Looking for mount

[kjl13]

Here is the mounting bracket and the nmo mount I am getting:

https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/laird-technologies-mb8pi-1866
and
https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/laird-technologies-sbtb3400-3858

I might just pick this up instead of the Laird Technologies MB8PI:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BLCLUJ6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Are there any big differences in between the one on Amazon and the on the antenna farm?

--
Best Regards,
kjl

I've always been happy with the Larsen products. 30 years and I've never had one let me down.


The OM style mount would work, even though it's not an NMO mount. It's designed to just bolt down on a surface. So you could use it with just a length of aluminum stock and screw it down.
But I agree, go with the NMO, wider selection of antennas to choose from.

 

[mmckenna]

I'm not a fan of the Browning/Tram line of products. They are Chinese knockoffs of the name brand stuff. Some hobbyists have had good results with it, but I won't use their products in any of my work or personal installs.
Many years ago I met one of their guys at a trade show. He was either not interested in talking about the products or didn't understand what he was selling. Personally, I choose not to spend my money on Chinese knock-off products.

The issue that you'll have with either the Browning or the Laird mount is that it has a preterminated UHF connector on the end of 17 feet of cable.
That means you are going to have a bunch of coaxial cable coiled up somewhere. That can create issues. The extra cable will add to feed line losses, which will impact not only your transmitted power but also the received signal strength. Tightly coiling coax cable can lead to center conductor migration (center conductor gets to close to outer shield and will impact the cable impeadance in the best case, or cause a short in the worst scenario.

Ideally you want to keep the cable as short as possible. That might mean installing your own connector.

 

[kjl13]

I don’t know if I would trust my self with installing my own connector and shortening the cable. Do you know of any nmo mounts like the ones above with a short cable with a pl 259 connector. I have been looking and I was unsuccessful with finding them.

 

[kjl13]

Did you see my message above?

I'm not a fan of the Browning/Tram line of products. They are Chinese knockoffs of the name brand stuff. Some hobbyists have had good results with it, but I won't use their products in any of my work or personal installs.
Many years ago I met one of their guys at a trade show. He was either not interested in talking about the products or didn't understand what he was selling. Personally, I choose not to spend my money on Chinese knock-off products.

The issue that you'll have with either the Browning or the Laird mount is that it has a preterminated UHF connector on the end of 17 feet of cable.
That means you are going to have a bunch of coaxial cable coiled up somewhere. That can create issues. The extra cable will add to feed line losses, which will impact not only your transmitted power but also the received signal strength. Tightly coiling coax cable can lead to center conductor migration (center conductor gets to close to outer shield and will impact the cable impeadance in the best case, or cause a short in the worst scenario.

Ideally you want to keep the cable as short as possible. That might mean installing your own connector.

--
Best Regards,
kjl

 

[mmckenna]

Did you see my message above?

I think if you contacted Antenna Farm and talked to them, they could make one for you. They sell mounts and will install connectors, so it shouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for them to cut the cable to your length and install the connector.

If you were local, I'd be happy to do it for you.

 

[kjl13]

I think if you contacted Antenna Farm and talked to them, they could make one for you. They sell mounts and will install connectors, so it shouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for them to cut the cable to your length and install the connector.

If you were local, I'd be happy to do it for you.

I am from Massachusetts, how about yourself?
I will go ahead and contact antenna farm.

--
Best Regards,
kjl

 

[mmckenna]

I am from Massachusetts, how about yourself?
I will go ahead and contact antenna farm.

Left coast.

 

[cmdrwill]

I'm not a fan of the Browning/Tram line of products. They are Chinese knockoffs of the name brand stuff. Some hobbyists have had good results with it, but I won't use their products in any of my work or personal installs. snip

Like MMCKENNA, I will not use any of the knock off copy stuff like mentioned. Cheep Chinese Companies just using good old American company names from many years ago. Their junk sucks, and you really do not save in the end. I would loose money having doing repair or rework on that junk, That does not save the customer any money either.

Your antenna IS one of the most important part of your radio system.

 

[krokus]

I don’t know if I would trust my self with installing my own connector and shortening the cable. Do you know of any nmo mounts like the ones above with a short cable with a pl 259 connector. I have been looking and I was unsuccessful with finding them.

Routing a cable with a PL-259 installed takes extra space. If you are fine with that, great, if not then consider getting a cable that uses an FME interface, to the PL-259.

Sent using Tapatalk

 

[kjl13]

I attempted to contact the antenna farm by phone today and no one answered.

If I were to just use the cable it comes with and I don't shorten it, how bad would the outcome of the project be? Will I get awful Tx and Rx? If it is not terribly awful, then I feel like it will be fine.

I think if you contacted Antenna Farm and talked to them, they could make one for you. They sell mounts and will install connectors, so it shouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for them to cut the cable to your length and install the connector.

If you were local, I'd be happy to do it for you.

--
Best Regards,
kjl

 

[mmckenna]

Not going to be the end of the world. If that's all you can do, then that's all you can do. I'd suggest sending an e-mail to Antenna Farm, though, or try your call again later. If I recall correctly, their a small mom-n-pop company, so not a big staff to handle things.

 

[kjl13]

I sent them an email as well. How much would a long cable compermise performance?

Not going to be the end of the world. If that's all you can do, then that's all you can do. I'd suggest sending an e-mail to Antenna Farm, though, or try your call again later. If I recall correctly, their a small mom-n-pop company, so not a big staff to handle things.

—
Best Regards,
kjl

 

[mmckenna]

Usually the NMO mounts come with RG-58 coaxial cable, about 17 feet long.
On your frequency (453.975MHz):
17 feet of RG-58 will lose about 31% of the signal between the radio and the antenna (applies to both TX and RX)
3 feet of RG-58 will lose about 6.5% of your signal.

Likely, that 1.5dB difference won't be noticeable if you are in an area with good coverage. If you are out on the fringes, that could impact things.

I'd say don't be in a rush. Give them time to call you back. Not only will you have the extra cable loss, but rolling up all that extra 15 or so feet of cable might be problematic on a bicycle. You don't want to wind it too tight.