Kenwood TM-V71A Antenna Recomendations

[PACK MULE]

Well I have decided on this radio to install in the LX. I have read lots of reviews and it seems that this one will fit the bill for my needs

What I am not seeing a bunch of is the antenna to match up with it. I have an ARB bumper on the front with a Wilson 2000 antenna on the PS for the CB, it is staying in the truck. It wouldn't bother me to go ahead and place another antenna on the DS for the HAM, will they impact one anothers performance being so close? The Wilson is 5' tall and has took a pretty good beating on the trails and held up well. Can I expect the same from HAM Antennas?

Also does height affect performance of the HAM antennas as it does with some of the CB antennas?

With the wheeling we do in the Ozarks I prefer not to put an antenna on the top of the LX. I do have some mounts for lights on the back hatch that I would consider for the antenna mount if necessary but wondering if it will tune as well there as up front.

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks,
Pack Mule

 

[Cruiserdrew]

That's close and they might interfere.

If you have a good ground plane, like the roof of your car, then a 5/8 antenna will give good performance. If no ground plane, a 1/2 wave antenna will give good performance.

 

[pdimarco65]

I have a friend, who is an engineer in the RF space, recommend Comet antennas to me and I've been using them exclusively. If you view my thread I'm am running the 2-SBB NMO but also have a 7-SBB and can swap them out easily.

 

[Kofoed]

I've used 2m and CB with the antennas spaced about 3 feet apart. Not a situation I wanted, but I ran it that way for one trip. The issue is running high power on the Kenwood and to bleeding over to the CB. If you have a decent CB, there should be enough filtering...

The real worry is the antennas touching while keyed down.....

 

[PACK MULE]

I have a friend, who is an engineer in the RF space, recommend Comet antennas to me and I've been using them exclusively. If you view my thread I'm am running the 2-SBB NMO but also have a 7-SBB and can swap them out easily.

Pdimarco65,

Very clean install. I still haven't decided where or how to mount the radios.

Those antennas appear to be decent, did you have any issues getting a good SWR with the antenna on the back hatch?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Any dual band will be a bit of a compromise and generally I like Comet antennas too. However, the Larsen whip antennas are good, cheap, and can take more punishment from trees and the like. Take a look at them.

Any antenna with a wire coil mid whip like that comet will be prone to bending and damage at that point.

If you have a CB on the front bumper, a rear hatch mount for your Ham antenna would be a good choice, and generally there is a good enough ground plane there in order to tune it properly, although from a radio perspective, the center of your roof, would be best. It's just more prone to damage there.

 

[PACK MULE]

I've used 2m and CB with the antennas spaced about 3 feet apart. Not a situation I wanted, but I ran it that way for one trip. The issue is running high power on the Kenwood and to bleeding over to the CB. If you have a decent CB, there should be enough filtering...

The real worry is the antennas touching while keyed down.....

Yes I have read that you don't want to have them touching when transmitting. I guess I can put them both up front and see if it's going to impact either radio or if they touch a bunch when wheeling.

 

[1911]

I have a Kenwood TM-D710A, the big brother to your radio, that I swap back and forth between two trucks. As Cruiserdrew pointed out, antenna choice depends a lot on where the antenna will be mounted and how much ground plane is available at that location. On my 40, with the antenna mounted on the spare tire carrier, it works great with a 1/2-wave Larsen NMO150. On the FJC with an NMO mount on the roof, I swap-out a Hustler 5/8-wave and a Sti-Co Flexi-whip 1/4-wave, depending on the trees and overhead obstructions. Both work well on the roof.

The good thing about using an NMO mount wherever you end up putting it, is that you can swap-out and try different antennas in seconds.

 

[PACK MULE]

Any dual band will be a bit of a compromise and generally I like Comet antennas too. However, the Larsen whip antennas are good, cheap, and can take more punishment from trees and the like. Take a look at them.

Any antenna with a wire coil mid whip like that comet will be prone to bending and damage at that point.

If you have a CB on the front bumper, a rear hatch mount for your Ham antenna would be a good choice, and generally there is a good enough ground plane there in order to tune it properly, although from a radio perspective, the center of your roof, would be best. It's just more prone to damage there.

Thanks for the info Andrew. Looking at it this morning and the scratches along the truck up high along the windows have me concerned with the rear. Might move the CB to the rear and the HAM up front on the bumper where I can see it. I have a CB antenna on the FJC on the rear corner with a spring and it has lasted with no issues.

Can you put a similar spring on the HAM antennas?

 

[lovetoski]

How much distance should one have between a CB and a Ham antenna to best prevent interference?

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Thanks for the info Andrew. Looking at it this morning and the scratches along the truck up high along the windows have me concerned with the rear. Might move the CB to the rear and the HAM up front on the bumper where I can see it. I have a CB antenna on the FJC on the rear corner with a spring and it has lasted with no issues.

Can you put a similar spring on the HAM antennas?

Yes. Larsen for sure makes a spring just for this purpose.

 

[PACK MULE]

I have a Kenwood TM-D710A, the big brother to your radio, that I swap back and forth between two trucks. As Cruiserdrew pointed out, antenna choice depends a lot on where the antenna will be mounted and how much ground plane is available at that location. On my 40, with the antenna mounted on the spare tire carrier, it works great with a 1/2-wave Larsen NMO150. On the FJC with an NMO mount on the roof, I swap-out a Hustler 5/8-wave and a Sti-Co Flexi-whip 1/4-wave, depending on the trees and overhead obstructions. Both work well on the roof.

The good thing about using an NMO mount wherever you end up putting it, is that you can swap-out and try different antennas in seconds.

Thanks 1911. Looks to me that I need to decide on the mount also. Looking at the Breedlove stuff online, looks like good stuff and not to bad on price.

If a guy was to mount a fold down on the roof rack would that still pick up the ground plane off the roof or does it physically need to be attached to the roof?

 

[1911]

Thanks 1911. Looks to me that I need to decide on the mount also. Looking at the Breedlove stuff online, looks like good stuff and not to bad on price.

If a guy was to mount a fold down on the roof rack would that still pick up the ground plane off the roof or does it physically need to be attached to the roof?

Mounting it on the roof rack will still get most the benefit of the expanse of sheet metal that is the roof, it doesn't have to be physically attached to the roof. Your radiation pattern will be elliptical, but for most folks that is no big deal. In the center of the roof would yield the best ground plane and the more even radiation pattern, but lots of guys attach antennas to roof racks.

 

[pdimarco65]

Pdimarco65, Very clean install. I still haven't decided where or how to mount the radios. Those antennas appear to be decent, did you have any issues getting a good SWR with the antenna on the back hatch?

I don't have an SWR meter to measure it exactly but I have gotten full-quieting signal reports to a 2m repeater from over 20 miles away on the 2-SBB mounted on the back hatch.

 

[PACK MULE]

Well I have decided to go with the Comet CP 5NMO hatch mount on the left rear of the hatch. The antenna will be the SS460 or 480SB for trail use.

Thinking I will use a taller better antenna SBB - 7 NMO for around camp etc.

The beauty of this stuff is lots of choices and the ability to change it if you don't like it or not working well.

Thanks to everyone for the comments and suggestions.