Low Profile Antennas-A few questions

F1118 · Post by **F1118** » Sun May 11, 2003 8:54 am

Where can I get some low profile antennas that look like or close to the ones on http://www.comtelco.net/ .... I need black ones to match my car. Do they make dual band in this sytle? Also very important question....Will these screw right onto my 3/4 inch drill mounts?

Post by **Code3Response** » Sun May 11, 2003 5:49 pm

I can get them for you at http://www.code3response.com - I carry Antenex. They do not make dual band models, and yes they wilsl screw into a regular 3/4 inch NMO mount. PM me if interested.

USPSS · Post by **USPSS** » Sun May 11, 2003 11:09 pm

I have bought and tested all brands of these antenna's in a controlled environment, the only one that worked well was the Maxrad MLPV450, it performed at about +1 db at 1/4 wave, the antennex and comtelco were -3 db at 1/4 wave. and the vertical beam on the antennex was almost 17 deg. above the horizon.

jim · Post by **jim** » Mon May 12, 2003 4:30 am

Don't use Antenex VHF Phantoms. I just returned all 12 that I reordered for inventory since 7 of the 12 were bad out of the package. They redesigned these things 3 times since I became a dealer and they just can't get it right. If you DO get one that works, I'll assure you that it will fail in weeks.

The UHF and 800 Phantoms work well, however.

I've been using COmtelco with no problems.

FFParamedic571 · Post by **FFParamedic571** » Mon May 12, 2003 5:21 am

Ive been using the Antennex 800 phantoms for about the last year on 80% of my rooftop MDT installs. It seems to hold up better thant the pig tail 800's and less chance of getting decapitated by car washes..

Sniper · Post by **Sniper** » Sun May 18, 2003 8:09 pm

Can anyone recommend a good low-profile model for a mobile scanner? I need to install a scanner in a Taurus, and would like the small NMO style antenna (such as http://www.comtelco.net/cgi-bin/w3-msql ... =A1641B440) for a scanner, but don't see any that would cover both the UHF and VHF public safety bands.....

jim · Post by **jim** » Mon May 19, 2003 5:36 am

Believe this or not....I've used the Comtelco low profile (154-156) antenna for scanners for over a year with no problems on UHF, VHF or even lowband! I don't know what will happen on 800, since I don't listen to anyhting on 800.

70351 · Post by **70351** » Tue Jun 03, 2003 12:19 am

I've got the VHF Phantom antenna. I use it for APRS purposes, and it works well but I found the antenna has an EXTREMELY NARROW BANDWIDTH !! I can only get about 250 KHz on either side of the tuned frequency without going above 2:1 SWR. However, I found that it works quite well if you only need it to work on the one channel its tuned for. I drive a black Crown Vic so I get lots of strange looks from people, and even get asked what that "thing" is on the roof. At times I'll just say I left my mugg on the roof and thank them for telling me before it fell off.

Oh well . . .

F1118 · Post by **F1118** » Tue Jun 03, 2003 7:04 pm

Could you post a link for the vhf phantom antenna please.

Thanks

Also anyone that has used a low profile for 144-148 2 meter ham band please post which model you had good luck with. I can't find anything thats for that band but if someone has used something that works please post.

THanks Again

70351 · Post by **70351** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 5:13 am

Anthony,

Below are the links I think your looking for. This is where I found an antenna made for the 2-meter & 70cm amatuer bands:

http://www.wavehunter.com/phantvhf.htm

http://www.wavehunter.com/phantuhf.htm

The company is D&L Antenna Co. and here's their main website:

http://www.wavehunter.com/list.htm

Hope this is helpful to you. I was at work last night when you originally posted your message but I had all the info at home. Ahhhhh, finally home from a long night!

Sniper · Post by **Sniper** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 6:44 am

I'd kill for a dual band version of these. Preferably in black. But I think I'm out of luck.....

70351 · Post by **70351** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 7:18 am

Yep, you and me both. I've looked high and low and have never found anything other than what's posted on this board.

Oh well, at least we have this much!

F1118 · Post by **F1118** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 8:25 am

So does the vhf come in black also? And will these antennas work in the vhf and uhf ham band?

70351 · Post by **70351** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 8:38 am

I have the VHF model, and yes, it does work in the 144-148 MHz amateur range, and yes it is black in color. However, as I stated earlier in this thread the bandwidth on these antenna's are extremely narrow. Since I only use mine for APRS on 144.390 MHz I don't have any trouble using the Phantom antenna. But again, if you required such an antenna to cover the entire 3 or 4 MHz 2-meter spread then this antenna isn't for you. On the VHF model I was only able to achieve an acceptable SWR 250 KHz on either side of the tuned frequency. That's only a total spread of 500 KHz, which sucks for a VHF antenna!

I've never tried the UHF model so I don't know what kind of range you'd be able to achieve with it. I also noticed it's white in on their web page so I don't know if that model's available in black or not.

jim · Post by **jim** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 12:01 pm

Any of the bands are available in black or white. Using NON-METALLIC paint, one can paint it any color.

The VHF Phantoms have quite a few problems. Using many of them, you'll of course see this. I have one on my own vehicle and it works fine. The UHF's much more wide-banded. The VHF is narrow because of it's tuning network.

Sniper · Post by **Sniper** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 12:13 pm

Hmmmm..how to take the antenna output of my radio and split it between a UHF and a VHF antenna......

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 6:38 pm

Sniper wrote:Hmmmm..how to take the antenna output of my radio and split it between a UHF and a VHF antenna......

Ah, Duplexer??

F1118 · Post by **F1118** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 11:17 pm

so you can tune the antenna yourself? you said you used it on the 2 meter band but if it was designed for 150 mhz how did you tune it?

70351 · Post by **70351** » Wed Jun 04, 2003 11:34 pm

F1118 wrote:so you can tune the antenna yourself? you said you used it on the 2 meter band but if it was designed for 150 mhz how did you tune it?

The antenna comes with several tuning "disks", which are essentially thin metallic round adhesive stickers. To achieve proper tuning you trim an appropriate amount around the disk depending on the frequency desired, placing it on the flat section at the top of the antenna. It also comes with a trimming template for your target frequency (although it's very general so you'll have to trim a small amount at a time). The disks are also black in color so they blend with the antenna.

tiredfireman · Post by **tiredfireman** » Wed Jul 16, 2003 2:47 pm

Remember that if you want looks, you sacrifice performance. Physics don't listen to salespeople. If the antenna 'wants' to be 50 odd inches long, curling it up into a disk is not going to make for good transmission.
The higher the freq, the shorter the antenna, so if you get into 800MHZ you will be down below 4 inches, but what's the point??
Also, one asked about receive. Antenna length really is only critical when transmitting. A coat hanger will receive for a scanner. Transmit involves complicated stuff like wavelengths to insure maximum output.
receive, in my experience, is based solely on length of antenna. Since you are trying to capture a small fraction of a volt signal, the longer the wire, the more signal strength you will capture. Again, this does not apply to XMIT.
If car-wash or riot damage is really a concern, use the lo-profile and feed it with the most power you can. Otherwise, use a 1/4 wave whip for transmit, and as long as you want for receive (scanner) ops.

Low Profile Antennas-A few questions

Low Profile Antennas-A few questions

Antenex Phantom Antenna

lo profile ants