Looking for a good mobile antenna...

[hob684]

I'm lookin to get a mobile antenna for my Pro-164 that i can put on my little Sonoma.

Mostly tryin to get LE and EMS in the 42.x-45.x, 154.x-173.x, and 450.x -460x. Not much in teh 800 range.

Not lookin to drill any new holes and under $40-$50


anyone have any good suggestions?

 

[RodStrong]

I'm lookin to get a mobile antenna for my Pro-164 that i can put on my little Sonoma. Mostly tryin to get LE and EMS in the 42.x-45.x, 154.x-173.x, and 450.x -460x. Not much in teh 800 range. Not lookin to drill any new holes and under $40-$50 anyone have any good suggestions?

Well, if you want to do a mag mount, the good ole RS mag mount scanner antenna should work.

Magnet-mount mobile scanner antenna - RadioShack.com

Or, buy a NMO mag mount and put one of several NMO mount scanner antennas on it.

Or, you could do an on glass antenna, although some might argue on glass rigs just don't pull in signals that well. There are tons of on glass antennas for sale out there, from RS to ebay. Here's a bunch on Ebay right now.

glass scanner antenna, great deals on Electronics, Business Industrial on eBay!

Or, you could do some sort of a hood lip mount NMO setup, which is what I would probably do.

3/4" NMO Style L Bracket Antenna Mount Stainless - eBay (item 220402770027 end time Sep-21-09 22:48:03 PDT)

Get a NMO mount cable and the NMO scanner antenna of your choice, and you are up and running.

Good luck.

.

 

[INDY72]

Or the Hustler MRM magmount for 29.95 free shipping from ABetterWayToBuy.net Great antenna, speciffically for VHF Lo VHF Hi and UHF,.. not too shabby on 800.... Just got mine today and its rocking so far. Though the RS magmount does have more options as far as setting it up for different configurations.

 

[chrish04]

I probley sound like a broken record when I say this but this antenna is the BEST antenna I have found.Picks up signals from very far away! Larsen NMO150/450/800 Tri-band Antenna. I saw you did not want to drill holes but on the Website link below they sell a magnetic mount for that antenna. If you choose this antenna you will not regret it. I would bet money on it, It has blown away all the other antennas that I have tried. And it's a decent price to. Get that antenna and get you a mag mount for it and you will start receiving signals you probley have not picked up before I promise you that!

http://www.cheapham.com/LAR-NMO-150-450-800.html

Here is the Mag Mount that would work with that antenna comes with a BNC connector on it already
http://www.cheapham.com/LAR-NMO-MM-BNC.html


Whatever you pick I would not get the Radio Shack Mag Antenna, I tried that one before and it wasn't any better than using the stock antenna that came with my radio, plus it's pretty long also

 

[BigC801]

I have the Larsen NMO150/450/800 also, it is much better then the RS mag mount.

 

[N2JDS]

Ref the Larsen NMO150/450/800 Tri-band Antenna
Any chance that it would still do "kinda" ok on 40mHz
My listening is 70% VHF 25% 800mHz and 5 % 40mHz

 

[N1BHH]

My Larsen works fine on just about any frequency I listen to. It depends on what you want to hear and what the terrain is like in your area.

 

[chrish04]

I second that. My Larsen does awsome on Low Band,VHF,UHF,700-800Mhz it's just a good all round great antenna.

 

[Ghost4658]

Larsen NMO150/450/800 Tri-band Antenna
Is the best I found I have 4 of them.
And you can put a shock spring on them, I have springs on all 4 of mine.

 

[Skypilot007]

My larson tri bander actually has pretty good reception down on 44-45 MHz. I can hear mobiles running simplex nearly 20 miles away. Excellent on VHF, UHF and 850MHz. No compliants here. I have mine trunk lip mounted.

 

[RadioWARE]

This one is about $75 but is worth it. You will also need an NMO mag mount to hold it.



Spectra Austin Antenna Spectra Multiband Mobile/Base Scanner Antenna

 

[CanWoodsman]

I've had good results with a Watson WSM1900 mag mount. Rated for 25 - 1900 MHz.

 

[conrad314]

My Larsen NMO150/450/800 Tri-band Antenna is dead around 40-45mhz. I bought it cause i didn't want a huge antenna but a year later i came across an Austin Spectra on Craigslist and bought it. Now i'm kicking myself for buying the Larson....The Spectra pulls in the low VHF nicely!!! By far the best antenna ive ever owned!!!

 

[W4KRR]

My Larsen NMO150/450/800 Tri-band Antenna is dead around 40-45mhz. I bought it cause i didn't want a huge antenna but a year later i came across an Austin Spectra on Craigslist and bought it. Now i'm kicking myself for buying the Larson....The Spectra pulls in the low VHF nicely!!! By far the best antenna ive ever owned!!!

I would expect the VHF low band to be better on the Spectra because it's longer, but how does the Larsen compare to the Spectra on VHF high and 800MHz? Is the Spectra better or worse than the Larsen?

 

[conrad314]

I would expect the VHF low band to be better on the Spectra because it's longer, but how does the Larsen compare to the Spectra on VHF high and 800MHz? Is the Spectra better or worse than the Larsen?

Maybe i was unclear. I listen to mainly around 42.000, 146.000, 150.000-155.000, 450.000, 735.000. Speaking for myself I like the Austin Spectra better for an all around mobile antenna. My Larson Tri-band was dead around 42.00. They are very comparable all the way up to 735.000. I might said the Larson is slightly better around 155.000 but i took it down cause they are so close. As for the 800Mhz, well i haven't really tested them. If you want to listen to a full spectrum, i would highly recommend the Ausin Spectra. If you have no interest in Low VHF...go with the Larson Tri-Band, it is great for the bands if covers.

 

[K9JLR]

The Larsen is excellent on VHF/UHF/800 MHz; no complaints and by far the best antenna that I have tried. However, if you have a significant interest in the VHF-low spectrum, I would agree that the longer antenna is going to work much better. The Larsen antennas are basically "dead" on VHF low band. I have no experience with the Austin models, but I've heard from others that they do not perfom nearly as well on the 800 MHz frequencies.

 

[mrkelso]

I like the Austin Spectra better so much that i purchased a 2nd.
Frequency Range: 30-50, 150-174, 430-512, 806-896 MHz