Best mobile antenna for all frequencies?
- Thread starter TXjeep98
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Take a look at the Larsen Tri-band antenna. It's only 16.5 inches tall and covers 150-165, 450-470, and 806-940 mhz. It also uses the popular NMO mount. I bought one from Ham Radio outlet for about $25 (?) and I've been satisfied with it. Not as much gain as some more expensive antennas but it works for me, plus it matches my Larsen 2 meter/440 antenna on my truck.
I've monitored the Augusta/Richmond County, Georgia TRS from a distance of approximately 25 miles. I can also monitor Aiken County, South Carolina 450 mhz comms from a distance of 40 miles.
I've monitored the Augusta/Richmond County, Georgia TRS from a distance of approximately 25 miles. I can also monitor Aiken County, South Carolina 450 mhz comms from a distance of 40 miles.
doctordave
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I also have one and love it.
I have tried them all and always come back to a vhf 1/4 wave, that is a rod about 18" long. Cost about 5 dollars. Works as good as anything I have tried.
okla-lawman
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All band I would tri the austin antenna Spectra. Otherwise get a good
antenna for the freqs you listen to.
antenna for the freqs you listen to.
KT4HX
Member
I have to agree with the others that the Larsen mobile for $25 at HRO is a good deal. I bought one as I was less than satisfied with my Nil-Jon mobile. I swapped them out in the HRO parking lot and immediately picked up my home county EDACS system from about 35 miles away when the Nil-Jon was Nil-Signal! Of course no one antenna will give you premium performance across all ranges but for the price, this one does really well - plus as pointed out, if you're a ham works well with your mobile transceiver.
K5MAR
Member
No, just that it can do either, but not both at the same time.
Mark S.
Mark S.
K5MAR
Member
TXjeep98 said:
Ask away. But you might want to start a new topic in the Tavern, as Amateur Radio isn't exactly "on-topic" in the Scanning Forum. And yes, that is my amateur radio callsign, it's what they call a "vanity" callsign, as I asked for that particular combination:
K5MAR -> K 5 MAR -> MARK 5 -> MARK S
Cool, huh! (Anyway, I like it!) :lol:
Mark S.
allen5565
Member
Have you looked at Rich Wells' mobile antella comparison chart? It's extensive and illuminating. If you're interested in the Larsen tri-band, consider the BMAXSCAN1000, the sensitivity for which is said to be a bit better. I have to say my favorite remains the Larsen NMO800. I am astonished at how well it does across VHF, UHF, & of course 800.
Do check out this page, though:
http://www.northwestradio.com/interceptnw/antennas.htm
Do check out this page, though:
http://www.northwestradio.com/interceptnw/antennas.htm
tglendye
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River- VA
I was going through these posts to find a decent mobile antenna. The Larsen looks good, but I have a couple of VHF-lo freq's I listen to also. Does anyone have experience with it on vhf-lo? Thanks.
doctordave
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It's roughly as good as a stock portable scanner rubber ducky on 30-40 MHZ....which isn't so good. Surprisingly, for me, an un-cut 21 inch whip (from Sti-Co.....it's made of a material that will not break if bent) considerably outperformed the tri-bander on 30-50 MHZ..... For much of VHF-Hi, UHF and 800, however, you'll be quite pleased w/ the tri-bander.
tglendye said:
For good VHF low band reception, the antenna needs to be long. The Antenna Specialist MONR52 and MONR53 are all band scanner antennas that work really well on all bands, including VHF low band. The downside is that they're long (somewhere between 3 and 4 feet) and expensive. And to many people, big and long=undesirable. The only reason I don't use one now myself is because it's too long for the roof of my pickup truck.
If VHF low band isn't as important to you as other bands, I would go with an 18" scanner antenna such as the Larsen NMO 150/400/800.
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