Mobile antenna for base use

[ffighter17]

I am wanting to put an outside antenna up, I want very low profile and was thinking about using a mobile antenna with a base mount with ground plane. What are your thoughts? As of right now my area is mainly VHF High P25 I-II, and I am hearing of a 7/800 trunked system coming in the next year or so. I have several scanners I use, SDS100, 996XT, 396XT and a couple others

 

[sonm10]

I have a similar setup for indoor use:

Laird Connectivity B8065C | 700/800/900 MHz High Gain Antennas (theantennafarm.com)
Laird Connectivity MBC800LBT | Mobile Antenna To Base Convertor Kits | Antenna Farm (theantennafarm.com)

Fed to a triplxer, and then into a LNA. 40' LMR coax to a tv splitter for scanners and various SDR dongles. Have yet to order FM filter which will be placed between the triplexer and LNA

For VHF, I use 2 Meter Slim Jim Antenna - KB9VBR Antennas (jpole-antenna.com), also fed to the triplexer.



For simplicity, you might want to consider a tribander antenna. Somebody else will have to recommend a decent one.
If you go with an 800 Mhz single bander, it will not perform well on VHF, hence my own multiple antenna setup.

 

[sallen07]

I am wanting to put an outside antenna up, I want very low profile and was thinking about using a mobile antenna with a base mount with ground plane. What are your thoughts? As of right now my area is mainly VHF High P25 I-II, and I am hearing of a 7/800 trunked system coming in the next year or so. I have several scanners I use, SDS100, 996XT, 396XT and a couple others

Tri-Band 150-165, 450-470 & 806-940 MHz Mobile Two Way Radio Antenna Scanner

150/450/800 Antenna, Gain (dB) Unity, 100 Watts, Whip Length 16.5"

theantennafarm.com

Mobile Antenna to BASE Convertor VHF UHF Antennas TE Connectivity MBCN

Mobile to Base Station Adapter Kit for NMO Mount Type Antennas. Includes bracket, clamps, radials and mounting bracket. Frequency Range up to 512MHz, N Female

theantennafarm.com

Highly recommended. Works great for me on 700/800, UHF, VHF high, and even some VHF low band. LMR400UF and a Stridsberg multicoupler.

All credit goes to @mmckenna for the recommendation.

 

[cj40]

Definitely recommend that Larsen Tri-band. I have one on my truck and its solid! Performs great, handles tree branches, etc.
Far as the base mount with the ground plane, the Laird isnt bad but I'd personally go with the one that has the UHF connector (PL-259 or SO-239)
I feel they hold up better than the N connectors.

 

[chief21]

I'd personally go with the one that has the UHF connector (PL-259 or SO-239)
I feel they hold up better than the N connectors.

N connectors are much more weather-resistant than are UHF (PL259) connectors. They still need to be properly weather-sealed when used outdoors, but are much less likely to allow moisture/water intrusion.

 

[mmckenna]

I am wanting to put an outside antenna up, I want very low profile and was thinking about using a mobile antenna with a base mount with ground plane. What are your thoughts? As of right now my area is mainly VHF High P25 I-II, and I am hearing of a 7/800 trunked system coming in the next year or so. I have several scanners I use, SDS100, 996XT, 396XT and a couple others

I use one of the Larsen antennas mentioned above hooked up to my old scanner in my office at work.
Simple and effective, works just fine for what I need. You won't go wrong with one of those. It'll perform well on VHF, UHF and 7-800MHz.

The base mount gives you the necessary ground plane under the antenna as well as the bracket to mount it to a pole or other support.
Key with any antenna is to get it as high up as you safely can. The more it can 'see', the more you'll hear.

And, absolutely on the N connector base. UHF connectors are not ideal for the higher frequencies. N connectors perform better and have some inherent level of waterproofing, but when used outdoors, still require proper sealing.

Use high quality coaxial cable. Exact type will depend on how long your run is.

Consider that National Electric Code also requires proper grounding of the mast and a lightning protector where the coax enters the home.

Done right, this should be a good setup.

 

[W5lz]

I am wanting to put an outside antenna up, I want very low profile and was thinking about using a mobile antenna with a base mount with ground plane. What are your thoughts? As of right now my area is mainly VHF High P25 I-II, and I am hearing of a 7/800 trunked system coming in the next year or so. I have several scanners I use, SDS100, 996XT, 396XT and a couple others

I won't try to recommend a specific antenna, just one that covers the freqs you want (bunch of different brands, etc.). I can say that antenna height can and does make a difference. The higher the better and stay practical.
(A 1000gpm from an 1 1/2 would be nice but...)