unsure of best aerial

[dm0011]

hi , can anyone tell me what they think is the best bull bar mounted aerial for a uhf , i live in the Adelaide Hills so therefore lots of ups and downs, cuts a lot of stuff out for a line of site aerial.

[Red Baron]

GME make a base that fits both the large fibreglass antenna for outback use or a smaller stainless whip for around town or in the scrub. RF Industries also make a good product, so check them out too. They make a ground independent base with a good spring on it that has a fibreglass lower that tapers up to a steel whip. I got my radio from Prestige Comm's in WA, and their website has plenty of info on different antennas; might be worth a look....Cheers Chris.

[DirtyDawg]

I Have a GME4706 antenna and found it to be the most useful all rounder and built for 4wd so it can take a knock

[JDNSW]

hi , can anyone tell me what they think is the best bull bar mounted aerial for a uhf , i live in the Adelaide Hills so therefore lots of ups and downs, cuts a lot of stuff out for a line of site aerial.

UHF will be line of sight regardless of what antenna you use - arguably a high gain antenna will be less use in the hills than in flat country where the extra effective radiated power is some use. Also note that a high gain antenna gets the increase in gain by having a more directional (flatter) radiation pattern, which is more likely to be aimed in the wrong direction in hills where the other station is at a different level or the vehicle is not level.

John

[waynep]

Yes a "ground independent" antenna base with a 1/4 wave ( non gain ) or longer "gained" whip on top is essential if you are going to mount it on the bullbar.
The standard 1/4 wave antenna ( at UHF this is a stainless steel whip about 6" long ) needs a "ground plane" to work properly, which is ideally a flat sheet of metal 1 sq metre or so under the whip. This used to be provided by the vehicle roof when they were mounted on the centre of it. In a ground indepedent, or "elevated feed" antenna, as you see on most 4WDs, you effectively are going to a 1/2 wave dipole design ( sort of ) that doesn't need a ground plane.

The bullbar isn't the ideal location for any antenna because it is low down, has poor signal to the rear, and is susceptible to electrical noise from the engine bay, but as the BB manufacerer's provide a noice little bracket for an antenna, it's convenient I guess ( mine is not on the bullbar )

[njz]

I've got a GME AE4018K1 on my bar. I've used it a fair bit in the hills and have found it to be a great all rounder. Its 4.5dB and just short of a meter tall.
GME have some useful info about radiating patterns and antenna gain in their catalogue.

http://www.gme.net.au/land/PDFs/ant_broc.pdf

[Michael2]

It's been said - but in laymans terms -


shorter aerials for hillier or wooded terrain,

taller aerials for flat terrain.

So even with 'short' hills like Simpson Desert sand dunes, the shorter aerial would be better for getting the signal over the dune.

Use the springy ground independent bases (the short aluminium pole).

I used a 3.5dB gain aerial on a ground independant base on the bullbar of the SIII.

On the Defender, the previous owner had the aerial routed to the roof (rack) so I use a small flexible 'rubber' aerial. A mate who works for Uniden recommended it and said they install them on tractors that always scrape shed doors and they don't break or fail.

[GrahamH]

I've had good advice and service from:
Radio Specialists
243 Seacombe Rd South Brighton 5048
(08) 8298 3906They're on the web at http://www.radiospecialists.com.au/
and they have a good range of antenna's.

PM me if you'd like to have a look at my vehicle's antenna array (I'm in the Blackwood area).

[dm0011]

:DThanks for that Graham I might well do that because I think it is neccesary to also get a radio aerial to get some better reception on the normal radio stations:D

[Slunnie]

It's been said - but in laymans terms -


shorter aerials for hillier or wooded terrain,


taller aerials for flat terrain.


Its actually the gain of the aerial that makes the difference in relation to the radiation pattern rather than the length. The interesting thing is that my GME AE409L which can be setup as a 9db is about as long as my GME AE4705 4.5db aerial.

From my experiences, if you get mixed up in the bush where things need to be durable, and the terrain is up and down then the AE4705 is excellent as the gain is about 4.5db and the construction is fibreglass on a heavy spring and bar mount - sensational aerial. In the plains such as central Aus, Cape etc the bigger AE4706 is excellent at about 6db and it radiates straight over the roof of the car. I can Rx/Tx with other vehicles using this aerial that others inbetween us cant! For a wire aerial I've found the GME AE409L to be excellent when setup as a 6db.

[incisor]

i use a benelec elevated feed ground independant aerial that came with both 3db and 6db tops that screw onto a sprung base.

seems to work really well. cost about 80 bucks at dick smith...

[Phil633]

i use a benelec elevated feed ground independant aerial that came with both 3db and 6db tops that screw onto a sprung base.

seems to work really well. cost about 80 bucks at dick smith...

Yep I use the same. Lucky for me it was already on the vehicle when I bought it.

[amtravic1]

I know you asked for the best bar mounted antenna but I have a roof mounted antenna. Most of the time I use a very small flexible whip (around 150mm long) and it out performs all the other radios on the vehicles I travel with. In more open terrain I use a stainless steel whip around 600 mm long on the same mount.

Ian

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I'm having trouble with my UHF :(

It's ok, but I've noticed when in groups that other people have substantially better range than I do. IE people in front of me can hear people behind me ... and I'm struggling to get the guy in front.

I have a entry level GME set. The aerial is an AE 409l. I'm not entirely happy with it as it cops it when the going gets rough. I'm thinking of replacing it.

Any thoughts?

[Slunnie]

I'm having trouble with my UHF :(

It's ok, but I've noticed when in groups that other people have substantially better range than I do. IE people in front of me can hear people behind me ... and I'm struggling to get the guy in front.

I have a entry level GME set. The aerial is an AE 409l. I'm not entirely happy with it as it cops it when the going gets rough. I'm thinking of replacing it.

Any thoughts?
I've found the AE409L to be an excellent little aerial. In my opinion its best setup as a 6db rather than with the full number of elements. I suspect that you'll find that there is a problem with the connection, such as where the wires are joined into the plug which then goes into the unit. I'd get a shop to check it if you're unsure as they have the equipment to test the setup.

[dmdigital]

What he said. I'd also add that whilst these are a reasonable aerial a solid one like a CD5000 or CD900 from RFI I think is a better option as there's less to fall apart.

Of course it may not be the aerial, guy I know had terrible trouble hearing people, they'd drop in and out much like you describe. Turns out the UHF set had a dodgy speaker in it.

[Bush65]

I'm having trouble with my UHF :(

It's ok, but I've noticed when in groups that other people have substantially better range than I do. IE people in front of me can hear people behind me ... and I'm struggling to get the guy in front.

I have a entry level GME set. The aerial is an AE 409l. I'm not entirely happy with it as it cops it when the going gets rough. I'm thinking of replacing it.

Any thoughts?
I can't tell from reading your post. Is it only receive that is a problem?

If so your squelch or volume controls may be set wrong.

[aki]

good evening,
I got myself a short ground independent 1/4 wavelength whip (38$) and bought a matching female plug for it. next, I bent a piece of aluminium into a small bracket (on which I mounted the female plug) such that the bracket can be mounted on the snorkel using the snorkel hose clamp. running the cable inside the snorkel is an option.
this way the antenna tip is high up and works well, its really cheap and yet not as noticeable as a long bull bar mounted antenna. works flawless now for 2.5 years.
just another option to consider for you ... cheers, axel

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I can't tell from reading your post. Is it only receive that is a problem?

If so your squelch or volume controls may be set wrong.

Well the problem is with these things is it's kind of hard to know whether the other person can hear you, all you know is you can't hear them. When trying to ascertain the problem you really need two other people, one to be the master, and another one with you. You then need to drive until you have trouble contacting the master and then see if the person with you can communicate. This is all quite hard to organise...

On trips I might be say 4th back from the leader. In dusty areas this might be quite a way. The people behind me usually have to relay messages to the leaders. :(

I've tried leaving the squelch off and I would say that when the squelch stops triggering the transmissions are very hard to hear. I think the squelch is ok. It's hard to say on the unit though.

Anyway, I went down to the local carsound shop where a relative works, and after much discussion I left with a GME ae4705 (http://www.gme.net.au/products/antennas/land-477-mhz/AE4705).

Oh well.. we'll see how it goes.

[Slunnie]

An excellent aerial. Thats the one that I leave on 99.9% of the time.

[CJT]

Can I just ask peoples preferences:

Aerials that are removal from the base
or

Aerials fixed with the coax coming out the aerial base?

[spudboy]

...
On trips I might be say 4th back from the leader. In dusty areas this might be quite a way. The people behind me usually have to relay messages to the leaders. :(
...

Is your aerial mounted on the bull-bar? If it is going backwards better than forwards it sounds like it is mounted at the rear of the vehicle :confused: UHF is very line of sight.

Might get better forward 'throw' with a roof mounted aerial.

What type of aerial?

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Is your aerial mounted on the bull-bar? If it is going backwards better than forwards it sounds like it is mounted at the rear of the vehicle :confused: UHF is very line of sight.

Might get better forward 'throw' with a roof mounted aerial.

What type of aerial?

Yes, the aerial is mounted on the bullbar. I did have the ae409l. I now have an ae4705. I trialled it last weekend but I didn't have anyone to help so I was just talking to people at random - and it's kind of hard to asses performance in that situation as you aren't really sure where they are or what they are transmitting with.

However, I think I did pick up more swearing on channel 40 than usual so at this point I would say the antenna is working better. :D :D

[cucinadio]

lm ow running a GME AS004 spring mount on the bull bar that can now change between my three aerials the AE4703 the AE4706 and my little AE409L great to be able to swap them around for different country and needs ....

cheers

[Jason F]

The legislation does not permit anything in the field of vision, even if its only 1/2" thick vertical antenna. Mounting antennas on the front of your vehicles is illegal. Just thought I'd remind everyone in case of a motor vehicle accident. If the insurer or police find out, they can use this against you in court.

[turps]

The legislation does not permit anything in the field of vision, even if its only 1/2" thick vertical antenna. Mounting antennas on the front of your vehicles is illegal. Just thought I'd remind everyone in case of a motor vehicle accident. If the insurer or police find out, they can use this against you in court.

For Victoria-
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/DFC160FA-319C-4AE0-8212-C38F81C44007/0/VSI29.pdf

30mm is the max diameter. Which if you measure the springs they are approx 30mm. So there fine to use on the front of the bar. And generally any aerial that mounts to that spring base is also fine.
HF auto tune antennas need to be mounted else where.

Also, even if there is something on a car that makes it not roadworthy. As in a HF auto tune antenna mounted on the bullbar. An insurer has to prove that that is what caused the accident.
The same if you car is parked on the side of the road with bald tyres. And it is hit.
In the two examples the police can book you for it. But the insurance company has to still payout.