I currently have an HG Base Antenna. You can look it up on ebay. It has done good but I am not 100 % happy. I have a Mobile Antenna that performs better. I read where all the HG Base Antenna is is a Rubber Duck inside PVC Pipe. I am not sure but I am getting a Tram 1411 I think it will do better because I have had a Discone before from Radio Shack. Man do I miss Radio Shack I could just walk in get what I want. Anyway just anyone have a tram or a HG how do they compare? I might dissemble the HG to see what it really is. Not to offend the seller if he should see this the Antenna has served me well but it could be leaking or something.
New Antenna
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Most of those type antennas are not designed by an engineer but by someone who has no idea how antennas work and they cobble something together and sell it. When you open it I doubt you will find a rubber duck antenna inside, that would cost the maker some money. Its probably just some lengths of house wire attached to some TV coax.
Are you listening to anything in particular? Here's what's important: gain, height, coax. I went from a few miles with a1/4 wave ground plane to a Comet GP9 at 40 feet with LMR400 coax and I can pick up half the state (or more). Discones offer wide dynamic range instead of gain so you need to weight those options.I don't believe the 1411 has gain. What mobile works better?
You should read some discone/Tram discussions Tram 1411 question
You should read some discone/Tram discussions Tram 1411 question
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Well the results are in. Kinda in a way the HG Base it was a rubber duck. A homemade rubber duck. I took pictures but pretty it was a wire soldered to the end of the coax wire wrapped around some tubing. I got the Tram Antenna half way working. I guess it is too low but it is not receiving as good. I think I need to get it higher got to get some more wire it is on the way. I am unable to upload any image. I get a message Opp's we ran into some problems.
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Forgot to say this is the mobile Antenna I think it is receive only. I guess it works good because the Vehicle is a ground plane.
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Forgot to say this is the mobile Antenna I think it is receive only. I guess it works good because the Vehicle is a ground plane.
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Now the tram is up. It did not some with the mounting pipe. The piece the wire goes through and antenna connects at top tightens with Allen screw. I forgot all about the wire going through the pipe. I made my own out if a radio shack 5 f5 mast connected to a pole with Channel Master u bolt kit. got 3 u bolts holding it to a mast 2 10 FT fencing. I may have to get a better pole got it in the ground. If I was able to still climb a latter I could if I had a good latter I could get it mounted better.
I am sorry to keep replying. I am not able to edit my post. I can for sure tell a difference in the 155 Mhz band at lease. Local hospital signal was weaker with the other antenna. It seems to be better maybe some bands the HG was better. I feel over all the tram is better.
I am listing mostly above 150 Mhz up to 470 Mhz. But I wanted a 25-1.300 Mhz Antenna. The Tram has been great I used the coax from the old HG Base (R.I.P HG Base Antenna.) I tested the Tram out on something tonight I connected it (Don't ask how) but connected it to some 49 Mhz Walkie Talkies. I taped down the PTT and the range on those very very low power Maxon 49 HD was more than 5 times the distance. I like to test these kinds of things for some reason. I have played with 49 MHZ walkie talkies in my younger years I have some stories about 49 Mhz Cordless Phones and the things I used to do. But the site where I got the Tram did say it would transmit on 49 Mhz. not sure who else would transmit on 49 Mhz unless people use the Antenna for RC car controller maybe?
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scanmanmi
I do not know if the 1411 has gain or not. But I know it is a hell of allot better than the HG base Antenna. I live 15 miles from my local town. I was barley getting the local hospital Ambulance calls in Hospital responses. With the HG Base Hospital was very weak. Now that I have the Tram it is allot better and most of the time I can hear the Ambulance calling so I say maybe it does have some gain idk I am really not an expert on Antennas I just tinker around. It is also allot better on 162 MHz weather band and tonight it sounded like I picked up the local Water Department Telemetry signal it was some data signal. I have noticed an Improvement on 26 Mhz band also. There may be better Antennas but for now I am staying with the Tram.
The Tram Discone has similar gain or a little less compared to a 1/4 wave ground plane over about 100 to 800Mhz, except above around 500Mhz the pattern shifts upward making reception worse on the 700/800MHz bands. The whip on top should be sharply tuned near 50Mhz and would improve your 49MHz radios but it doesn't do much at 26Mhz or anywhere else.
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