Help Choosing An Antenna (SDS-100 - Vehicle)

[BroadOne]

Hey, so I've been stumbling around trying to figure everything out so far. I've set up lists for my area, made note of what I've been hearing, as well as the frequencies. The signal tends to cut out a lot though and I wanted to look into setting up an antenna to perhaps give a better signal. From looking at various other posts, I've seen people ask 1. What is your use? and 2. What are you trying to scan for. Which tells me that the antenna has to do more with what I want to scan, rather than the radio if I understand that correctly. All of that being said. Here are some frequency examples of what I've been listening to. I've included the lowest one, as well as the highest one, to give an idea.

• 118 ATC Tower
• 124 Ground Operations
• 453 (Far) City Police
• 460 Sheriff Office
• 856 (Close) Local Police

Which if I understand my own learning correctly (please correct me if wrong), then I'd be looking for a HF, VHF, and UHF range.

I've been trying to look for options, but I feel a bit lost. I did come across these two -

BNC Magnetic Mount Antenna

Works with all mobile scanners JBC290M Magnet Mount with BNC Connection

bearcatwarehouse.com

BNC Glass Mount Scanner Antenna

Glass mount antenna from uniden Scanners

bearcatwarehouse.com

Which seems like it advertises the range I need. My primary monitoring is air traffic and emergency services as you can tell as well as I'll be in a vehicle most of the time, so a vehicle/roof mount is preferred. Anyways, still figuring things out and learning, any help is appreciated.

 

[BroadOne]

Hey, so I've been stumbling around trying to figure everything out so far. I've set up lists for my area, made note of what I've been hearing, as well as the frequencies. The signal tends to cut out a lot though and I wanted to look into setting up an antenna to perhaps give a better signal. From looking at various other posts, I've seen people ask 1. What is your use? and 2. What are you trying to scan for. Which tells me that the antenna has to do more with what I want to scan, rather than the radio if I understand that correctly. All of that being said. Here are some frequency examples of what I've been listening to. I've included the lowest one, as well as the highest one, to give an idea.

• 118 ATC Tower
• 124 Ground Operations
• 453 (Far) City Police
• 460 Sheriff Office
• 856 (Close) Local Police

Which if I understand my own learning correctly (please correct me if wrong), then I'd be looking for a HF, VHF, and UHF range.

I've been trying to look for options, but I feel a bit lost. I did come across these two -

BNC Magnetic Mount Antenna

Works with all mobile scanners JBC290M Magnet Mount with BNC Connection

bearcatwarehouse.com

BNC Glass Mount Scanner Antenna

Glass mount antenna from uniden Scanners

bearcatwarehouse.com

Which seems like it advertises the range I need. My primary monitoring is air traffic and emergency services as you can tell as well as I'll be in a vehicle most of the time, so a vehicle/roof mount is preferred. Anyways, still figuring things out and learning, any help is appreciated.

Should note, I also found this:

Skyscan Mobile Scanner Antenna | Moonraker

Need a mobile scanner antenna that gets great reception? The Skyscan will increase the reception capabilities of any radio scanner. See more here!

moonrakeronline.com

 

[trentbob]

This is what I use, you can use a magnetic mount, a lip mount or drill a hole. Best location is the center of the roof or Center of the trunk.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Standing by for the "drill the dang hole" comments

 

[mmckenna]

The Larsen Trentbob mentioned is a good option. I'm using one of those connected to a multiband radio in my office.
On the work truck, I'm using an EM Wave multiband antenna that has been working quite well:

EM Wave EM-M43002 - Triple Band Mobile Antennas

Tri-Band 150-162/450-490/763-870 MHz IP67 Rated Roof Mount Antenna

theantennafarm.com

Either antenna would be fine for what you are doing.

The antenna is the most important part of your setup, so don't look for the cheapest solution you can find. Avoid the Cheap Chinese brands, stick with established manufacturers. A good antenna should easily outlast your vehicle.

And then pay close attention to the mounting.
If you want the antenna to work well, you want it out in the open. Center of the vehicle roof is best, center of trunk lid is #2. Everything else is some level of compromise.
Usually the "easy" installation mounts/locations are going to be compromises and will have some impact on performance. If you are putting all this effort into figuring out what you need, don't cut corners. Do it right.

And, yes, drilling a hole and doing a proper antenna install is a good idea. There's a good reason that police cars, fire trucks and ambulances are not running around with mag mount antennas with coaxial cable run through the door….

 

[BroadOne]

The Larsen Trentbob mentioned is a good option. I'm using one of those connected to a multiband radio in my office.
On the work truck, I'm using an EM Wave multiband antenna that has been working quite well:

EM Wave EM-M43002 - Triple Band Mobile Antennas

Tri-Band 150-162/450-490/763-870 MHz IP67 Rated Roof Mount Antenna

theantennafarm.com

Either antenna would be fine for what you are doing.

The antenna is the most important part of your setup, so don't look for the cheapest solution you can find. Avoid the Cheap Chinese brands, stick with established manufacturers. A good antenna should easily outlast your vehicle.

And then pay close attention to the mounting.
If you want the antenna to work well, you want it out in the open. Center of the vehicle roof is best, center of trunk lid is #2. Everything else is some level of compromise.
Usually the "easy" installation mounts/locations are going to be compromises and will have some impact on performance. If you are putting all this effort into figuring out what you need, don't cut corners. Do it right.

And, yes, drilling a hole and doing a proper antenna install is a good idea. There's a good reason that police cars, fire trucks and ambulances are not running around with mag mount antennas with coaxial cable run through the door….

Understood, and as for the antennas. I see that the range isn't all the way to 120 etc. But it's listed at around 140/150 upwards for those antenna. And then 450/490 and 763/870. This doesn't necessarily mean it's not going to pick up 120 and 350 up, but rather, it doesn't excell in those areas outside listing right?

 

[trentbob]

Standing by for the "drill the dang hole" comments

Believe me I thought about it😁.

 

[mmckenna]

Standing by for the "drill the dang hole" comments

"Will drill holes for beer"

Oh, and Look at that down there vvvv

 

[mmckenna]

Understood, and as for the antennas. I see that the range isn't all the way to 120 etc. But it's listed at around 140/150 upwards for those antenna. And then 450/490 and 763/870. This doesn't necessarily mean it's not going to pick up 120 and 350 up, but rather, it doesn't excell in those areas outside listing right?

Right, it won't work as well as an antenna specifically tuned for those frequencies, but it will work.

There's compromises, and getting an antenna that covers everything is difficult. Sometimes you gotta shoot for the center, and be happy you hit the target.

 

[trentbob]

Understood, and as for the antennas. I see that the range isn't all the way to 120 etc. But it's listed at around 140/150 upwards for those antenna. And then 450/490 and 763/870. This doesn't necessarily mean it's not going to pick up 120 and 350 up, but rather, it doesn't excell in those areas outside listing right?

Speaking for only the Larson which I'm familiar with and been using forever when it had the different model that did not include the spring or heavy duty mount, but was still NMO.. you are listening only, the Larson will work just fine, even listening to 2 m ham radio. It does include the 500 MHz T band also and aviation both civilian and military will work okay.

The Larson is designed for public service vehicles and has been paired with the Motorola apx 8500 which is a tri-band Public Service radio.

If you're listening with your 100 there's a lot of latitude there for coverage and will work best with proper placement and a good grounding to your vehicle which means......... drill a hole😉.

 

[BroadOne]

Speaking for only the Larson which I'm familiar with and been using forever when it had the different model that did not include the spring or heavy duty mount, but was still NMO.. you are listening only, the Larson will work just fine, even listening to 2 m ham radio. It does include the 500 MHz T band also and aviation both civilian and military will work okay.

The Larson is designed for public service vehicles and has been paired with the Motorola apx 8500 which is a tri-band Public Service radio.

If you're listening with your 100 there's a lot of latitude there for coverage and will work best with proper placement and a good grounding to your vehicle which means......... drill a hole😉.

Got it, after like 7 replies and 5 of them mentioning "drilling a hole", I have succumbed and drilling a hole it is lol. Also, I've been looking at the suggested so far, (EM Wave EM-M43002) + (Pulse Larsen NMO150), I wanted to ask your opinion as well as @mmckenna on another I found, what are the thoughts on this? : PCTEL PCTWSLMR - VHF Wide Band Antennas | The Antenna Farm

 

[trentbob]

Got it, after like 7 replies and 5 of them mentioning "drilling a hole", I have succumbed and drilling a hole it is lol. Also, I've been looking at the suggested so far, (EM Wave EM-M43002) + (Pulse Larsen NMO150), I wanted to ask your opinion as well as @mmckenna on another I found, what are the thoughts on this? : PCTEL PCTWSLMR - VHF Wide Band Antennas | The Antenna Farm

Well forget the VHF High single band antenna but the tri-band antenna I have bought and tried.

It is often paired up with the Motorola apx 8500 also.

I ran it through the paces and was not impressed but some people swear by it. I believe it's in wide use somewhere.

That's just my opinion that it did not receive as well as the Larson and a friend was more than happy to take it off my hands in exchange for helping me, working on my antenna farm on the house.

Just my personal opinion I wasn't impressed.

Also the cost is high compared to the Larson tri-band. As I say I'm only talking about the tri-band antenna. You have no need for just a single band VHF High antenna.

 

[mmckenna]

Got it, after like 7 replies and 5 of them mentioning "drilling a hole", I have succumbed and drilling a hole it is lol. Also, I've been looking at the suggested so far, (EM Wave EM-M43002) + (Pulse Larsen NMO150), I wanted to ask your opinion as well as @mmckenna on another I found, what are the thoughts on this? : PCTEL PCTWSLMR - VHF Wide Band Antennas | The Antenna Farm

It's more than twice the price of the others. It's claim to fame is that it's what Motorola sells with their sticker on it.

They are well known in these parts for snapping catastrophically when coming into contact with a low parking garage or tree branch. Not a good thing for an antenna that costs that much. The Larsen or the EM Wave with the spring base costs less and won't fail like the PCTEL does.

I've been specing out and purchasing new multiband mobile radios for our PD. After trying out the Larsen and the EM Wave, and based on what the county here has gone through with the Motorola/PCTel, I went with the EM Wave antennas. Money wasn't the issue, although I do try to be careful with taxpayer funds, but there was zero reason to go with a more expensive antenna that suffered from those sorts of failures. The Larsen would have been fine, but I like the base seal on the EM Wave antennas a bit better.

 

[BroadOne]

@mmckenna @trentbob First, thank you guys so much for the help and suggestions, I seriously appreciate it.

And it was very difficult choosing between those two, they both seemed very excellent and similar in specs/design. But I decided I'm gonna go ahead and look further into the Larsen NMO 150/450/758 for purchase. Personally, the Center Truck Lid would work the best for my case as well as drilling a hole of course.

The only thing now that I would need to look into, is proper equipment/installation. I've already read some guides and watched some videos on installation, but as for the sellers. I did find it on Amazon but for like 20$ more, which is ofc typical Amazon. But I also found it here and here at normal pricing from the Pulse Distributor Page, since I wanted to make sure to buy from a reputable source. They have different pricing of course but it seems a minimal difference of only like 7-10$ among different sellers.

And last thing, just wanted to be sure I understand this correctly. So for handheld antennas with handheld radios, they typically just screw onto each other and sometimes with an adapter if needed. But for vehicles, the actual antenna is not just mounted to the car. A base mount is installed into the car, and the antenna is attached, is that right? And if so, will any compatible mount work fine, or are there recommendations/sellers I would be better off purchasing from.

 

[trentbob]

I'm definitely going to default to McKenna on this one.

It's an nmo mount which is basically a disc the antenna screws on to, if you drill a hole you'll have a disc on your car if you use a lip mount the disc will be on the lip mount, I'm sure he'll explain this to you.

Basic guidelines, you get what you pay for and avoid cheap Chinese stuff. Also if you're going to use the lip mount in the center of the trunk by the back window be very careful how the coax rubs against the rubber insulation on the trunk if it doesn't fit just right, you're going to start to wear out
and cut the rubber insulation and you will get water leaking into your trunk.

You know I can't even remember where I purchased the Larson tri-band but it was a professional supplier who sold them by the boat full in one order the more you bought, the cheaper it was but they did sell me just one. I don't even remember how much I paid but it was when it was new.

 

[captainmax1]

This is what I use for multiband coverage and the best I have ever used. Great reception on many levels. It will also take a beating and keeps on working. I know some hate mag mounts, but the good ones work great for me, and it will work with the Hole too.

Wide Spectrum Antenna 136-174/380-520/760-870 MHz Laird Connectivity WPD136M6C

Commercial, heavy duty vehicular antenna, Multi Band Mobile VHF/UHF/700/800, 136-174/380-520/760-870 MHz, 100 Watts, Whip Length 20"

theantennafarm.com

You can't go wrong with the Larsen either. I have never used the EM Wave but if mmckenna says it's good, then it must be. He has a lot of experience, (more than me) and a great reputation on RR.

 

[BroadOne]

This is what I use for multiband coverage and the best I have ever used. Great reception on many levels. It will also take a beating and keeps on working. I know some hate mag mounts, but the good ones work great for me, and it will work with the Hole too.

Wide Spectrum Antenna 136-174/380-520/760-870 MHz Laird Connectivity WPD136M6C

Commercial, heavy duty vehicular antenna, Multi Band Mobile VHF/UHF/700/800, 136-174/380-520/760-870 MHz, 100 Watts, Whip Length 20"

theantennafarm.com

You can't go wrong with the Larsen either. I have never used the EM Wave but if mmckenna says it's good, then it must be. He has a lot of experience, (more than me) and a great reputation on RR.

That one looks really good as well. Are the main differences between that and the Larsen just the frequencies?
If I understood the specs correctly:
Laird 136 - 174 / 380 - 520 / 760 - 870
Larsen 160 - 174 / 430 - 520 / 750 - 870

 

[trentbob]

That one looks really good as well. Are the main differences between that and the Larsen just the frequencies?
If I understood the specs correctly:
Laird 136 - 174 / 380 - 520 / 760 - 870
Larsen 160 - 174 / 430 - 520 / 750 - 870

Is your head spinning yet LOL. That's a good antenna on par with Larson. Don't be concerned so much with frequency ranges as you are only listening not transmitting. There is a lot of latitude there.

I think price consideration would be in play here.

Google Larson vs. Laird Tri-band and it will take you right to a radio reference thread from sometime in early 2020. You may recognize some of the participants LOL.

As I had said I am going to defer to mmcKenna for the NMO mount installation. I've done maybe a dozen and he's done a million.

As far as your question before about connecting to the scanner. If you use the lip mount it will come with RG58 coax that will probably culminate in a pl-259 connector. You would simply use the BNC adapter that came with your radio and get an inexpensive BNC adapter that will screw into the pl259.

You have to be real careful with that Uniden adapter that you don't break anything by accident if it falls or gets undo stress on it. There are aftermarket adapters that are wider and lower and stronger but if you're careful you should be fine.

 

[mmckenna]

And it was very difficult choosing between those two, they both seemed very excellent and similar in specs/design. But I decided I'm gonna go ahead and look further into the Larsen NMO 150/450/758 for purchase. Personally, the Center Truck Lid would work the best for my case as well as drilling a hole of course.

The only thing now that I would need to look into, is proper equipment/installation. I've already read some guides and watched some videos on installation, but as for the sellers. I did find it on Amazon but for like 20$ more, which is ofc typical Amazon. But I also found it here and here at normal pricing from the Pulse Distributor Page, since I wanted to make sure to buy from a reputable source. They have different pricing of course but it seems a minimal difference of only like 7-10$ among different sellers.

Nothing wrong with the Larsen. I checked today and realized I had the Larsen on my work truck and the EM Wave in the office, currently. I swapped them around a few times trying them out in different applications. Both were very similar in performance.

Essentially, shop around and find what you want. Consider the seller, return policy, shipping costs, etc.
www.theantennafarm.com is a reputable dealer, also, but you'll pay more:

The Antenna Farm, Your two way radio source (NMO150/450/758)

The Antenna Farm: VHF & UHF Mobile Radios Radio Accessories VHF & UHF Hand Held Radios Antennas Mobile Antenna Mounts SWR/Power Meters Adapters Coaxial Cable Two Way Accessories Antenna Accessories DC Power Supplies Coax Cable Accessories Connectors Aviation Radios Repeater Systems Towers &...

theantennafarm.com

​

Trunk mount is fine.

The trunk lid will act as the ground plane. Ideally you want the mount right in the center. You don't want it too close to the back window, and you want in in from the back edge. Pay close attention to where the antenna will hit when you open the trunk. If you need to move it back a bit, that's OK.

And last thing, just wanted to be sure I understand this correctly. So for handheld antennas with handheld radios, they typically just screw onto each other and sometimes with an adapter if needed. But for vehicles, the actual antenna is not just mounted to the car. A base mount is installed into the car, and the antenna is attached, is that right? And if so, will any compatible mount work fine, or are there recommendations/sellers I would be better off purchasing from.

You mount the NMO mount to the car. NMO mounts are, by far, the most common mobile antenna mount out there. Once you have the NMO mount installed, you can easily swap out antennas. Won't matter what brand, as long as it's an NMO mount on the car and an NMO mount on the antenna, you are good to go.

The antenna will thread down on the NMO mount and make the connection. They also seal very well, so you'll have that on your side. Do periodically remove the antenna and clean underneath.

The coaxial cable gets routed up to your radio and connected there.

Should be a pretty noticeable difference having an external antenna compared to using and hand held inside.

 

[BroadOne]

Is your head spinning yet LOL. That's a good antenna on par with Larson. Don't be concerned so much with frequency ranges as you are only listening not transmitting. There is a lot of latitude there.

I think price consideration would be in play here.

Google Larson vs. Laird Tri-band and it will take you right to a radio reference thread from sometime in early 2020. You may recognize some of the participants LOL.

As I had said I am going to defer to mmcKenna for the NMO mount installation. I've done maybe a dozen and he's done a million.

As far as your question before about connecting to the scanner. If you use the lip mount it will come with RG58 coax that will probably culminate in a pl-259 connector. You would simply use the BNC adapter that came with your radio and get an inexpensive BNC adapter that will screw into the pl259.

You have to be real careful with that Uniden adapter that you don't break anything by accident if it falls or gets undo stress on it. There are aftermarket adapters that are wider and lower and stronger but if you're careful you should be fine.

Lol it's a ton of new information in this hobby but I'm having a lot of fun with it. Also that's funny it really is all the same people. I think after reading through it, I'm swayed to stick with the Larsen. As for the difference in a center versus lip mount, I'm not sure I fully understand the differences/disadvantage/advantages yet between them or BNC/NMO etc. I'll have to educate myself more but if using a default adapter is less durable than an aftermarket, I don't mind getting an aftermarket adapter instead.