I use mobile antennas on my cars since I get my first Novice licence 30 years ago. I tested many brands, different lengths and at last I found that the Comet CA-2X4SR on both versions NMO and UHF base connector are the best for me to use on my cars. I recently changed my dual band radio for a tri-band radio that includes the 220Mhz band and surprisingly my Comet CA-2X4SR antenna worked efficiently in the 220Mhz segment with an efficiency of 98.8% with an SWR of 1.23db allowing me to use most of the power of the radio tri-band. The advantage now is that I can use my antenna in all three amateur radio bands and in the GMRS segment due to its wide bandwidth covering 144Mhz to 465Mhz.
I run the same antenna in my truck and even on my base station and have had great success. I really like the ability to fold it down so I can still park in the garage!
Personally I like single band antennas and the longer the better. I use single band radios. Have separate antennas for 6M, 10M, 2M, 1 .25M, 70cm, 33cm, 23cm and GMRS on the roof of my 1 ton van. The 10M antenna puts me 8 inches over legal height. 13' 6" is legal height in PA and I'm at about 14' 2" to the tip of the 10M antenna. When I drive up to remote mountain top repeater sites it sounds like I'm playing drums as my antenna farm whacks tree branches. Also get lots of weird looks when going through drive through's.
@@markwirez And that's just the roof. I have a motorized fold down screwdriver antenna mounted on the passenger side that covers 10-80M. I can't drive with that one up. When it's tuned to the bottom end of 80M the height is near 20 feet to the tip.
Been running Larsen mobile antennas since the 90s. I never had one break or fail. I bought a expensive Comet dual bander for the truck and it failed within 3 months. Back to using my old faithful Larsens.
I just put the Comet CA-2X4SRNMO on my Explorer, hood mount, and have it connected to my Ft3 HT (waiting for the mount for the FTM400). Works great even with an HT and can pull into the garage with no issues.
I had one of those Comet 2X4 antennas with the inline swirly on a tri-mag on the roof of my truck. I forgot it was there when I went thorough the drive-thru at the bank, and mangled the heck out of it. The moral of the story is: they don't fold themselves down.
Spot on with the antennas. My favorite is the 2X4SRNMO from Comet. I used mine for public service (FD/EMS) and ham. One tip though - Don't forget about clearances and low trees. 😆
Hey Josh that's easy, the Signal Stuff Super-Elastic Signal Stalk!! Yes Jason I know! The SBB5 is my all time fav but when you factor in traversing parking garages the Super-Elastic Signal Stalk is the go-to!
@@michaelpohl348 unless I'm expecting low tree branches or parking garages I'm on the SBB5. Signal Stalk for the win though. The SBB5 is just a little better. I talk a lot of simplex so the taller antenna helps.
I use a Comet Antennas CA-2X4SRNMO on my icom 2730a and it works amazing, it does work well for mars/cap frequencies as well it is a work horse for sure from just one antenna
I use a Moonraker dual band mag mount right now and can on certain days hit the Ottawa Canada repeater 2m across Lake Ontario from my house thats 63 mile away. Oh.. and HAPPY WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY Everyone!...😉 73!
I really recommend the COMPACTenna for VHF and UHF. I found it super practical, incredible range. And it is ideal for those of us who live in cities and need a "low profile". You just have to be very careful how to place it on the ceiling since it DOES NOT RESPECT the "ground plane in the center of the ceiling" rule. 👌👍
I had a Compactenna on my SUV for about a year, on a magnet mount. I've never took it off until about a week ago. The casing on my antenna was cracked from top to bottom. I've never hit anything. Idk why it cracked. Still works though.
I have been using the Diamond SG7500 for many years. I one on my van, one on the car and two on the motorcycle (dual band and APRS. The fold over design is nice for tall vehicles like my van and great on the motorcycle as I can fold them over to put on a storage cover.
Comet UHV-4 quad band 10-6-2m-440. I use it with my TYT TH-9800 quad band radio in my old k5 blazer, With an antenna switcher, I also use it with my Anytone AT5555N on 10m ssb with great results working dx, mobile.
Agreed. I'm on the Comet train too. All NMOs. All mags. SBB-5 is my go-to. I've had it for years and it's a workhorse. I just picked up a used SSB-7 at the hamfest in Belton, Texas to use while doing VHF roving/contesting. Can't wait to see how it works on simplex! I have to park in an underground garage at work and have needed a VERY short antenna solution and a buddy told me about COMPACtennas; so I picked up their triband version: 2m/220/70cm. We now both run them on our mobiles. It looks like a stovepipe - 7.5" tall (without the magnet mount height) and about 2 inches in diameter. About a week & a half with it and it works great! I'm in a large metropolitan area and need something just for repeaters on mainly 70cm while commuting. I still need to do some testing on 220 & 2m. But satisfied with it so far.👍
I've had great luck with the Pulse Larsen NMO150/450/800SF triband antenna for 2m, 70cm, and GMRS. Frequency range is 150-174/430-520/806-960 MHz and VSWR is below 1.6:1 on every band and handles up to 100W.
I use the comet SBB5 (mounted on Pickup fiberglass cap) with a Yaesu 6000. I have made 5+ contacts with the ISS. Its a no ground plane Antenna. I highly recommend it.
I have the Comet CA-2X4SRNMO on my Fusion 2010 . works great. use GMRS and MURS. great performance. it's got a small loop about center. had it for years. MURS is 2 watt max. but with the Comet antenna seems like more power. got many times the range connected to 2 watt HT. same with 5 watt GMRS HT. works great with a UV-5R radio. works like a 25 watt mobile radio. I did put 50 watt GMRS and got repeater 70 miles away and not line of sight. some what blocked . shocked it made it. never went wrong with Comet antenna ever. Comet makes a great antenna analyzer as well . 73's
I've used the same Larsen 2/70 NMO with a mag mount for nearly 20 years, and just recently I had to replace the mag mount. The antenna still works the same as it did when I first bought it. I also bought another one along with the ground plane kit for mounting on my 28.5' Max Gains Systems mast. I have used a Comet 1/4 wave dual bander mag mount before purchasing the first Larsen, and its performance was mediocre on distant repeaters. 73 KD5YOU
I've used the Austin Metropolitan for several years. Been very happy with it, although recently, it hasn't done real well on 1.25cm. Checked it with my analyzer and it is no longer resonate on that band. It's lead a rough life. Still good on 2m and 70cm. Thinking about getting 2 and making a triband dipole. I have a Yaesu FT736 with a 1.25m module. I'm currently using a Comet SBB224NMO triband on the car and it is great.
A Retevis MA05 I got off EBay for $12.99. Works slicker than snot for VHF/Uhf. A Laird Technologies for 220 and some old jalopy MFJ that works on 2m/6m.
Lots of good antenna options. I have the Comet SBB 5 and 2 on the cargo trailer camper, along with some Tram and Diamond antennas. So far, I'm up to 10 antennas on the trailer, including a 220 antenna and a tri-band antenna for the scanner. I'm sure I'll end up doing a video on just the antennas when I start getting the build videos posted.
I use MFJ 1412 B 1/2 L 2m 5/8x5/8 L .70m. One piece. Like a Timex watch. Willie E Coyote proof. Takes getting wacked by trees. Heard it is a a Comet knock off, or are from the same plant. But if I have to part in a garage, a low level Rough Rider is used. (Comet HP32FHN copy?)
Looks like a lot of love for the CA 2X4SR😍. I have 3 of them on the roof of the Q-Mobile. Spec is under 2:1 up to 460 MHz. That doesn't get to the GMRS repeater inputs at ~467.5 MHz, but mine are well under 2:1 up there and a bit beyond. ALSO, they don't spec the 220 band at all, but I get a good SWR there as well! Fine, but so would a 52 ohm resistor, right? Well, performance is on par with a tri-band antenna that I swap on that mount (to the AnyTone 578 mobile). I talk to our wide-coverage 220 machine 40 miles out (only 5 watts from the AnyTone, or it would be farther). So AFAIC, it's a tri-band antenna. Maybe their modeling or performance tests don't let them spec it that way, but if you need wide-band coverage AND 220 (and I'm not telling you that you should or shouldn't, either), consider the CA 2X4. Oh, and overall performance - I do note a SLIGHT performance loss compared to Comet SBB5. That bandwidth has to come from someplace, right? No free 🥪. How slight? A VERY noisy signal on the CA is a little less noisy on the SBB 5... just a little. I'm taking the trade. K4AAQ (King of Ham)
Best antenna dualband running 2008-2024 imho. I have had Diamonds, Trams, Maxrad, Larsen and a few other brands I cant remember. The Comet SBB series, sun and weather faded loading coils still running like a champ. the sbb7 does have a tilt over scheme so you still get to keep that gain in your covered parking The Diamond Quad band 10,6,2,70cm is a wonderful antenna, Although it is a bit fragile at the loading tip. I snapped the top coil form whacking a tree branch in the bush. If your a freeway driver with an 8900 quad band radio. its a good choice. Random internet guy dropping his $0.02.. Lol.
Just ordered the diamond 8900a to go with the tyt 9800 quad band. Glad to here I didn't make a mistake. I'm on the highway all over texas so sounds like it should work well.😁
The mount location and ground plane on a vehicle matters just as much as the type of antenna. A great antenna in a crappy location will be a crappy antenna. Also, get a SWR meter for the bands you're using and use it to tune the antenna in its installed location. Antennas may need to be tuned depending on COAX run length and mounting location the SWR meter is an invaluable tool.
Great video, I’m temporarily running a Yeasu FT-60 with a Diamond MR77SMA mag mount antenna on the roof of my new truck, can I do better without drilling holes until I get a real mobile setup ? Thanks
Running a Comet 2x4SR terminated to UHF male. By far my favorite mobile I’ve had. I’ve considered switching out the mount for a Diamond k400 nmo and get the nmo version of the comet but not sure if it’s worth switching out yet.
i am using the yaesu ft-857d and was using the atas 120 antenna but not really pleased with it. i wish there was a better version of that antenna that could auto tune and be an all mode antenna.. any suggestions would be greatly apppreciated. and sadly, life prevents me from being an active radio operator like i want to be but maybe in time. thank you for the great videos you always put out!
That do everything comet antenna CA-2x4SR will also cover the marine band. Just be careful with that antenna on an aluminum body vehicle like 2015 and newer F150 trucks. The aluminum on the roof isn't thick enough to keep all that weight, stiffness, and wind load from tin canning and possibly damaging the metal roof while driving.
High gain isn't necessarily a good thing. If the transmitter and receiver are at different heights say one is down in a valley and the other is at the top, the antenna pattern on a high gain antenna is flat enough where they may not hear each other. In those situations, a 2-3dB antenna is what you want because they will have a broader radiation pattern.
I’m waiting on my FTM500 from HRO Plano to be delivered. Why do you run 2 UHF/VHF radios in the same truck? Not judging, I was thinking about doing the same thing but I couldn’t find a practical reason that my wife would accept. 😂
A few reasons - First, they both have different DV modes. While I don't care about DSTAR much, I have it. The Yaesu does Fusion, which I use more often. The Yaesu does APRS and often it is just running that and nothing else. Then the Icom is my main radio for repeaters and Simplex. I can also monitor 3 frequencies or repeaters at the same time, instead of just 2 with 1 radio.
@@HamRadio2 and that’s what I told my wife, but she said I was nuts. Apparently the kids college funds are more important than my ability to do the same as you. LOL But seriously, I need a radio that has the ability to find close by repeaters when I’m traveling, but one that also does APRS. I haven’t dabbled into the DV modes yet, but that’s on my horizon. It also needs it to live in my vehicle, so being easily concealed is a must. I can’t have my wife thinking I’m bringing home another radio/blaster/dog/etc. The closest thing I’ve found that fits my requirements is the Icom 705, but I find it’s too big and heavy for a temporary/movable mount. I was thinking about an RFinder, but I didn’t want the power limitations of an HT (also a con for the 705). Plus my code plug experiences have not been the greatest, so much so that I would prefer to avoid DMR completely. Any suggestions?
I have a 2023 F-150 and installed Bullet Proof Diesel's 3rd brake light antenna mount. It's pricey... but it's been a solid mount for me without trouble for a year while providing the best location for an antenna on the truck. I'm using a short 12" Comet B-10 because it clears my 8' garage door, so it stays on all the time except for carwashes (I use a rain cap through the wash), and the performance is surprising for such a small antenna. If I were to do it again, I'd go for the dual antenna mount option, so I could use it for a combo of Ham (Comet B-10) & CB (Larsen NM027B) or even GMRS, for a real clean installation without antenna's scattered on the roof/hood/bedstake... Anyway, if you'd like to see my radio/antenna install, pics are on IG @azcamperpete on June 16th, 2023. Cheers and 73. Pete in Arizona - KI7LIL
Going back some 44 years now for me, I seem to remember the Diamond antenna being advertised first ! So that when Comet began advertising, and had very similar antenna offerings, I think most of us considered Comet a knock off, and worried about Quality, etc.! For you youngster's, you likely came to the party late, and Comet was established, so you would never know the difference ! I have always wondered how Comet got away with making almost seemingly direct copies of the Diamond brand ? Of course thinking like an American ! I think it has now been shown many times over, that China has no problems making knock off products ! But was the same true in Japan ? 🤔.....?
Where I live no one is using their antennas. As I scan the bands there is mostly silence. Put out a call, silence. It’s been that way the last places I’ve lived in the past 20 years. It takes the fun out of it.
I have a Uniden SDS200, I am installing it in my truck and I need a antenna for it. What do you recommend? I have a Comet 3D5M installed in my roof for the antenna so it needs to by UHF or PL-259. Thanks
It doesn't really matter - I mean, it can, but with mobile installs, you have such limited space. Just put it in the center back or center front of the cab
I find it interesting that HF is restricted over there for the tech license. The UK foundation license you get most bands (no 60m) but a 25w limit. If I’d have relied on vhf uhf to motivate me I’d have probably lost interest and quit, it’s dead here.
Are there other ham operators that run multiple radios in thier vehicles? Im looking to install a GMRS, CB, UHF/VHF, HF and a police scanner. 73, kq4hcu
@@HamRadio2 I been looking at metal console boxes, to install five radios in them. They are used in police intecepter vehicles. When I worked for security companys they had used those center consoles and had radios, pa system, computer and other stuff built in them.
@@JohnWilson-greytyphoon I'm new to the sport so this is my next step after handhelds. All this is a learning curve for me. I'm interested if you had a radio in mind that supports the frequencies of the tyt9800 but also has SSB or would it be a trade off. THX
According to part 97 FCC rules and regulations a person is only allowed to hold one license. Ok, here is a real life scenario. If you are already licensed for GMRS and you have a GMRS call sign and you decide to upgrade to Amateur Radio and you actually pass the tests and get a ham license does the FCC issue you another call sign. If so, then it brings up the following 2 questions. Question one. - What happens to the GMRS license and call sign? Does the GMRS license and call sign stay valid and you have to use the GMRS call sign on GMRS frequencies and the Ham Radio license and call sign on the Ham frequencies or does the Ham license and call sign override and invalidate the GMRS license and call sign and you can only use the Ham radio license and call sign on and for both GMRS and Amateur radio frequencies? Question 2. - When you apply for a GMRS license you have to apply for and get an FCC ID number prior to applying for the GRMS license. When you pass the test for a Ham Radio License do you use the same FCC ID number you applied for and received for GMRS for the Ham Radio license or do you have to apply again for a different FCC ID number prior to applying for a Ham Radio license and call sign?. Just curious, as I’m already a licensed GMRS operator and now I’m trying to study for and get a ham radio Technician’s class license. Does anybody out there know the correct answer to those questions?
While its not documented anywhere except internet comments sections, the SR2x4NMO works well enough on the 220 (1.25Meter) band. Especially with the Anytone Tribanders.
Ive got the Sirio 5000 performer and Sirio Carbonium for 11 metre use!! On a 1999 Toyota Celica As Randy would say ... it impresses the chicks 😉 Word to the wise... always be careful buying antennas from the internet as there are loads of chinese knock offs. Diamond in particular suffer, as do Nagoya for their HT antennas.
