looks like you've got some good stuff to be going on with there.
Maybe a dumb question, but you did get an adapter to go from the male SMA on 
the radio to the pl259 connecter on the antenna coax right?
The adapter is a female SMA to SO239.
the SO239 is also refered to as a female UHF connecter just in case you ever 
come across that.  The PL259 is the male version, and is also sometimes 
refered to as a male UHF connecter.
For anyone who is wondering, the Tram 1185 is a quarter wave dual band 
magnetic mount style antenna.  Unity gain more or less on boht bands, though 
they do claim 2DB gain on UHF which is suspect at best lol.

BTW, yes, the nagoya 701 works extremely well with the uv5R, as with any HT.
I never did buy one, but use the J0125A antenna which is about $3.50 on ebay 
and has about the same specs, though it is a little shorter than the nagoya 
701.
Over the stock antenna, the nagoya is a pretty good improvement.  Often 
making the difference between being able to carry on a conversation on a 
repeater with someone, and just barely hitting the repeater.
After all, it isn't just about being able to hit the repeater and hold it, 
but having a good enough signal that people can understand you and carry on 
any kind of conversation without having to try and pick you out of the 
noise.
On average, the 701 will improve your transmitted signal about 1 or 2 s 
units between a direct comparison with the stock duck.
this can be a mile, could be ten miles just depends on the repeater, or 
station you are talking to.
 the terrain and any line of sight obstructions that may be between you and 
the station or repeater you are talking with will also come into play of 
course.

Height can be advantageous for sure, but sometimes going up higher in your 
house or building doesn't always help due to structural impediments to the 
signals...such as rebar in the concrete, wire underneath stucko, metal 
siding etc.
Outside will almost always yield the best results, although, sometimes, 
especially on UHF frequencies, if the repeater or station is on the other 
side of the house from you, sometimes the close proximity of the building 
will effect the signal a bit.
Anyway, you'll get a much better feel for which is the best operating 
position once you finally get that callsign.  Another trick is to use the 
magnetic mount antenna stuck to some sort of large flat metal surface either 
inside or outside...this will in itself give a significant improvement over 
even the nagoya when operating at home.
Anything from a metal railing, to a large serving platter, to a cooky sheet, 
to a metal table, barrel, almost anything that will give you a big flat 
metal surface without any metal obstructions to the sides of the actual 
antenna whip.
A stove top, the top of the fridge, the top of a window air conditioning 
unit, many common metal surfaces will work.
You need the larger metal surface to act as a ground plain for the antenna 
to work against if you will to get the best results.
Ultimately, 19 inches out from the bass of the antenna in all directions 
works best for the VHF side of the antenna.

73
Colin, V A6BKX
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Zach Shifflett" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2013 12:31 AM
Subject: my rig, and still no call sign!


> Hi all, It's been over a week, and still no call sign!
> I waited up till 2 A.M to check the uls system after the daily
> downtime, assuming that's when the new licenses probably upload.  In
> reality, I actually have no idea if this is true, but oh well.  I'm
> like a kid on Christmas waiting on this license. lol
> So here's a description of my rig so far.
> My yl got me one of the baofeng uv5r+'s for my birthday, as I've told
> the list before.  This is what actually finally inspired me to take my
> tech test.
> I got a 7 inch Nagoya na701 to replace the stock rubber duck for
> portable operating.  This antenna is supposed to add a mile or two of
> range over the stock duck, and there were several reviews that claimed
> that it boosted repeater performance considerably.  It was only 8
> bucks, so I figured i'd just go ahead and buy it since it was that
> cheap with a 5 star review on amazon.  Maybe I'll be able to hit the
> local repeater from the upstairs porch or back yard with it.
> I also got a duel band tram 1185 mag mount for the car, along with one
> of the battery eliminators you plug into the cigarette lighter.
> The antenna was relatively cheap, only 25 bucks with the mount
> included, and I read a lot of reviews on blogs, amazon, etc. that
> claim it's pretty good.
> Here's hoping my call sign comes in soon.
> 73,
> Zach