Austin Spectra

[reconrider8]

I know this subject has been brought up of times before but wheres best/cheapest place to buy and is it really worth all the money? How would it perform on 48. untuned? hoe hard is it to tune? what is the reception like on 800/ Range? And last but not least how would it work on NMO Trunk Lip Mount I have a 2010 corolla and i was wondering would this antenna/mount combo work on the trunklip since i have a spoiler? Im sorry for all the questions here at once but i really wanna get an external antenna for this car so i can play more for cheaper (gas) over my jeep. I really dont want to put a mag mount on the car and thats what i have for my larsen tribander on my jeep. Thanks in advance!

 

[skatertj]

The Austin will work with a trunk lip mount. To tune the top whip, it would just be cut to a certain length for the low band frequencies you want to listen too. Since it is used to receive, being precise on the tune wouldnt be fully necessary. I dont own this antenna but this is what i know from many other posts and i havent heard how well it receives 800mhz.

 

[russellmaher]

Hi reconrider8. I have the Spectra and have been using it for about six years now. I use the NMO trunk lip mount and have on all my cars since I don't want to drill holes and I don't like the magnet mount. I'm afraid the magnet mount will scratch the finish.

You'll have to shop around the web and see which dealer has the best price. I drove up to Austin's factory in New Hampshire back in the fall of 2006 to buy the Spectra and the Ferret also, so I don't know what it sells for now.

The frequency coverage is excellent for my purposes. I mostly listen to VHF High, UHF, and 800 MHz.and this antenna does a great job. I don't listen to Low Band much, so I have not trimmed the top part of the antenna, but the adjustment for Low Band is easily done. If you want the best performance at 48 MHz, you should cut the top whip to approx. 4 3/4 to 5 inches. I think the 48 in your post refers to that frequency, yes?

As far as if I think it's worth the exra $$, I will say yes it is, but you'll get other opinions that will say no. So it's really up to you. I am a very satisfied Spectra user, and I'll attach a pic of my car so you can see how it looks. Good Luck to you in your search.

Russell

 

[tglendye]

I think it's a good, but ugly antenna. The biggest difference I noticed was on VHF-Lo. It was a big improvement over other typical scanner antennas I used. I did not really notice any difference on VHF-hi or UHF and I don't have any 800mhz systems in my area to monitor on a regular basis.

If VHF-Lo is important to you, I would recommend it. The cheapest place I found at the time was Ham Radio Outlet (online site). I cut mine for the center of lowband (about 40 mhz), mainly for Virginia's SIRS (39.54). If that did not work well, you could cut it shorter to the 48mhz length. The antenna came with a chart on the length to cut the whip, if desired.

It is a good antenna, but I don't use mine that often anymore just because there is not much in my area on lowband to listen to, except for occasional traffic on SIRS and a neighboring Sheriff's TAC channel. I use a vhf 1/4 wave, but I do miss the way the A/S is able to pull the lowband signals in.

Hope this helps.

 

[reconrider8]

Ok ill post a pic of my car tomm when its light out but russell can you post a pic of how you actually mounted it so i can get an idea how to do it and we dont have alot of low band but the farmers use it and like doc but the main reason i want it is for dominion

 

[tglendye]

He probably uses something like this: Trunk Lip Mount w Cable Stainless Steel for NMO Antenna Workman WEP314N | eBay

Any type of nmo mount will work with the A/S. I have used this trunk lip NMO mounts and they work really well.

 

[reconrider8]

it wants to be aggravating now http://vvcap.net/db/2hlBFZj6***M743jRF78.htp thats one pic
VVCap Image thats the other one

would a trunk lip work with that setup?

 

[russellmaher]

The Spectra is sold by many online dealers and this link has a nice listing for it, so take a look here - the price seems fair - and remember you have to order the antenna and then select the type of mount you want. In your case it would be the NMO Trunk Lip Mount with the cable and BNC connector to hook to your scanner. Which scanner are you using?

Are there any dealers that carry the Spectra in your local area, so you could see it up close?

Try this site for info...http://http://www.rfwiz.com/AustinAntenna/AustinAntennaSpectra.htm- 65k -

 

[reconrider8]

ill be using it on a pro 106 but my question is how exactly does the trunklip mount hook up and would it hook up to my car and not hit the back glass or top of the car

 

[Techy]

Recon, it will look like the image below. The yellow line signifies the trunk lip leading edge and it hooks onto the lip. The yellow arrow points to 2 set screws you would tighten to get a bite onto the lip.

 

[reconrider8]

o ok i just dont want it to hit my roof or anything and i cant mount it on the side and have it where the lid opens but not the antenna

 

[russellmaher]

Thank you Techy for the picture that really shows how it will mount. Those yellow inserts are just what we needed...don't know how you did it, but it was right on.

reconrider8: I'm afraid that the Spectra WILL touch the glass and/or the roof because it is a whopping 33 inches tall, and the picture of your car with the open trunk shows the trunk almost in an upright position. You won't be able to avoid contact with the car or the glass. You'll just have to be cautious when opening the trunk...go slowly - that's what I do.

Even if you mount the Spectra on the side of the trunk (in a location short of the spoiler) it will still touch the glass/roof because of the way it opens up.

Russell

 

[reconrider8]

o ok hmmm i guess i cant do anything but try then lol i wish i could mount it to the side so the trunk would open and the antenna would stay where it is lol

 

[russellmaher]

That's a possibility! Larsen Antennas TMB-34 is a mount that attaches to the inside of the trunk gutter with 3 screws and has a 3/4 hole to mount the antenna. The screws cannot be seen from outside and the antenna will stay in the upright position even if you open the trunk.

Do a Google search of Larsen AntennasTMB-34 to see what I'm talking about.

Russell

 

[russellmaher]

http://www.repeater-builder.com/antenna/pdf/larsen-mobile-antenna-mounting-and-designations.pdf

Also, try this link for more information.


Russell

 

[scottyhetzel]

o ok hmmm i guess i cant do anything but try then lol i wish i could mount it to the side so the trunk would open and the antenna would stay where it is lol

Hi,
Highway patrol in my state uses 42 MHz... Mine is tuned for 42 MHz.. I freaking love it... I had a dedicated antennex for 42 and its the same as my austin spectra quad band...All the other bands are great... It has a spring but it's for in expected forgets on parking garages... I will admit its not the preetist... Bit all about performance. I have mine roof toppled on a nmo.. I'm using a uniden 15x....soon a 996xt .
I give it 5 stars...it was painted flat black I would give it. 6 stars.

 

[K2KOH]

I use the Austin Spectra on my Ford Escape. The Spectra has gone cross country with me and my Pro 197, and performed FLAWLESSLY across the board. I am extremely impressed with the low band performance of the antenna here in Putnam County, NY. 700/800 MHz performance is excellent. I wrote a review about the Spectra elsewhere in the forum. It's worth every penny.

 

[russellmaher]

Hi N2MWE:

Just a quick question....did you trim the top whip section of the Spectra for your low band or just leave it as it came?

Russell

 

[K2KOH]

I left it as is. I monitor 46.38 in Putnam, but if I travel upstate the freqs are 33 MHz. No problem as is!

 

[russellmaher]

Same here....since I don't monitor Low Band, my Spectra is untouched.

Russell