best antenna

[ffemt613]

So I'm on the market for a few good antennas and trying to find a decent/best one..

Does anyone know of the best all-band base antenna and the best all-band antenna to mount on a vehicle?



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[W8RMH]

From what I have read on this site the ST2 Antennacraft is the best base antenna.

The Larsen NMO150/450/800 seems to be the most popular mobile antenna.

If you require good VHF low coverage as well as UHF and 800 MHz. I recommend the Austin Spectra Mobile.

I don't recommend any certain supplier but I have been satisfied with both Scannermaster and The Antenna Farm linked above.

 

[N5TWB]

Not to dispute W8RMH as the ST2 certainly has its proponents but it has also come into question for long-term durability in the elements. Some have made DIY upgrades to address this so you might want to do a search for those threads to be fully informed. Most have found that a key element to getting the ST2 to perform is height in the clear.

Check out the higher end Diamond discone for solid construction in an all-band base station antenna. Avoid the Radio Shack discone for the same reason. However, many really like the RS 20-176 (catalog number) for VHF-Hi and UHF. BTW, I found the ST2 on the RS website and had never seen that before.

Since I have the tri-band on my vehicle, I'm in total agreement with W8RMH about the best mobile for VHF-Hi and above. It works OK for VHF-Lo but I know from experience you really need a longer antenna for better performance (TWSS, too...LOL!!!!)

 

[Rt169Radio]

I have the AntennaCraft ST2 and a Diamond D-130J discone and they both work good. The ST2 may not be really sturdy but it has lasted through all kinds of storms and its still there in one piece. It works really good on all the freqs that it covers. Now the discone is quite sturdy and works good on all bands up to 1300MHz, but it gets touchy when its used for low band.

Now I have the Larsen tri-band antenna and that too works quite good, its freq coverage is 150/450/800 but it works okay on low band too. And its from a commercial band of antennas so its built sturdy.