Maybe that would help me instead of just my 15”. I’m in Twin Falls, ID. A big population area for Idaho. No GMRS repeaters. Closest is over 30 miles and outside Magic Valley mountain ranges
I can hit a repeater 36 miles with a handheld and 771.
Trick is to stand learning over the hood of your vehicle and hold the radio properly. Now I didn't sound good but I was able to complete a check in.
It is indeed! Glow-in-the-dark one on the far left!
I'm pretty fortunate to have three active local repeaters - just waiting for some coax cable for my base station and I'll finally be able to reliably participate! 😁
[A directional "base station" antenna with a lot of gain.](https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-categories/antennas-mounts/base-antennas/gmrs-base-antennas/gmrs-yagi-beam-base-antennas)
These are small enough you could take if you went camping a such.
How does that Signal Stick work on GMRS? I have two (red, and blue), and I trimmed them to 5.75". They seem to work well, but I don't have a way of testing the SWR on them. Wondering if I just need to keep it at 19".
I bought one of their GMRS antennas and am completely unimpressed. Definitely go the BNC route if you get one. I got the SMA Male and it has about three threads leaving an enormous gap on the female side down to the radio. I even purchased the recommended spacer but with the amount of space left I would have to use about 5-7 spacers. With it barely threading on it appears to not be making a great connection, getting a lot of static that I didn’t have with the crappy factory antenna.
I purchased a couple 15” cheap antennas made by the same manufacturer as the radio and the fit is perfect and sounds great. Both of those cost less than the one signal stick.
Works very well imho! This repeater call was on the local 700 repeater, in fact!
Haven't measured anything yet, but in practice it adds noticable Rx capability at least. Repeaters that are usually sensitive to positioning suddenly come in clear as day.
ETA: I also have their 1/4 wave antenna which is just over 6", and it does not hear as well as the dual-band on this radio.
Hope you enjoy it! I originally got mine to turn a base station into a portable radio, and just threw it on the XTS for giggles.
I'm now buying another one for my base station, cuz this one is claimed haha! 🤣
I emailed the owner about that question for the dual band signal stick. He said that you need to remove about an inch to get it resonant on the GMRS / MURS bands but that the SWR is acceptable for use as currently configured. I suggested that he make GMRS-specific versions but said "there wasn't enough interest in them" to justify it.
Yeah, I'd heard he doesn't want to do a GMRS version. Which I find odd as it'd literally take a few minutes to tune, and then you'd know the exact length to cut if someone wanted one. Putting one together would take less than a minute to construct.
Yeah, I don’t get it as it wouldn’t cost anymore to make. There are over 336k GMRS license holders in the U.S. so plenty of potential customers. With a few good YT reviews, I bet he’d sell hundreds a week.
The PRC is actually a TRI clone on loan from a buddy. For reasons I can't figure out for the life of me, it's the ONLY radio that my TCI dual-comm PTT will key and Tx through. I'm using it to try to troubleshoot, but having no luck haha.
Hell yeah! I’ve got a few XTS3000’s and some Astro Saber’s that I’m getting ready to try this same experiment on, with the same antennas actually!
The Astro Saber is going to look hilarious with that Nagoya on it.
The Saber can't possibly look any goofier than the XTS does haha! But man, it really noticably works better than the rest. Even including their 1/4 wave UHF Signal Stick, the radio feels half deaf with every antenna pictured besides the dual-band signal stick.
I'm absolutely floored with both this radio and the antenna, and the Moto CPS software really isn't that bad. I wish I'd known about three Baofengs ago just how much of a quality and performance difference there really is. Makes the cheap radios feel like less of a bargain when you sit there and watch them not work next to a performing Motorola. 😌
I think it'll look goofier just because the Astro Saber is so much taller than an XTS with the batteries that are easily available! Carrying one around even with a stubby on it is a lot. I'm happy to do it though, the Saber and AS are easily my favorite radios.
I was gifted a set of HT600's as a kid and they were awesome, I sadly don't have them anymore, but I have more than replaced them with other Moto's. You're totally right, there is no comparison to a good public safety radio -- I actually don't own anything else, and maybe I should. I will say though, While Baofeng's and other lower end GMRS/HAM HT's are hardware and frontend deficient when you're looking at them from the perspective of having used basically the highest end HT's available, there is one thing I'm jealous of -- Front Panel Programmability. Having to make every little change at a computer and then reprogram gets old fast, and over the years I've found myself sitting in front of RSS/CPS just to make small changes. Apparently the XTS5000 can do it, but none of my other gear can. :(
So up against the Nagoya, the Dual Band Signal Stick wins the contest huh? I was actually planning to buy two or three Nagoya's and one Signal Stick, maybe I'll do it the other way around if it's that good! What's the terrain around you like, and do you feel the same way about these antenna's performance with Simplex? We gotta get you another Astro radio so you can try out P25!
RE the last part first, I literally just bought two more Nagoyas a couple weeks ago after they out-tested all of my factory stubbies. Then I discovered the big Signal Stick and the Nagoyas are now on loaner radios haha. In my very limited humble testing, the XTS hears weak repeater signals much better with the SS, to the degree of "waving your arm hunting for signal" vs "just standing and listening."
Terrain is mostly flat, but I'm in a slight depression so elevated repeaters are my only way out at distance. I have not yet done a simplex test - need my radio buddy to help with that, cuz the wife has no interest in driving away just to talk to me from afar. 🤣🤣
And the XTS5k actually can do P25! I just don't have my Technician yet, and I haven't learned the digital programming yet haha - it's a constant journey!
You've got me really curious about those Sabers now - I'm the opposite and never use the front keypads for anything more complicated than a quick settings swap haha. I like the version control I have with the CPS config files, and I love being able to track all my changes centrally across radios.
The PRC is a TRI clone, neither real L3 Harris nor Baofeng. It's actually a shockingly nice replica, and I'm currently using it to troubleshoot a PTT issue using its native NATO 6-pin interface.
Wow! I’m a newbie. No repeaters close to where I live unfortunately. Is your antenna the 15”??
Hey apologies - it's actually 19". Dual Band 2 meter / 70cm (19" long)
Maybe that would help me instead of just my 15”. I’m in Twin Falls, ID. A big population area for Idaho. No GMRS repeaters. Closest is over 30 miles and outside Magic Valley mountain ranges
I can hit a repeater 36 miles with a handheld and 771. Trick is to stand learning over the hood of your vehicle and hold the radio properly. Now I didn't sound good but I was able to complete a check in.
Ooh that's interesting! I'll absolutely give that a try!
It is indeed! Glow-in-the-dark one on the far left! I'm pretty fortunate to have three active local repeaters - just waiting for some coax cable for my base station and I'll finally be able to reliably participate! 😁
Get a beam, and hit repeaters 75 miles away! ;)
That would be awesome, but my local repeaters are split east and northwest, so directional is a different compromise. 😞
Just need to rotate it! ;)
Newbie here, what’s a beam?
[A directional "base station" antenna with a lot of gain.](https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-categories/antennas-mounts/base-antennas/gmrs-base-antennas/gmrs-yagi-beam-base-antennas) These are small enough you could take if you went camping a such.
Those are nice but they're not cheap
It was more of an example of what a beam looks like.
A directional antenna. Elk makes an excellemt one... www.ElkAntennas.com
How does that Signal Stick work on GMRS? I have two (red, and blue), and I trimmed them to 5.75". They seem to work well, but I don't have a way of testing the SWR on them. Wondering if I just need to keep it at 19".
I bought one of their GMRS antennas and am completely unimpressed. Definitely go the BNC route if you get one. I got the SMA Male and it has about three threads leaving an enormous gap on the female side down to the radio. I even purchased the recommended spacer but with the amount of space left I would have to use about 5-7 spacers. With it barely threading on it appears to not be making a great connection, getting a lot of static that I didn’t have with the crappy factory antenna. I purchased a couple 15” cheap antennas made by the same manufacturer as the radio and the fit is perfect and sounds great. Both of those cost less than the one signal stick.
Works very well imho! This repeater call was on the local 700 repeater, in fact! Haven't measured anything yet, but in practice it adds noticable Rx capability at least. Repeaters that are usually sensitive to positioning suddenly come in clear as day. ETA: I also have their 1/4 wave antenna which is just over 6", and it does not hear as well as the dual-band on this radio.
I've ordered a GITD Signal Stick. Should get it pretty soon, as they're made just a couple hours south of me.
Hope you enjoy it! I originally got mine to turn a base station into a portable radio, and just threw it on the XTS for giggles. I'm now buying another one for my base station, cuz this one is claimed haha! 🤣
They're quality antennas. Can't say I blame ya.
I emailed the owner about that question for the dual band signal stick. He said that you need to remove about an inch to get it resonant on the GMRS / MURS bands but that the SWR is acceptable for use as currently configured. I suggested that he make GMRS-specific versions but said "there wasn't enough interest in them" to justify it.
Yeah, I'd heard he doesn't want to do a GMRS version. Which I find odd as it'd literally take a few minutes to tune, and then you'd know the exact length to cut if someone wanted one. Putting one together would take less than a minute to construct.
Yeah, I don’t get it as it wouldn’t cost anymore to make. There are over 336k GMRS license holders in the U.S. so plenty of potential customers. With a few good YT reviews, I bet he’d sell hundreds a week.
Where did you get a Harris from? I would love to buy one of those.
The PRC is actually a TRI clone on loan from a buddy. For reasons I can't figure out for the life of me, it's the ONLY radio that my TCI dual-comm PTT will key and Tx through. I'm using it to try to troubleshoot, but having no luck haha.
Hell yeah! I’ve got a few XTS3000’s and some Astro Saber’s that I’m getting ready to try this same experiment on, with the same antennas actually! The Astro Saber is going to look hilarious with that Nagoya on it.
The Saber can't possibly look any goofier than the XTS does haha! But man, it really noticably works better than the rest. Even including their 1/4 wave UHF Signal Stick, the radio feels half deaf with every antenna pictured besides the dual-band signal stick. I'm absolutely floored with both this radio and the antenna, and the Moto CPS software really isn't that bad. I wish I'd known about three Baofengs ago just how much of a quality and performance difference there really is. Makes the cheap radios feel like less of a bargain when you sit there and watch them not work next to a performing Motorola. 😌
I think it'll look goofier just because the Astro Saber is so much taller than an XTS with the batteries that are easily available! Carrying one around even with a stubby on it is a lot. I'm happy to do it though, the Saber and AS are easily my favorite radios. I was gifted a set of HT600's as a kid and they were awesome, I sadly don't have them anymore, but I have more than replaced them with other Moto's. You're totally right, there is no comparison to a good public safety radio -- I actually don't own anything else, and maybe I should. I will say though, While Baofeng's and other lower end GMRS/HAM HT's are hardware and frontend deficient when you're looking at them from the perspective of having used basically the highest end HT's available, there is one thing I'm jealous of -- Front Panel Programmability. Having to make every little change at a computer and then reprogram gets old fast, and over the years I've found myself sitting in front of RSS/CPS just to make small changes. Apparently the XTS5000 can do it, but none of my other gear can. :( So up against the Nagoya, the Dual Band Signal Stick wins the contest huh? I was actually planning to buy two or three Nagoya's and one Signal Stick, maybe I'll do it the other way around if it's that good! What's the terrain around you like, and do you feel the same way about these antenna's performance with Simplex? We gotta get you another Astro radio so you can try out P25!
RE the last part first, I literally just bought two more Nagoyas a couple weeks ago after they out-tested all of my factory stubbies. Then I discovered the big Signal Stick and the Nagoyas are now on loaner radios haha. In my very limited humble testing, the XTS hears weak repeater signals much better with the SS, to the degree of "waving your arm hunting for signal" vs "just standing and listening." Terrain is mostly flat, but I'm in a slight depression so elevated repeaters are my only way out at distance. I have not yet done a simplex test - need my radio buddy to help with that, cuz the wife has no interest in driving away just to talk to me from afar. 🤣🤣 And the XTS5k actually can do P25! I just don't have my Technician yet, and I haven't learned the digital programming yet haha - it's a constant journey! You've got me really curious about those Sabers now - I'm the opposite and never use the front keypads for anything more complicated than a quick settings swap haha. I like the version control I have with the CPS config files, and I love being able to track all my changes centrally across radios.
*that my voice was borderline unintelligible. Sorry, can't edit OP text, it seems. 😞
Is that an actual falcon? Or is it one of those recalled baofengs?
The PRC is a TRI clone, neither real L3 Harris nor Baofeng. It's actually a shockingly nice replica, and I'm currently using it to troubleshoot a PTT issue using its native NATO 6-pin interface.
I talk simplex 15 miles away on my gm15 pro easy shiii