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Can anyone ID this antenna

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garys

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Can anyone tell me who makes this antenna? A friend is trying to fix some radio issues with the school bus company and one problem he found is that some have the wrong antenna (band) mounted. This is low band, and what he really needs to know is if it uses and NMO mount.

Thanks.


Antenna.jpg
 

mmckenna

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That sure looks like an NMO mount from the bottom.

There's a company called antennas.us that sells antennas with a similar ribbed base coil like that, but not sure who makes them for that vendor. I've not seen any designs like that from the larger manufacturers.

I'd be concerned about water intrusion. Slathering silicone all over the base like that isn't a good solution. Also, getting a good ground plane and low SWR can be very difficult if it is a low band radio.
 

garys

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Part of the problem is that they are connected to VHF Hi radios! If he knows what kind of base it is, he can at least put the right band antenna on it.

He's going to climb up there when he has some time and try to remove the antenna and take a look at it.

This is not his primary job with the company, so he can only do it when he has some extra time.

You can't make this stuff up.

Thanks for the link, I'll take a look at their site.
 

900mhz

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That is a Motorola Spectrum antenna. Unscrew the antenna off the NMO mount and look inside where the tab is...there should be markings indicating the frequency range it would cover.
 

cmdrwill

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Yes a Motorola Spectrum antenna. There are a lot of knockoff antennas that 'look like' the Spectrum antennas.
Altho the Spectrum low band antennas did not hold up very well, especially on tow trucks.
 

SurgePGH

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That is either a Motorola Spectrum antenna OR a knock off. If you unscrew it and look in the bottom the band should be listed there. That is an NMO mount on an L-Bracket. If he doesn't have an SWR meter at the very least then he should let someone who knows what they're doing handle this. What frequency is the radio on?

Taking a better look at the pic I do believe it even says Spectrum on the plastic.
 

garys

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My friend checked it with his antenna tuner and it's tuned to 43.74. Which might be one of the frequencies used in a different contract. Seems each town specifies what radio system the company has to use. There is a mix of Low band, VHF, UHF, and even some 900 mhz systems.

He knows what he's doing. He has a ham and commercial license.

Their radio shop has no clue what's going on.

Thanks. Motorola Spectrum would make sense. They do have some town contracts which require low band radios and it's possible that they have shuffled some buses around.
 
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SurgePGH

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My friend checked it with his antenna tuner and it's tuned to 43.74. Which might be one of the frequencies used in a different contract. Seems each town specifies what radio system the company has to use. There is a mix of Low band, VHF, UHF, and even some 900 mhz systems.

He knows what he's doing. He has a ham and commercial license.

Their radio shop has no clue what's going on.

Thanks. Motorola Spectrum would make sense. They do have some town contracts which require low band radios and it's possible that they have shuffled some buses around.
The best thing to do is verify the programming of the radio OR model number to see which band it is. Select the proper antenna and then tune it to that radio.
 

tvengr

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Remember that the whip is cut to frequency. If the frequency you want to use it for is lower, you will need to replace the whip and cut it to the proper length.
 

900mhz

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Maybe I'm missing something but it sure seems a shame to not use the giant ground plane on top of that school bus.
The antenna would not last long...tree branches and other low hanging objects will make placing it there a case of futility...
 

ecps92

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43.74 Would be the Weymouth/Abington/Randolph operations

My friend checked it with his antenna tuner and it's tuned to 43.74. Which might be one of the frequencies used in a different contract. Seems each town specifies what radio system the company has to use. There is a mix of Low band, VHF, UHF, and even some 900 mhz systems.

He knows what he's doing. He has a ham and commercial license.

Their radio shop has no clue what's going on.

Thanks. Motorola Spectrum would make sense. They do have some town contracts which require low band radios and it's possible that they have shuffled some buses around.
 

clbsquared

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The name is literally stamped onto the bottom of the base. I can make out a few letters by the angle of the picture, but not all of them. And yes, that looks to be a standard NMO mount.
 

garys

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I think they are also using it for Whitman, but I'm not completely sure. It's definitely First Student, though.

43.74 Would be the Weymouth/Abington/Randolph operations
 

garys

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It's not so clear on a phone screen, which is what my friend was using when he took the picture. It wasn't all that easy to see on a bigger screen for that matter.

Thanks to everyone who helped answer my original question. Everyone can of course feel free to speculate endlessly why who ever installed the antenna didn't do things they way that THEY would have.

The name is literally stamped onto the bottom of the base. I can make out a few letters by the angle of the picture, but not all of them. And yes, that looks to be a standard NMO mount.
 

ecps92

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Abington Office, on Rte-18 which covers, Weymouth, Randolph, Abington, etc etc and Whitman
I think they are also using it for Whitman, but I'm not completely sure. It's definitely First Student, though.
 

Rt169Radio

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The name is literally stamped onto the bottom of the base. I can make out a few letters by the angle of the picture, but not all of them. And yes, that looks to be a standard NMO mount.

After looking at it for a while I do believe it's a Motorola Spectrum
 
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