GoFastBroncos.com

So I'm a bit of a technological dingus. On my old rig I had a Cobra CB and antenna, unfortunately none of my friends or coworkers with 4x4s have CB's, but they all at least have a basic handheld radio. I was wondering if anyone has tried using something like this to hook up to a handheld radio to boost signal, so when I hit trails with friends we can communicate from our vehicles with the extended antennas attached, then disconnect them to use the Walkie talkies on foot. Here's an example of one I found on eBay http://m.ebay.com/itm/Magnetic-Mount-VH ... nav=SEARCH

That antenna is not much better than the one on the radio.
To make it worth it, you should get a 1/2 or 5/8 wave nmo base loaded magnet mound antenna. You will get better performance e out of the hand held. Make sure to get an antenna that is designed and tuned for the band your handheld is on, VHF commercial band is our normal race radio band, 150 - 158mhz

Wrightracing.net wrote:That antenna is not much better than the one on the radio.
To make it worth it, you should get a 1/2 or 5/8 wave nmo base loaded magnet mound antenna. You will get better performance e out of the hand held. Make sure to get an antenna that is designed and tuned for the band your handheld is on, VHF commercial band is our normal race radio band, 150 - 158mhz

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10-4 I have a mag mount shortie antenna for my hand held and it has great range. It looks like a quarter wave but it has a coil. Got it at the Ham radio place. For portable use I have a quarter way whip, and it works good as well.

I have no idea what most of that means.. But I'll look it up! The plan would be for me to buy one for my Bronco, and my buddies would put one on each of their own vehicles, and we would be running them with the various assortment of handheld radios we each have, I would probably end up buying something better quality than the Walmart cheapy special I have laying around here somewhere. I'm guessing it would still have some of the same issues any other short range radio would have, like signal being blocked by hills n stuff, but have a longer overall range on open ground?

I have a 5/8 wave mag mount that plugs into an Icom V8. Works really well. I use it as a loaner for people without radios that I want to yell at while driving.

I've found the Midland LXT500VP3 22-Channel GMRS with 24-Mile Range to work great when I need to talk to somebody in a different car or when hiking. You can read more about it before buying. http://toponlinereviews.com

The Midland radio and any GMRS radio have very limited distance ability. 24 miles is nearly impossible. 2 or so is more likely. That is why we are using 25-100 watt radios. Even then we seldom get more than 25 miles of distance. Yes, I was on a mountain top in Baja and had a discussion across the sea of Cortez with a buddy using my 50 watt radio. That was a very long ways. Atmospheric conditions that day probably helped a lot.
The Midland is a good value. Add antennas discussed above and you will like it for car to car in a caravan along the highway. I have a similar radio and use it all the time when the two of us travel in separate cars. I use a mag mount 1/4 wave antenna for that purpose and it works great.