Workman 5/8 ANtenna Mag Mount

[kibbins]

Anyone have any experience with an antenna called a Workman ANT-5/8 Magnetic Mount? It's 54-inches (w/cutting chart), magnetic mount, coil rated to 500watts, RG58AU soldered PL-259?

I'm interested in it as an office (metal cabinet) antenna to listen to 152-160Mhz

 

[ka3jjz]

Again, a URL would be helpful...tho I'm a little sanguine on using this antenna on 800 - on VHF high, you might get away with it....more info please 73s Mike

 

[kibbins]

Here's one on eBay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-meter-5-8-wav...oryZ4672QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't have any 800Mhz in my area so far so there are no plans to use it for that. Most everything is 150-160 with a few things in the 450-470 range and the 44-47 range.

 

[hoser147]

Another alternative would be the Radio shack Glass mount antenna it suction cups to the window or anything else that is smooth however it is set up for bnc conectors and a bnc antenna like for hand helds it has a six foot cord and is relatively inexpensive with antenna around 25 bucks Hoser147

 

[kibbins]

I actually need it to terminate in BNC connectors but it was recommended to me earlier to get a magnetic 5/8 so that's what I was aiming for. It doesn't have to be this brand but that was what I was loking for. I will check out the RS

 

[Tom-H]

I actually need it to terminate in BNC connectors but it was recommended to me earlier to get a magnetic 5/8 so that's what I was aiming for. It doesn't have to be this brand but that was what I was loking for. I will check out the RS

Why not buy the antenna that you found, cut off the UHF connector, and install a BNC instead?

If you aren't comfortable doing so, buy the antenna, send it to me. I'll be happy to install a BNC on it for you for a trivial fee.

 

[kibbins]

I was just going to put on an adapter.....actually that's not so much of a problem...I was looking for any opinions on this antenna or any experiences from anyone that has used it.

 

[Tom-H]

I was just going to put on an adapter.

Keep in mind that the UHF style connectors are only good to about 300 mhz. Anything you wanted to listen to above 300 mhz will be unreadable due to the signal loss of the UHF connectors at those frequencies. A properly terminated BNC connector on the same setup would be useable up to 2 ghz, which is more than enough bandwidth for anything you could pick up with your scanner.

 

[kibbins]

So you are recommending.....

 

[Tom-H]

So you are recommending.....

That you cut the UHF connector off and install a BNC.

The UHF will work fine when you are listening to the 44-47 and 150-160 mhz ranges, but will be useless if you want to use this antenna to recieve the 450-470 range.

Using an adapter won't get rid of the fact that the cable is still terminated with a UHF.

 

[kibbins]

Thanks...if that's the case then this antenna may be out....

 

[Tom-H]

Thanks...if that's the case then this antenna may be out....

That's why I learned a while ago how to install various RF connectors onto coax, and bought the tools I'd need to install them correctly.

Never again will the wrong connector end stop me from using cables and mount assemblies that I find good deals on.

 

[kibbins]

If it was a great antenna I'd worry about the connector So far not a single person in 11 posts has said anything about the actual antenna I asked about....so apparently it's not so great.

I don't do connectors, it's just me but there is typically so little need for me to do it and I've had a terrible time with them in the past without buying all sorts of tools I don't bother anymore. Yes I know adapters cause loss---yours is the first I've heard that an adapter can actually cause an entire range of frequencies to drop off the face of the earth but again I'm very new to all of this.

 

[Tom-H]

If it was a great antenna I'd worry about the connector So far not a single person in 11 posts has said anything about the actual antenna I asked about....so apparently it's not so great.

I've heard of Workman antennas before, but I've never used one, let alone ever seen one. If it's a good built antenna, and you can get it cheaply enough, it'd be worth swapping connectors on it. I've gotten a lot of good, cheap NOS mounts and antenna assemblies with some odd, little used connector on it that nobody wants. Seems you are not the only one that doesn't like fooling with terminations!

Yes I know adapters cause loss---yours is the first I've heard that an adapter can actually cause an entire range of frequencies to drop off the face of the earth but again I'm very new to all of this.

It's not the adapter that's the problem with your setup. If you were adapting most any other type of RF connector to a BNC, you'd be perfectly fine. Adapters do cause some signal loss, but in the case of a well made adapter, it's negligible. This link will explain the limitations of the UHF style connector much better than I can:

http://www.amphenolrf.com/products/uhf.asp


And don't worry, EVERYBODY was new to this hobby at one time!