Best Portable/Mobile ecosystem: NX-5000 line vs Motorola R7 + XPR5000e

[lucasec]

Why do you think you need the SD card option? I'm not running it on any of our radios. I don't need to record audio at the radio and I don't need to track GPS location.

Yeah, I could probably pass on this one.

I would imagine it being useful in a multi-deck setup to re-play something you couldn't quite make out when two decks were receiving simultaneously, but if I understand right, I can get about 30sec-1min out of the deck's built-in memory which is almost always certainly enough.

 

[AM909]

@lucasec I sent you a PM.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Icom (even repeaters), too.

True, I guess. It definitely isn't a brand I would ever consider for P25.

Everything I have read about the Icom P25 offerings says that conventional is about the only place to use it.

Lots of firmware issues they are not fixing in the trunking realm.

 

[AK9R]

The Kenwood power supply is just a rebadged (can't remember the brand).

Samlex?

100-240V 23 Amp Switching Power Supply | SEC-1223P | Samlex America

23A Desktop Switching AC-DC Power Supply with universal AC input 100-240V 50/60Hz. Quiet, power factor corrected & safety certified for global use.

samlexamerica.com

 

[emacs]

KPS-15 is a rebadged SEC-1223 with two minor differences (besides the branding) - the KPS-15 has slotted set screws on the DC terminals, the SEC-1223 has hex; and the SEC-1223 comes with crimp-on ferrules for your DC cable while the KPS-15 doesn’t.

 

[lucasec]

If all you are going to transmit on is 70cm, then get an NMO mount UHF antenna that gives you the gain you want. Stick with the name brand (Larsen, EM Wave, Laird) brands. Don't buy an expensive radio like this and connect it to some Chinese POS hammy grade antenna.

If you really plan on using this to listen to a lot of traffic across the useable band that this radio gives you, then my favorite has always been a basic 1/4 wave whip. Plenty of bandwidth to cover the capability of the radio.

Out of curiosity, if you do a multi-deck UHF and VHF, would you install two antennas on the vehicle or ever consider a diplexer setup sharing a single antenna capable of some performance on both bands?

A trade-off of less performance vs. less holes in the roof/intrusions to other parts of the body for antenna mounts, I suppose.

 

[tweiss3]

Out of curiosity, if you do a multi-deck UHF and VHF, would you install two antennas on the vehicle or ever consider a diplexer setup sharing a single antenna capable of some performance on both bands?

A trade-off of less performance vs. less holes in the roof/intrusions to other parts of the body for antenna mounts, I suppose.

I have a diplexer on my truck, it was not one of the name brands, but one built in Greece, it has the best isolation with least loss. My wife's car has 2 antennas, her UHF is better because it is a half wave UHF vs a 3/4 UHF with a weird pattern.

 

[mmckenna]

Out of curiosity, if you do a multi-deck UHF and VHF, would you install two antennas on the vehicle or ever consider a diplexer setup sharing a single antenna capable of some performance on both bands?

Would depend on the vehicle, at least for me.

If I had space for two properly installed NMO mounts, I'd do two separate mounts. That gives you the most flexibility to choose the correct antenna for each band and the specific application. Yes, you can do a single multi-band antenna through a diplexer, but that usually gives you a lower gain VHF antenna and a higher gain UHF antenna. The UHF antenna would get its gain by a compressed radiation pattern that may not be ideal for your specific application. Having two separate mounts lets you choose the right antenna for the job.
Plus, I like my 1/4 wave antennas.

If I only had space for one antenna, then I'd use a good diplexer and a multiband antenna. I've been running Harris XL-200 mobile radios on my work truck for about 2 years now, and I've been happy with the multiband antennas from Larsen and EM Wave. The truck is a regular cab F350, and it already has a separate 800MHz radio plus a blade antenna for the WiFi/LTE/GPS on the Harris, so a multiple antennas (radio would need 3 for the LMR side) was not an option. Plus, the Harris uses a single RF connector for the LMR side of the radio. Adding a diplexer was an option, but really only room for one antenna on that specific truck.

A trade-off of less performance vs. less holes in the roof/intrusions to other parts of the body for antenna mounts, I suppose.

I have no problems drilling holes, been doing it for a few decades. Never once had an NMO mount leak. Ever. If I have the space and the need, I'll install as many as required.

 

[AF1UD]

Out of curiosity, if you do a multi-deck UHF and VHF, would you install two antennas on the vehicle or ever consider a diplexer setup sharing a single antenna capable of some performance on both bands?

A trade-off of less performance vs. less holes in the roof/intrusions to other parts of the body for antenna mounts, I suppose.

I didn't want the long VHF 19inch on the roof of my car. I opted for the STI-CO shark fins and a V/U duplexer. Haven't had any problems!

 

[lucasec]

I have no problems drilling holes, been doing it for a few decades. Never once had an NMO mount leak. Ever. If I have the space and the need, I'll install as many as required.

How important is the spacing between antennas? I have to contend with a decent portion of the roof already taken up by moonroof + a SiriusXM sharkfin (a feature I do use).

I didn't want the long VHF 19inch on the roof of my car. I opted for the STI-CO shark fins and a V/U duplexer. Haven't had any problems!

Interesting suggestion. These do look nice, I see a few other threads about them, going to review to see if anyone has quantified the compromises vs using a 1/4th wave.

Also is it a standard feature of most antennas for the vertical part to unscrew for when I need to go through a car wash, low-clearance parking garage, etc.?

 

[mmckenna]

How important is the spacing between antennas? I have to contend with a decent portion of the roof already taken up by moonroof + a SiriusXM sharkfin (a feature I do use).

Spacing is important. Not only spacing between the VHF/UHF antennas, but also spacing form the satellite radio antenna.

How much spacing depends on the power involved. I'd put about 2 feet between your VHF/UHF antennas if installing separate ones. I'd put it a foot or two from the Satellite antenna. And remember, you really want to provide suitable ground plane, so measuring this all out carefully is important.

My wife has a 50 watt VHF in her truck. That antenna is spaced about 16 inches from the satellite radio antenna. Haven't had any issues with that.

Moonroof? You may want to do the diplexer/dual band antenna thing. That may simplify all this.

Interesting suggestion. These do look nice, I see a few other threads about them, going to review to see if anyone has quantified the compromises vs using a 1/4th wave.

You'd want the shark fin type antenna with the whip. The whip is going to be about 19" long. The no whip type VHF Antennas are usually poor performers and narrow bandwidth. Not what you want if you are going to be doing 2 meter band (4MHz) plus have good performance in the rest of the VHF band.

Also is it a standard feature of most antennas for the vertical part to unscrew for when I need to go through a car wash, low-clearance parking garage, etc.?

Yes. They'll unscrew off the NMO mount. You can install an "NMO Rain Cap" in it's place while in the car wash.

Some antennas, like the Larsen NMOQ type or the EM Wave antennas can just have the whips unscrewed and leave the base in place.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Out of curiosity, if you do a multi-deck UHF and VHF, would you install two antennas on the vehicle or ever consider a diplexer setup sharing a single antenna capable of some performance on both bands?

If I was installing a dual RF deck NX-5xxx mobile, I would drill for 2 antennas, but thats me. Less connectors, less loss without a diplexer. I'd also use a 1/4 wave for VHF and a 1/4 wave for UHF. If I used a single antenna, it would be a Larsen NMO 2/70B. None of the garbage hammy brands like Browning, Tram, MFJ, Comet, Diamond or Abbree branded antennas for me. Buy quality antennas like EMWave, Larsen or Laird. Currently, for single band antennas, I would pay the premium and buy EMWave.

 

[wd8chl]

The general theory is to mount antennas roughly a 1/4-wave apart at the lowest freq. band. In general, you want about a 1/4-wave of flat metal around each antenna as a ground plane. Plus being that far out helps to keep the pattern from being distorted, and lessens the RF coupling between antennas/radios when transmitting.