Thanks again for your video. I have been using the Ed Fong GMRS for almost a year now. It is now installed on my roof. I have been happy with it and even had a pleasant phone conversation with Ed Fong as he told me to call him directly when I emailed him a question. Really nice guy. Now that I passed my technician license, thinking of getting a Yaesu FT-60R. I guess I have to add another antenna. Will be nice to have one antenna that will give me the same performance with GMRS as well as cover 2 m and 10 M
How do they work on their counterparts frequencies? I use both ranges of frequencies, and want to permanently fix one to my roof. Can’t decide which to go with.
I must tell you wishing you a happy New Year and thank you for your wonderful information that I have collected through the years thank you again for valuable information ❤❤❤❤❤
Not sure how you'd test the antenna. After mentioning the SWR readings which are good, the rest of how the antenna performs is height and geography based. My results wouldn't be meaningful as you would likely have different variables like height and vegetation.
@apollomorelos727 Not an antenna expert, but here goes. A vertical antenna represents half a dipole. The ground plane or counterpoise represents the other half. A j pole has both halves accounted for - the J. From what I understand, adding ground plane wires wouldn't be much different than mounting the j pole to a metal roof.
Great video! I many be wrong but I believe the UHF is actually a collinear 2x stacked J-Pole (J-Pole on top of a "slim jim") and if good for the entire UHF band + GMRS. It has significantly better gain than the dual band.
There are several TH-cam videos that feature Professon Fong talking about this antenna. Search Ed Fong and check one out. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I have purchased 2 of the VHF / UHF in PVC versions, pre assembled. They work well and are very light and durable BUT beware. I wrecked the first one when I went to disconnect the coax After a year of external use and the whole connector twisted breaking the inside wire. Rather than cut it open and repair it I purchased another. When I went to take it down after a few years I ALMOST did it again, but stopped in time. I the held the connector with a needle nose plier and the carefully twisted the coax connector off. Five years later it is still my dual band base antenna.
Would one of these be a good solution for my Baofeng UV5R handheld here in my small apartment, or would perhaps a magnetic mount automobile antenna work better? Thanks...
I'm new to GMRS and was quite disappointed at the limited performance of the band after purchasing a couple of 5 watt Baofeng UV-5R radios a year or so ago. I could only hit one repeater in the DFW area which had limited traffic. I could only receive one NOAA weather channel and receive a few FM radio stations. I know the antenna is a major factor in performance from my CB days in the early 70s. I searched for a better antenna and purchased an N9TAX dual band roll up J-pole antenna. With it elevated about 6 feet to the top in a tree I could receive two more NOAA weather channels and hit repeaters two counties away, about 60-70 miles from my location. You should give it a review and test it against the Ed Fong antennas. Now, all I have to do is figure out where and how I'm going to mount it as a base antenna. I have a 40 foot tower that currently has a Moonraker 4 CB antenna on it that I may replace with a good GMRS base antenna being CB is pretty much dead around here now. It was thriving 20 years ago when I set it up but most have died off or moved away and the truckers took over the local channel and claimed it as their own. Back in the day, I designed and created the best 10-12 meter omnidirectional antenna the world has ever known. It was a dual trombone slide DC ground antenna. It outperformed every commercial manufactured antenna ever built. It was up for 18 years with flat SWR until it met it's demise when a tree fell on the guy wires taking it out. If the CB channel was still alive and well I would replace it, but unfortunately it's not. I thought about doing the same design for GMRS but making it dual band would be a major challenge or impractical. It would need to be designed for a single band to optimize performance, thus requiring an antenna for each band which isn't practical at my location. Thoughts are dancing around in my head but nothing has come to fruition yet.
Depends on what you mean by grounding. No radials for a ground plane and as Prof Fong describes, no lightening interrupter. A ground for your equipment is a good idea.
I have an Ed Fong J-Pole Antenna. I put it on a 10' PVC mast and 12" coax. My Nano VNA tells me the match is 1 to 2.25. Do I need a metal mast or a longer coax for a counterpoise?
The first thing I would check is to verify that the PVC is the exact product number he recommends. Thicker pipe messes with antenna effectiveness. Next, check the metal content of any paint you might have used. Generally, paint on the PVC surrounding the antenna is bad.
I'm not sure. I have mine about 2 ft apart, but don't transmit on both at the same time. I haven't noticed any hum or buzz on the other radio when transmitting.
@GadgetTalk4U if you don't mind me asking what kind of antennas , mind are both arrow antennas ,I heard they have to at 10 ft a part ,and that won't work for me .
Thanks again for your video. I have been using the Ed Fong GMRS for almost a year now. It is now installed on my roof. I have been happy with it and even had a pleasant phone conversation with Ed Fong as he told me to call him directly when I emailed him a question. Really nice guy.
Now that I passed my technician license, thinking of getting a Yaesu FT-60R. I guess I have to add another antenna. Will be nice to have one antenna that will give me the same performance with GMRS as well as cover 2 m and 10 M
I have the dual band 2m/70 cm plus the GMRS/MURS Ed Fong antennas, I'm limited to indoor antennas only in my apartment. Excellent antennas
How do they work on their counterparts frequencies? I use both ranges of frequencies, and want to permanently fix one to my roof. Can’t decide which to go with.
I own a couple of these antennas. Great products! Thanks for the great video.
Thank you , I really enjoy your videos!! Very informative and concise.
Love my Ed Fong GMRS antenna. Got it on the roof.
What does your setup look like? Is it grounded? I am very curious
Thanks for the video. Congratulations because your speech is perfectly understandable to me, for my level English speaking.
You are welcome! Cheers.
I must tell you wishing you a happy New Year and thank you for your wonderful information that I have collected through the years thank you again for valuable information ❤❤❤❤❤
Thanks for watching and commenting.
I have 2 of these on 2 meters/440. They work great and have low SWRs.
I thought you going to tests the antennas . Make a video testing the Ed fong gmrs
Not sure how you'd test the antenna. After mentioning the SWR readings which are good, the rest of how the antenna performs is height and geography based. My results wouldn't be meaningful as you would likely have different variables like height and vegetation.
accorning to Ed Fong. I don't need to install a ground plane, but I did it anyway. I don't think it's hurting anything. please advise.
@apollomorelos727 Not an antenna expert, but here goes. A vertical antenna represents half a dipole. The ground plane or counterpoise represents the other half. A j pole has both halves accounted for - the J. From what I understand, adding ground plane wires wouldn't be much different than mounting the j pole to a metal roof.
Great video! I many be wrong but I believe the UHF is actually a collinear 2x stacked J-Pole (J-Pole on top of a "slim jim") and if good for the entire UHF band + GMRS. It has significantly better gain than the dual band.
There are several TH-cam videos that feature Professon Fong talking about this antenna. Search Ed Fong and check one out. Thanks for watching and commenting.
I have purchased 2 of the VHF / UHF in PVC versions, pre assembled. They work well and are very light and durable BUT beware. I wrecked the first one when I went to disconnect the coax After a year of external use and the whole connector twisted breaking the inside wire. Rather than cut it open and repair it I purchased another. When I went to take it down after a few years I ALMOST did it again, but stopped in time. I the held the connector with a needle nose plier and the carefully twisted the coax connector off. Five years later it is still my dual band base antenna.
Would one of these be a good solution for my Baofeng UV5R handheld here in my small apartment, or would perhaps a magnetic mount automobile antenna work better?
Thanks...
I'm new to GMRS and was quite disappointed at the limited performance of the band after purchasing a couple of 5 watt Baofeng UV-5R radios a year or so ago. I could only hit one repeater in the DFW area which had limited traffic. I could only receive one NOAA weather channel and receive a few FM radio stations. I know the antenna is a major factor in performance from my CB days in the early 70s. I searched for a better antenna and purchased an N9TAX dual band roll up J-pole antenna. With it elevated about 6 feet to the top in a tree I could receive two more NOAA weather channels and hit repeaters two counties away, about 60-70 miles from my location. You should give it a review and test it against the Ed Fong antennas.
Now, all I have to do is figure out where and how I'm going to mount it as a base antenna. I have a 40 foot tower that currently has a Moonraker 4 CB antenna on it that I may replace with a good GMRS base antenna being CB is pretty much dead around here now. It was thriving 20 years ago when I set it up but most have died off or moved away and the truckers took over the local channel and claimed it as their own.
Back in the day, I designed and created the best 10-12 meter omnidirectional antenna the world has ever known. It was a dual trombone slide DC ground antenna. It outperformed every commercial manufactured antenna ever built. It was up for 18 years with flat SWR until it met it's demise when a tree fell on the guy wires taking it out. If the CB channel was still alive and well I would replace it, but unfortunately it's not. I thought about doing the same design for GMRS but making it dual band would be a major challenge or impractical. It would need to be designed for a single band to optimize performance, thus requiring an antenna for each band which isn't practical at my location. Thoughts are dancing around in my head but nothing has come to fruition yet.
Does the GMRS version require any grounding?
Depends on what you mean by grounding. No radials for a ground plane and as Prof Fong describes, no lightening interrupter. A ground for your equipment is a good idea.
I have an Ed Fong J-Pole Antenna. I put it on a 10' PVC mast and 12" coax. My Nano VNA tells me the match is 1 to 2.25. Do I need a metal mast or a longer coax for a counterpoise?
The first thing I would check is to verify that the PVC is the exact product number he recommends. Thicker pipe messes with antenna effectiveness. Next, check the metal content of any paint you might have used. Generally, paint on the PVC surrounding the antenna is bad.
How close can you put the gmrs to the dual band 2 m / 7 cm
I'm not sure. I have mine about 2 ft apart, but don't transmit on both at the same time. I haven't noticed any hum or buzz on the other radio when transmitting.
@GadgetTalk4U if you don't mind me asking what kind of antennas , mind are both arrow antennas ,I heard they have to at 10 ft a part ,and that won't work for me .
@@garytedlock7533 Excellent point. I'm using Ed Fong J poles.
@@GadgetTalk4U I think I'm going to sell at least the 2m / 70 cm. Arrow antenna , That what I was originally going to buy bought from Ed fong , Thanks
Ed fong 2mm/70cm.& Ed fong gmrs
If only i could get one in the UK, doesnt post worldwide :(
Are you reading a script? It sounds like a voice over for a childrens book 😂