Which mobile antenna for PRO-2096?

geoff5093 · #1 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 03:03 PM

I recently bought a PRO-2096 on eBay which should be here within a week or so. I currently have your average $30 mag-mount RS antenna that I use for my 2055, but i'm looking for something which would give a longer range, as well as one that is more designed for the frequencies that are used on a digital scanner.

I'm not an expert by any means when it comes to antennas, so I really have no idea what to look for in buying one. I dont want a NMO mainly because I dont know how long I would keep my car (although it's at least 4 years). So i'm mainly looking for a mag-mount or glass-mounted antenna.

pappy1 · #2 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 03:50 PM

Use a NMO trunk lip mount and remove it when you trade vehicles, better than a mag mount. It is what I use for all my antennas.

geoff5093 · #3 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pappy1

Use a NMO trunk lip mount and remove it when you trade vehicles, better than a mag mount. It is what I use for all my antennas.

Would you still have to drill a hole in the trunk, or would it just mount between the trunk and body?

pappy1 · #4 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 04:17 PM

it would lip over the trunk lid and is helt with two screws. When it is removed you can not tell it was there. I have three on my trunk.
To answer your question the answer is no, no holes.

geoff5093 · #5 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 08:41 PM

Thats what I thought, but I wasnt sure because there was a misunderstanding in another thread.

What type of trunk-mount would you recommend?

pogbobo · #6 (**permalink**) 10-09-2007, 09:02 PM

you could try this:

http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...antm/1018.html

its $60 but you dont have to drill any holes period, unlike the standard L bracket mount which needs a few tiny ones under the hood ... just a suggestion

geoff5093 · #7 (**permalink**) 10-10-2007, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pogbobo

you could try this:

http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...antm/1018.html

its $60 but you dont have to drill any holes period, unlike the standard L bracket mount which needs a few tiny ones under the hood ... just a suggestion

That looks pretty interesting, so would I use any NMO-type antenna with that mount? The only thing is it has a PL-259 connector, so I assume I would need a PL-259 to BNC converter?

LEH · #8 (**permalink**) 10-10-2007, 11:08 AM

I have been using the Larsen NMO trunk lip mount with their tri-band scanner antenna. Take a look at page 100 from the following link

http://www.hamradio.com/web/newcat/hrocat9.pdf

There may be better antennae, but for what I paid, I like this. I've got three (two trunk lip on the car and a mag mount on the Explorer).

It too has a 259 on the end, but the adapter works great. Actually for the car, I cut off the 259 to run the cable from the trunk to the inside the car body, then put on a BNC connector. No problems.

Don't forget, the mount and the antenna are separate items. Nice thing about the NMO or other universal type mounts. You can mix and match. So the $60 is the mount only.

geoff5093 · #9 (**permalink**) 10-10-2007, 01:50 PM

Thanks again for the info, the only thing I can see about the trunk mount is that my trunk isn't flat like most, so i'm not sure how well it would work, or look for that matter. Heres a picture of my trunk:

Whats you're opinion on glass-mount antenna's? Or are they a lot worse then mag-mount?

garys · #10 (**permalink**) 10-10-2007, 02:26 PM

Glass mounted antennas seem to be the worst of the lot. Personally, I don't like mag mounts, but I know people who swear by them. The big problem with them seems to be cable failure and that translates into a shorter life span than with trunk or hole mounted antennas. Still, I would use that in preference to a glass mount. Look at the Hustler MRM antenna. http://www.universal-radio.com/catal...ants/1581.html

Reception is good and you can buy a replacement mount if you need to.

Gary

BaLa · #11 (**permalink**) 10-10-2007, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geoff5093

i'm looking for something which would give a longer range, as well as one that is more designed for the frequencies that are used on a digital scanner.

What frequencies are you monitoring?
If you use a magmount, I would remove it frequently and clean underneath the magnet.

I had a small spot of rust on my last car (01 Mazda Protege), from a magmount.
It was not easily noticeable.

Anyways, since then I have a good luck with NMO Trunklip Mounts as well.
I have
3 5/8 Wave Antennas.
VHF, UHF, and 800.

K8PBX · #12 (**permalink**) 10-10-2007, 06:40 PM

Mag mounts, over time, will scratch the surface of your car and glass mounts generally perform poorly. I'd suggest using an adjustable trunk lip mount, NMO style. It'll allow you to angle the antenna straight to compensate for the slope of your trunk and the NMO style mount will afford you a lot of flexibility for trying different antennas. A seller on eBay has some listed right now for $19.95 and, depending on your location, probably about $6 or less for shipping. Link HERE.

K8PBX · #13 (**permalink**) 10-10-2007, 07:15 PM

As far as what antenna to use, although you haven't said what frequencies you plan to primarily listen to, in my opinion a good middle of the road choice would be a Maxrad MAXSCAN1000 150-450-800 Mhz Unity Gain Scanner Antenna. It's only 15" high and can be had for about $30 or so. If you Google the model number you'll find many places to buy, including eBay. More info HERE.

geoff5093 · #14 (**permalink**) 10-10-2007, 09:51 PM

Thanks for your help so far guys, I just bought the trunk-mount on eBay for $26 shipped, seems like a great deal. So will any NMO-type antenna work with it?

As for the frequencies, it will mainly be for the 150 and 450 band.

K8PBX · #15 (**permalink**) 10-10-2007, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geoff5093

... will any NMO-type antenna work with it?

Yes, any NMO type antenna will fit that mount.

Quote:

Originally Posted by geoff5093

... As for the frequencies, it will mainly be for the 150 and 450 band.

The MAXSCAN1000 should work fine. You can find higher gain antennas, but they'll be much bigger. I'm assuming you want something sort of low-profile on a slick looking car like that.

geoff5093 · #16 (**permalink**) 10-11-2007, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by K8PBX

Yes, any NMO type antenna will fit that mount.

The MAXSCAN1000 should work fine. You can find higher gain antennas, but they'll be much bigger. I'm assuming you want something sort of low-profile on a slick looking car like that.

Thanks, I will look into that antenna. But when it shows the frequency range, is that only showing what it's best for, or can it not pick up any frequency out of those ranges?

LEH · #17 (**permalink**) 10-11-2007, 12:57 PM

You can pick up frequencies out of the range. The range are those frequencies that the antenna will work best in. It is possible to pick up most frequencies with any antenna, but reception won't necessarily be that great. This is especially true for a higher frequency antenna trying to pick up lower freqs, like an 800 MHz trying to receive VHF-LO.

Basically, there are some formulae you can use to calculate antenna lengths and such. For example in the good old CB days, a 102 inch antenna was a 'full wave' . A 'quarter wave' would be about 25 inches.

Learn lots more in the antenna wiki.

geoff5093 · #18 (**permalink**) 10-11-2007, 01:04 PM

I'll read over the wiki in the next few weeks, haha

I found the antenna posted above for $30, but the shipping was $12 so I though i'd hold off on it for a bit. I currently have a mag-mount 26", so any antenna that size or a bit smaller would be fine.

K8PBX · #19 (**permalink**) 10-11-2007, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geoff5093

... I found the antenna posted above for $30, but the shipping was $12 so I though i'd hold off on it for a bit...

FYI... R&L Electronics has the MAXSCAN1000 antenna for $19.95 LINK HERE.

geoff5093 · #20 (**permalink**) 10-11-2007, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by K8PBX

FYI... R&L Electronics has the MAXSCAN1000 antenna for $19.95 LINK HERE.

Do you recommend that scanner? Because looking here it didn't seem like the best performing antenna: http://www.socaltvradio.com/intercept/antennas.htm

But I guess when you factor in price, height, etc, it's probably a good deal.