Difference in reception from mag mount to roof mount

I am finally going to pull the plug and do a roof mount for my radio instead of using the magmount on my F150. How much of an increase in reception could I expect if any? I am using a yaesu ft-270r for a radio.

If it will be in the same location as the mag mount, I doubt there will be any difference.

Antenna Location Can Mean A Lot...

"STEVE 392"...

I thought this link might be interesting to you.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/11/6f/c4/116fc4228879423338e093ff7e645876--amateur-radio-sun-roof.jpg

73's to y'all

BaoFeng Blogger

BaoFeng_Blogger said:

"STEVE 392"...

I thought this link might be interesting to you.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/11/6f/c4/116fc4228879423338e093ff7e645876--amateur-radio-sun-roof.jpg

73's to y'all

BaoFeng Blogger

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Those are losses at 800MHz. I wonder how that translates to 144-148MHz, which is where the OP's radio lives.

I have done the same over the years of being a ham for 29 years going from mag mount to drilling a hole and the only thing i really seen change was the dead spots and nulls around town you will get a better ground and acting ground plane hope that help you.....

belvdr said:

Those are losses at 800MHz. I wonder how that translates to 144-148MHz, which is where the OP's radio lives.

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The losses at VHF will be less, however the comparison between a mag-mount and a permanent mount will be the same. In other words, you'll see a 0.2dB improvement by going to the permanent mount alone.
0.2dB is unlikely to be noticeable on it's own.

Where you may see a better improvement….
-less coaxial cable to reach your radio since cable run can be more direct. No more running across the roof, through a window/door to your radio.
-less chance of damage to the coaxial cable. Cable getting pinched in windows/doors throws off the characteristic impedance of the cable. Damaged coaxial jacket will let water in and the corrosion becomes an issue.
-Proper grounding can make it easier to lower SWR. Lower SWR means more power gets radiated by the antenna. It can also reduce noise.


So, on it's own, installing the permanent NMO isn't going to result in a noticeable improvement. It's all the other changes that add up.

And then there's the pure aesthetics of it. Big difference in looks between a mag mount with the coax run across the roof and through a window and a professional looking install.

Unless it's not a concern for you, consider the affect of a hole in the roof on your F-150's resale value.

belvdr said:

If it will be in the same location as the mag mount, I doubt there will be any difference.

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I never noticed much of a difference, but transmit will be improved.

bob550 said:

Unless it's not a concern for you, consider the affect of a hole in the roof on your F-150's resale value.

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Zero impact on mine. 2 NMO mounts on the roof. I remove the whips and put on rain caps. I traded in the truck and got more than I was expecting for it because I'd put a lot of effort into looking after it and keeping it clean. Never at any point was their any word about the NMO mounts. It was a white 2011 F150, the rain caps were black. Not like they were hiding. In fact, rather than the truck going to a broker to be sold it stayed on their lot and was sold directly by them. I saw it a few weeks later, still had the black NMO rain caps on the roof.
I've had several family members trade in cars, trucks and SUV's with NMO mounts, no issues. Same with lease vehicles, no issues. Often they end up going to a broker, who buys them sight unseen and resells them to other dealers that want the specific models.

A properly installed NMO mount will not leak. If the buyer is concerned, put a rain cap on their, or get an old 800MHz antenna and tell them it for improving cell phone service. Or, just keep the truck and run the wheels off it.

I've never heard of the resale value of a vehicle being impacted by a properly installed antenna mount.

bob550 said:

Unless it's not a concern for you, consider the affect of a hole in the roof on your F-150's resale value.

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It has no affect. I've traded in 8 vehicles with rubber plugs in NMO holes. They were never mentioned or asked about.

bob550 said:

Unless it's not a concern for you, consider the affect of a hole in the roof on your F-150's resale value.

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What depreciates the car more - an NMO hole than can be capped and look like a factory GPS antenna? Or a scratched up roof from 5 years of mag mounts going on and off?

It would be +$75 in my case,

Just today I was following a personal pick up truck with what appeared to be an NMO-27B on top. I was very pleased!

bob550 said:

Unless it's not a concern for you, consider the affect of a hole in the roof on your F-150's resale value.

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STEVE392 said:

I am finally going to pull the plug and do a roof mount for my radio instead of using the magmount on my F150. How much of an increase in reception could I expect if any? I am using a yaesu ft-270r for a radio.

Click to expand...

I have 3 different mag mounts. They each have their own sets of pros and cons. Get an antenna tuned for the frequencies of interest with low loss coax and it won't matter how it's mounted.

I'm not worried about resale value. It was a lease that i bought out. Im just sick of the mount banging and constantly getting knocked off the roof, falling over the side doors and scratching the paint. I also want to get the wires out of hte door jam. It got pinched once and i kinda fixed it but im sick of trying to make sure they stay put whenever i get my son from the back. Permanent mount would allow me to route wires under the headliner and down the a pillar to the radio. With a proclip or panavise mount it will clean it up and open up my other cup holder lol

gmclam said:

I have 3 different mag mounts. They each have their own sets of pros and cons. Get an antenna tuned for the frequencies of interest with low loss coax and it won't matter how it's mounted.

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I have this antenna https://dpdproductions.com/collecti...s/products/traintenna-5-8-wave-mobile-antenna on my roof. The 17 feet of cable is annoying as I use maybe 8 feet of it, rest is coiled up under my floor mat.

The permanent NMO mount will provide a better ground plane for the antenna. The mount will also be grounded to the metal, this happens when you tighten the collar and the teeth "bite" into the underside. I think all and all you'll notice a difference out on the fringes. Also, don't worry about resale value, they don't care.

Eventually mag mounts will be a thing of the past with aluminum bodies, unless you're going to fab a steel plate above the headliner, or some other mod. A drilled in antenna mount is a happy antenna mount... and doesn't scratch the heck out of your paint.

12dbsinad said:

The permanent NMO mount will provide a better ground plane for the antenna. The mount will also be grounded to the metal, this happens when you tighten the collar and the teeth "bite" into the underside. I think all and all you'll notice a difference out on the fringes. Also, don't worry about resale value, they don't care.

Eventually mag mounts will be a thing of the past with aluminum bodies, unless you're going to fab a steel plate above the headliner, or some other mod. A drilled in antenna mount is a happy antenna mount... and doesn't scratch the heck out of your paint.

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Not worried about resale value. I put on 65k miles on my truck in 3 years, im already upside down on my loan vs value, lol. So i'll be driving this f150 till it falls apart or i win the lottery.


Off topic question, i tried searching but didn't see anything that could help. Will cellphone towers affect radio reception if you are within like 50 feet of the tower?

STEVE392 said:

Off topic question, i tried searching but didn't see anything that could help. Will cellphone towers affect radio reception if you are within like 50 feet of the tower?

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They can. Even on different bands, a strong signal from a cellular base station can easily overwhelm the receiver.

Think of being at a party. You are trying to listen to someone across the room who is talking quietly. Meantime there's a big guy who's had to much to drink talking really loud next to you. Makes it hard to hear the weaker signal.

STEVE392 said:

Not worried about resale value. I put on 65k miles on my truck in 3 years, im already upside down on my loan vs value, lol. So i'll be driving this f150 till it falls apart or i win the lottery.

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I hear ya.. welcome to vehicle ownership. The worst investment you'll probably ever make, depreciation on a vehicle is just astonishing.

STEVE392 said:

Off topic question, i tried searching but didn't see anything that could help. Will cellphone towers affect radio reception if you are within like 50 feet of the tower?

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It all depends on the frequency band. Typically, it usually isn't a issue on VHF. However, at only 50 feet anything is possible. A lot of cell sites use POE (power over ethernet) with what they call remote radio heads. Basically, the RF equipment is actually part of the antenna up on the tower to cut coax loss and number of feeds. POE can sometimes generate RFI garbage on lower bands depending on the quality of the units. It's really hard to determine weather one tower or another will interfere, given so many variables, what band, and what's on the site for equipment, and also the quality of your own equipment.

12dbsinad said:

I hear ya.. welcome to vehicle ownership. The worst investment you'll probably ever make, depreciation on a vehicle is just astonishing.




It all depends on the frequency band. Typically, it usually isn't a issue on VHF. However, at only 50 feet anything is possible. A lot of cell sites use POE (power over ethernet) with what they call remote radio heads. Basically, the RF equipment is actually part of the antenna up on the tower to cut coax loss and number of feeds. POE can sometimes generate RFI garbage on lower bands depending on the quality of the units. It's really hard to determine weather one tower or another will interfere, given so many variables, what band, and what's on the site for equipment, and also the quality of your own equipment.

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Thanks. I only asked since I go out railfanning i go to this one spot that is right next to a rather new cell tower. Ever since it was hooked up about 5 years ago (it had sat unused for years) radio reception where I go is horrible. Even with a perfect line of sight down the tracks, you can't hear anything outside of 2 miles away. I used to sit here before the tower and here on some days upwards of 50 plus miles to the north. Now just 2 miles if im lucky. Maybe its just coincidence.