Good choice. I have a VX-5 that I used for several years before buying a dual-band.

If you find you need more power (range), you can buy a power amp. The hand held output is them boosted from 5 watts to about 30 watts.

My VX-5 and power amp serve as my back-up radio.

things can take me a while.
i now seem to have gained control of a 2meter transceiver.
my second ebay purchase actually works.
ended up with an adi ar-146(50W)that i zip-tied to the dash and a matrad ngp antenna(+homemade thing to hold it) that i screwed to suzi's windscreen frame.
a little spooky, but i ended cutting the whip @ 12" to tune it(38"gave me swr 1.4).
now we're talking.
well- mostly listening still.
richard

Pics, please, Richard. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Once I get the Cruiser running, maybe I can hit you up to help me tune a radio with that nifty meter you got!

Jon

gotta remember that i just read alot- then i try things.
certainly doesn't mean i know what i'm doing.......
sometimes the things i try work out somehow.
here's that meter i used. since i was just zip-tieing the radio to the dash, i stuck it on there too- just for kicks.

by the way- you are welcome to use it.
the antenna mount was going to be a temporary thing, but it seems happy and will do 'till i don't know when.

cutting the whip was a little concerning, but i figured the meter wasn't lying and i could always get another whip if i screwed up and cut too much(the 1st inch didn't do much, so i just whacked off a big hunk to get closer to the chart specs.). now i'm thinking of mabe trimming a little more- we'll see.

i mounted the antenna on the same side as my cb 'tenna so i can keep an eye on it, and find that it brushes brush real well- should be better now since it's shorter...
let's roll soon.
richard

NIce, Richard. That's a pretty fancy looking meter you've got there. I hope to get with you soon. We haven't been up there much since the boy's team is on a break. I'll give you a hollar in the not-so-distant future.

I have found that when using CB and 2-m, it is best to have as much separation between the antennas as you can get.

And, 2-m works best with good ground plane. You may find that by fastening to a flat sheet metal will provide a lower SWR than use of the angle bracket. Overall, the 1.4:1 with that mount is fairly good.

Adjusting whip length may improve; however, better ground plane will also improve SWR as long at the length is within specs.

the ground plane thing has been bothering me, and i was trying to figure out where to mount the pizza pan.
it seemed that the hood would be a possibility, but i didn't want to look like a rhino + i open my hood frequently.
i am using a maxrad antenna that is touted as not requiring a ground plane(ngp). i'm not clear on how this works.
i was interested in making a j-pole type antenna, as this makes sense to me- kind of a tuned dipole mounted vertically. they don't seem to require physical ground plane. i may still play with this idea.
note: at low watt i seem to be reflecting <1 watt. perhaps more ground plane would reduce this(?)or mabe it's loss from my coax?
so far i'm pleased- but then again- what do i know.
richard

Wind resistance on highway may be an issue with a tuned dipole of j-pole.

And, whip does stand up better to brush.

I had a no-ground plane antenna on my truck and was disappointed with range. Went to mag-mount on the roof and much better.

Another thing, if you tune for a half-way antenna, you will get less range but better performance in canyon/hill area. If you tune for 5/8 wave, you will be better range performance. A half wave gives a full sphere radiation patter while a 5/8 with have a radiation patter like a donut.