Batboard

is there a big tx difference in a 25 watt and 45 watt? i have a decent antenna setup. its a quarter wave hole mounted in the roof of my truck. use mostly repeators anywhere form 10-25 miles away. I know 25 will work but Id like to have it crystal clear most of the time, ofcourse 25watts will be ecellent compared to my 5 watt portable.

you have a gain antenna on that roof of yours?

its just a short quater wave antenex. not a nice 5/8 wave but it sure beats a mag mount. do they make a short gain antenna? i like the size of my quater wave

The difference is less than 3dB which ain't much. You've taken the most important step by roof mounting your antenna.
If you need further performance you can change out your 1/4 wave for a 3dB gain antenna if you're using VHF or a 5dB if UHF which would account for more ERP than the difference of 25 vs. 45 and would give you a bit better ears as well.

Far as your antenna size that 3dB VHF runs a bit over 3' you can get a 3dB UHF (base load) that's a little over a foot or the 5dB brings you up to about 3'. Generally the more metal in the air the better but I've done well with 1/4 waves, the folks in the rural areas would probably prefer the gain route.

alright guys. thanks for the input.

Hello :
Here is a hillbillys / lamens way i have heard a radio tech explain the diference of 25 to 45 watts in performance to the unknowing end user.
Take for example you can tx 20 miles simplex on 25 watts.
Everytime you double your tx power output to 50 watts youd gain roughly 15 percent more range.
15 percent of 20 miles = another 3 miles.
20 miles plus the gained 3 miles = 23 miles.
And actualy the 45 watts wasnt double as per the 25 watts to 50 watts for the example given above.
Yeah you would gain a bit but in my opinion not worth the diference if i already had the 25 watt unit.
As already stated do put on the best high gain antenae you can get your hands on and that alone will do you the MOST good you can do to improve range.
Also placement of the antenaes location will help too.
Satelite

If you went from 25 watts to say maybe a 1/4 kilowatt, it might be worth the upgrade.

Hello :
If you went from 25 watts to 250 watts youd be an aligator station.
BIG MOUTH NO EARS
Satelite

Just a bit.