wpwx694
Member
What's the best hi gain nmo moblie antenna?
I'm looking at Comet 2x4 but are there any other high gain gmrs antennas
I'm looking at Comet 2x4 but are there any other high gain gmrs antennas
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Best high gain gmrs mobile antenna
- Thread starter wpwx694
- Start date
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Skip the hammy/hobby grade stuff if you want something decent. There's nothing magical about those antennas, and most of them are butt ugly.
Stick to what the professionals use. Usually cost is the same or less than the hobby grade antennas, and it'll easily outlast your vehicle. There's a reason why fire trucks, ambulances and police cars are not running these ham grade antennas.
I've got Larsen antennas that are 30+ years old now, still working as well as the day I bought them.
I've been using them at work for about 20 years now, no issues.
I recently started spec'ing EM Wave antennas and am thoroughly impressed with their stuff.
As for high gain, remember that everything is a trade off.
Higher gain is achieved by changing the radiation pattern of the antenna. A higher gain antenna will focus energy at the horizon, which can be good in some applications. If your vehicle gets into the mountains, dense cities, or places where you are at extreme angles to the other radios, high gain can result in energy being focused above or below who you are trying to talk to. Higher gain antennas are longer, which can create clearance issues if you have a tall vehicle or wander into low tree branches or parking garages. Higher gain antennas also give up useable bandwidth. Not an issue when you only need GMRS, but if you need additional spectrum, it can work against you
Low gain antennas can work better in some applications. Lower profile, too. But will give you a bit less range if you are out on the plains. They will have much wider usable bandwidth, which can be good if you want to listen to other frequencies in the UHF band, or if you get your ham license and want to program some ham/70cm frequencies into your radio. Usually less expensive than the higher gain antennas, also.
And remember, there's no reason to search on "GMRS antenna", unless you want to pay extra. All you need is an antenna that will cover the 460MHz band, and you'll be good. Most amateur radio antennas are not designed to work in that portion of the UHF band.
A good medium gain antenna can be a good all around solution.
EM Wave:
EM Wave EM-M10003 - UHF High Gain Antennas
UHF 3dB gain roof mount antenna w/ spring 420-470 MHz (tunable range)
theantennafarm.com
EM Wave EM-M10007 - UHF High Gain Antennas
UHF 5dB gain roof mount antenna w/ spring 420-470 MHz (tunable range)
theantennafarm.com
EM Wave EMFLX-M10003 - UHF High Gain Antennas
UHF 3dB gain roof mount antenna, e/m-Flex® Poly spring 420-470 MHz (tunable range)
theantennafarm.com
Larsen:
Larsen NMO4503CS UHF 450-470MHz 5/8 Wave 3db Gain Mobile Antenna NMO Mount
450-470 MHz Base loaded 5/8 wave 3dB antenna with integrated spring. Maximum Power 200(Watts), Whip Length 19"
theantennafarm.com
Larsen NMOWB450C UHF Wide Band 450-470MHz Mobile Antenna 35 1/2" w/Spring Base
450-470 MHz Wideband Antenna. Gain (dB) 3.5, Maximum Power 200(Watts), Whip Length 35 1/2"
theantennafarm.com
Yup.
K6GBW
Member
mmckenna is right about not getting too hung up on high gain. Sometimes it can actually hurt you rather than help. Here in the Los Angeles area if you run a high gain antenna your signal into repeaters gets kind of sketchy because you're actually talking under the repeaters. Moderate gain antennas seem to work best as they offer both good coverage into repeaters AND decent simplex. Simplex is always going to be limited by terrain and the curvature of the earth so just shoot for something reasonable. I had a high gain UHF antenna on my pick up truck and it sounded horrible. I was constantly in and out of the repeater. I changed to a good old quarter wave and voila! I was solid.
ben_r_
Member
Can those still be found? Seems like they've been out of production for years...
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
No longer manufactured, as you are finding.
They can periodically be found on the used market, but they likely won't be new.
I'm kind of mixed on them. They were good antenna, but they were an elevated feed, which was good for trunk mounting and getting the radiating element above the roof line. It meant they were kind of tall, and tended to take a lot of hits. Pay close attention to the condition of the base.
If you don't need to mount on the trunk, there are antennas out there that will probably work equally well if you mount them correctly. Plus, new won't have the possible issues with deterioration or branch/garage strikes.
The TDE-6082A is not an elevated feed, it’s a 2 element colinear with 1/4 wave phasing coil in the center and field adjustable matching circuit in the base. It’s at least a 5/8 over 5/8 and taller than any other UHF mobile antenna I have found. In my testing in the late 70s it put out a better signal than the Larsen 2 element colinear or the Antenna Specialists, about the only two competitors it had at the time.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Maybe I'm thinking of a different antenna. PD around where I grew up had something like that.
But I've heard enough people speak highly of those that I'm keeping my eyes open for them. I just remember them being pretty tall and no spring at the base, which would concern me. Again, maybe thinking of something else.
There is a clever internal spring inside and the antenna folds completely over at the base. You could drive into a garage just 3” taller than this antenna and nothing bad will happen, probably the best spring design I’ve ever seen. Here is an old picture I posted showing the Motorola TDE-6082A antenna next to an old Maxrad 5dB and a Larsen open coil colinear. Notice how tall the Motorola is compared to the others. If merlin and I show up for a UHF antenna shootout I’ll bet we would be tie winners. Ok I think I would win but at least we would both have the same antenna.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Yep, that's the one I remember. My brain must be fried.
San Jose PD had those on the roof of their cars for a long time. I remember doing a ride-a-long with my uncle and that antenna made a ton of noise when it would hit things. They had good coverage with their old UHF conventional system, though.
I still like my 1/4 wave.
San Jose PD had those on the roof of their cars for a long time. I remember doing a ride-a-long with my uncle and that antenna made a ton of noise when it would hit things. They had good coverage with their old UHF conventional system, though.
I still like my 1/4 wave.
