As many members will tell you, magnetic-mounted antennas are (supposed to be) a temporary solution, thinking of a permanently-mounted antenna mount on your vehicle as you have experienced poor performance and paint damage to your vehicle(s). Some vehicle owners are reticent to drill holes in their cars & trucks, but that has NEVER been my case. A trunk-lid mount itself is another compromise, especially dealing with a decent ground when the mount is attached to the trunk lid with set screws. They must "bite" into the surface beyond the paint to make a decent connection to the vehicle's body ground.
Personally, I mostly use NMO mounts on my cars. I've bought, leased, returned, and sold many of my vehicles, two of them with the radios and antennas still mounted and functioning. My current installation has 13 antennas for various functioning radios, including Motorola Astro Spectras for P25 digital, XPR4550's for MotoTRBO/DMR, 222 MHz. Uniden 536HP scanner to monitor the Illinois statewide Starcom21 P25 trunked public safety system, two Motorola VRS-750 cross-band repeaters, and several others.
In your case, you mentioned that you will have one scanning receiver. For optimum performance, I suggest an NMO-mounted permanent antenna base. You can change antennas for any frequency range that you wish or put on an 18" whip which will work just fine for UHF/VHF and 700-900 MHz. Receive. I would suggest an
EM Wave EMFLX-M10001 with an
NMO base rubberized spring/whip/mount antenna. Getting the whip cut for 150 MHz. will work just fine for VHF as a 1/4 wave and UHF 3/4 wave for a great reception on the UHF/700-900 MHz. Bands.
This excellent antenna goes for $29.95 for the antenna only. You'd need to purchase an NMO mount with cable and an appropriate connector to attach the feedline to your scanner. Antenna Farm sells the NMO mount with your preferred connector for about $16.95. Quite a few members have purchased antenna products from The Antenna Farm and have been quite satisfied with their service, pricing, and shipping. They also have trunk-lid, magnetic, and mirror mounts for large commercial vehicles.
www.theantennafarm.com
