Why do users of radios always think they know better than the vendor design engineers? Just because the antenna is too long for your liking's, doesn't mean that gives you the choice to change it because you don't like the length. If you run up against the right supervisor, you just might be paying for the repair to that radio.
The use of stubby antennas is a poor choice for a public safety user. It is a poor antenna and reduces the range of the radio drastically. One of these days you will be inside a building or out on the far reaches of the tower coverage and you find your portable doesn't get back to the dispatcher. You have some thug beating on you and you can't be heard trying to call for help. Just remember it was your choice to put the stubby antenna on your department radio.
Making unauthorized changes to department equipment could open up the door to all sorts of legal issues for yourself. Like if your injured and the radio didn't work due to you making non authorized changes to it, you could be footing the doctor bills your self. The list of ramifications to your job will just keep piling up.
There was an agency that was using T-band, MOST officers' vehicles had 'high gain' antennas on them, yes with a loading coil, IIRC they were 5/8 over 1/2 wave..... We'll call them county A
Well, a neighboring county was ALSO on T-band, we'll call them county B, had great coverage (actually, too good coverage, had simulcast issues), and used 2 1/4 wave antennas in cophase to minimize the simulcast issues..,
Well, county A's officers didn't want HUGE antennas.... so, every once in a while, I'd get a car in the shop with 'poor coverage/poor audio/can't talk' etc... and come to find out the guys were buying 1/4 wave UHF antenna's, NOT tuned to frequency, and just plopping them on their cars... (NMO = unscrew off, screw on). So, unity gain, and tuned off frequency.... I'd pull their old antenna out of the trunk, put it back on, make sure SWR was good, radio check and off they went.... 9/10 there was no damage to the radio....
Well, county C comes into play, and has an 800 Mhz system, with 1/4 wave whips... and wouldn't you know... now the antennas are even smaller and even COOLER! Pssht.. Why does county A need these 40" antennas when county C has these cool little 3" antennas?! So, yup.. County A officers start coming BACK in, wanting smaller antennas... NOPE....
Anyway, I had this one officer... came in.. NO RX, NO TX......Said it was working OK, then RX was working but had a hard time hitting repeaters... then it wouldn't do anything..... Sure enough, had a 4W portable 3ft away transmitting into the car and barely broke squelch, and portable was deaf on mobile TX.. Took me a second to realize he was running the normal 5/8 over 1/2 wave, but half the whip was missing.. Asked him if he hit a low hanging branch or something... nope... He cut it.... He told me how he saw County C with short antennas and wanted a short one too, so he cut it off....
Now, before this, most officers that did stupid stuff ended up paying for stuff out of pocket, otherwise I have to bill the agency and they get their peepee smacked for effing with county equipment.... But it was usually something like a $35 antenna and a 'don't do that, dumba$$'....
Not this time.. He was transmitting into an 'antenna' that had almost 40% reflected power..... about 20W back into the radio... Toasted the front end and the PA......
Shortly afterward, a memo went out advising that ANY officer that effs with their radios will be paying out of pocket for ANY repairs... and that pretty much stopped that..
STILL couldn't get them to stop grabbing their portables by their antennas though... Lots of replaced connectors and stripped threads....
