Handheld antenna question.

[ebg18t]

Pardon my basic question. If I have a handheld 2m/70 radio and use it every so often in the truck, would I get get better transmission/receive if I had it pluged into a roof mounted antenna on the truck? I know it is only 5w, but trying to make the most of it..

Thanks.

 

[craig333]

Yes, quite a bit better.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Your antenna makes all the difference. In the case of an HT there will be a major improvement moving it outside the cabin and higher up.

 

[tanglefoot]

Absolutely! Even a magnetic-mount 1/4 wave stuck to the outside (that's what I use) is a much better radiator than a radio-mounted antenna inside.

 

[ebg18t]

thanks guys. I guess i will look at some of the options and find one i can mount on my baja rack directly. this will keep it as high as possible.

 

[ki4iwd]

browning makes a dual band antenna that would be perfect for your radio. it has a nmo mount so it can be roof mounted or used with a magnet mount. i have one mounted on my trailblazer and it works great with my moble

 

[rambrush]

I get 50+ miles out of the 5 watts with a mag mount antenna, a speaker mike also comes into play to make your life much easier..

 

[BigJimCruising]

Antenna antenna antenna, altitude altitude altitude!!!! Mix and match at your will, sure to work!! Power is primarily used to compensate for either or both!!

 

[ebg18t]

I was looking at the Diamond Antenna NR770HB Dualband VHF/UHF Mobile Antenna since it folds over which is nice when not in use. Also the Diamond Antenna K540 Mobile Antenna Mount would fit my BajaRack. Seems like the diamond reviews are decent.

 

[Jr_Explorer]

Yeah. 5w and a clear shot at a repeater is all you need. The external (roof mounted) antenna gets you nice and vertical and outside the partial faraday cage known as your truck cab.

 

[BigJimCruising]

I would recommend against the Diamond and Comet antennas if you do much off roading. Everyone of them I've used in the past has failed. Mostly at the base section where is goes from metal to plastic. For off roading I'd go with the Larsen dual band antenna (the one with the open coil on the whip section if you can find it).

 

[theksmith]

I was looking at the Diamond Antenna NR770HB Dualband VHF/UHF Mobile Antenna since it folds over which is nice when not in use. Also the Diamond Antenna K540 Mobile Antenna Mount would fit my BajaRack. Seems like the diamond reviews are decent.

diamond and comet are the top tier ham radio antenna companies, i've been impressed with the diamond stuff so far. i've broken multiple whip style stainless CB antennas but never hurt my diamond 39" NR770HB, which is all metal.

for mounts, you might also consider the K9000LRM. it folds over for you electronically. the bottom of this page talks about how it has a 2 fail-safes to let it "give" if you hit something instead of stripping the gears or getting ripped off: http://www.expeditionexchange.com/diamondantenna/

 

[Jr_Explorer]

I would recommend against the Diamond and Comet antennas if you do much off roading.

I had a Comet SBB-224 tri-band'er mounted to an NMO mount on the aluminum roof of my ARE shell. Went to Vegas and remember to fold it down prior to going into the parking structure. Drove around the next day and didn't realize it had popped back up and locked. Pulled into the parking structure and ripped the NMO mount right out of the roof. The antenna was fine and suffered no damage. Just one users experience.

 

[BigJimCruising]

I had a Comet SBB-224 tri-band'er mounted to an NMO mount on the aluminum roof of my ARE shell. Went to Vegas and remember to fold it down prior to going into the parking structure. Drove around the next day and didn't realize it had popped back up and locked. Pulled into the parking structure and ripped the NMO mount right out of the roof. The antenna was fine and suffered no damage. Just one users experience.

Not sure why you quoted me in your reply but if you had been using the Larsen as I recommend you wouldn't have had any problem either with the antenna or the NMO mount. None the less as I said before if you do any serious off roading I still recommend the Larsens. Diamond and Comet are way overpriced with no improvement in signal quality. Save your money and your roof and go with the Larsen.