HomePatrol HP-1 Mounting In 2008 Ford Focus

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TacSupport1

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My Uniden Home Patrol HP-1 mounting in my car (2008 Ford Focus)..wanted something accesible that I don't have to take my eyes off the road to look at. I had to sell my BCD 396T because it was too complicated for me....this brings back the fun of scanning...very easy and quick to use while oon the road. I was waiting for the second generation HomePatrol but doesn't look like there is going to be one anytime soon.

This is on a RAM mount flex arm that bolts to the seat bolt. This is the item and where I purchased it from:
RAM POD 1 Seat Bolt Floor Mount with 1" Diamond Ball

And you need the mobile cradle which screws on to the ball/swivel mount:
Uniden Mounting Cradle for HomePatrol-1 Scanner

uniden.jpg
 

62Truck

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Not too bad Seth..How well does the stock antenna work inside the car?
 

TacSupport1

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Not too bad Seth..How well does the stock antenna work inside the car?

Not bad at all. I've only been in my car twice since I installed it, once around Round Rock and the other around North Austin, both times I got excellent reception. Since the radio systems around here are pretty strong, I want to see how it performs during my next road trip.

I also have my Sirius antenna on the back deck of my car above the seats, and it works great. If the OEM antenna proves to be too weak, I will have to cook something up where the antenna's not visible.

Two more photos:

From the passenger side
mount2.jpg



And the other end, bolted underneath the seat bolt(the wires are from my Sirius Radio and under the set power supply which I'm still working on making it look nice)

mount3.jpg
 

TacSupport1

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OK, so the OEM "rubber ducky" antenna sucks.

So, I got a SpectrumForce All Band Mobile antenna. Would this work if I mounted it INSIDE my trunk? I really don't want to mount it on the exterior.

I also got a really good deal....the GPS kit for determining which systems are cloe by and automtically tunes into them is coming tommorow.
 

KG4INW

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Looks nice.

I highly doubt it'll work in the trunk, that's probably the worst place to mount it actually. Give it a try though, can't hurt but I'm sure if you then mounted it on the trunk lid or on the roof, it'll work a lot better.
 

KG4INW

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Sure, give that a try too. Just find a way to keep it upright as I don't know what kind of metal you have to mount the magnet to there.
 

BoxAlarm187

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I was thinking velco. Works for my Sirius reciever.

The Sirius receiver doesn't need a ground plane inasmuch as the RF antenna will. Try to find metal to mount it to.

Nearly 20 years ago, I mounted a 800MHz quarter-wave antenna to the rear parcel shelf (ie: below the rear glass) on the Taurus I had at the time. I cut a hole out of the cardboard parcel shelf and mounted the antenna to the metal below. It worked fairly well for the 800MHz system I was listening to at the time, but it didn't do well for distance.
 

QwKiE

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Just so you might understand

When you are useing the GPS system with the HP1 it don't take much of an antenna to use it as you should think you want to know where you are going not where you have been. When you switch to GPS mode the scanner gos to 0 miles for that reason. You can make it further, but like I said you want to know whats going on where you are, not where you have been. I can get 40 miles from my home and still receive my home freq's if I dont turn the GPS on. Or I raise the range back up on GPS mode. but why do that I got the GPS to scan where I am at, at that time. Also I have the stock antenna and I bought a Diamond SRH789 they both work just fine for my area in the car. I put a window mounted 20-211 it works just fine so I am so confused what everyone is trying to receive with the HP1 maybe China. If you want the world stay at home buy and 100 ft mast put up some directional antena point it to the moon get on your rocket and fly. I am just thinking just try to use the HP1 as it is designed for and be happy for I know it will work just fine. And just to say something more the 20-211 antenna really is more than needed for a car GPS system but I like that I have it anyways. That was made by Radio Shack if interested. I'll be quiet now.
 

TacSupport1

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Thanks for the advice! I'm thinking that the HP-1 was tested 3 hours north of me, in Fort Worth, due to the pre-production photos and packaging. However, Fort Worth is a lot flatter then the hill of Central Texas.

My question....if the "rubber ducky" OEM antenna works somewhat inside the car, why wouldn't another antenna? I don't want super far away, and mainly for use in Austin and Round Rock, TX. Sometimes, I go to Houston or Dallas, and want to monitor those cities when I do go.

Thank you guys so much for helping me learn about this! Much appreciated!

Seth
 

KG4INW

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I forgot to mention that in my previous post but BoxAlarm187 caught it. That antenna needs a metal ground plane to work properly and the reason why the duck works is because it uses the radio itself for ground (by ground I mean RF and not so much electrical ground). Get a better antenna on a better ground and it'll work a lot better.
 
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TacSupport1

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Thanks again guys for your help! With my new antenna/GPS setup, I was able to make it in time to capture this brush fire:

x635Photos.com Photos By Seth Granville Fire EMS Police Wrecker Photos

What I ended up doing was putting the anntenna above the rear seats, using the magnet mount attracted to a child seat restraint hook, which was steel and atached to other steel of the car. I also installed the GPS, and since I've done both, the reception is everything I need it to be.
 
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