GMRS half-wave no ground plane (NGP) antenna placement questions

[donmontalvo]

I have a 2021 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, with a hard roof. I'm still pretty new to GMRS, spent all my years using CBs, and I do plan to take a HAM Technician test over the Winter.

I had a Midland XMT115 that was, well, horrible. I moved up to Rugged Radios, and things got a little better, but still very limited. I realized through my mistakes that I needed advice.

My buddies told me to buy a Wouxun KG-935G handheld (it was back ordered a few weeks). It came in last week, and I have to say, all my problems went away.

So I went ahead and ordered a Wouxun KG-1000G mobile radio. I'm waiting for it to come in (back ordered without an ETA), so I can finally use GMRS without all the frustration.

While I wait for the Wouxun KG-1000G mobile radio, I bought a half-wave no ground plane (NGP) antenna, and had it mounted to the passenger side cowl, until a branch tore it off.

Now I have the antenna mounted on the passenger side of my spare tire carrier. Its well protected, and from my testing, seems to get the job done.

I did some testing with a buddy a few miles away, pointing the Jeep in different directions.

I wonder if it would make sense to mount it inside the Jeep near the tailgate hinge?

 

[GrundleJuice]

I don't have any advice about mounting the antenna inside or not but I am interested in the problems and "mistakes" you made with the Midland and Rugged Radios units and why/how the Wouxun helped? Thanks!

 

[socal66]

When I first got my GRMS mobile unit for my Jeep I wanted to avoid using one of the common cowl mounts for the antenna so I could keep it out of harms way on the trail so I was thinking about internal mount options as well. I didn’t find too many examples of this being done though I did find someone who had mounted one of the stubby antennas to the internal roll bar:

GMRS antenna mount

That no ground plane antenna would be a real last resort - perhaps only marginally better than the stubby antenna on a GMRS hand-held radio. An exterior, properly mounted 6db (Midland or equivalent) antenna will have substantially better performance.

www.jlwranglerforums.com

In the end I just mounted the Midland 6db antenna to the tire carrier in the back and it has worked out great so far. It may not technically the best place for an antenna from a measured performance point of view but it has worked very well in practical use on trips where the other vehicles in our group had a variety of antenna and receiver types. Once I get my Ham unit I plan on mounting its antenna on the tire carrier as well on the other side of the tire.

 

[donmontalvo]

When I first got my GRMS mobile unit for my Jeep I wanted to avoid using one of the common cowl mounts for the antenna so I could keep it out of harms way on the trail so I was thinking about internal mount options as well. I didn’t find too many examples of this being done though I did find someone who had mounted one of the stubby antennas to the internal roll bar:

GMRS antenna mount

That no ground plane antenna would be a real last resort - perhaps only marginally better than the stubby antenna on a GMRS hand-held radio. An exterior, properly mounted 6db (Midland or equivalent) antenna will have substantially better performance.

www.jlwranglerforums.com

In the end I just mounted the Midland 6db antenna to the tire carrier in the back and it has worked out great so far. It may not technically the best place for an antenna from a measured performance point of view but it has worked very well in practical use on trips where the other vehicles in our group had a variety of antenna and receiver types. Once I get my Ham unit I plan on mounting its antenna on the tire carrier as well on the other side of the tire.

Interesting. I have my half wave NGP antenna mounted to my Smittybilt HD (7743) tire carrier, on the passenger side (there's a mount on the drivers side too).

I have a Midland MXTA26 6db antenna, but SWR is 2.4+. Tried trimming the antenna to lower the SWR, but the cheap allen head teeny tiny bolts stripped.

The half wave NGP gives me a SWR of 1.2, and so far testing shows I can get out far enough to reach all my wheeling/overlanding friends.

The reason for wanting to mount it inside is to protect it, even though it's pretty safe where it is now.

I have a ghost/stealth antenna too, but testing showed my range was much shorter.

 

[M Rose]

@JL Lou has a ghost mounted to his roll bar inside his JL, as far as I can tell it’s working ok.

 

[donmontalvo]

I don't have any advice about mounting the antenna inside or not but I am interested in the problems and "mistakes" you made with the Midland and Rugged Radios units and why/how the Wouxun helped? Thanks!

Missing channels, lack of wide/narrow selection, etc.

 

[donmontalvo]

I finally got a blog post up, explaining some of the Midland Radio issues...happy to correct any mistakes y'all find.

Midland Radio vs Wouxun

After reading this blog, if you feel inclined, please subscribe to NotARubicon’s YouTube channel. I learned about GMRS there. Very informative, and guaranteed to make you laugh. :) Ever since…

donmontalvo.com

I all set with a Wouxun KG-1000G mobile radio, with a 1/2 wave NGP antenna on my tailgate. I get SWR 1.4 which is pretty decent.

I plan to move the 1/2 wave NGP antenna to the inside of my 2021 JLUR, once I decide exactly where to mount it.

I'm hoping having it inside won't impact performance, if it doesn't work out, I'll move it back to the tailgate outside the Jeep.

I tried Wouxun's 1/4 wave antenna, but it requires a ground plane, and SWR measures 1.86, and its taller than the roof.

Wouxun ANO-050G Mobile GMRS Antenna

The Wouxun ANO-050G is a GMRS mobile antenna with an NMO base connection for KG-1000G GMRS mobile two way radios.

www.buytwowayradios.com

I keep the Wouxun KG-935G handy in case I need a spotter, or if I'm riding with someone who doesn't have a GMRS.