Why we tell people to NOT use magmounts

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KI4UPW

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This thread could not have come at a better time. My truck has had a mag mount since the day I bought it, but it has finally fallen apart and the coax is badly damaged from chafing. Reading through here finally pushed me to drill for a Larson NMO, and while im at it I will be upgrading from a comet CA-2x4SR to a Larson NMO2/70B.
 

03msc

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This thread could not have come at a better time. My truck has had a mag mount since the day I bought it, but it has finally fallen apart and the coax is badly damaged from chafing. Reading through here finally pushed me to drill for a Larson NMO, and while im at it I will be upgrading from a comet CA-2x4SR to a Larson NMO2/70B.

Congrats! You will notice performance improvements not to mention the appearance improvements!
 

mmckenna

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This thread could not have come at a better time. My truck has had a mag mount since the day I bought it, but it has finally fallen apart and the coax is badly damaged from chafing. Reading through here finally pushed me to drill for a Larson NMO, and while im at it I will be upgrading from a comet CA-2x4SR to a Larson NMO2/70B.

You are going to be much happier with that setup.
A proper ground plane, and a -real- antenna. You'll find that some of the hammy grade stuff is pretty bad when you compare it to the commercial stuff.

My brother in law has been using the same Larsen NMO-2/70 for about 15 years.
 

k6cpo

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A mag mount antenna was a direct contributing factor in my truck getting broken into in a hotel parking lot and my mobile radio stolen, along with some other stuff. The thieves were able to get the tailgate open past the locked shell I have on the truck. Once inside the bed, they opened the window on the shell and because the mag mount antenna coax was running through the cab window, they gained access to the cab and stole the radio, GP and some other stuff. They had no idea what they had because they took the body of the radio but left the control head (which was in plain sight on the dash.) Someone was eventually arrested and charged and I applied for restitution. To this day I've never received a dime.

When I replaced the radio, I made a number of changes. The first was drilling a hole in the cab roof for an NMO mount antenna. I also added a lock to the tailgate. There wasn't one there originally. The truck is much more secure now, but now I can remove everything from the truck and take it inside a hotel if the area is sketchy.
 

gmclam

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A mag mount antenna was a direct contributing factor in my truck getting broken into in a hotel parking lot and my mobile radio stolen, along with some other stuff.
When staying at a hotel I just remove the mag mount altogether. If they still want to break into an empty truck, the alarm goes off.
 

W4EMS

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No automated car washes though. Dealer sent my new Tacoma with short NMO mounted antenna through. Fortunately the antenna took the brunt of the damage but the sheet metal is si thin it also took a hit but we got that ans the mount re-seated. Now when I go for service I have a small poster for the steering wheel "Hand Wash Only". (They did reimburse me for the antenna!)
 

nd5y

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No automated car washes though. Dealer sent my new Tacoma with short NMO mounted antenna through. Fortunately the antenna took the brunt of the damage but the sheet metal is si thin it also took a hit but we got that ans the mount re-seated. Now when I go for service I have a small poster for the steering wheel "Hand Wash Only". (They did reimburse me for the antenna!)
That's what "rain caps" are for.
 

W4EMS

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Lol. True. But would just as soon bypass the auto wash for handwashing. Gets the truck cleaner. :)
And I don't have to climb into the bed twice, especially after it is wet then go to work.
 

KK4JUG

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I strongly disklike magnet-mount antennas for anything other temporary mobile use. I currently have 12 NMO mounts on my CVPI; Mag Mounts are less efficient, not permanent, and cause damage (from your initial posting). I have never had an issue selling, trading, or turning any of my past cars in from a dealer, private party, or leasing company. I'm getting really tired of hearing, "My wife won't let me drill any holes in the car," blah blah blah ad nauseam. I refused to sacrifice performance for vanity. Thanks for posting!
The above quote was from a very early responder with 12 NMO mounts on the vehicle and said he never had trouble selling, trading, etc., the vehicle. I gotta tell you, I would think twice about buying any vehicle with 12 NMO mounts or 12 rubber plugs. As my mother used to say, "Too much of anything is enough."
 

Project25_MASTR

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Lol. True. But would just as soon bypass the auto wash for handwashing. Gets the truck cleaner. :)
And I don't have to climb into the bed twice, especially after it is wet then go to work.

I've never taken a 1/4 wave whip off to run through an automated wash. Now all of the full service washes I visit will remove any antenna that his hand tight due to experiences with the vertical spinners of death...which are known for wrapping around the AM/FM antenna on 1994+ Ram pickups and using the coax to can-open the passenger fender to the firewall. Same reason why pretty much every GMT900 has the AM/FM antenna canted out slightly to the passenger side of the truck (my personal one included).
 

Giddyuptd

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One issue for a lot of mag mounts is volunteer ems, fire or reserve police who install a radio in a pov who literally do the side gig full time for a added retirement while getting nothing now yet don't have the hardware to drill or look away from local rip you off shops in rural America.

Here we try to help the reserve public safety as they avoid going to a local contractor who literally rips off people selling relm or sells them Motorola bs sales talk but bk selling.

They avoid rip off costs to drill and run a coax.
 

KVL3000

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I begged my parents to let me go NMO when I got my car, but they didn't listen, so now when I sell my car they have to get the roof completely repainted
 

RadioDitch

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I have to get the photos from my buddy. He only used a magmount, and I'd been bugging him to take his Jeep to a friend of mine who is a Motorola certified installer to get an NMO mount. Over time the magmount, which was of poor quality, had the bottom seal fail and water began to get into the magnet, which was constructed of layered magnets.

One day, he was up here visiting and went to take the magmount off and it basically exploded. There were rusted shards of eroded magnet all over the roof. The roof was scratched pretty bad. It was one of the most fascinating and hilarious things I've ever seen.
 
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darkness975

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I have a magmount that someone didn't want and gave to me.

I have yet to use it because I was concerned about scratches and such, and now my concerns are verified.

Nice thought, but it will remain a permanent fixture on my metal filing cabinet. Perhaps one day when I move to a larger place I will have the cabinet next to a window and I can try using it from inside.
 

rescue161

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I have a magmount that someone didn't want and gave to me.

I have yet to use it because I was concerned about scratches and such, and now my concerns are verified.

Nice thought, but it will remain a permanent fixture on my metal filing cabinet. Perhaps one day when I move to a larger place I will have the cabinet next to a window and I can try using it from inside.

Just drill the hole and install an NMO in the filing cabinet! :cool:
 

W9WSS

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I am 67 years old and have driven since I was 16. I've owned and leased my own cars. NEVER, but EVER have I had an issue with NMO mounts on a personally-owned or leased car when I turned it in or sold it outright.

I currently have 12 NMO mounts on my vehicle. Matter of fact, I have a few people who wish to buy my car in its present condition, most likely with all the current radios installed. Not sure about that yet, it could be an option. I did that once before, everything including all radios with no regrets.
 

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03msc

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I am 67 years old and have driven since I was 16. I've owned and leased my own cars. NEVER, but EVER have I had an issue with NMO mounts on a personally-owned or leased car when I turned it in or sold it outright.

I currently have 12 NMO mounts on my vehicle. Matter of fact, I have a few people who wish to buy my car in its present condition, most likely with all the current radios installed. Not sure about that yet, it could be an option. I did that once before, everything including all radios with no regrets.

What model are most of those antennas? Was looking for them awhile back and couldn't remember the manufacturer/series.

And what is KN 3600? Just curious.
 

W9WSS

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Many of them are EM-Wave, the rest of them are Laird. They cover many different bands and frequencies. They are all connected to radios and various other communications equipment.

My car is my POV, owned by me and no governmental entity. KN3600 is the FCC-assigned callsign for ALL law enforcement mobile units transmitting on ISPERN, Illinois State Police Emergency Radio Network, known in some other states as NLEEF.

Click here: Illinois State Police Emergency Radio Network (ISPERN)

It's an old report/explanation from the Chicago Police Department manual but is still mostly accurate.
 
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