Dave Platt wrote:
You can get the loss down to 4 dB by using RG-8X "mini" coax.
Standard RG-8 cable will lose 2 dB, which ought not to be a problem.

Is it worth it to shoot the extra cash on LMR 400 or Heliax?

The antenna gain and the feedline loss might just about
cancel out, giving you something roughly equivalent to what you'd get
if you were standing up in the tree with the radio :-)

On the topic of antennae, I see mentions of a "no-ground-plane" antenna.
I assume I need one of these since it will be up in a tree?

Hoping to do this one without a climb. I was thinking of shooting
a guide wire over a branch and using it to haul the antenna up, with a
few wires to stake it down with.

Also - for legal reasons, this sort of antenna mod can only be done to
a real GMRS radio, for which a GMRS license is required. It's not
legal to modify the antenna setup on an FRS radio.

Right, I think FRS radios come without the removable antenna for this
very reason.

Thanks, Dave!
-- WB