whats a good source of quality USA NMO mounts and cable?

[dizwiz]

Im looking to buy a high quality NMO mount and cable to connect to the BNC connector on my scanner.

Does anyone know of a company that sells only the high quality stuff?

This would be for use in my car.I need 9 feet (min) of cable.

Ive heard some of the NMO mounts, and especially the cable, are made overseas with inferior quality (high resistance) materials.I want to avoid these.

Also, do you recommend I find one terminated in BNC or use a different connector (ex. RCA) but then use an adaptor to get it to BNC?

Any help is appreciated.

[lep]

I got my last two mobile NMO mounts and antennas from my local MOT service shop and let them drill the rear quarter panel holes and do the mounting They have the right tools and skill set to do the job quickly and neatly.

[n9mxq]

Always use the connector intended for the radio without adapters. Adding adapters, adds loss, and therefore reduces signal strength going to the receiver.

Larsen makes good NMO setups, and as lep stated, Motorola is never a bad choice. But for what your application is I would think just about any NMO with a name brand on it would be fine.

[W2NJS]

Originally Posted by lep

I got my last two mobile NMO mounts and antennas from my local MOT service shop and let them drill the rear quarter panel holes and do the mounting They have the right tools and skill set to do the job quickly and neatly.

I strongly second that suggestion. In addition, I've been told by someone who should know that the Motorola coax furnished with the NMO mount is very high quality double-shielded stuff.

[cabletech]

go hamradiooutlet.com, they have just about any setup you wish. besides Motorola, go to any of your local radio shops and they will also have quaility cable kits, most do use the Larson/Pulse brand.

[KYQ1952]

TESSCO - Wireless & Mobile Communications Products: Antennas, Cable, Towers, Test Equipment, Tools, Mobile Phone Accessories -- Commercial stuff and non of that CB quality junk!

[Rt169Radio]

The Larsen brand makes good mounts and antennas.

[mmckenna]

Another vote for Larsen. I've been using their stuff for 20 years now without an issue. If you are concerned about cable loss, then either use the dual shield RG-58, or pay a bit more to get one of the higher grade cables with the mount. I've used mounts with LMR240 before with good results. The cable is more stiff and a bit harder to run, but its less loss than RG-58. The stuff you really need to steer clear of is the cut rate mounts that some of the "discount" ham radio shops sell. Their coax is the cheap stuff you are concerned about, and some of the mounts are really not well made. A Larsen NMO mount with good cable is going to run under $20 bucks, maybe a bit more for the higher grade cables.

And for Pete's sake, don't do a mag mount! If you really want the install to look good and perform well, then avert your eyes and have someone drill the hole. Nothing looks more whackerish than mag mounts!

Also, like others have said, unless you have the specific tools to do this yourself and are really comfortable with this sort of work, you'll save a lot of grief by having a local radio shop do the install for you. Drilling the hole is best done with the specifically designed hole saw or chassis punch. You'd spend $20+ on purchasing that. Routing the cable, while not impossible on your own, does take some skill and tricks that a shop will have. Having the connector installed on the end with the proper crimping tool will give you good results. For the cost, they should check the install to make sure its all up to snuff.
While not impossible to do that on your own, they'll do it faster, likely cheaper or darn close to it, and will save you a lot of work, busted knuckles, sore back and frustration.

[dizwiz]

What about this one?

PCTEL Maxrad NMO58UBN 0-960 MHZ, 3/4" Brass Mt, BNC | TESSCO

It says PCTEL MAXRADD is the brand.

The reason why Im thinking about this one is because it has BNC connector already crimped to it (the Larsen ones dont have BNC connector already on it. Im not good at crimping these things).


Next. I see there is RG-58 stranded copper core and RG58U solid copper core. Which is best for me? Does it matter? I just want to listen to local public safety forces on VHF / UHF and 800 MHZ when mobile.

Also, does it really matter whether I get it in brass, stainless steel, zinc plated, etc. Many choices!

[mmckenna]

That would be fine. One thing to remember about Tessco is that their normal pricing isn't that good, you'd likely find a better price elsewhere. I have gold pricing through Tessco, and the price is $11.47, so you would be really getting hosed if you paid the list price on that. Second thing is that Tessco has a $50 minimum order, or you will pay a surcharge on top. More hosage.

The brass, zinc and stainless steel doesn't make that much difference unless you are really close to the ocean or other corrosive atmosphere. The brass will work fine for you with a little bit of maintenance, which you should be doing with NMO mounts anyway. Stainless gives you some advantages and some additional costs.

The pre-attached BNC connector can be a real pain in the butt when you are installing this. If you have to run the cable through any tight locations or through a firewall, you've now got a big BNC connector on the end to deal with. Having just the cable itself to run makes installation easier in some instances. You might not have a problem at all with this.
One thing you can do is look for the mounts with a pre-installed FME type connector on the end. They are smaller and will route easier. When you get it all installed, you simply thread a special BNC adapter on the end. The FME to BNC adapter will cost you a few bucks. Ideally, you want to avoid additional adapters, but as adapters go, the FME models are quite low profile and are not as bad as having stacked adapters.

As for the cable, RG-58 stranded center conductor will have slightly more loss in the cable run, but will be more flexible. More flexibility leads to easier installation, tighter bend radius, and less chance of the center conductor migrating through the center dielectric (insulation) and causing issues. The solid center conductor RG-58 will have less loss, but be stiffer and harder to run.

Sounds like you are not interested in having a shop do the installation, so here is what I'd recommend:
If you purchase through Tessco, you will pay more. You'll also have to deal with the $50 minimum surcharge.
Instead, check on HRO (Ham Radio Outlet - World's Largest Supplier of Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) Equipment. Sales, Supplies, and Service.) or AES and just purchase what you need. Get the brass NMO mount with the stranded center conductor RG-58 with the FME connector on the end, this will ease installation. Purchase the FME to BNC adapter and be done with it. For a scanner install, don't get too hung up on the feed line losses. You won't notice a few tenths of a dB difference in your install.

Down the road, make sure you remove the antenna from the NMO mount periodically and check for any corrosion underneath. Clean the mating surfaces and make sure the seals and O-rings are in good shape.
When you run the cable, be very careful to keep it away from sharp edges and don't let it get pinched or bent to the point of getting a kink in the cable. If you do use a mag mount, trunk lip mount or an "L" bracket from the side of the trunk or hood, be real careful about where the cable runs through pinch points.

[mikepdx]

Just about every brand and flavor of NMO mounts here:

http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalo...a98f02fe0672e8

[LtDoc]

NMO mounts are very commonly available from a number of places. Not all of them, but most of them are certainly adequate, of good quality. Most of the mounts that I've gotten have had something like 18 feet of feed line attached. That 18 feet isn't some kind of radio 'magic' number, it's just a practical length for most mobile installations. At that length almost any coax will work just fine, even on UHF. There's so much 'myth' with the amount of shielding of coax cable that it's amazing sometimes. Double shielding, triple shielding, silver, gold plating, who knows what else, and most of it is never necessary and seldom of any benefit. If it makes you feel better, have at it. If not, then don't worry about it.
I would try to stay with name brands for any/all 'parts' of a system, that's just common sense...
- 'Doc

[n9mxq]

Ohhh a few new sources I didn't know about.. Cool...

[cdnsnipe]

I ordered this one for use with the Larsen Tri Band from R And L:

LARSEN NMOMMR200SMA R L Electronics

[Redneck0410]

Originally Posted by dizwiz

What about this one?

PCTEL Maxrad NMO58UBN 0-960 MHZ, 3/4" Brass Mt, BNC | TESSCO

It says PCTEL MAXRADD is the brand.

The reason why Im thinking about this one is because it has BNC connector already crimped to it (the Larsen ones dont have BNC connector already on it. Im not good at crimping these things).


Next. I see there is RG-58 stranded copper core and RG58U solid copper core. Which is best for me? Does it matter? I just want to listen to local public safety forces on VHF / UHF and 800 MHZ when mobile.

Also, does it really matter whether I get it in brass, stainless steel, zinc plated, etc. Many choices!

I just bought an NMO mount with no connector on it, and crimping a BNC or your connector of choice is a thing of the past, thanks to RatShack. I'm not a fan of their products by no means, but I found what I needed here Solderless Male BNC Plug : BNC Plugs | RadioShack.com All you need with this is a flathead jeweler's screwdriver, a pair of wire strippers, and you're in business. I'm not saying it's THE way to go, but if you ever decide to use the mount for a transmit antenna which takes a different connector, all you have to do is pull the connector and put another one on... easy as pie! The mount you list in the link above looks exactly like the one I just bought. As long as you use the O-rings that come with whatever product you have, you shouldn't have a problem at all with water intrusion. I have this antenna Maxrad BMAXSCAN1000 [BMAXSCAN1000] - $29.95 : The Antenna Farm :: , Your Two Way Radio Source! I did not purchase this antenna from the retailer listed here, I got this one locally. Although it is a unity gain antenna I am catching signals 30-40 miles away no problem. As far as which one is superior to another one, I would say it's all about personal preference and aesthetics. You can see my setup here 2000 Blazer I decided on the fender mount for the time being until I am able to acquire more resources to put an antenna on the roof. Good luck and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

-Shawn

[mmckenna]

Nice job on the blazer.

those radio shack connectors are OK, not great, but for the do it yourselfer, they certainly work. I found one of those on a 100 watt Kenwood VHF mobile in a fire truck. They decided they could install it themselves. I offered to change it out, but I didn't have the right one with me. It's still going and working OK.
Big danger with them is over tightening the set screw. It would be easy to do.
But, Hey, if it works it works, and there isn't anything wrong with doing it yourself with what you can. If you are happy with it, then that is all that really counts. I love to see when guys do these installs on their own trucks. It's not easy to do the first time, and your's turned out nice.

On the flip side, if anyone is out my way, I'm always happy to crimp connectors on free of charge!

[Redneck0410]

Originally Posted by mmckenna

Nice job on the blazer.

those radio shack connectors are OK, not great, but for the do it yourselfer, they certainly work. I found one of those on a 100 watt Kenwood VHF mobile in a fire truck. They decided they could install it themselves. I offered to change it out, but I didn't have the right one with me. It's still going and working OK.
Big danger with them is over tightening the set screw. It would be easy to do.
But, Hey, if it works it works, and there isn't anything wrong with doing it yourself with what you can. If you are happy with it, then that is all that really counts. I love to see when guys do these installs on their own trucks. It's not easy to do the first time, and your's turned out nice.

On the flip side, if anyone is out my way, I'm always happy to crimp connectors on free of charge!

I originally purchased that connector to use on another antenna I had on the roof for my BCT15X but I had less than ideal results with it, as I couldn't even hardly recieve my local TRS (Tower is a mile and a half from my apartment). After diagnosing whether my radio went bad (I knew it wasn't to begin with, but doesn't hurt to double check) I decided on a different antenna altogether, which led me to the one you see now. Everything comes in crystal clear now, so I'm a happy camper.

[mmckenna]

Good deal. External antennas really make a huge difference. I wish our PD would understand that using the portable in the car instead of the mobile, then complaining to me because the radio system "sounds like crap", is not a useful way to utilize my time. Hurts to see people having their hand held sitting down in a cup holder cursing the poor radio coverage.

[Redneck0410]

Originally Posted by mmckenna

Good deal. External antennas really make a huge difference. I wish our PD would understand that using the portable in the car instead of the mobile, then complaining to me because the radio system "sounds like crap", is not a useful way to utilize my time. Hurts to see people having their hand held sitting down in a cup holder cursing the poor radio coverage.

Too many times I've seen episodes of COPS where the officers use their portables to talk. I get the Jackie Chan face like WTH are you doing!? And they wonder why their radios sound like junk.