Response
ryanmalott said:
Im looking for a mobile scanner antanna, something low profile, for my truck so I can run my bc350a in it. Where would be the best mounting place, I was wondering on getting a magnet mount and mount it below my tool box in my bed, would that be a good place? How would I go about running the wire, should I run it straight to the antanna or have some extra lenth maybe coiled up? thanks, also Im looking in the 35 to 50 $$ range.
Rooftop is the theoretical ideal (though I certainly realize practical difficulties). In general higher up on the vehicle, is better for reception, but presents obvious difficulties for keeping your antenna long-term (trees, garages, etc). I would think below the bed would be the worst possible choice, but it can't hurt, esp if you are using a mag mount to experiment.
Generally, I'm unaware of any standard procedure of saving up a coiled length of coax for a mobile installation. This might be considered if you are certain that somehow, RF is getting into the scanner via the coax braid.
As far as getting it into the cab, I'm no mechanic but I suspect you'll need to drill a hole. If you go this route, make sure you use a nice grommet or some kind of shield (silicone etc), to protect the coax from abrasion at the insertion point.
Lastly, although its for cars check out this url. The first page has a nice graphic that shows estiamted DB loss associated with different antenna mounting locations:
http://www.radialllarsen.com/docfiles/ASB6/Mobile/ASB6MobileIntro.pdf
