I am unsure how many people would like to deploy a pizza pan on their UTV vehicle roof. Should you decide to do that, we would like to see photographs.
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What size for a ground plane disc?
- Thread starter Marchboom
- Start date
prcguy
Member
And a taste test. Umm Pizza!
Every UTV i've seen BLM use for fire, in a district with a experienced radio guy has had a NMO on the center of the roof, 4 pieces of metal foil tape under the roof in an X over + pattern, as long as possible, and a NGP 1/2 wave antenna.
That setup works.
Smaller ground planes, and smaller antennas will not work anywhere near as well.
That setup works.
Smaller ground planes, and smaller antennas will not work anywhere near as well.
I would love to see a photo of the UTV ground plane you made.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
I don't have a photo and the roof was removed years ago. I use a half wave VHF antenna mounted on the rear of the roll cage now.
JustinWHT
Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2022
- Messages
- 225
A cookie baking pan or pizza pan - shape doesn't matter as long as there's a quarter wave distance from antenna mount.
An NMO mount collar will make an RF bond to the cookie sheet. The mount is about 3/8 under it, a ring of garden hose or anything give clearance to whatever you mount it on
Highway patrol down here used 42.90 MHz sixty years ago with a quarter wave whip and spring mount on driver's side rear cowling. Signal was great towards the opposite side, but 6 dB loss on driver's side.
An NMO mount collar will make an RF bond to the cookie sheet. The mount is about 3/8 under it, a ring of garden hose or anything give clearance to whatever you mount it on
Highway patrol down here used 42.90 MHz sixty years ago with a quarter wave whip and spring mount on driver's side rear cowling. Signal was great towards the opposite side, but 6 dB loss on driver's side.
JustinWHT
Member
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2022
- Messages
- 225
Only if your HOA objects to colors not found in nature.
speedway_navigator
Member
These return loss charts show how a larger ground plane gives better performance. The first is a UHF mag mount on a 9" x 13" plate with a 23 dB return loss and 35 MHz bandwidth. The 2nd is a 16" square ground plane, the sweet spot shifts by 5 MHz and drops to 45 dB.
The bandwidth remains about the same.
The bandwidth remains about the same.
Attachments
Don’t be obsessed with getting it exactly 1/4 wave.
The larger the ground plane, the better. The 1/4 wave should be at the minimum, the radius of the plane at its shortest side.
The post above me shows that visually as well.
That’s why whenever I’ve done one with metal tape (copper seems to work best, Home Depot has it) I do an X over + pattern as large as I can make it with the roof size I’m working with.
The larger the ground plane, the better. The 1/4 wave should be at the minimum, the radius of the plane at its shortest side.
The post above me shows that visually as well.
That’s why whenever I’ve done one with metal tape (copper seems to work best, Home Depot has it) I do an X over + pattern as large as I can make it with the roof size I’m working with.
