Mobile Radio Base Station Antenna

[Jl942264]

Hi all,
I was looking to setup a mobile radio base station power cabinet in my home to transmit on the local GMRS “buff” repeater! I wanted to see if using a magnet-mount antenna on top of the power cabinet itself inside my home office could be harmful for the radio. I’ve seen this done before and i’m not sure if it’s harmful. I wouldn't be transmitting for extended periods of time. I don’t really have the time or financial means to set up an ideal external antenna right now. This would be a temporary measure.
Thanks for the input in advanced

 

[ladn]

You're probably going to be fine. A significant factor would be how much power you are running. Use the minimum power necessary to capture and hold the repeater.

Do your best to keep the antenna as far away as possible from the network router, network cables and your computer cpu.

 

[Jl942264]

Thank you very much! My other option is running it out the window which is immediately next to my desk and putting it on a metal plate I can get and homedepot and I can install on the side of my house.

 

[ladn]

Thank you very much! My other option is running it out the window which is immediately next to my desk and putting it on a metal plate I can get and homedepot and I can install on the side of my house.

That option is probably better in terms of RF safety and interference mitigation. Also your antenna type (1/4 wave spike or mobile gain antenna) will have some influence on things. The lowest practical power level is your friend!

 

[Jl942264]

.

 

[Jl942264]

That option is probably better in terms of RF safety and interference mitigation. Also your antenna type (1/4 wave spike or mobile gain antenna) will have some influence on things. The lowest practical power level is your friend!

understood thank you much, do you have a recommendation of the size of plate to mount it too so it has some type of ground plane?

 

[mmckenna]

understood thank you much, do you have a recommendation of the size of plate to mount it too so it has some type of ground plane?

On UHF, the ground plane needs to be about 6 inches in each direction under the antenna. So a 12 inch by 12 inch plate would work.

I've got some sites at work where we are running trunked mobile radios as small bases. We keep the radio power turned down since they are in close proximity to the workers. Mounting your antenna outside is best if you can swing it.

None of it should be harmful to your radio as long as you check the SWR after installation. Probably won't be an issue if you don't, modern radios are pretty forgiving, and 1/4 wave UHF antennas are very broad banded, so nailing it right on frequency isn't an issue. Just keep the antenna well spaced away from other metal, including any that might be behind the walls, like metal lath for stucco, or plaster, metal siding, foil backed vapor barrier on insulation, metal window screens, etc.

 

[Jl942264]

On UHF, the ground plane needs to be about 6 inches in each direction under the antenna. So a 12 inch by 12 inch plate would work.

I've got some sites at work where we are running trunked mobile radios as small bases. We keep the radio power turned down since they are in close proximity to the workers. Mounting your antenna outside is best if you can swing it.

None of it should be harmful to your radio as long as you check the SWR after installation. Probably won't be an issue if you don't, modern radios are pretty forgiving, and 1/4 wave UHF antennas are very broad banded, so nailing it right on frequency isn't an issue. Just keep the antenna well spaced away from other metal, including any that might be behind the walls, like metal lath for stucco, or plaster, metal siding, foil backed vapor barrier on insulation, metal window screens, etc.

Thank you very much!