Having a real hard time finding a good antenna

[tonyroc14]

Hey everyone. I was going to run magnet mount antennas on my bronco, but have decided to go NMO roof mount. I need to antennas. One for a yaesu ft-1900R 2m, and one for a bct8 scanner. I am trying to keep them as small as conceivably possible. I am pretty sure I wouldn't need that large of an antenna for the scanner, and I was thinking around the 20" mark for the radio. However I am completely open to suggestions. So please, help a fellow newb out It is much appreciated..

 

[mmckenna]

A quarter wave antenna on 2 meters will be about 19 inches. You can pick up Larsen, Antennex, Comtelco, etc. 1/4 wave antennas for less than $20. They are durable, fairly wide band and cheap. You can have chrome or black, so they can blend in pretty well. That would be about as small as you want to go if you want good performance. The low profile VHF "Soup Can" antennas are poor performers and very narrow bandwidth, so they are not a good option when you will be working over several MHz of the band. They will work fine for short range stuff, but the general consensus from those that have tried them is negative. The basic 1/4 wave is about as simple as you can get, and they work quite well on the roof of a vehicle.

As for the scanner, I think you will find that most will suggest the VHF/UHF/800 Larsen receiver antenna as a good low profile option. I think black is your only choice there. I don't own one, but most of what I have read about them has been positive.

You really can't go wrong with good basic antennas. NMO mounts will give you the ultimate in flexibility, and if installed correctly, will last you a long time. Commercial grade stuff will serve you well, and I personally think it looks much better than some of the ham grade stuff out there.

Good luck!

 

[mmckenna]

Almost forgot,
You can get these from Ham Radio Outlet, Ham Radio Outlet - World's Largest Supplier of Amateur Radio (Ham Radio) Equipment. Sales, Supplies, and Service.
Larsen is a good reliable brand. You'll need the two NMO mounts with cable and connectors, and the NMOQ or NMOQSPEC antenna for VHF. It will need to be cut for 2 meters, but they include the cutting chart and the hex wrench.
The scanner antenna is the NMO 150/450/800.

There are many other vendors. I'm sure you'll get some great suggestions on where to purchase them.

 

[MOGA]

I run the Larsen 150/450/800 for scanner and Larsen 2/70 NMO for VHF/UHF. However, the latter is 5/8 wave, so its profile is considerably bigger than a 1/4 wave but it also has improved rx/tx over the 1/4. Also have a Larsen 150 base antenna for 2m. Sensing a pattern? lol

 

[N8IAA]

Larsen makes a dualband short antenna. I use it on my vehicle. It is a quarter wave on 2m and I believe a 1/2~ on 440. It comes only in chrome. I also will give a thumbs up on the tri-band scanner antenna by Larsen.
Larry

 

[mmckenna]

Larsen dual band short antenna is available in an all black version but only with an open coil.

If you really want black on the closed coil version, appropriately sized black heat shrink tubing is an easy solution. Just hit it with some armor-all every now and then to shine it up.

 

[mrweather]

The Larsen "shorty" 2/440 antenna is actually 1/4 wave on 2 and 3/4 wave on 440. I have one and it's okay on 2m but mediocre on 440.

 

[Rt169Radio]

I use a Larsen 2 meter 5/8 wave antenna for scanning and ham radio.

 

[W2NJS]

Diamond makes a dual band NMO antenna that's about 14 inches tall, that's all. I use two of them on my Outback, one for the 7500 via a diplexer and the other for an Icom 208 as a backup. Both work great and rarely hit sprinkler pipes in garages. Model number is NR72BNMO and here is one site that sells them -- not cheap but definitely worth the cost.

http://www.walcottcb.com/diamond-nr72bnmo-dual-band-high-performance-mobile-antenna-p-2076.html

Ignore the price shown on that site; this antenna can be had for a lot less via other sources so you'll have to shop for the best deal.

 

[W0JJK]

I agree with the others, a 1/4 wave for the 2m would be fine.

As for the scanner antenna, I use an 800 gain, it about the same size as the VHF/UHF/800 scanner antenna and it works great on VHF/UHF and obviously on 800. Plus they are cheap and are easily found in most radio shops.

PCTEL Maxrad PCTCN8063 806-866 3dB Titanium Gray Open Coil | TESSCO