700/800 MHz Mobile Antenna

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MadSpleen85

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Just starting to shop for a good mobile antenna. Will used be with my RS Pro 106 while in my personal vehicle. Probably will be mounted on the trunk lid, unless I can find something low profile enough that it does not stick out like a sore thumb on the roof. My vehicle is a 2007 Honda Accord so I do not want some huge whip or the added attention I already get for being a younger driver.

My mount of choice would be, well anything that does not require drilling and will not damage my paint (beyond the point of needing to be buffed). Leaning towards a trunk lip mount. Strong yet clean lines. Obviously, if the antenna were to be roof mounted I would have to switch to a mag mount.

I live in Johnson County, Kansas where the Johnson County 700 MHz Trunking System, Olathe, Kansas - Scanner Frequencies is used along with the Kansas Statewide Interoperable Communication System (KSICS) Trunking System, Statewide, Kansas - Scanner Frequencies (currently have Johnson, Douglas, Leavenworth and Wyandotte towers programmed)

I searched and could not find anything on 700MHz Mobile Antenna on this site. I did find this while searching online. 700 MHz Range : The Antenna Farm :: , Your Two Way Radio Source!

Anyone have any experience with any of these in the 700MHz range?

Money is of course an issue. Going to have to limit myself to around $50 max. I know the old saying "you get what you pay for". I just want to make sure I don't waste money on something that is not worth spending any money on in the first place.

Just looking for suggestions. If I am overlooking a different option that you think would provide me with better results then what I am looking at by all means point it out to me.

If there is something else that I left out which could help narrow down my search just let me know.

Thanks in advance!
 

jim202

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Just starting to shop for a good mobile antenna. Will used be with my RS Pro 106 while in my personal vehicle. Probably will be mounted on the trunk lid, unless I can find something low profile enough that it does not stick out like a sore thumb on the roof. My vehicle is a 2007 Honda Accord so I do not want some huge whip or the added attention I already get for being a younger driver.

My mount of choice would be, well anything that does not require drilling and will not damage my paint (beyond the point of needing to be buffed). Leaning towards a trunk lip mount. Strong yet clean lines. Obviously, if the antenna were to be roof mounted I would have to switch to a mag mount.

I live in Johnson County, Kansas where the Johnson County 700 MHz Trunking System, Olathe, Kansas - Scanner Frequencies is used along with the Kansas Statewide Interoperable Communication System (KSICS) Trunking System, Statewide, Kansas - Scanner Frequencies (currently have Johnson, Douglas, Leavenworth and Wyandotte towers programmed)

I searched and could not find anything on 700MHz Mobile Antenna on this site. I did find this while searching online. 700 MHz Range : The Antenna Farm :: , Your Two Way Radio Source!

Anyone have any experience with any of these in the 700MHz range?

Money is of course an issue. Going to have to limit myself to around $50 max. I know the old saying "you get what you pay for". I just want to make sure I don't waste money on something that is not worth spending any money on in the first place.

Just looking for suggestions. If I am overlooking a different option that you think would provide me with better results then what I am looking at by all means point it out to me.

If there is something else that I left out which could help narrow down my search just let me know.

Thanks in advance!


If your concerned with the paint, then you don't want to even consider a mag mount. Another
reason to stay away from a mag mount is that they are not very water proof. Over time, the
rain will get into the base and coax. Then you have a poor antenna that you have to replace
and start over. The mag mount also does a number on the paint surface where it is mounted.
Don't ask me how, but it seems to collect the fine dust type sand and works to abrade the paint
with time.
 

davidgcet

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go with the lip mount or a lid mount over a mag mount. lip uses 3 screws thru the lip around the trunk, lid uses 2 set screws to secure to the trunk lid itself. with either one you should check the screw tightness every few weeks, they have a tendancy to loosen often.

for the antenna itself, a TRAB style will be smallest and give ok results, a good multiband will be about 16" or so and give much better results in most cases. if you are ONLY concerned with 700/800 mhz Laird makes a good TRAB style, it must be since Moto sells it with thier APX line. LOL

you could go with a glass mount, but the performance will be lower on distant signals.
 

N5TWB

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Look at the vehicles of the agencies you want to monitor to see what they use. If they use a low-profile, phantom-style antenna on both 700/800, then you have an easy solution by going with a basic quarter-wave spike antenna. I say this because those low-profile antennas are not a high-gain antenna and can only be used if the system base locations provide strong coverage over the area. The quarter-wave I'm recommending meets your budget, can easily be roof-mounted without interfering with garage doors, and the spike is broad-banded across both frequencies of interest. Drill that roof and get it done!
 

ridgescan

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At 700-800mhz you don't deal in "huge whips" anyway so your worries about that are over:) a glassmount 800mhz cellphone antenna would work ok based on my experience. You do sacrifice distance like David said but these antennas have a little gain-you could work a 5-10 mile radius with one and still look pretty:D a 5-10 mile area is pretty good and covers just about any city. I run a glassmount. I took the 800 whip off and fabbed in a Larsen triband scanner whip for more vhf coverage and I can hear SFPD on 800 mhz from San Bruno at 10 miles. Not bad for a glassmount IMO.
 

MadSpleen85

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I had a work van that I used a mag mounted amber beacon on while I was working and that scratched the hell out of my paint. Not sure how that works, it stayed mounted and didn't seem to move but, still there were scratches all over.

Lip mount it is for that reason... Drilling a hole is not an option as I am not sure how long this will be my vehicle, currently in the market for a truck.

I need to check out what the local PD uses on their Patrol Vehicles. It does seem like they have phantom low profile style along with several smaller antenna. Need to look again though as I have not paid too much attention since they have switched full time to the 700MHz P25 system.

Signal strength on the Johnson County 700MHz P25 system is a strong and steady 5 of 5 bars on my RS Pro-106. I have not been too close to the fringes of the system but I have traveled across the county and always have had the same mainly steady and strong signal strength. Receiving the signal is not my issue, the metal roof on my car is the issue. That of course causes signal to be very in and out, unless I am driving with the 800MHz antenna sticking out the window.

700 and 800 MHz are my main focus. The only time I listen to something besides that is during severe weather when storm spotters are activated. Also the county's Fire paging and Station alerting system is not on the P25 system, but I do not usually monitor that while mobile.
 

chief21

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Suggest you take a look at the Larsen 150/450/800 mobile tri-band colinear antenna. It's small and unobtrusive but does a great job for RX only. And it's broad-banded enough for good performance on 700.

Available at many vendors... Google it.
 

MadSpleen85

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The more I have looked and searched around, the more good I have found about the Larsen multi band. Unless someone comes out with a better option, I think I will be going with the Larsen.

As for lip mounts, what do I need to be looking for? Just NMO lip mount or are there any other connectors or sizes that I need to find? Thanks for all the help!
 

n5ims

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That Larsen antenna is NMO so that's what you'll need to get. The trunk lip mount is on this page Larsen Amateur Mobile Antenna Mounts NMOMM, NMOMMR, NMOTLP, NMOK, TLM (many places have them so shop around for location and price, but this page has the options easily comparible). One other option if you don't mind some minor drilling is the Trunk/Gutter L bracket that you place the standard roof mount NMO into. Just three small holes for screws vs a 3/4" hole for the mount itself. These screw holes are in the side off the trunk and nearly invisible when you sell (and makes a bit better ground than the trunk lip mount does).
 

MadSpleen85

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That Larsen antenna is NMO so that's what you'll need to get......

.......One other option if you don't mind some minor drilling is the Trunk/Gutter L bracket that you place the standard roof mount NMO into. Just three small holes for screws vs a 3/4" hole for the mount itself. These screw holes are in the side off the trunk and nearly invisible when you sell (and makes a bit better ground than the trunk lip mount does).


Something like Larsen NMOTMBB [NMOTMBB] - $19.95 : The Antenna Farm :: , Your Two Way Radio Source! then? This would drill into the inside of the fender then, so it would be stationary with the fender instead of opening with the trunk lid?

This one seems to come with the bracket and the mount and cable. I would just need to add a BNC Male connector (in the drop down menu below) to that correct?

Seems to be a good price for including everything I would need, besides the antenna of course.
 

n5ims

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Something like Larsen NMOTMBB [NMOTMBB] - $19.95 : The Antenna Farm :: , Your Two Way Radio Source! then? This would drill into the inside of the fender then, so it would be stationary with the fender instead of opening with the trunk lid?

This one seems to come with the bracket and the mount and cable. I would just need to add a BNC Male connector (in the drop down menu below) to that correct?

Seems to be a good price for including everything I would need, besides the antenna of course.

Yes, that appears to be the kit with both the bracket and mount in one. You will, as you stated, need to add the BNC connector in addition to this kit. This kit is a different brand (Tram, not Larsen) that includes the BNC connector as well Tram 1252-BNC/1255B [1252-BNC/1255B] - $22.95 : The Antenna Farm :: , Your Two Way Radio Source!
 

MadSpleen85

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I know, old thread but, I am finally coming to a point where I am going to be purchasing very soon.. Before the end of the week. Anyone have any experience with the Larsen NMO150/450/800 in the 700mhz range?

Leaning towards the Fender mount for my personal vehicle and a hole mount for my work vehicle.
 

n5ims

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I know, old thread but, I am finally coming to a point where I am going to be purchasing very soon.. Before the end of the week. Anyone have any experience with the Larsen NMO150/450/800 in the 700mhz range?

Leaning towards the Fender mount for my personal vehicle and a hole mount for my work vehicle.

Receive-only it works fine. Never tried to transmit using it (no license on that band available to test with for a start).
 

MadSpleen85

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Just want to make sure before I order.... To connect to a Radio Shack scanner, I need the BNC Male installed on the antenna coax cable. Correct?

I know, beginner question but, I have been working all night and want to make sure I do this right the first time. Thanks!
 

Rt169Radio

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Just want to make sure before I order.... To connect to a Radio Shack scanner, I need the BNC Male installed on the antenna coax cable. Correct?

I know, beginner question but, I have been working all night and want to make sure I do this right the first time. Thanks!

Yes,in order to connect a antenna coax cable to the RS pro-106 scanner you need a bnc male,if the coax does not already have a bnc male at the end.
 
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the one i got for my car is a Motorola (HAF-4017A) antenna kit its a vehicle roof-top mount.it covers 764-870 MHz.it works great on the Digital radio systems and also conv channels.the kit does not come with a BNC connector so i did get a crimp on type and it works great i use to work for a Motorola shop so mine was not to high in price i do have a spare antenna kit maybe will sell it been selling them at hamfests a lot and only have one spare left.i did have a pro-2096 in the car and now looking to buy a new moble when and if the GRE-800 moble type comes out at the end of the year.
 
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