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Salvatorejrc

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This is probably an obvious to most that are experienced with scanning, but will a mobile/portable antenna that is designed for a specific band ALWAYS perform better in that band than one that is designed for multiple/all bands?
 

prcguy

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No. Take a 2" tall VHF only rubber duck and compare with a typical 6" multiband rubber duck, the 2" will not do as well as the larger multiband. Compare a stacked 5/8 over 5/8 wave UHF mobile antenna to a Larsen tri-band and the larger gain type UHF will work much better but on UHF only. Size and "capture area" is a big factor.

This is probably an obvious to most that are experienced with scanning, but will a mobile/portable antenna that is designed for a specific band ALWAYS perform better in that band than one that is designed for multiple/all bands?
 

paulears

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If you want gain at the expense of everything, then the science usually dictates that to get gain at one frequency, performance elsewhere is not so good. Gain, however is only part of the story. Orientation and height come into it. So reliable commercial radio systems often have small and inefficient antennas - but the remote antenna systems are up high, and have consistent performance, so the mobiles can be in pockets, inside jackets, paying on the vehicle dashboard and used in virtually any orientation. The hundreds of YouTube videos show the gainer antennas being tested to get the absolute maximum distance, but the minute the radio is lowered a bit, the antenna tilted, or somebodies body comes between the two radios, they die. Stupidly long antennas on tiny radios always make me laugh.
 
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