stevolene
Member
ok guys, whats the best mobile scanner antenna you can get? NMO type mount, 140 thru 860?
NMO type scanner antenna
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af5rn
Member
LOL! Come on, Stevo! You're here everyday and you haven't seen this question asked at least two dozen times in the last month? You know better than that! :lol:
This gets talked to death with nothing ever being settled. And there is no "best", only what is best for you and your circumstances, which you don't tell us anything about. The best NMO on 800 may suck on 150. The best NMO mounted in a body hole may suck when on a mag mount. There's no way to know for sure what is best for you until you try them all. And most people don't even need "the best" to hear everything they want to hear, nor would they even notice the difference between "the best" and what they have.
That said, the conventional wisdom is that the top three best performing NMO all-banders are, in order of rating:
1. Austin Spectra
2. Comtelco Maxrad BMAXSCAN1000
3. Larsen 150/450/800
The performance difference between the three is noticeable, but not huge. And the superiority of one over the other varies with the band you are listening to. If you don't need low band, the Spectra isn't really worth the extra money over the other two. The Maxrad is usually the cheapest of the three, and is also the most widely available, smallest, and most discreet. Probably the best all-round choice, all things considered.
There are several other antennas that are top performers, but are not NMO mounted.
If you're into drilling holes, then you'd actually probably be best off using two different antennas, one for UHF/VHF and one for 800. That will get you better performance than even the best all-band antenna.
stevolene
Member
hey Im gonna try to put some pics on here tonight, I got me a few antennas off fleabay that I have no idea what they are (but they work) they both came with Larson NMO mounts, ones a mag the other a lip mount, one of the antennas is an old silver thin antenna, about 22" long, the other is a black more solid antenna, same length, says anttenex on it, I also have that funky lookin cell phone antenna, havent tried it yet, but I did get the TNC to BNC adapter at rat shack today, now all I need is a scanner antenna!!! heheheheh, oh yeh, I drilled my first hole today in a lasagna pan, for my home-made quarter wave
n2ops
Member
Comtelco A1132B
The Comtelco A1132B greatly outperforms the Larson NMO150/450/800 on all scanner bands.
Discovered by accident that this 2 meter/70 CM NMO antenna was a super scanner antenna. I use this for both my scanner and my dual band ham radio.
The biggest surprise was it's performance on low band.
Those answering honest questions need to choose to be a little kinder. I marvel at the cutting remarks that serve no good purpose.
The Comtelco A1132B greatly outperforms the Larson NMO150/450/800 on all scanner bands.
Discovered by accident that this 2 meter/70 CM NMO antenna was a super scanner antenna. I use this for both my scanner and my dual band ham radio.
The biggest surprise was it's performance on low band.
Those answering honest questions need to choose to be a little kinder. I marvel at the cutting remarks that serve no good purpose.
af5rn
Member
So what greater purpose do your cutting remarks serve?
Stevo, the cell antenna will perform as good or better than probably any other antenna on 800. That's why I recommend combining a cell antenna with a UHF/VHF dual band antenna for all-band reception. Many people are also quite happy with UHF and VHF (sometimes even low band) performance with a cell antenna. If you're not listening long distances, it may be the only antenna you need, which is nice for those trying to keep it simple.
I'm looking forward to seeing what all you have there, and how well they work.
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