The wife won't allow any obvious antennas. I remember seeing a police car that had a stealth antenna but I don't remember much about it. Can the car antenna be replaced with a 2 meter one that doubles as an AM/FM one?
Hidden 2 meter car antenna
- Thread starter scanmanmi
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There is an antenna that is 7.5" and performs well for its size. Perhaps use an NMO magnet mount and remove it when not using it. I figure the more "stealth" an antenna is, the reduced TX/RX performance it will have.
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RFI-EMI-GUY
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Check STICO antenna catalog for FM/AM disguise antennas and couplers.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Stico makes "disguise" antennas that will work on VHF as well as AM/FM.
sti-co.com
sti-co.com
They are not cheap. But they work.
There are other undercover type antennas, but most of them are not good performers, mostly designed for short range use. There are some 'behind the bumper' antennas that are just dipoles, horizontal, so work accordingly. There's an antenna that goes behind the license plate, but again, not a good performer. STI-CO® Covert Bumper Antenna | STI-CO® Antenna Solutions
sti-co.com
Truth is, sometimes a thin chrome 1/4 wave whip is pretty low profile, but unlikely you'd sneak that one past your wife.
Or, put in a 'cellular look alike antenna' and tell her she now has "More G's" on her cell phone.
STI-CO® Fender Mount Multi-Band Antenna | STI-CO® Antenna Solutions
Multi-Band Fender Mount Covert Operations Available
sti-co.com
Covert Shark Fin Antenna - 161-174 MHz
sti-co.com
There are other undercover type antennas, but most of them are not good performers, mostly designed for short range use. There are some 'behind the bumper' antennas that are just dipoles, horizontal, so work accordingly. There's an antenna that goes behind the license plate, but again, not a good performer. STI-CO® Covert Bumper Antenna | STI-CO® Antenna Solutions
Bumper Step Up Antenna - 150-174 MHz
sti-co.com
Truth is, sometimes a thin chrome 1/4 wave whip is pretty low profile, but unlikely you'd sneak that one past your wife.
Or, put in a 'cellular look alike antenna' and tell her she now has "More G's" on her cell phone.
A/S made a cowl mount VHF antenna that replaces the standard car antenna, you would not see a difference without a tape measure.
IE: NOS A/S Antenna Specialists ASPR-798 Hi-Power Cowl Mount for Ford & Mercury HAM | eBay
LAPD narcotics used these on undercover cars.
IE: NOS A/S Antenna Specialists ASPR-798 Hi-Power Cowl Mount for Ford & Mercury HAM | eBay
LAPD narcotics used these on undercover cars.
Cars have not used that style antenna in decades.... it would be blatantly obvious
RFI-EMI-GUY
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Back in the early 90's I was scanning AWACS on HF and UHF AM in Miami (Coconut Grove) and there was a boat followed from Biscyne bay culminating in the interdiction of said boat docked at a home on the waterway into Coral Gables. So I jumped on my bike and went over a few blocks to the west to watch from the bridge. As I approach I notice a black Camaro with a cowl mounted antenna parked near the bridge. It looked familiar as I worked at the Motorola shop and had seen these. Plus those years the AM/FM antennas were in the windshield normally. So I get to top of the bridge and there is another guy watching the action. I start to watch as well . So I turn and ask him, hey, is that your car? He says yes.. and gives me a very strange look. No doubt I was followed home.
Two county vans and pickup just up the street have them, trust me they look like the OEM vehicle antenna.
Used today in my county.
Yea, the one I posted is vintage, common on the LAPD LTDs.
In the 80s, the StiCo was the antenna to go with – looked almost exactly like the factory antenna. I had one on VHF-Low that worked OK (as well as can be expected for a short antenna in that position). I built my own incognito UHF ground planes on the rear deck under the back window, which almost certainly produced an unsafe RF level inside the car. The next car, I just drilled holes. 
One of the features is "Allows simulantenous operation of good time radio". I don't think mine had that.Stico makes "disguise" antennas that will work on VHF as well as AM/FM.
STI-CO® Fender Mount Multi-Band Antenna | STI-CO® Antenna Solutions
Multi-Band Fender Mount Covert Operations Available
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
One of the features is "Allows simulantenous operation of good time radio". I don't think mine had that.
No reason one should have to suffer in boredom. And if you crank up the tunes loud enough, you don't have to listen to the dispatcher yammering away at you.
Our unmarked chiefs car has a Stico. No one would notice.
GPS geolocating took away the fun of "camping".
I have the Mopar equivalent on my car and no one notices. Of course it is a 73 'Cuda so it looks right. It is 5/8 wavelength with a coax matching stub and came out of the factory that way from Antenna Specialists. I custom ordered it to be centered at 146.5 and used it on the entire FM portion of 2 meters. Being that it is a gain antenna it is longer than the stock steel rod as it was cut for the middle of the FM band and die hard purists at car shows love to point that out and tell me I got taken by some Repop part seller.
Craig
K6GBW
Member
What kind of car? There might be other options that are not obvious.
I have been upfitting emergency vehicles for nearly 30 years. I have installed hundreds of undercover antennas for muliple 3 letter agencies . I have used every design or method out there in some of the most covert cars you may never think of. That dinosaur of an antenna you posted is nothing like anything in use in the last 30 years. Its irrelevant now if you posted a link to Sti-Co or comprodcom that might be relevant
Back in the day I worked for a Moto shop that had the contract with BNDD (Later DEA) and "three letter agencies." I had installed a stealth antenna on a Volkswagen. It was a Sinclair rear view mirror. When the undercover guy came to pick up his car I escorted him from the office back to the garage all the time telling him how the optimum location for an antenna was in the center of the roof. The look on his face when he came around the corner and saw a rear view mirror on the roof was priceless. He kept saying "That's not going to work." I then pulled the mirror off and assured him his antenna was installed properly. He failed to see the humor.
My very first job as an eager young teen was working as an installer at a Motorola shop. Man, installing the bloody dynamotors and the primitive equipment common back then was brutal!
My first amateur two meter rig was an FMTRU 80D with a Sensicon G receiver. Tube type but still had .4 microvolts for 20db quieting sensitivity (with new tubes, YMMV). Dynamotor supply for transmit. Would rock my 62 Valiant when you hit the push to talk. 80 Watts out on transmit.
K6GBW
Member
My undercover car in 2012 was a Toyota Camry. It has a quarterwave just inside the rear window. I used a Lakers baseball cap to cover it. Worked so well that I got pulled over all the time for my tinted windows and expired registration (all done intentionally). Beverly Hills PD got to know me well!
radact
Member
My wife hates external antennas so I use this. Sort of like a thru glass antenna but nothing outside. It shows 145-165 but I was able to
tune it down, has a tuning pot with set screw, to Ham Band. They also make one for 450-470 which tunes down to UHF Ham Band as well.
Works good enough so my wife can take advantage of talking. If you're in a radio rich environment, you really don't notice any loss.
tune it down, has a tuning pot with set screw, to Ham Band. They also make one for 450-470 which tunes down to UHF Ham Band as well.
Works good enough so my wife can take advantage of talking. If you're in a radio rich environment, you really don't notice any loss.
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