which cable and NMO mount? proflex 195 plus & 800 mHz systems?

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dizwiz

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Hi,

Im looking into setting up a mobile NMO mount system to mount a 16" Larsen triband antenna.

Im looking to find out:
1. Best cable type (RG-58. Proflex 195 Plus, etc.)
2. Best NMO mount to get (permanent-fixed type).


I want to get a good NMO mount (I see some made by Larsen and MAXRADD, some in brass, some in zinc coated...what do I get? ) and good cable terminated w/ a BNC female to attach to the BNC male connector on my GRE PSR-500 scanner.

As for cable choices, I see the proflex 195 plus has less loss (less attenuation) in the 800 to 900 MHz region vs. RG-58 A/U. I found this site which tells me about cable and loss:
http://www.antenna.com/artifacts/201124COAXIALCABLESPECIFICATIONS.pdf


Though I will be monitoring systems in the 150's, 450's and 800' range, 800 Mhz seems to be the ones where I have the most trouble bringing in the signal - especially with mobile multi-site systems.

Can I get any recommendations on a good quality NMO mount (manufacturer, and material type (brass, zinc coated, etc.) and a cable recommendation..

This will be w/ 17 feet of cable which seems fairly standard for NMO mounts. The antenna will be exposed to the weather / elements also.

Any advice is appreciated.
 

AK9R

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I usually get the Larsen NMO mounts with their double-shielded RG58-type cable. With most of the Larsen mounts, the exposed parts are nickel-plated brass. If you live in an area where salt is used on the roads in the winter or near the ocean where salt is in the air, you may want to stay away from cheaper NMO mounts that have exposed brass because the salt will cause the brass to corrode.

Be aware that most of the NMO mounts intended for professional installation come with the connector (PL-259, etc.) loose in the bag. This is so the cable can be routed through tight spots. Then the connector is installed on the cable once it is run to the radio.
 
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You post specified a female BNC for the cable termination, you need a male BNC, the radio has a female connection. You may want to purchase a BNC male plug and install that on the end of the cable after you have ran the cable and trimmed it to the correct length. You can purchase the original solder on connector but it takes a bit of expertese to get it installed correctly, most connectors today are compression types and require a special tool but they are easier and quicker to install
 

dizwiz

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OK. so RG-58A/U should work fine?

No need / advantage for the Proflex 195 Plus cable for the higher freq multi-site 800 MHZ digital network sites?
 
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In a mobile environment with a short run of coax the difference in coax loss is minimal and would not make any notciable difference, plus you can run into problems with installing connectors on some of the less common cables. Order a name brand NMO mount with RG-58 cable and install that. Remember two things an NMO mount requires a true 3/4" hole and the mount installes from the outside with the cable fed through the hole first.
 

mpddigital

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Please make sure you get Good RG-58 if you are going to use it. We have seen the cheaper Chinese stuff with tons of loss no matter what the length.

Alpha, Coleman, Western Wire and others still make RG58 in the States. BTW RG-58 and LMR-195 use the same size BNC connectors. Don't get cheap connectors (Radio Shack) either :)
 
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