Better G5 Antenna

[b1100mac]

I am very impressed with my new G5 although I am waiting for the Phase 2 upgrade to listen to ALL of the systems I monitor. It seems to hear the local conventional p-25 traffic well with the internal antenna.
Just playing, I ordered a BNC male to Motorola SMA adapter for $12 on ebay and attached my R/S 800mhz rubber duck and all of my phase 1 trunking systems went from 1 or 2 bars to 5 bars across the board. I also tried a direct fit Motorola APX 800 duck and saw no difference from the factory supplied stubbie. Go figure.

 

[phirephoto]

Remember - VHF is handled by the internal antenna. The external antenna is only for 7/800. And I've found the stock antenna to do quite well on 7/800. But - keep in mind, there's the 'pin' length. If the center pin on the APX antenna isn't making contact, it might not even be 'used'. I lost the antenna, and tried a few antennas that worked well on a scanner, but left the G5 completely deaf on 7/800 - I'm assuming because they weren't making that center pin connection.

 

[b1100mac]

What???

 

[county]

I too am impressed with the performance of the stock shorty antenna! But if you need more performance this Moto XTS 700/800 7" duck is awesome: Motorola 8505241U11. It fits the G4/G5 and the SMA pin is long enough but the antenna skirt bulges just a littles bit when tightened all the way down.

It's available on a well known auction site for around $30 shipped, just be sure to look for the genuine article branded as Motorola.

 

[cpetraglia]

I took mine a step further with an 855 Mhz 6DB gain collinear outdoor antenna fed down with LMR400. I am receiving distant systems that my scanners were not hearing at all. Looking forward to the PII update.

 

[phirephoto]

What???

Care to be more specific?

 

[DaveIN]

Just playing, I ordered a BNC male to Motorola SMA adapter for $12 on ebay and attached my R/S 800mhz rubber duck and all of my phase 1 trunking systems went from 1 or 2 bars to 5 bars across the board. I also tried a direct fit Motorola APX 800 duck and saw no difference from the factory supplied stubbie. Go figure.

Funny how it always seems to go back to the RS800 antenna for most folks. I've always had good luck with that antenna and own a few of them. It's now available in SMA connector Remtronix REM-800B, Diamond REM-800S Scanner Antenna

 

[N8IAA]

Care to be more specific?

I'm going to presume that he was referencing the VHF internal antenna.
Larry

 

[county]

Funny how it always seems to go back to the RS800 antenna for most folks. I've always had good luck with that antenna and own a few of them. It's now available in SMA connector Remtronix REM-800B, Diamond REM-800S Scanner Antenna

That is great to know! FYI though to use this SMA male antenna with the G4/G5 one will need a gender changer adapter. I still plan to get one for use with my Uniden though!

 

[DaveIN]

Maybe if enough people request the Motorola SMA they would make one.

 

[APX8000]

I too am impressed with the performance of the stock shorty antenna! But if you need more performance this Moto XTS 700/800 7" duck is awesome: Motorola 8505241U11. It fits the G4/G5 and the SMA pin is long enough but the antenna skirt bulges just a littles bit when tightened all the way down.

It's available on a well known auction site for around $30 shipped, just be sure to look for the genuine article branded as Motorola.

Anyone know of one that doesn't cause the antenna skirt to bulge ?

 

[phirephoto]

Anyone know of one that doesn't cause the antenna skirt to bulge ?

You could use a little Dremmel tool on the skirting... I've done that with a few antennas before. :-D

 

[APX8000]

Always improvising for improved reception. Isn't that what it's all about ! Lol


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[IAmSixNine]

I had a couple spare moto 800mhz stubby antennas and i cut the bottom rubber down and it fit perfectly. It was just a test. The moto stubby performed just as well as the supplied stubby. I guess if i needed Extra range i could do the same with one of my standard 7inch 700/800 apx antennas. I have a couple of those around.

 

[DaveIN]

RS800 MHz antenna is the clear winner here again as well. 2-full bars over the stock stubby antenna.

 

[county]

Anyone know of one that doesn't cause the antenna skirt to bulge ?

Hi Signal-Zero- FYI it's not necessary to screw it all the way down to the point where it bulges. . the SMA pin does make contact before the bulge-point. And, it's almost a nit-pick item as the bulge is very slight. I will try to take a picture once I'm reunited with the antenna (temporarily misplaced it!). It makes a big difference in reception. And as others have said, a minor mod w/ a Dremel would do the trick.

Best,

 

[APX8000]

DaveIN...what SMA to BNC connector did you use. It looks a bit more flush compared to b100mac's.

County...I should have an APX in my stockpile to try out. And I have a Dremel just in case [emoji51]


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[DaveIN]

DaveIN...what SMA to BNC connector did you use. It looks a bit more flush compared to b100mac's.

ExpertPower[emoji768] SMA Female To BNC Female Convert Adaptor For Two Way Radio BaoFeng UV-5... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00APLXYZW/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_gGIpyb1KTRS2G

 

[Project25_MASTR]

I'd just like to be the first to point out the APX portables do not use SMA connectors. They use modified MX connectors which look similar to SMA when the GPS option is fitted. Using an APX antenna on a G4/G5 is literally the same as putting a GPS antenna on the pager.

 

[county]

Here is a pic of the Moto XTS 700/800 7" duck model 8505241U11 I mentioned in a previous post.

If you look very closely you can just barely see the antenna-skirt bulging (happens when you tighten it down snug). Again, it's nit-pick, and can be resolved with a dremel tool if you so desire. But I'm not too skilled with such projects so I suspect I'd just turn the antenna bottom into a 'boogered' mess. . therefore will leave as-is!

This antenna has the correct connector on it (SMA-F). I like how it preserves the commercial look of the radio, vs use of adapters and/or consumer-grade scanner antennas etc. . but that's just my personal preference.

It's a big performance upgrade over stock, which is the most important thing. I have no means to scientifically quantify but in subjective testing it performs as good, perhaps slightly better than the famed RS800 antenna.

Best,