so i need to look at antennas for my F350 and the 40. the 350 came w/ an NMO mount on the roof. 40 has no top, so smaller ground plane. i will switch the FT-2900 i have between the vehicles.
what do you all recommend for antennas for these? and where to buy? i can weld/mount anything to the 40. i figure that they will each need their own antenna because of the body size difference? thoughts? thanks.
Most, if not all of us, run Comet antennas. The SBB-1 is a nice antenna for driving under trees. From there it depends on how much gain you want and how much length you can get away with.
Mike has an SBB-5, but it has this coil in the middle that catches limbs. I have an SBB-7 that is real long, but huge gain. I gave my SBB-1 to Rudy, and bought a SBB-2, which is a wire, but only long enough that it will fit in the garage attached to the 4Runner.
You should have no problem moving your antenna of choice between the F350 and the FJ40.
I'd buy one antenna that you can switch between the two vehicles. I think the Ford already has a NMO mount on the roof so that's a done deal. On the 40, if you can place the antenna mount near the edge of the hood, that'd be great. Since you have a softop, welding a tab on the roll bar won't yield a good ground plane. Same thing if weld a tab on the rear bumper. For the softop or the rear, you may need a non-ground plane antenna but it's worth using the same whip antenna and see how the SWR comes out.
I've tuned two of these antennas and they tuned great. However, both installs were on the middle of roofs, which is ideal.
On another note, the club should buy a decent but inexpensive SWR meter for tuning HAM antennas. More of us will need to use it. You and Pappy already know the model I'm talking about.
And to think, I thought taking the test was going to be the hard part. Now you guys are just making my head hurt. When I go to bed all I'm going to see is LAR-BNC-MM-BNC MAG MOUNT FOR RUBBER DUCK ANT
$17.99 LAR-BNCQ BNC BASE CHROME WHIP 19"
$88.99 LAR-BSA150C 144-174 BASE W/ WHIP
$36.99 LAR-BSAK BASE STATION ADAPTER
$6.99 LAR-FB FME TO BNC ADAPTER PLUG
$9.99 LAR-FN FME TO N ADPTR
$4.99 LAR-FP FME TO PL-259 PLUG ADAPTER
$5.99 LAR-FSM FME TO SMA ADAPTER
$1.45 LAR-HP-34 HOLE PLUGS FOR 3/4 HOLES
$1.99 LAR-HP-38 HOLE PLUGS FOR 3/8 HOLES
$32.99 LAR-KD-14-440HW 440 MHZ HALF-WAVE DUCK
$15.99 LAR-KD-4-220ST 220MHZ STUBBY DUCK
$15.99 LAR-KD1-146 MOTOROLA THREAD ANT 146 MHZ
or something like it. Maybe the pocket protector will make it easier.
I had some tabs mounted on my brush guard for my CB and UHF (NMO) antennas. They were out of the way for the trail. For highway driving I will move the UHF to a NMO mag mount to a tab on the rollbar. On the bumper I was getting five mile range on the highway I bet a couple of feet higher will help a bit more.
I have an NMO mount on the roof of my FJC and I swap between a nice base-loaded, 5/8-wave Hustler steel whip and the Sti-co Flexi-whip (when wheeling). The Flexi-whip is only a 1/4-wave antenna and will go anywhere and bend under anything. The best part is, I can barely tell any difference in performance between the two antennas, so I just leave the little Flexi-whip on all the time unless I'm taking a long road-only trip. It has surprised me with range of contacts I've been able to make using it. A great little roof-top antenna for your 350, don't know how it would do with less ground plane on the 40. I'm actually considering antennas and locations for my 40 right now - leaning towards something mounted on the Man-A-Fre jerry can carrier on the back because I take my hard top off and on seasonally.
1. i have a single band radio, all the comets are dual band, so i'm paying extra that i won't use. not too big a deal. higher gains for the most part.
2. for some reason i'm not big on a mounting spot forward of the doors (FJ40). rollbar is out. the soft top covers all of it. antenna inside the vehicle would hinder it i would think.
the Larsens look decent, but with lower gain IIRC. Diamond had some good looking stuff too. are they a good brand?
i would like to use the rear cooler/sparetire racks for a mount. length doesn't bother me, so a 57" one is fine. sounds like i should use a nonground plane antenna for that spot. the bolts to the body don't expand the ground plane enough?
so the higher the gain the better. the longer the wave the better, and longer antennas have higher gains typically. is this correct? i really know nothing about this subject.
Longer, higher and more gain is always better. If you are set on mounting the antenna on your rear; just find a place where you can weld a "L" shaped braket you can drill out to NMO (3/4"). One place could be something that bolts to the center of your spare tire.
Ali knows my fondness for the Larsen steel whips. If you're running single band anyway, you cant beat them for toughness and price. They actually have decent gain as well. Don't get too hung up on this. I think they have a true 3 dB vs others who quote gain #s as dBi and other subterfuge. In single band mobile antennas about the best practical gain you will see is 4 dB. The Larsen whips are tougher and cheaper and have a 3dB gain. You'll never notice the difference.
If I remember, there are 2 versions and several variations of each version of the Larsen 150 series. If you have a metal roof and are not afraid to poke a hole in it, a 5/8 wave antenna with NMO mount is THE BEST. Even a lip mount on the hatch has enough GP to run a 5/8 wave antenna.
If you don't, like an FJ40, you can put a tab on the roll bar and run the 1/2 wave version of the 150. This does not require a ground plane (it sort of does but the coax is the counterpoise) and works great even without a big metal roof to reflect off of. I run one of these on my FJ40 and beat the crap out of the antenna, and it still works like new.
I like to use the Larsen tuned spring at the base of the antenna so it can fold over when hit by tree branches.
Remember, every thing else being equal, you want the antenna up as high as possible on the vehicle.
The worst place to mount an antenna is on the bullbar. It's low, it's poorly grounded, it's near the alternator. If you do mount there, I'd use a 1/2 wave antenna but it's still a sub optimal location. An "L" bracket on the rear is OK, but then again a 1/2 wave antenna will work better because of the lack of a ground plane.
Now back to the SBB1--I like this one. It is tiny and is very flexible. It's far from perfect, but if you are just using it for simplex truck to truck will work extremely well. I carry one of these in the truck as back up.
i would like to use the rear cooler/sparetire racks for a mount. length doesn't bother me, so a 57" one is fine. sounds like i should use a nonground plane antenna for that spot.
NOW we're getting somewhere! so the ground plane isn't used as a resonator of the signal, it's more of a reflector of the signal. (told you i knew nothing of these things) that's why the rollbar thing isn't optimal, no flat surface to bounce off.
so i may just get a good 5/8 wave NMO for the F350 (already has the roof hole and NMO mount from the PO). i use this truck for camping with the family when we have nobody with us and may have the need to hit repeaters from nonoptimal locations, if i get stuck or break somewhere.
the 40 i need a 1/2 wave (are all 1/2 waves nonground plane?) and mount off the back high as possible. the 40 is almost always with other vehicles and won't have the longest range needs.
When I am back home in a few days I will post a picture of a slick hood mount I use on my Toyota Truck. Additionally, I use two antenna's, a short one for around town and a longer one for one the road. Has worked great for my single band.
Ham is installed! I have a SBB-1. Does anyone have a (loaner/for sale) higher gain antenna? Also who has programing software and would like to give me a lesson on my new 7900?
Ham is installed! I have a SBB-1. Does anyone have a (loaner/for sale) higher gain antenna? Also who has programing software and would like to give me a lesson on my new 7900?
Ham is installed! I have a SBB-1. Does anyone have a (loaner/for sale) higher gain antenna? Also who has programing software and would like to give me a lesson on my new 7900?
Speaking of loaners, does anyone have a mount for the SBB-1 they can spare for Moab, if Jerrod doen't use it. The recommended K400 is bit past my budget right now. That 70 bucks is going to get me to Moab. I just figure it would be nice to start learning to use it and I can buy the mount later. If not, I will be on CB.
Speaking of loaners, does anyone have a mount for the SBB-1 they can spare for Moab, if Jerrod doen't use it. The recommended K400 is bit past my budget right now. That 70 bucks is going to get me to Moab. I just figure it would be nice to start learning to use it and I can buy the mount later. If not, I will be on CB.
Rudy and Jarrad,
I have a very heavy duty NMO mag mount one of you can borrow. I think Jon's SBB-1 is not NMO though. I also have an extra SBB-5 (NMO) that you guys can borrow.
-Mike-
(told you i knew nothing of these things) that's why the rollbar thing isn't optimal, no flat surface to bounce off. 
