Mobile Antenna - Mag Mount vs Permanent NMO Mount

[akcooper9]

For those of you who went from a mag mount to a permanent nmo mount, what was the end result. Could you reach out further, better quality etc?

 

[davidgcet]

a mag mount is only slightly better than a glass mount, a drilled mount in the proper locaiton will outperform GM/MM everyday. the question is what band(s) you need to maximize and what vehicle/where you want to mount it.

 

[RadioDaze]

Just the convenience factor of not having to worry about the mag mount flying off, or scratching the paint, or how the cable is going to come in, is worth drilling the hole. The performance factor is just the icing on the cake.

However, if you put an NMO mount on your cake, be sure to scrape away some of the icing to get a good ground.

 

[prcguy]

There will generally be no detectable difference at VHF hi band and above between a mag mount or permanently mounted antenna in the same location with the same length and type of feed line.

On VHF lo band and lower in freq you might notice some degradation with a mag mount.
prcguy

a mag mount is only slightly better than a glass mount, a drilled mount in the proper locaiton will outperform GM/MM everyday. the question is what band(s) you need to maximize and what vehicle/where you want to mount it.

 

[kb2vxa]

Here's my little bit of ham radio experience to share; location, location, location. Talking VHF/UHF here, if the magnet is big enough to provide sufficient capacitive coupling to the metallic body it comes down to SWR vs. mounting location the same as a through hole mount. In the case of the latter, once the antenna is mounted and tuned nothing will change under normal conditions, same thing as long as the mag mount isn't disturbed. Should it be moved however, antenna tuning changes and the SWR with it so all things being considered a fixed mag mount is second best and a through hole mount (preferably in the center of the roof) will remain number one.

When it comes to HF all bets are off, that's another discussion entirely.

 

[davidgcet]

on my service monitor i get 2db improvement using my dual band monitor antenna on a drilled hole versus a magmount at VHF and about 1db at UHF, at 700 or above the difference is not enough to really measure. none are enough to really matter for RX, and i don't normally use mine to tx on anyway. i got these numbers testing against a constant carrier from a fixed distance sitting in the parking lot at work. and the mag mount had 5' less cable than the drilled mount.

 

[Scannerhead1983]

Mounts

I'd stick with the Hole mount as well, On my truck that's all I have... One Motorola NMO antennae per radio. For my Marcs Radio I have one of the solid "tubular" Antennaes that screw into a hole mount..There is actually no pigtail on it like the other 800mhz antennas

Nice thing about NMO is you (A) don't have to worry about some kids snipping your feed line. (B) You get better TX/RX out of it...and (C) You don't have to worry about it flying off...I chase storms in my local area and give reports via EMA....I've had a few mag mounts fly off from the high winds.

 

[fourthhorseman]

Sir,,

NMO

i double tapped my Dingo for a VHF and GPS ant...centered both nicly,,got great grounds..

ad a far as the Mags...i get irritated,Every time i see another vehicle with a mag..i mean,if
your serious its abotu a good clean conection,from the rooter to the tooter..

Go NMO..you be WAAYYYYY Happier...ad when other hams see your NMO'd,,youll get a
lil nod for drillin the holes in yer roof..