NMO-style antennas for HF other than 10 meters

[Gilligan]

I'm curious to find out if there are any antenna manufacturers that sell smaller (3-4 feet) loaded HF antennas with NMO mounts. I've seen a few for 6 and 10 meters but never for anything lower than that. I realize that the effective gain would be pretty small, but still I'm curious.

 

[popnokick]

Likely any manufacturer who made such a product when out of business quickly due to unhappy customers.... Not nice to fool Father Physics.

 

[mmckenna]

I'm curious to find out if there are any antenna manufacturers that sell smaller (3-4 feet) loaded HF antennas with NMO mounts. I've seen a few for 6 and 10 meters but never for anything lower than that. I realize that the effective gain would be pretty small, but still I'm curious.

Unlikely you'll find such a beast. The antennas that cater to commercial/public safety radio system users won't have any market below 25MHz. To top it off, shortening an antenna designed for lower frequencies makes them very inefficient.
The Larsen NMO-27 model (and it's competitors) is likely all you are going to find.
Doesn't mean that an amateur radio company wouldn't try to build something like this, or that you couldn't try and build your own, but you'll be disappointed with performance.

 

[SCPD]

Nope you won't find any. I looked. You can find the NMO to 3/8 converter and use hamsticks though.

 

[n0nhp]

Nope you won't find any. I looked. You can find the NMO to 3/8 converter and use hamsticks though.

You had better put a good backup plate behind the sheet metal and use a "thick" NMO mount, I don't see 90+ inch fiberglass whips staying on most automotive sheet metal very long trying this trick. ;-)

As popnokick said, the physics just don't work out well for shortened whips at the lower frequencies. Even with a proper matching coil to shorten the antenna, much of your power will be expended as heat and not EMF.
I have noticed that even the loads on hamsticks will get warm due to trying to put a long wavelength through a coil.

Bruce

 

[SCPD]

N0NHP said it in a nutshell- even if you could find a semi-efficient antenna, it would be too large to last long on any vehicle with an NMO connector. There is a reason why ball mounts and big springs are used for vehicles. Sorry Guy, but if you want to go HF mobile then you will have to get a circle cutter-- (NO bumper mounts!

 

[N4GIX]

(NO bumper mounts!

What cars even have proper bumpers any more? :lol:

 

[NDRADIONUT]

Not moto but looks interesting... The Stealth ST-940B roof rack Mobile HF NVIS Magnetic Half Loop Antenna Stealth Telecom

 

[geartow]

Diamond has mono banders that are 78 inches with an nmo

 

[Project25_MASTR]

What cars even have proper bumpers any more? :lol:

Any that either Ranch Hand, Frontier or Cattleman build for. Other companies as well but those are the Texas 3.