Batboard

I've just taken a new job, and it has me doing an hour-long commute. I figured I'd like to put the ham rig back in my car. (At least for starters, until I can replace it with a couple ASTRO rigs. )

What I've just discovered, though, is that my 6'-tall SUV has to be parked in a parking garage that has 6' 5" clearance. I do 2 and 440 (and am heavily interested in adding 6 meter FM to the lineup), so the mini Phantoms and whatnot aren't ideal... (And honestly, the garage clearance I have is so insanely low that I'd worry about scraping the Phantom on the ceiling!)

I'm thinking of the following options:
- A glass-mount antenna. However, I've never, ever heard good reviews of a glass-mount antenna...
- Antenex Phantom or similar.
- Replacing the AM/FM whip with a VHF/UHF whip. Sti-co apparently makes one that's custom-designed for a given year's make/model, which screams "expensive" to me? I also seem to recall hearing that they were unity gain at best.
- A big ol' whip, but mounted on the back of the car by the bumper, so that the tip of the antenna is about even with the roof. I've seen this done before, and posted about how it seems weird and like it would screw with the radiation pattern. I'd been eying the Comet SB-15 (2.15 dB / 4.5 dB / 7.2 dB gain on 6/2/440) before I realized I was going to end up in the parking garage... Am I insane to want one of these on the back of my car, mounted down by the bumper?

Anyone have any experience, in particular, with the SB-15, by the way? I hear that they're pretty narrowband and thus cover only the ham bands, and are all but deaf outside them. I was hoping to throw in some 460/150-160 MHz frequencies (receive-only), so I wonder about its bandwidth.

Edit: I've seen the fold-down mounts, but the problem is that it won't be that practical for me to hop out of the car when I get to the parking garage... And I'm not about to invest in one of those motor-powered mounts that will retract the antenna at the push of a button.

I have a 2008 Nissan Xterra and my girlfriend loves to drag me to the local mall (all the damn time). The mall has a parking garage with a similar clearance as the one your having problems with. My answer to the problem was installing an NMO trunk lid mount that is almost 360 degrees rotatable. I slid it on the upper right side of the trunk door. I use a basic U/VHF antenna on it. The best part is when I do go in the garage(s), the mount has a big "butterfly" type screw that make folding down the antenna super easy.

Mine is very similar to this one:

http://www.wb0w.com/comet/images/CP-5NMO.jpg

Just an idea that worked for me. Hope this helps.

L brackets on the sides of the hood.

+1

I once used a Maldol (Comet) EX-510 that does 6/2/440 in one package. I had it mounted off the front fender of a mini-spute. Worked decent enough and had no clearance issues (antenna stands about 39" tall).

I have a Comet SB-14 (6/2/70cm) antenna on my car and it works well on 6 & 70cm but only so-so on 2m.

It is similar to the SB-15 but a little smaller(i think).

fineshot1 wrote:I have a Comet SB-14 (6/2/70cm) antenna on my car and it works well on 6 & 70cm but only so-so on 2m.

How does it perform out of band? (I'm interested in receive-only in the 155-160 and 460 MHz ranges.) It's got some crazy gain, but I happened across a review that it's pretty much deaf outside the ham bands.

If you are looking for glass mounts that are good, STI-CO's work great, they are just $$$$$. We use the VHF's and DUAL Bands and have never had an issue.

agtkgv wrote:If you are looking for glass mounts that are good, STI-CO's work great, they are just $$$$$. We use the VHF's and DUAL Bands and have never had an issue.

I just found a place that lists their price, and all I can say is... Well, I shouldn't say it in polite company. $475 for an antenna? (This is on a tri-band, VHF/UHF/800.) And the specs don't mention gain, but insertion loss. I guess these fill an important role for, say, elite undercover units, but I'll be adding an ASTRO Spectra before I can afford one of these. Their antennas replacing the AM/FM whips are even more expensive. Yikes.

I have moved to a new parking garage since I last posted. The clearance here is 6' 6".

Simple solution... don't park in a parking garage. That's what I do, anyway...

fogster wrote:

fineshot1 wrote:I have a Comet SB-14 (6/2/70cm) antenna on my car and it works well on 6 & 70cm but only so-so on 2m.

How does it perform out of band? (I'm interested in receive-only in the 155-160 and 460 MHz ranges.) It's got some crazy gain, but I happened across a review that it's pretty much deaf outside the ham bands.

Sorry for the delay - not sure how I lost track of this thread.

I do not use it for out of band rx but I would not go by the reviews. All of these types of multiband antennas are accompanied by
their respective triplexers and they can sometimes be the limiting factor on out of band frequency response.

I told you they hurt, 475 is a bit much, try Tessco, they have the for a bit less I think. but yes they certainly hurt, I believe they are unity gain in both bands. FYI we tried the patch antennas, and they were terrible. You may also want to take a peek when you are looking at tessco, at the stick quarterwave that you can tie in knots, I have used a few of them, and they wouldn't be affected by the garage unless you whacked the base which is the same 1/4 high base as all the other unity gain quarterwaves, and its tunable to VHF, UHF or 800. I think they are more in the $50 range as oppsed to the glass mounts in the 200 to 300 range. I know its not the best solution but, hey nothing that we ever want is cheap.

I found some sti-co's on ebay for nib for around 199$ but its been about a month ago, it was in the ham radio and industrial/mro commercial/accy's section. I was going to get one for a ford my 03' ford taures. I was kinda Wondering about the bandwith myself, but never followed up on it!

Rod

I have a 2008 Honda Pilot which is about 72" high. I use a Maldol 6m/2m/440 NMO on the roof. The Maldol is 39" in length but can fold over for low clearances. I have taken mine into several local parking garages without problems. Your mileage may vary.

Andy

Try my SUV - 6'8" tall from the factory. Most parking garages around here have a 6'8" clearance, so...I've been SOL for quite a while, even before adding the antennas on the roof.

Just do like tvsjr - park outside. The extra distance you have to walk is good for you anyway.

What about one (or two) of those super flexible, tie them in a knot sti-co antennas?

Wicho wrote:Just do like tvsjr - park outside. The extra distance you have to walk is good for you anyway.

It's Boston. If I had the money to get an outdoor spot anywhere near my office, I wouldn't need to work, so it'd be a moot point.

Wicho wrote:What about one (or two) of those super flexible, tie them in a knot sti-co antennas?

That one sounds interesting. And I'll try Tessco as was recommended.

Another thought... Instead of paying Sti-co $600 to make a special antenna to take the place of my FM whip, has anyone ever tried doing it on their own? I can't say I'm sure of the resonant frequency, but it seems like a little tuning and a duplexer (to keep 50W VHF/35W UHF out of my stereo) might be all it takes. Or were factory AM/FM whips not meant to take 50 Watts?

Tessco has the Sti-co VHF/UHF glass-mount antenna (looks like a cell antenna) for the low price of $290. Is "For use with two separate radios only" code for, "Duplexer not included," or is there some reason you can't use a duplexer in front of it?

Just found the Comet B-10, 12" tall. Unity gain on VHF/UHF, but that actually seems kind of impressive for a 12" antenna. The specs say my car is 66", so I'd be really close... Anyone have experience with this model?

Yeah... they're still as hell (if you hit anything, expect to destroy an antenna and maybe a mount) and a friend has had two of four fail on him, as confirmed by my NetTek analyzer.

Trunk Lip mount antenna base can be purchased from tessco for very little money, they work great for us in many situation especially when trying to keep the antenna spacing far enough from each other. Look them up and they work great. Note* make sure trunk lid or hood is grounded well had problems with that in the past espescially with cars that have been in an accident. With a Police car it happens too often.

crazyboy wrote:L brackets on the sides of the hood.

thomsoningreen wrote:Trunk Lip mount antenna base can be purchased from tessco for very little money

thebigphish wrote:

crazyboy wrote:L brackets on the sides of the hood.

thomsoningreen wrote:Trunk Lip mount antenna base can be purchased from tessco for very little money

Your best bet would be 1/4 wave for 2 and 440, then if your desperate for 6 and have to stick to low clearances the antenna specialties /PCTEL low band skate antenna while exspensive will work with 6 after you order the special tune option.


CoM

Just make or buy a transit antenna. A 1/4 wavelength, a short distance (2") off the roof will have an omnidirectional pattern with a little preference to the sides.

chartofmaryland wrote:then if your desperate for 6 and have to stick to low clearances the antenna specialties /PCTEL low band skate antenna while exspensive will work with 6 after you order the special tune option. CoM

Ok - you got my curiosity on this one. I went to the PCTEL website and could not find a low band "skate" antenna or is that a typo?

Do you have a link?

Well, I was wrong on the name, it is now Sti-co on the Tessco website.

http://www.tessco.com/products/displayP ... ventPage=8 - Copy and Paste

This may work to direct you to the type, you can call and order for the frequency range.


CoM

chartofmaryland wrote:Well, I was wrong on the name, it is now Sti-co on the Tessco website.

http://www.tessco.com/products/displayP ... ventPage=8 - Copy and Paste

This may work to direct you to the type, you can call and order for the frequency range.

CoM

Thanks for the link. I had heard of those but you are right as they are very pricey.

From the physical construction seems as though they are horizontally polarized.