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NMO mount CB antenna, roof mount

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Arboc378

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I'm new here and this is my first post. I did a search and couldn't find an answer to my question, so here goes: I have a 2008 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (a retired police car) and I want to mount a CB antenna on the roof using a NMO mount (there are several holes there already). I'm looking for a 2" or so antenna (much longer would cause clearance problems). I know that longer is better, but I'm hoping that mounting it on the roof will help offset the lack of length. Thank you in advance.
 

reedeb

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You'll never find a 2 inch antenna that will work for a CB. You need to be realistic about this If a regular antenna is too long on the rood you'll have to mount it on the trunk.
 

mmckenna

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I'm thinking/hoping he meant 2 feet?

You won't find a NMO mount antenna suitable for 27MHz that will be that short.

What you might be able to do is purchase the NMO to 3/8x24 adapter and find one of the shorty firestick CB antennas. It won't be a low profile whip, but that's going to be the easiest option to get what you want.

If you can mount on the trunk, then the NMO-27 might be just fine.

I used to install a lot of those for family and friends back when they still used CB. Great antenna, looks good, and durable.

If you really meant 2 inches, then get yourself a 50 ohm resistive load and mount it up there, it's going to work as well as anything else if you want an antenna that short.
 

mmckenna

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I'd add that those NMO - 3/8 x 24 adapters with a 24 inch firestick on top is likely going to result in a damaged mount or sheet metal if you hit anything or drive fast enough. I certainly would NOT suggest that solution. Trunk mount would be a better solution.

There is a young guy around these parts that has an old CVPI with a NMO27 on the trunk and a scanner antenna on the roof. Fools a lot of people, except those that can recognize antennas by site, especially in the rear view mirror.
 

mrweather

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The Larsen NMO-27 is probably the best bet but it is significantly longer than 2'. If you have an available hole on the trunk I'd suggest going that route.

I personally kludged together a CB "frankantenna". I took the whip from an old R/S cellular-style CB mag mount, drilled out an old Larsen NMO base, inserted a fine-thread brass screw in the hole and threaded the whip onto the base. The end result is a "shorty" NMO CB antenna. Being only about 16" tall it's not nearly as efficient as the NMO-27 but it does the job for me (mostly monitoring channel 19).
 

Arboc378

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By clearance I mean pulling into a garage. I suppose a trunk mount would be OK, I was just trying to use existing holes in the car and I have several NMO mounts (with and without cable, so I could run however much cable I need for where I mount them). OK, then what is a good trunk mount (using a magnetic mount so I can remove it).

Back when I was young and running CBs in my Mustangs K40 was the hot setup, I don't know what is hot now. I used glass mount antennas on my Mustangs and they did not work well (1980s Mustang hatchbacks were hard to mount antennas on, so the glass mount was the best solution at the time).

And mmckenna: I'm not trying to play cop, it's that my wife and I are travelling more now and a CB would be useful (the unit I have also has weatherband).
 

Arboc378

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The Larsen NMO-27 is probably the best bet but it is significantly longer than 2'. If you have an available hole on the trunk I'd suggest going that route.

I personally kludged together a CB "frankantenna". I took the whip from an old R/S cellular-style CB mag mount, drilled out an old Larsen NMO base, inserted a fine-thread brass screw in the hole and threaded the whip onto the base. The end result is a "shorty" NMO CB antenna. Being only about 16" tall it's not nearly as efficient as the NMO-27 but it does the job for me (mostly monitoring channel 19).

This is yet another recommendation for the Larsen NMO 27 (I've also posted on a Crown Vic forum) and the other recommendation came from a volunteer fireman who also has a CVPI and runs a CB, a scanner and a fire department radio in his car . Will it work OK if the trunk mount is slightly off center? I have 2 holes in the trunk, but they are not centered and I was concerned about the signal pattern. If I remember correctly, mounting a CB antenna off center will "bias" the signal in one direction and reduce it in another. The holes are about 14 to 16 inches apart on the trunk lid. I could then use the other for a scanner antenna (I was going to do this anyway). I don't want a whole mess of antennas on the car so the police do not think I'm trying to look like a cop. I just want functional, not necessarily even or matched.
 

mrweather

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There will be some directionality if the antenna isn't smack dab in the middle but I wouldn't worry too much about it. The key is using as long a whip a possible. Some guys like to run 102" ball mounts.
 

Arboc378

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Thanks mrweather. I didn't remember if it would be a big problem if the antenna wasn't centered, but it's not too far off center so I quess it should be good. It looks like I'm going with the Larson NMO 27. Thank you all for your advice (and I need to learn the difference between inches and feet!).
 

mmckenna

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Good deal, NMO27's were always good antennas for me. We were always using full size trucks, so mounting them top dead center really helped. They performed very well and were easy to tune. Nice low profile antenna, at least for a CB antenna, and definitely looks more professional that some of the consumer grade CB antennas out there. I doubt you will have any issues with a trunk mount. About the only issue I see is the whip contacting the roof when you open the trunk.

Not suggesting you and your wife were playing cop, only pointing out that they look good on a Crown Vic, if done right. In my own personal opinion, a crown vic, of any flavor, just doesn't look right without at least one antenna on it. I bet that is one nice road trip car. Lots of room to stretch out and a huge trunk. One of my co-workers has a couple of kids and fantasizes about owning a Crown Vic and using it for road trips. Not sure if he wants the cage between him and the kids or not. Sounds like it might be useful in some instances.

You can get the NMO27 in a grey coil/chrome whip. black coil/black whip or black coil/chrome whip option. If you find a good shop, they will sell the coil and whip separately. The black whips look good for a while, but the black coating doesn't last too long, especially if it contacts garage doors, roof, etc.
 
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