Antenna for Ford Crown Victoria

[russianspd]

Well the cup holder slides in and out and it has my only A/C connector in the car which I use to charge my Iphone. The small shot antenna is the magnetic one. It can be removed by just picking it off. The larger antenna is semi glued on but covers a pre existing hole. I can just install the antenna into that hole. Another reason why I think i'd just be better overall to take it into would be that they can find easier way to either fill in or widen the hole if needed to make the antenna work. So pretty much buy the antenna and the mount and take it to them.

There's nothing in the travel console. I just got it as a filler for the gap between the two seats. It's loosely screwed into the flooring.

 

[skatertj]

Well you may be right on the hole size but if it is too big, i would try and watch their work when filling in the hole with whatever they use. You dont want them to seal it with something then make the mount not have a metal to metal contact with the roof or mounting it there will be pointless.

I also forgot about the cigarette lighter plug. Since you use it, id suggest to just keep it or pull it out and move it somewhere, if you end up liking where my scanner is. Ill get a picture tomorrow. Also i think that hole wasn't used for an antenna. It is pretty far forward and to the right for it to be an antenna hole. My guess is, is that its from a light bars electrical cord as i have a hole that far forward but on the left(drivers side) of the roof. If it is from a light bar, then it should be perfect size. Should be but maybe to large depending on the size of cable they had running through it.

 

[russianspd]

There's actually two on the roof. One with a plug and one with the antenna over it. The one with the antenna is a bit more back and to the right than the one with the plug. Just to verify there NEEDS to be metal to metal with the mount of the antenna or the the actually mount with the cord that has the SMA or BNC connector?
I'm thinking the forward hole held the lightbar cord. The one with the antenna seems too far off to the side and back to be under the lightbar.

 

[skatertj]

Yes you are correct about which hole is which! I wasnt sure if you have another sealed on or not. Since you say you do, that was definitely the lightbar hole. Mine is sealed as well.

You do need metal to metal between the mount and roof. The antenna screws onto the mount. The mount has two pieces to it. An outer screw and the bottom mount. if you look at the picture of that mount( Maxrad BMA - $16.95 : The Antenna Farm :: , Your Two Way Radio Source! ), it should give you a perfect example of what i mean. The bottom half with the cable goes through hole with cable and the gold plate under the roof. The top screws onto the bottom half from the TOP of the roof. This is where you need metal to metal. The antenna will screw onto the top screw that i have just explained. Also, that mount is smaller than what you will use. You will be using a 3/4 like this Tram 1252-BNC - $14.95 : The Antenna Farm :: , Your Two Way Radio Source! but it doesnt need to be gold lol.

I hope that is easy to understand if not i can find a better description lol

 

[russianspd]

Makes sense. So the cord part with scew goes under the roof, and then the round top screws onto the corder part from the rooftop down and then the antenna screws onto the part that comes up from that part.

So from bottom up, cord with scew-circle onto screw- antenna ontop of the circle with the screw coming through?

 

[russianspd]

How's this for a general instal guide? How To Install A NMO Ham Radio Mobile Antenna Mount - YouTube

And from looking at the accessories for the scanner it comes with an antenna that has an BNC connector. So that solves that question with what type of cabling to get.

 

[N5TWB]

From your pictures, it appears the antenna you already have there is a 5/8 over 5/8 co-linear antenna for 800 MHz. Since the lighting is not the best and it is a black antenna on a black car, I'm not absolutely certain of that but that's what I think it is. If that is the case, or perhaps you are uncertain, I'd still make the effort to find the end of that antenna's cable and find out if it works for the agencies you want to monitor. You might not need a new antenna. If it is actually the antenna I think it is, it may work better than anything you're considering.

 

[russianspd]

I bondoed the inside of the antenna so I had a solid base to help "secure" it to the roof over the hole. So it's unuseable. The only antenna I have that wouldn't require getting a new antenna would be getting a mag mounted cable but idk if that smaller antenna is 800mhz or not. I'm OK with spending the 20-35$ to get the proper item.

 

[skatertj]

Ok i got your pictueres haha so here we go.

This is a panaorma of my passenger side showing the A, B and C pillars.

Next Picture is showing you the C pillar. The red arrow shows how to pop of this cover. You just light tug on the top and itll start popping out. It is pretty easy to pull off and may require the door seal to be pulled off some. Also the seat belt does not need to be removed. The blue arrow shows where the push pin use to be. I never got new ones yet because it really doesnt make the headliner sag. Both pins and both driver and pass cover may need to be removed.

Next few pictures show the passenger foot well. It shows where my scanners power cable is and where the grounding block is located. For this cover it can just be pulled toward the rear of car and will come off. It has to push pins that hold it in place. They should not break if you pull slow and steady. The green arrow also points to the grounding block.

This picture shows my power cable and how it is attached to the old spotlight HOT wire(Green and yellow wire).

The last few show my antenna and scanners location.

Black plug was old antenna spot on the roof. The plug is kinda hard to see in pic.

 

[skatertj]

That should help in a way but i know a step by step guide on removing the headliner would help haha. Since the hole is so close to the passenger B pillar, im thinking you will need to remove the A-B-C pillars to get that side low enough to reach the hole. Then all you will need to do it run the wire behind B pillar cover then under your mat or carpet to the scanner.

 

[russianspd]

Thanks for the pics. I ordered the radio and am just waiting for some final thoughts on the antennas. Would 12ft cable work ok? I'm planning on needing an BNC connector.

With todays technology it just might be easier to do a skype/ovoo call and have on the go help. If you're willing of course.

Really appreciate the help.

 

[skatertj]

Hey its no problem. Its pretty easy really. I would skype but i dont have wireless internet... 12 ft will work fine for the spot on the roof. it may reach the trunk if you ever want it there but im not really sure. I have a 17ft cable for my mount. Also i can try and get better pics of how to remove all the covers and things to get to the roof. Things like the door seals just pull off. They are held in by their own pressure. Everything else has clips.

 

[russianspd]

I saw a 17 foot cable last night. But when I went back to find it I couldn't. But if you think 12 will work i'll go ahead and go for it. I think I am stuck between these two.
Maxrad PCTCN7080

PCTEL Maxrad - 806-866 3dB Titanium Gray Open Coil

Buying this right now

 

[skatertj]

Well i can tell you this. The open coil will give better reception in hill, moutanish region while the other will be better in open or town like areas when your close to the towers. If you need distance the open coil will be best. Do you know what type of coax you ordered?

 

[russianspd]

I haven't ordered it quite yet. Been busy today. I rarely ever go towards the mountains. The most likely chance would be me going from the Valley through to Livermore and over to the Bay Area. 90% will be in town area and open flat land so to speak.

The curly antenna is better for town and open and the straight is better for mountains right?

As far as the coax cable, i'm assuming that is separate from the cable for the mount correct? If so, I will need some help figuring out which coax cable will work for me I guess.

The joys of being new to an extensive hobby.

 

[skatertj]

Alright the coax is the cable. There are MANY different types. Rg-59 is most common when bought per-connected. This coax isnt great for 800mhz. The best would be rg-8 but it is more expensive. I dont know much about coax cables on which is best but if you want the best, look up a coax attenuation chart. Itll tell you how much loss each cable type has at 800 or 900 mhz. The lower the loss, the better the cable.

As far as antenna, I THINK the curly would be better to get distance and straight better for towns. I heard this is because when your in a city or town, a Db gain antenna can actually draw in interference into your scanner making you have static when listening. This is because, in a town there is more things the antenna will pick off that is off the band your listening to like FM towers or cell towers. The straight technically has zero gain. Making it just a whip. the scanner will pick up the signal still but want be overpowered by other signals.

Now i could be wrong but this is what ive heard on here before. You may want to see if someone else can verify that though.

 

[russianspd]

Small update. Got the scanner yesterday. Was able through several tries to successfully program my local PD and SO. I bought the cables but am having a hell of a time getting the com port to be recognized and work. Think i'll take it back and get my refund seeing as how I have the scanner doing what I want it to.

I noticed the PRI scan is a tad delayed on locking onto the PRI channel when it's active, have the PRI interval set to 3 seconds. I'm paralleling it with my pro-106 to help track a sweet spot with minimal delay.

Now time to order the cables and the antenna.

 

[skatertj]

Good to hear you got the radio!!! I dont know much about the software for uniden so i cant help with the com stuff but if you got the radio working how you want it then good job!!! A lot of people cant program by hand haha. Just keep my posted on everything and if you need help, im more than willing.

 

[russianspd]

Heard the exact same thing from people who bought and reviewed the PRO-106 and I got that figured out really quickly. Probably took me around an hour or so to figure out the difference between setting the frequency on a systems VS on a group. I was still confused as to why it ONLY lets you program frequencies on a system first and then individually by groups. Got this talksystem stuff stuck in my head from tinkering with SAC County.

Where you have your radio located, if you're driving and there's a event going on it is much trouble to be able to see what you're pushing or turning down where it's at? I was thinking of putting it someplace adjacent to where I sit. Maybe putting a platform into my center console and putting the scanner so that I can slide the lid back and have access to the radio and slide it back over when I don't use it. Would involved drilling into the lower side of the console to get the wires running through but it seems like a solid idea though.

If I already have previous holes in my roof, would they most likely be 3/4' or 3/8? Need to get the right type end for the cable.

 

[skatertj]

Im gonna say they SHOULD be 3/4 but mine wasnt... i had to make it bigger. Best thing to do is measure the hole and see.

I have no problems really seeing my radio. The most I ever do with it while driving is press ATT and select banks plus volume of course. When i need to see it, its just a quick glance down. Anywhere you install it between the seats should be good. That is where all police unit radios are installed on a Vic.