Thanks
@oldsoldier181 that’s some great info. I tested my GMRS out the other day in some not ideal but realistic environments and was getting about 1.5 to 2 miles range with the setup in my pictures and the other radio was a handheld FRS on channel 4, this environment is heavily wooded and very hilly, Northern WI. I believe for what I’m going to be doing this would be good, like you say, never really that far apart out there. Now the question is being roof mounted what kind of distance are you getting and how is the SWR on that Ghost antenna in that location, Thanks for the info in Advance!
Realistically, in heavy woods, with GMRS, 2 miles is good. Its only a 15 watt radio. My ham radio at home puts out 100 watts and gets MAYBE 25 miles on a good day (on UHF). The higher the antenna, the better the reception-because of the way the waves propagate. Which is why people who mount them on their hoods, or bumpers, dont get great radio. You have an entire vehicle blocking 60-80% of your signal. Radio waves dont bend (well, they do, but thats another topic), and they dont go through metal, or other dense objects. So, roof mounts work best. Ideally (and, this isnt for GMRS, but it is for ham radios in the upper bands), a long whip antenna on a vehicle, tied down, so that it is largely horizontal, will get the best overall propagation. But, then you are dealing with having to tune antennas (which means shortening or lengthening them, essentially), and, for overlanding, thats not really practical. Which is why GMRS radios work well for us. Antennas dont need to be tuned, your comms are normally within a mile, maybe two-and you dont need a ton of power to put out comms. If you need something to reach dozens of miles, get an HF radio, your ham license, and play around with that.
Either way, the midland is a good radio. Just mount your antenna high. Your rig is a faraday cage, and the signal cant go through it, and, as I said, radio waves dont really bend, so you are limiting your range-particularly behind you-by mounting it low, and forward.
