good low band antenna?

[jakegday]

hello, ive been searching for quite some time to find an antenna that will perform nicely in the 42mhz range, and i have found nothing! i was looking at antennas on ebay and i found this one, however it doesnt list a specific range, can you tell by looking at this page if this would make for a good low band antenna? if not, can you point me in the direction of one? i need it to connect to my pro 83 and 76, so a bnc "plug" is mandatory, i also need it to be magnet mounted on my car or just monuted on the scanner normally, and since this is gonna be on a scanner i dont need anything that can transmit, money does NOT matter, ill spend $30, ill spend $300, as long as i can find something that will perform awesome in the 42 mhz range, if it could include the 39mhz range that would be an added bonus, but isnt necessary by any means, thanks for your help

http://cgi.ebay.com/HUSTLER-MRM-MAG...yZ149988QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[gcgrotz]

Most "wide range" scanner antennas are poor at low band. If you are talking vehicle use, the best and easiest would be to go to RS or a CB store and get a full sized whip and bumper mount. Cut the whip to 41 MHz (234/f) which is about 68.5 inches. Include the ball and spring if you have one in that length. It will work great.

If you can't do that, look for a commercial mag-mount low band antenna that covers 41 MHz, they usually come with a cutting chart. Try Antennex or google for low band antenna.

 

[prcguy]

There are plenty of Larsen NMO-40 mobile antennas on Ebay. They can be tuned from 40 to 50MHz and the whip is about 49" long before cutting. Stick that on an NMO mag mount and you should be in good shape.
prcguy

 

[trooperdude]

There are plenty of Larsen NMO-40 mobile antennas on Ebay. They can be tuned from 40 to 50MHz and the whip is about 49" long before cutting. Stick that on an NMO mag mount and you should be in good shape.
prcguy

I second this antenna recommendation, but I like drilling holes for nmo mounts instead
of mag mounts.

Depends on your comfort level.

You may also want to incorporate a shock spring on the whip.

 

[jakegday]

http://www.radiooutfitter.com/w490b/larson/p99422.html

would this anteanna work? it says "49" in the description but im not too sure what that means, is that how tall it is?
also, whats a loading coil? is that necessary? would it help greatly?

 

[wrr20891]

It reads like this is just a replacement whip. You will still need the Larsen ( or like make) loading coil for it to work.
The loading coil (simplified) makes the antenna act as if it were a full length 1/4 wave antenna (around 66 inches at the frequency you mentioned). With the loading coil, you end up with an antenna that's around 45 inches tall, instead of 66 inches.

 

[SLWilson]

PCTEL (Antenna Specialists)

This company makes what you are looking for.

Our area has a fire department still running low band. This is the antenna they use....

http://www.maxrad.com/product_overview_detail.cgi?id_num=10948

Steve/KB8FAR

 

[jakegday]

in regards that that attached pic, what is the difference between "base loaded 1/4 wave" and "base loaded tapped 1/4 wave"? also what exactly does "dc grounded" mean?

 

[moonies]

low band antenna

I have a mag mount low band antenna made by comtelco and it does great on all my hand held scanners!! It cost about 100.00 shipped BUT it was well worth it!! I also have a hand-held portable low band antenna which is great sold by a canadian outlet.

 

[digitalanalog]

Here is a low band Motorola antenna 34-40MHz
http://electronics.search.ebay.com/...ZQQsargnZQ2d1QQsaslcZ2QQsbrftogZ1QQsofocusZbs

and here is the mount for the antenna listed above
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-MOTOROLA-VH...ryZ66977QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD4VQQcmdZViewItem

Looks well within a reasonable cost for both.
Good luck

 

[jakegday]

that first ebay link just goes to search results, not a specific item...

i went and looked around at comtelcoantennas.com and i came up with a few more questions....

http://www.comtelcoantennas.com/base_loaded.htm
on this page you'll see all of their base loaded antennas, i was wondering what the difference between "shunt fed" and "series fed" was, i notice they're basically the same prices, but have different frequency ranges.....

http://www.comtelcoantennas.com/magnet_mounts.htm
on this page you will find all of their magnet mounts, for superb low band performance, would i want to go with the "rg58a/u" cable, or the "micro loss 900"????

1 last question, how much of a difference would there be, performance wise, between a mag mount antenna, and just a regular portable antenna, both designed for low band, im guessing a big difference since theres a big price difference, but i just wanted to ask some people with more knowledge then me...

thanks so far, and in advance for all your help guys!

 

[jakegday]

well shoot, thanks for your help guys