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WA State Game Warden Vehicle

T

theoleman

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A State Game Warden was staying at the same hotel I was at this past June. The GW told me it was a new vehicle recently assigned to him. The headache rack and its antenna mountings peaked my interest esp the 90 degree NMO mounts, so I captured a few photos. The Browning antenna struck me as odd on a state vehicle, the whip identifying it as a UHF 450. A new way to think of headache racks for an antenna farm.

TOMIMG_6038.JPEGIMG_6039.JPEG

IMG_6038.JPEGIMG_6039.JPEGIMG_6041.JPEG
 
mmckenna

mmckenna

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Thick mount NMO's.
As for the Browning, probably some shop contracted to do the install saw a way to save a few bucks and pass on the heartache to the next tech down the road.

Probably sufficient ground plane when you look at the antennas:
Far left looks like a cheap 700/800MHz antenna, would only need 3" of metal in radius under the antenna to be good. Doesn't look like 3" to me.
Center is either capped for future use, or a GPS antenna.
Far right looks like a 5/8th's wave UHF, would want 6" radius of ground plane under the antenna. Even says "UHF 450" on the whip. Not enough ground plane. Might be a 1/2 wave, but can't tell. That wouldn't -require- a ground plane, but providing an offset one like that makes the antenna a bit directional.

Kind of perplexing to see an install like that for a state agency. Nice headache rack, but the antenna installation leaves something to be desired from my (internet) point of view.

Usually a standard headache rack doesn't supply enough ground plane to be useful. The large plate on there holding the light bar is helpful, but looks like a compromise.
 
n3obl

n3obl

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That setup looks like an easy to switch to another vehicle if need be. They got nickled and dimed over that whole setup. Feniex lightbars are junk.
 
776

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Do you know the brand of the headache rack or where a person could find one. I have been looking for that style for months and can’t find one.

Thank You

776
 
mmckenna

mmckenna

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776 said:
Do you know the brand of the headache rack or where a person could find one. I have been looking for that style for months and can’t find one.

Thank You

776
Click to expand...


The headache rack itself sort of looks like a Magnum, but it doesn't have the T channel. Might be a place to start, though:
magnumtruckracks.com

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I've had Magnum headache racks on 2 trucks, very high quality.
 
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