VHF, UHF and Aviation radio antennas for ham radio & pilot

[4sallypat]

Found only one spot on the roof that can take my: dual band 2m/Aviation and 70cm UHF radios.

Magnetic mounted next to shark fin antenna.

What do you think ?

Too crowded ?

Left antenna is a LMR Compactenna for 2m / Aviation.
Right antenna a 1/4 wave UHF for 70cm.

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[garyd9]

I'm not a fan (but I've never been fond of mag mount antennas.) I've always preferred mounts that clamp to the side of the trunk (or hatch) of a car. Something like the diamond K400.

Anyway, I'm not sure there's enough metal under that magnet to offer a good ground for a 2m quarter wave. (It's probably big enough for the 70cm.)

 

[4sallypat]

I'm not a fan (but I've never been fond of mag mount antennas.) I've always preferred mounts that clamp to the side of the trunk (or hatch) of a car. Something like the diamond K400.

Anyway, I'm not sure there's enough metal under that magnet to offer a good ground for a 2m quarter wave. (It's probably big enough for the 70cm.)

Exactly my thoughts - sort of wished I had the steel roof instead of the glass roof....

 

[YeOldeTraveller]

Exactly my thoughts - sort of wished I had the steel roof instead of the glass roof....

One of the reasons I like my Rally

 

[zvez]

Exactly my thoughts - sort of wished I had the steel roof instead of the glass roof....

no one makes a suction cup mount? The industrial strength like https://www.seasucker.com/ uses for it's bike mounts

 

[phidauex]

I suspect it is as good as anything, though there aren't a ton of good options on this vehicle. On my Tacoma I just got out the hole saw and punched it into the hood, but I'm not quite there yet on the MachE!

If you wanted to get a step better, maybe a 1/2 wave 2m/70cm combo antennas like the Diamond 770, which handle bad/inconsistent ground planes well, mounted on a lip mount along the right side of the hood. It would be pretty ugly, but should get pretty good performance.

The real question for now is - how is the reception with what you have? If it is sufficient for your needs, then no worries.

73, KD0OTS

 

[4sallypat]

I suspect it is as good as anything, though there aren't a ton of good options on this vehicle. On my Tacoma I just got out the hole saw and punched it into the hood, but I'm not quite there yet on the MachE!

If you wanted to get a step better, maybe a 1/2 wave 2m/70cm combo antennas like the Diamond 770, which handle bad/inconsistent ground planes well, mounted on a lip mount along the right side of the hood. It would be pretty ugly, but should get pretty good performance.

The real question for now is - how is the reception with what you have? If it is sufficient for your needs, then no worries.

73, KD0OTS

I am not quite there to punch a hole to install a proper NMO mount quite yet on my Mustang...

But yes, the performance with the mag mount is more than fine - the toughest is the AM aviation band in the VHF band that makes squelching more a finesse than using the 2m FM frequencies.

Rubber duckie antenna was very poor and since the Mach E is shielded, it was impossible to get a signal from my nearby class C and class D airports, not to mention So Cal approach.

The Vertex dual band radio is great for backup comms in case the plane's avionics / power goes out.

I carry the radio with the rubber duckie in my flight bag just in case like carrying a small fire extinguisher and O2.

73s, N6GTU

 

[pikepilot]

Unless you are gonna put wings on your MME, why do you need an aviation band radio?

If you are just listening, liveatc.net is a good free resource that doesn't require you to put a stripper pole on your roof.

 

[4sallypat]

Unless you are gonna put wings on your MME, why do you need an aviation band radio?

If you are just listening, liveatc.net is a good free resource that doesn't require you to put a stripper pole on your roof.

Since I carry my Aviation / 2m radio in my flight bag during flight training for emergency use, I like to listen to CTAF, UNICOM and Class B / C airspace traffic to become more proficient with aviation comms.

 

[pikepilot]

I understand you reasoning.....if you are looking for opinions about the setup.....the aviation (think that's the big pole looking one) antenna seems a bit big for the size and style of the car. Yes, it is a quasi SUV, but it is also styled pretty sporty looking, I think you may be detracting from that. It would look fine on a pickup truck, maybe not so much on this car. Again, just my opinion and how I view the styling of this car...to each their own. Just wanted to point out if you don't mount it, you can access the same comms on your computer at home for practice/familiarization.

 

[jav_eee]

Have you checked SWR on that compactenna? They’re supposed to be mounted on the corner, I’m curious what it meters in that spot where you have it.

 

[4sallypat]

Have you checked SWR on that compactenna? They’re supposed to be mounted on the corner, I’m curious what it meters in that spot where you have it.

Gee, I haven't used an SWR meter in a long time!

It's been over 40 years since I used one when I managed a UHF ham repeater at UCLA and owned a UHF ham repeater on Sunset Ridge. They constantly had an SWR meter on the transmit side due to the multiple radios that were nearby. Our amateur equipment was always scoffed by the commercial and FAA.....

AH, those were the good (youth) days.....

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