2M Antenna Recommendations?

[MobTuff]

You wont be disappointed!

Oh and a good tip to know, you'll want to put some shrink tubing on the coil part of the antenna. There's a little cork screw in the middle and it catches on branches easily. I just bought some shrink tubing and now it never catches. I can try and take a picture later to show you what I mean.

 

[WhiteH2O]

I see what you are saying with the coil in the middle. Did you find shrink that would go over the coil and shrink enough to be tight on the antenna above and below the coil?

 

[MobTuff]

I see what you are saying with the coil in the middle. Did you find shrink that would go over the coil and shrink enough to be tight on the antenna above and below the coil?

Yeah went to the hardware store and bought a small pack with different sizes. It wrapped around it pretty well. Can't remember the specific diameter.

 

[lovetoski]

I've read this whole thread, and a couple of others, but still have a few questions. Total noob on HAM. Currently studying for my test. Will be using a Yeasu 2900R.

1. I have a roof rack with an expanded metal floor. I can easily mount an antenna in the middle of the rack. Does expanded metal provide sufficient ground plane for 1/4 and 5/8 wave antennas?

2. One of the threads I read said that 1/4 wave is best for mountains/canyons, but not great at distance. I wheel in the PNW, lots of mountains. But I also go to eastern WA, and am planning a trip on the OBCDR where it's wide open and distance would be desirable. Aside from cost, and storage, is it feasible to carry multiple antenna's to adapt to different terrain? (I am thinking like a skier...where the quiver concept is normal.)

3. Last question...given the dense trees/brush/etc on the "wet" side of the Cascades, one thought I had was to have two mounting points. One on the rear of my 60, just above the tail-light for when height is an issue. The other in the middle of the roof rack for when there's more space and distance is required. I haven't yet come across a thread where anyone did this - is it not worth it, or just a PIA, or ??

Thankyou,

 

[MobTuff]

I've heard people talk about 1/4 possibly being better for mountains and canyons due to the propagation characteristics of the radiation pattern but in my personal experience 5/8 outperforms it hands down. You also do not have to worry about a ground plane with a 5/8 antenna.

I work out in very remote locations most of the week with many hills and canyons along with another mobile vehicle. My coworker will have his little 1/4 wave antenna on his truck and I have my 5/8 antenna. We'll use both simplex and local repeaters and almost every-time he can here me but I can't hear him in challenging terrain.

You could mount both a 1/4 and 5/8ths wave and connect them back to something like this. Just seems a bit excessive. Although having more antennas is always a cool look. Seeing that you'll be using the 2900R you'll have 75 watts to hammer home that signal on the 5/8ths wave if you want (I used to run the 2900R before upgrading to the 7900R). I don't see the need to run both antennas.

As for the last question the one advantage 1/4 wave has over 5/8 is antenna length. My Larson 2/70 definitely hits branches and I have mine mounted next to the hood. I've been meaning to see if there's a spring loaded NMO mount I could adapt.

I would definitely not trade my 5/8 for a 1/4 due to the great propagation of the 5/8. It's a night and day difference between the two in most scenarios.

 

[mouse007]

Low Stealthy Antenna.

Hello good peeps,

I Recent bought this in-expensive antenna on eBay. cost me $15.96 and really for that I'm sure its not as good as a Dimond or Larsen. I just want to see what everyone's input is. I wanted something low and stealthy just for trail and convoy communication. So far, its worked fine but maybe some of you have used this and had problems. If so, what have you experienced good or bad..?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/US-Dual-Ban...d=282080735413&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

 

[lugueto]

For that location, why not mount a simple 1/4 wave antenna?

Even though you say you only need it for convoy use, range would be greatly increased with a 1/4 wave whip, and it wont be higher than the roof.

Here's a thread on Radio Reference with mixed reviews..

https://forums.radioreference.com/amateur-radio-antennas/324747-low-profile-2m-70cm-antenna.html

 

[mouse007]

For that location, why not mount a simple 1/4 wave antenna?

Even though you say you only need it for convoy use, range would be greatly increased with a 1/4 wave whip, and it wont be higher than the roof.

Here's a thread on Radio Reference with mixed reviews..

https://forums.radioreference.com/amateur-radio-antennas/324747-low-profile-2m-70cm-antenna.html

Thank you, I liked the look of the low stubby over the 1/4 whip. I have a Dimond M285S so can always put that on if I start to fade out. Honestly, for the $15.96 I paid, can't really expect pro levels. Good read on that post, thanks for shearing. I was more concerned with damaging my unit more than anything. I'll keep you all in the loop, it does look killer LOL..!!!!!

 

[DaveInDenver]

I was more concerned with damaging my unit more than anything.

I've had very little experience with those stealth antennas but the one I did have (mine was the Laird in lugueto's post) broke on my roof from a branch scraping it. My feeling is ironically that they are *less* rugged because they are rigid plastic and therefore have zero flexibility.

A short 1/4λ whip can give a little at least and the ones I converted to are super flexible, the STI-CO Flexi-whip. These things are said to be capable of being tied in knots without breaking, although that's probably a stretch they are very flexible and have a very thin NMO base that's barely bigger than the NMO itself, so there's not much to grab.

Those stealth units are designed to not scream cop car more than anything. For the most part public service has transitioned to high band UHF at 700MHz and 800MHz, so those little cans are actually full height antennas. On 70cm the compromise can be dealt with but on 2m there's next to zero efficiency.

 

[k9lestat]

mouse007 i have worked both a city and very rural county law enforcement, lol, before digital comms became the norm in my area of south Georgia. i would recommend you get a dual band 1/4 wave whip at least. that type of antenna is great for close simplex and repeater work (depending on the height of the repeater). i think in end you would be much happier with the performance in both receiving and transmitting. lol i remember at my first department having to stand on the hood of my car holding my portable in the air trying to hit the repeater on a hot call because neither the car or portable could hit the tower for ground level. i had to send a kid to the neighbors house a mile down the road at zero dark thirty to call my office from a landline. the last agency i worked for we had 900 digital system with those type of antennas. to cover the county we had 5 tall towers(repeaters) but simplex car to car was only good for 3 to 6 miles depending on terrain. hope this helps.

 

[zelatore]

I tried, I really tried, but I couldn't make it through all 19 pages of this thread.

No doubt this has been covered before but it's an always-popular topic so I suppose it's worth repeating.

I'm looking for a good tri-band spring mount antenna to pair with my FT8900. I currently have a Diamond NMO mount on a homebrew hood mount at the driver's side A-pillar. I was semi-happy with it until I got a 2nd truck and installed a cheapo Tram 1/4 wave mag on a roughly 6" square plate welded to the role cage running on a TM281. The little 1/4 wave/Kenwood blows away the fancy schmancy Yasue/Diamond combo. I suspect part of this is due to the location.

So it's time to move the antenna to the roof of the first rig. BTW, that's a Land Rover LR3, so the roof is mostly glass. I have a rack on it so I'll weld a small plate to it and mount the antenna there. The catch is I'll tear it off the first time I go to the woods if I don't have it on a spring mount. (on the other Rover I just take the mag mount off and stick it on upside down for trail work!)

Suggestions for a strong tri-band antenna that can be spring mounted to a roof rack?

 

[AgentOrange76]

It ain't gonna be pretty but....

Hi all! Been wading through a few of these threads and have a few questions. I just joined my school's HAM radio club and should be getting licensed here in the next month or so! I'm pretty stoked, we're gonna be building antennas and all sorts of stuff. I'm really wanting to put a rig in my Jeep (got a couple friends in the club, one is already licensed) and transition over from the CBs we've been running since high school. Problem is, I drive a rag top Jeep, and so I have a pretty bad platform to build off of for radios. Am I correct in reading that some wavelengths require little or no ground plane? What wavelengths are those? 5/8? 1/2? Is this what would work best with my application?

A little background. Looking to put a quality dual-band radio in the Jeep. Its a 2000 Wrangler, soft top. I'm always pulling off the doors. Not certain if that effects ground planes and such, but I'm sure it doesn't help. Wanting a setup that can crank some range out. I live in the mountains of Western North Carolina, so we're frequently talking around terrain and trees. Don't mind running a big antenna (I run a 5 ft firestik for CB) but it has to be able to take hits. I'm 5 feet wide tub to tub and am still significantly pinstriped. Looking at mounting on the fender out of the hood. Not opposed to running bumper mounted (my firestik is bolted to the rear bumper with a truck mirror mount), behind the tail lights or off the tailgate hinges.

Looking at Comet (their website is nice) 1/2 wave on 2M and 5/8 on 70cm as tall as I can get away with with as many springs options that they offer. Not opposed to other options or running multiple antennas once I get out of school and have income.

What would the best antenna/mount combination for my platform be? I realize that's a loaded question and everything is a compromise, but want to invest wisely.

Looking forward to getting on the air, expect to see me on here with more questions soon!

 

[lugueto]

If i'm not mistaken, a 5/8 antenna is a ground plane antenna and a 1/2 wave requires no ground plane.

Based on this, for your jeep, I'd go 1/2 wave.

 

[AgentOrange76]

Thank you very much! I have compiled a list of antennas from Comet and Diamond that are all 1/2 waves. Was unable to find a website for Larson. Out of this list, any favorites? Not on this list? Are they all able to take hits well or does one stand out? Would prefer black to match the radio antenna but by no means a deal breaker. Is there a preferred mounting location between front fender, tail light, tailgate hinges or bumper? looks like the club is getting us licensed in 2 weeks!

 

[tgreening]

Thank you very much! I have compiled a list of antennas from Comet and Diamond that are all 1/2 waves. Was unable to find a website for Larson. View attachment 422640

Because its Larsen.

http://pulselarsenantennas.com/