2m Ham Radio Antenna help

[IMaDad]

The NMO really is the best option. Just be sure and get a good brand antenna and NMO mount. I've found some of the imported (Comet and Diamond) antennas have a slightly different thread than the original Motorola NMO spec.

As for distance, 75 watts won't get you much more range than 15 watts on simplex for 2m/70cm. VHF/UHF (esp FM) is basically line of sight. I've been able to get 5-6 miles on occasion, unless someone was at a higher elevation. On water, your distances will significantly increase. Now with repeaters, you might benefit by having more wattage. I've been able to regularly hit some repeaters 50-100 miles away with 15-45 watts. It all depends on the repeater elevation and whether buildings or mountains are obstructing your signal.

In the end, if your looking for long range communications, you'll have to go HF so you can benefit from groundwave or ionospheric bounce (skip). On 10m (28mHz), you'll typically see 10-30 miles on ground wave. On the lower bands, you may be able to talk significantly farther, even without ionospheric propagation.

N4WFB

if you can hit a repeater at 50-100 miles, couldnt you in theory do that simplex with another rig that was set up similar to yours? if they can hear you, you should be able to hear them, right?

say they had a jpole on the house, and i did too at 30-50 miles that should be doable if elevations are agreeable, no?

and yes i think 10m would be best, but really the 2m would be SHTF comm for the family, and extended family. we are mostly across north atlanta so i think 2m would be okay. i need to test it all out. i dont even have my callsign yet. haha.

 

[LMK]

if they can hear you, you should be able to hear them, right?

This will be true if both radios posses sufficent wattage and antenna gain. With repeating- each station will stand alone.,

 

[Old_School]

if you can hit a repeater at 50-100 miles, couldnt you in theory do that simplex with another rig that was set up similar to yours? if they can hear you, you should be able to hear them, right?

say they had a jpole on the house, and i did too at 30-50 miles that should be doable if elevations are agreeable, no?

Keep in mind that repeater antennas are typically several hundred feet above local ground elevation, not 20-30 feet. That said, I was referring primarily to mobile-to-mobile range when I mentioned 5-6 miles. If your handheld was on top of Stone Mountain, you might get 20-30 miles of clear copy to a base or mobile station, even with your 2 watts. To reiterate, watts won't necessarily gain you much range with VHF/UHF. Curvature of the earth and relative elevation are your friends and enemies (or visa-versa).

There is an online VHF/UHF line of sight calculator at:

vwlowen.co.uk/java/horizon.htm

Based on that, and assuming both stations have antennas 25' above ground (and are both on level ground), each station has a line of sight of 7 miles, for a total of 14 miles. Of course, you can get reflections off water tanks, towers, and buildings that can increase/decrease that range.

Now if both of you are on higher elevations, that range could significantly increase, you'll just have to do some testing. A small, home brew directional antenna (yagi or similar) can help, also. I had a friend in college who built a small yagi using #12 copper house wire and a broomstick boom. He mounted it to a camera tripod and pointed it out the window of his 10th floor apartment. He could regularly make contact with a base station 125 miles away using his 1 watt HT. Gain (yagi) and elevation are your friends.

 

[Shovelhead]

Congrats!!!
73's
KS4VR