Mobile antenna for 446

Hi guys,
I have used cb radio since the 1970's
fm/am/ssb mostly mobile and still do, but am now interested in 446.
I have a Baofeng radio programmed to the 16 pmr channels, but need an antenna for mobile use.
I do understand the limits of pmr against cb, but will an exterior antenna help ?
Thanks for any advice.

The issue with PMR, is the range is less  than line of sight and in built up areas is almost useless unless you can get some decent height.
A lot of antennas are sold on eBay and such like, that say 'mobile pmr antenna' but the reality is... there are none.
A decent 2m/70cm antenna will do the job, because PMR is just above the 70cm amateur band it won't make much of a difference on it's SWR reading. Minimal infact.
Again, I wouldn't invest a great deal in PMR unless locally you have a good few using the band, or if you can get up to high ground you may have better luck.
Any 70cm amateur antenna for the car will be fine to use.But again, range is terribly short.

PMR on the whole especially armed with nothing but the 'rubber duck' antenna will as already mentioned give you a limited range.....but....

Check out what Ray and the guys manage with the South Coast PMR net and you may well be surprised!

https://charlietangodxgroup.forumotion.com/t56-south-coast-pmr-net-report

Some of these guys are running bigger antennas but a lot just try and find high ground in the clear to manage the QSO distances they obtain. With a little bit of help from Mother Nature every so often with 'tropospheric propagation' they often contact greater distance operators including those on the European Continent.   

Worth having a listen out for any 8@8 activity in your area, (Channel 8, 8pm, usually Sundays), especially from any high ground near you and see what's out there. Make sure you're stood outside of your car for best signal reception and then maybe later look at other antenna options available to you. Some of the cheaper Chinese affairs from online retailers are abysmal but again as mentioned Ham radio 70cm antennas do a nice job due to similar frequency use.

I had a lot of fun with my little Baofeng in the early days (even building Yagi beams from old TV antennas!) gaining contacts well beyond the oft suggested line-of-sight limitations. I still have a 'handy' in the form of the Ailunce HD1 but nowadays along with a Ham licence fire up 70cm activity to repeaters and contacts sometimes several counties away.

(Just remember that additional antennas and/or more power than 500mW or half a Watt on PMR are technically illegal.)

Have fun and let us know how you get on.


All the best,
Victor