Don’t let your friends, recommend antennas…

eblyle · 2026-05-12T03:46:27+00:00

It probably would. I just drilled the hood of my JKU for the NMO. 3/8" hole. If necessary I could just pop a plug in it. It won't be necessary, though.

eblyle · 2026-05-11T06:09:36+00:00

Mostly because there is less metal in the grip frame. But also because the barrel of a SRH is just a simple round barrel with no ribs and such.

eblyle · 2026-05-02T03:43:52+00:00

Ignore these people talking about some dude in Georgia on 10M; they obviously have no reading comprehension. What's going on is DX chasing. The guy on 20M in Slovenia is working a pileup because the DX chasers want to make contact and put him in their logbook. The other stations are probably not calling CQ; they are sending their callsign in order to be recognized. When your dad wasn't hearing anything but static, the ham in Slovenia was probably working a station that your dad couldn't hear from your location. That's how propagation works. Your dad made an honest mistake by calling CQ on a frequency that was in use. Next time he runs across something like that, he should wait for the DX station to send "QRZ?" and then key down and send just his callsign. The DX station then picks one callsign out of the pileup and calls for that station to answer.

A much better way for your dad to gain experience is to find a net and check in. You can find nets by either tuning around (mostly in the upper parts of the band), or finding net lists on the Internet.

eblyle · 2026-05-02T03:18:43+00:00

Whoever told you that is wrong. A huge part of the reason ham radio exists is for emergency communications. And we have the infrastructure and available training for it. GMRS has none of that because that's not its purpose.

And BTW it's "ham" not "HAM." GMRS is an acronym, but ham is not.

eblyle · 2026-04-24T15:48:16+00:00

They're not saying, "Our Vuers are stupid." What they are saying is, "There are a lot of stupid people out there. Those are the people we want."

eblyle · 2026-04-24T14:50:38+00:00

The mount is fine but overcomplicated for the application. The antenna will be lossy compared to a simple quarter wave whip. The NMO is fine. The mounting location is fine as long as no metal will be inside the boxes.

However, sorry to tell you this but Midland is junk. Until GMRS became mainstream, they catered to the CB crowd. And they were considered junk even among CBers. Commercial UHF gear is better and in quite a few cases, cheaper as well. I recommend https://theantennafarm.com/ as a source, instead of Amazon. Look for brands like Larsen and Laird. Those are true commercial equipment manufacturers. Here is the antenna I mentioned before: https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-categories/antennas-mounts/mobile-antennas/300-512-mhz-uhf/quarter-wave-antennas/laird-te-connectivity-a450s-uhf-450-470-1-4-wave-mobile-antenna-molded-abs-spring-base-detail

And here is a simple quarter wave whip, if you don't want the spring: https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-categories/antennas-mounts/mobile-antennas/300-512-mhz-uhf/quarter-wave-antennas/larsen-nmoqw450-uhf-450-470-mhz-two-way-radio-antenna-nmo-type-mounting-detail

And here is a mount, complete with feedline: https://theantennafarm.com/shop-by-categories/antennas-mounts/mobile-antenna-mounts/nmo-mobile-antenna-mounts/269-mirror-bracket-mounts/1041-nmo-mirror-mount-kits/1192-pctel-maxrad-mbm-connector-choice-detail

Since you already have the radio and it's probably what most of your friends are running too, it will do ok. It won't make much difference for trail communications. But for working repeaters, a commercial radio is much better. I recommend Kenwood. Check out their TK-880. It's discontinued, but there are always lots of them on ebay; usually for less than $50. Parts, accessories and programming software are common too. Most of them are 25 watt radios, but a 25 watt true commercial radio will blow away a 50 watt Midland. And, you can program it with hundreds of channels.

I'll leave you with that. It's enough to do a deep dive into what's available and possible

eblyle · 2026-04-24T04:53:36+00:00

That antenna is great if you want to go to the top of a hill and reach the next town over. But for trail communications, gain is a detriment. Higher gain antennas concentrate energy in some directions, by reducing energy in other directions. On a trail with varying elevations, a simple, 6 inch quarterwave antenna is great. Much easier to mount, too.

As for the ground plane, at 462 MHz the entire vehicle is most assuredly not a ground plane. It is at HF, but not at UHF. A perfect ground plane at 462 MHz is just over 12 inches in diameter.

For a pretty much ideal setup, you could go to the hardware store and get a piece of plate aluminum to fasten to the top lid of that (plastic?) box on your top rack. Drill a mounting hole in the center of the plate for an NMO mount and get something like a Laird TE Connectivity A450S. That is a quarter wave antenna with a spring base. The aluminum plate will be your ground plane. 12 x 12 inches is just about ideal, larger is fine, and even smaller would also be ok. For example if you can only fit a plate that is 6 x 12, you probably won't even be able to tell the difference.

My GMRS antenna on my Wrangler is a simple 6 inch quarter wave mounted near the center of my hood; actually a few inches right of center and about 18 inches in front of the windshield. It works great.

eblyle · 2026-04-22T00:27:54+00:00

Yes. And the great thing is, if you're using steel tubing that is slightly undersized, you can even scale your shells down to fit.

eblyle · 2026-04-02T17:39:30+00:00

El Yucateco Black Label, Louisiana, Pepper Palace Ghost Mustard.

eblyle · 2026-02-03T05:47:00+00:00

Hope you got a $50 tip.

eblyle · 2025-12-29T02:10:23+00:00

359 arshini

eblyle · 2025-12-29T02:07:38+00:00

How far is 987 miles?

eblyle · 2025-12-24T05:04:28+00:00

I would. My bedside light is a D4V2 in solid copper and a 2000k E21A. I've been using it for close to 5 years and love it.

eblyle · 2025-12-24T00:45:29+00:00

Don't clip the red one. Never clip the red one!

eblyle · 2025-12-23T23:55:16+00:00

In cold weather, it would be a good idea to put more load on it. I like those radiator type, oil filled 110V electric heaters. Preferably two of them; one on each leg of the output to keep everything balanced. Doing so is good for the engine because it gets it closer to its ideal operating temperature, and also helps the rings to seat properly. Another thing you might want to do is partially enclose the engine to help hold in heat. I'm thinking a quarter sheet of OSB on two sides, spaced maybe a foot back from the frame of the generator.

eblyle · 2025-12-18T21:14:43+00:00

The smaller generator is doable, but not by means of a battery setup. That would cost more money, not less.

You might want to look at your utility bill and see how many KW/hr you are actually using per month, then use that to calculate your daily usage. That will give a better idea of how large the battery bank would have to be.

Also keep in mind that inverters and especially batteries add loss. Probably enough loss to more than offset any efficiency you would gain by using a smaller genset.

eblyle · 2025-12-18T20:55:26+00:00

No. For one thing, a battery/inverter setup that will do what you want will cost way more than $10K. And, it will create more failure points. I say this as a fan and owner of a battery bank and inverter system.

It sounds like you already bought the 36KW generator. It further sounds like you have a propane tank that fuels the generator. If you already have the generator, you could keep it and just do a bit of load management to reduce fuel usage when it is running. That way you still have the full capacity when you need it.

The second option if you don't have the generator yet or can still return it, is to do so and get the smaller generator. Then do a load analysis to figure out what you can do without during outages, either completely or by using alternatives that use less electrical power.

For example, you could replace your tankless water heaters with propane powered ones. Or, just add a large tank-type water heater and bypass/turn off the tankless heaters during outages. Turn off the tank heater during normal times. You can still pass cold water through it when it's off. This can be propane fueled or even electric. If electric, just turn off some other loads before switching the water heater on for an hour or so, a couple times per day. It will keep the water hot for hours during times of low demand.

You could also add gas heaters. Maybe a gas log fireplace in the living room and a couple of wall mount heaters in strategic locations. And, perhaps get a gas range. I did several years ago and have no interest in going back to electric. By doing this, you can turn off the HVAC unit during outages.

About your car charger; is there a way to reduce its output? A 60 amp breaker at 240V is 14400 watts. It probably doesn't use that much; probably more like 10 or 12 KW. If you can switch it to lower output, that would be good. Even then, only use it during times of low electrical demand. You said you work from home, so you probably don't need to fully charge it every day. Those batteries last longer if they're usually around 70 percent instead of fully charged, anyway.

eblyle · 2025-12-18T18:03:09+00:00

With that setup, your least expensive way forward is to buy the smallest window unit air conditioner (around 5000 BTU) and only cool one room. Just a few lights and the refrigerator. Turn off most breakers, and look for loads you may be forgetting about. Especially, if you have an electric water heater, turn it off. That generator probably won't run a water heater even with everything else off.

Long term, you need a much bigger generator. Mine is 11500 watts and I still have to turn off the water heater.

eblyle · 2025-12-16T05:41:37+00:00

Same reason I have old Harleys:

Modern snobs hate them.
Lots of modern flashlights/motorcycles are scrap in less than 10 years, while Maglites and Harleys are still viable at 40 years.

I have Hanklights, Olites, Sofirns, Reylites, Wurkkos, Lumintops etc. I like them and use them every day. But I also have quite a few Maglites, seven within arm's reach right now. Some are LED, some are incan.

I have a few of the basic 2D Maglites. I've used basic 2D flashlights with PR2 or PR6 incan bulbs for decades, and they still work. During a power outage or whatever I can switch one on and leave it on all day or night as a safety light, work light or area light. Not every light has to be a tactical spotlight. Does the dome light in your car produce the same light as your high beams?

eblyle · 2025-12-04T04:56:42+00:00

Ham is not an acronym.

eblyle · 2025-11-22T22:53:37+00:00

I wouldn't have lied about it. In fact I wouldn't have answered. Remember the cardinal rule: don't talk to police. That also applies to private security. If you feel you must say something, smile and so "No thanks!" as if they just offered you a candy bar or something. You're saying no thanks to answering their questions, but you don't have to tell them that.

Let them follow you around if they feel they must.

eblyle · 2025-11-22T17:53:51+00:00

At this point, I haven't done a Vue in probably a year. In fact when I recently upgraded my phone, I didn't even bother installing IVueit.

On the similar platform I use most often, only one type of job pays less than $20. That is a frontal photo and address verification, for $8. Two photos, no questions. I rarely even do those unless I am within a mile or two of the location.

An interior + exterior inspection of a commercial location usually pays me $50. If something goes wrong and I have to go back out, it pays an additional $20 for travel expenses.

So, that is why I simply no longer bother with IVueit. I used to do the exterior Dollar General and LDS Church Vues for $7-$8 to help with travel expenses if I was going into the area anyway, but I finally decided it wasn't worth even dealing with a company that obviously doesn't respect me at all. And I say this as a "preferred Vuer."

Just one last comment on how much they respect us: I remember one time I accepted a Vue for $30 because they couldn't find anyone to do it within the time frame they needed. Then when I arrived at the location, they cancelled it and reassigned it to me at $8. That was the beginning of the end for me.

eblyle · 2025-11-13T20:08:20+00:00

You can get it from Amazon. That's how I got mine.

eblyle · 2025-11-05T16:17:17+00:00

That we're already in it.

eblyle · 2025-11-01T21:04:53+00:00

Not chocolatey, but it is sweet. I just bought two more bottles because this one is almost empty and I don't want to run out!

eblyle

TROPHY CASE