8+

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/BaoFeng-BF-F8-Warranty-Dual-Band-Transceiver/dp/B00IQFH1KS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1410332510&sr=8-2&keywords=sold+by+baofeng+tech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JGFY_aam1E

 

 

 

 

Other Radios that are nice and affordable:

IOCOM Mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GS8CCD6?psc=1