uhf antenna choice

[andy666]

Well I'm going to get a uhf set up for my ute. never had one before so I'm after a bit of advice from those in the know.
I'v decided on a gme tx3100, that was the easy part.
my biggest hassle is deciding on an antenna.
I want to mount it on the bullbar and it has to have a max length of 800mm or shorter if posible, any taller and I'll never get in the car park at the shopping centre.
maybe one of thoses clear stick on windscreen antenna would work?
I'll only be using it for chatting to my mates when out 4wding and listening to the truckies when driving on the hwy at night.
so 4.5db or 6db?
flexible pvc or spring mounted fibreglass?

any help would be great.

[Alby]

Any of the shorter ones will do the job for you, i think mine is the GME AE 4705 antenna from memory which is a shortish black fibreglass antenna. I got that one because is was the biggest selling one at the local ARB store.
It does everything I need it for which is the same needs as you listed. There has been a couple of times where a a mate with the large mast antenna has picked up someone a number of miles away that I have not picked up but nothing that is of concern

[SRD4D]

gday mate

for about 6 months ive been using my standard Uniden areiel that came with my 40 channel uniden radio, all good but I thought I upgrade it yesterday with something bigger/better,in my wisdom!!!!!!!.
so i bought a aropro????? PVC 950mm spring mount 7.5dB 477mhz, I cant see a booster on it either (from supercheap) $100 and it is crap ,I found out today so its going back next week.

Depending on what you need it for my understanding the 4.5dB is better for mountain/bush land, the higher db are for straight open road touring. you can buy units that come with both type antennas you can change over when required.

[Steveyb]

Go with a simple elevated fed antenna that gives you both a 1/4 wave stub and a air wound whip as well. this will give you the best of both worlds...

by increasing gain in an antenna you are compressing the pattern of the E plane (vertical polarized) which will yield better distance but cause undershoot and overshoot problems. that's your lesson for today

If I was you I would pick up an RFI antenna from your local radio dealer.

such as this in a BLUE band
http://www.rfi.com.au/downloads/wireles ... 3-CD94.pdf

They are much better made than the GME elevated feeds.

[orville747]

Go for a uhf antenna on the bullbar..make sure its as high as the roof..makes great measuring stick for the underground car parks mine works a treat

[brusa]

Around 6dB seems to be a popular size and work for me, its always going to be a compromise between long range or local

[Swaggie]

Hiya Bud

I use the RFI aerial,One is the 6.5db and the 3db for hilly areas like Walhalla,Butcher Country etc etc...Someone else mentioned RFI and i agree..

I use it with my 2 x 41s Icom Handhelds,one is attached using a BNC connector to the external aerial on the bullbar....

You can buy a twin pack here: http://www.prestigecom.net.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=372&products_id=56

Gives you an idea how the aerials transmit in the bottom diagram



Goodluck

[Steve9R]

once you've decided and are looking where to purchasem I agree with Swaggie above and would recommend you go and check out Prestige Communications in WA.. they give excellent support, advice and even free shipping and even though they arent a forum sponsor are the cheapest retailer Ive found anywhere to purchase UHF gear..

http://www.prestigecom.net.au/

Steve

[Gunny]

indeed...
www.prestigecom.net.au/ is where i get my gear from...

[NimrodAUS]

indeed...
http://www.prestigecom.net.au/ is where i get my gear from...

X3

[mattwilly]

x4 very quick delivery

[buffo69]

http://www.prestigecom.net.au


X5! Awesome to deal with!!

[Earl-mi]

Bcf down hear in Victoria have good sales on gme aerials.

Mitchy

[mbischa]

Both the RFI and GME elevated fed antennas are both great, just make sure you leave a bit of slack coax at the base if you are using the antenna with the spring. The reason for this, is that if the spring bends over, a bit of coax is drawn up into the spring. This means the coax can be pulled out of the top of the antenna.

[RonBacardi8]

Can two antennas be run off the same cb?

[Steveyb]

Can two antennas be run off the same cb?

Yes, (very common to have phased array's in base/site comms)

you could use a co-phasing harness or power divider, I have done this before on several occasions to get around visual ascetic issues with some unnamed government customers I contracted to (when I was in the radio game)

however, the feed lines in the co-phasing harness or feeders to the power divider will need to be calculated and cut to be exactly the same WRT the freq of operation, the antenna's would need to be spaced at the correct distance apart in order to create the desired pattern (spacing will change depending on pattern requirements)

in the mobile sense this becomes messy due to the amount of variables that will create pattern distortion by reacting with the radiating near field of the array.

Best just stick with one aye

Steve.

[Steveyb]

Both the RFI and GME elevated fed antennas are both great, just make sure you leave a bit of slack coax at the base if you are using the antenna with the spring. The reason for this, is that if the spring bends over, a bit of coax is drawn up into the spring. This means the coax can be pulled out of the top of the antenna.

I'm guessing you work for olbis with a name like that ?

[Qwerty]

after being through several whip style antennas shattered from corrugations on the bullbar (extra stress) I now have an AXIS CHT5 for UHF and AXIS CLR7 for nextg connectivity, both are boomstick variety.

UHF is 5db , next g is 7db. Figured 5db is more resilient to the funny angles we have wheeling than the narrower but further 7db.

[Qwerty]

[noodle]

For UHF I run 2 aerials. I have a 3dB for the rough stuff, where communication is more important that range. I have a 9dB for touring around where range is the key. Since I've moved from ACT to WA I've uses the 3 dB once. The hills around WA would only really need a 6dB in my opinion, and that's what I intend to run when I need to replace either of my current antenna.
Query has the right idea though, make sure the aerial you buy is right for the road conditions you drive on regularly