Browning Tri-Band Antenna Question

[AK4FD]

I just recently bought 2 Browning BR-137 Tri-Band antennas for my POV and something occurred to me; Do antennas have a MPH rating? Is there a certain speed they are rated for before they weaken & become a projectile thru someone’s windshield behind you?? I’ve tried looking everywhere and cant find my answer. Some of my responses are on long straight highways and these antennas are quite bulky. The antenna in question is here: Tram Browning BR-137 Tri-Band High Gain Antenna 3-6DB Gain

 

[prcguy]

Mag mount or fixed? With a fixed NMO you can't go fast enough to cause any problems. Mag mount would depend on the mount.

 

[mmckenna]

Was at a ham fest years ago with a friend.
He bought the biggest/baddest 2 meter antenna he could find. That thing was nearly 8 feet long.
Of course he bought a mag mount for it, with 3 magnets….

Get's on the freeway and the thing decides it doesn't want to play that game and tilts off the roof and leaves a big scratch down the side of the car. Drags along the pavement hanging on by cheap RG-58 pinched in the door.


Never saw him use that antenna again.

Properly installed NMO mount and you'll be good.
Cheap mag mount, and I'd worry.

 

[AK4FD]

I did kinda think about all that but I still wasn't sure. My particular mounts are both 3/4" NMO trunk lip mounts that are clamped on both sides of my trunk with an allen wrench bolt as tight as I can possibly turn it. In the past they've been solid I can do 80+ MPH on the interstate and be okay. But these new antennas I got (not sure if you went to the link I provided in my OP) but they're pretty thick and bulky, I am worried if I top high speeds the base will drag & unclamp my trunk lip mount and come loose off the car. Now I am sure the chance of that happening is slim-to-none but it never hurts to solicit advice.

David

 

[mmckenna]

I think you are likely OK.
Having it down below the vehicle roof isn't helping performance, but it's probably protecting it from the majority of the wind.

 

[AK4FD]

Well I didn't wanna use a mag mount just because I don't trust them not to get pulled off the roof, like you pointed out earlier with your friend. And I don't want it on my hood and have all that RF smacking me in the face everytime I Tx, so I decided on the trunk. Luckily my statewide P25 VIPER system has towers everywhere so I never run into signal reception issues. And as far as ham is concerned thankfully I haven't had any issues with being mounted on the trunk. But yeah you're right it probably is helping with wind resistance!

David

 

[tweiss3]

A good lip mount should be ok, but there are some antennas that have a note about not intended for use while driving.

 

[K6GBW]

That's a Tram copy of a Motorola antenna that was made for the APX series radios. we used then for a while. We routinely drove at over 100 MPH with no problems. Now the car wash, that killed them quick! Performance was so so. Nothing to write home about. Ultimately, we used a triplexer in the roof liner and ran three separate low profile antennas that could make it through a car wash without damage. I'd be curious about the construction quality of that Tram though. The Moto supplied antennas are well built little beasts.

 

[nd5y]

And I don't want it on my hood and have all that RF smacking me in the face everytime I Tx, so I decided on the trunk.

That won't help. If you are afraid of RF exposure then you shouldn't use the radio at all.

 

[krokus]

FWIW, I had a K40 on a lip mount, on the hood of my Jeep XJ. I never had a problem with the mount coming loose, even when I (legally) drove 110 mph.