How well will a VHF 1/4 wave antenna work on UHF?
VHF antenna on UHF...
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N2JDS
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I've done it, Not too bad at all. I have done both 1/4 wave as well as a 5/8 wave VHF mounted on hood/fender clamp on, picking up all the way into the 800's with very unexpected results on my vehicle. I have not done base ops with it though. When I say very good, I mean like picking up 700/800 trunked systems at least 30 miles away with approx same heights, some hills, no mountains. The 5/8 wave does the better though, and 1/4 wave was only good for maybe 20-25 miles. And this was fed into a Pro-96.
They work ok. The vertical pattern get's some lobes and nulls when operated at the third harmonic, but they can be quite usable. This really only applies to a quarter wave hole mount, or maybe a mag mount where there is no matching network required.
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BonziBuddy
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I've been using my cars radio AM/FM antenna as a scanner antenna for years now. It's attached with a coupler I bought off eBay. All signals comes in strong.
You can receive off of a coat hanger if you wish,but transmitting is a different matter altogether,so what do you mean by "work on uhf"?
n9zas
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KC9LVX
I was going to ask about that very issue...lol Thought I would read responses first! I was going to ask work for what? A scanner? A Transmitter?
KC9LVX
I built a vertical bazooka for 155mhz mounted on the eve of my house it is maybe 15' to the tip of the antenna. I was pleasantly surprised how well it works in the 154-155mhz and 453-460mhz range. That is where I do most of my monitoring. I can now pickup all of the county sheriff and fire dispatch frequencies (Full Quieting) for my county. A 1/4wave vertical will work just as well. I chose the vertical bazooka because it is more compact, requires no ground plane radials and is real easy to build.
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