Best NMO mount

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DJ11DLN

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Stay away from the cheap ones (Tram Browning et al). You get what you pay for. I'd go with Laird just because I've used several and there were no issues with any of them, but there are others that have a good rep as well. Stick with something in the professional LMR line and you should do fine.
 

mmckenna

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I agree.
Do not drill a hole in a multi-thousand dollar vehicle and then plug it with the cheapest mount you can find. A good NMO mount will run around $20.
Larsen, Laird, Antenex, Maxrad. I personally prefer Larsen, mainly because I've been using them for 30 years and never had an issue.

Do not buy Browning/Tram, they are the BaoFeng of the antenna world. Do not buy the hobby brands sold by amateur radio shops, these are often rebranded mounts from other manufacturers.
Do it right the first time. You won't be sorry.
 
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6079smithw

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What Mr. Mckenna said... I've yet to have an issue with Larsen and Maxrad mounts, two of which have been on my Airstream trailer for almost 20 years.

Goes without saying, take your time drilling the hole... make certain there are no burrs and you have a nice clean ground connection.
Good Luck!
 

kayn1n32008

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I will third mmkenna. You get what you pay for. Tram, Browning, Comet, MFJ and Diamond are junk. Stay away from them.


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Project25_MASTR

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I like the 3/8 drill NMO mounts. Small hole and more surface area means less chance for a pull out from a low branch or parking garage.
Only downsides to those is they can't be installed blind and sometimes requires a third hand. I've never really liked them personally...only real option for thick surface mounts however. That being said, if you are worried about pull-outs from low branches or parking garages...try a different antenna. That's actually the reason I dropped the Comet CA-2x4SR from all of my vehicles (had two or three deployed at the time) overnight...struck a branch about midway up on and it ripped the mount out of the roof on one of my vehicles. Minor sheet metal damage but since I went to 1/4 wave and knob style antennas on every vehicle I put a radio in. Haven't seen a single difference in performance.

As far as mounts go...I personally like to keep the Larsen NMOHF mounts laying around (just the mount) so I can mate it to RG-58 or LMR195 with ease. I also have a handful of Motorola OEM kits laying about.
 

737mech

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I took the above advise. When I checked my cheap nmo I discovered a wrong bnc connector install, shield shorted to center conductor for 1" before the center conductor pin!! No wonder things weren't working out right!! Replaced with quality Larsen. Happy now! Thanks for pointing that out!
 

lu81fitter

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Glad you had good results! I have several Laird mounts laying around that I ordered from The Antenna Farm. I have had good luck with them. I've drilled 5 of them is the last 2 years. Have no complaints. I'm sure they will outlast my vehicles.
 
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