Any idea what this is for?

[dave3825]

I dont think its lojack. On a pickup with normal passenger plates, not any kind of official vehicle. Some little box on the brackets connecting them all.

 

[nd5y]

It's a doppler direction finder. Probably a ham.

 

[buddrousa]

We have a PD Car with a LoJack setup like that.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I dont think its lojack. On a pickup with normal passenger plates, not any kind of official vehicle. Some little box on the brackets connecting them all.


View attachment 149075

Could be a member of Civil Air patrol.

 

[trentbob]

I dont think its lojack. On a pickup with normal passenger plates, not any kind of official vehicle. Some little box on the brackets connecting them all.


View attachment 149075

Just to confirm the obvious, the power lines in the photo are not in any way involved with this antenna?

@buddrousa, I've never seen anything like that involved with LoJack LOL, not in the mobile application, it's always been the four quarter wave VHF antennas. I'm curious buddy.

 

[buddrousa]

Our PD Car had 4 1/4 wave VHF Antennas. This was on a car the the POLICE CHIEF won at a TN Police Convention. It was the only one in the area I live in. Thats all I had to go on.

 

[trentbob]

After all these years, sometimes I don't know what to think about what you say buddy as you are a real Kidder. So when was LoJack really effectively used on a regular bases, I know I haven't seen it mounted on any police vehicles for I don't know, decades, maybe less.😄😄😄.

 

[buddrousa]

Sorry I just said what I know was a fact of a car we received the car is no longer inservice it was a 2010 Charger.
For a town of 10,000 it was a big deal for us.

 

[nd5y]

We have a PD Car with a LoJack setup like that.

I have never seen LoJack use mag mount antennas with a box in the middle.

 

[dave3825]

I had googled doppler and lojack earlier and was unable to find something like what I saw today. Lojack are just 4 antenna mounted on the roof.

Just to confirm the obvious, the power lines in the photo are not in any way involved with this antenna?

The black horizontal lines (power lines) are not. But the aluminum colored horizontal thing circled in red is part of it.



And then there is the box in the middle (above 3rd brake light)

 

[KevinC]

I have never seen LoJack use mag mount antennas with a box in the middle.

Me either.

 

[trentbob]

I had googled doppler and lojack earlier and was unable to find something like what I saw today. Lojack are just 4 antenna mounted on the roof.


The black horizontal lines (power lines) are not. But the aluminum colored horizontal thing circled in red is part of it.

View attachment 149078

And then there is the box in the middle (above 3rd brake light)

Yeah I honestly have no idea whatsoever, I just know about LoJack antenna installations on police cars which I've done many, it was a pretty big fad back when cars were equipped with it. Police departments cooperated by getting the equipment and you would see, I think antenna specialist brand nmo quarter wave VHF High antennas on the roof of a car. Four of them.

Haven't seen that in a long long time, except for some old beater unmarked police cars used during riots and extended gunfights in the back lot of the police department, but that's as far as it goes with me. LOL.

 

[PACNWDude]

I have a former law enforcement "AID Bird Dog RX360" radio direction finder that has an antenna layout much like the one pictured. It has folding "X" type arms that make it easier to correctly separate the four antennas based on frequency (further apart for lower frequency/longer antennas), with an electrical connection box in the middle that then connects to a head unit inside the car.

Mine was made to "listen" to specific transmitters that came with the unit (four frequency options were available when this unit was new), but they can be modified for different receivers and frequency band/antennas.

 

[merlin]

This is a DF array. the box handles the phasing. It could well be LoJack.
I the antennae is mag mount, spacing is very critical to performance.
Another possible: this could be just a steerable 2 meter setup.

 

[merlin]

Could be a member of Civil Air patrol.

That could be also. SAR locating aircraft E beakons.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I have a former law enforcement "AID Bird Dog RX360" radio direction finder that has an antenna layout much like the one pictured. It has folding "X" type arms that make it easier to correctly separate the four antennas based on frequency (further apart for lower frequency/longer antennas), with an electrical connection box in the middle that then connects to a head unit inside the car.

Mine was made to "listen" to specific transmitters that came with the unit (four frequency options were available when this unit was new), but they can be modified for different receivers and frequency band/antennas.

So probably an old school PI tracking some wayward spouse from bar to motel.

A.I.D. AUDIO-INTELLIGENCE-DEVICES Vintage VEHICLE BIRD DOG TRACKING DEVICE | #524121226

Vintage NSA tested and Government utilized BIRD DOG tracking device. Circa 1995. This is an operational unit used in the 1990's. Date is approximate. Device name appears in NSA field testing data from

www.worthpoint.com

 

[Citywide173]

After all these years, sometimes I don't know what to think about what you say buddy as you are a real Kidder. So when was LoJack really effectively used on a regular bases, I know I haven't seen it mounted on any police vehicles for I don't know, decades, maybe less.😄😄😄.

Still have plenty around here...although the Corporate HQ for Lojack is also around here.

 

[ecps92]

Still have plenty around here...although the Corporate HQ for Lojack is also around here.

Corp HQ "was" around here, till they got adsorbed by Calamp back in 2015 and now sold to Spireon in 2021