Thread: Selecting a UHF aerial!?!

I need a new UHF aerial/antenna. I originally fitted a cheap Uniden one which was smashed when I hit a gate, reused the base with a JayCar antenna and an adapter but a tree broke that antenna and seems to have damaged the base.

Previously I mounted it on the bulbar, but am thinking it's time to do it properly and mount on the roof rack this time. Would look at something short therefore. Car is already too high to get into a car park so no issue there.

Do I want an elevated feed antenna for this purpose?

Do the fibreglass antenna's last alright?

Any other thoughts/recommendations/advice - I know very little about them?

I have had great experience with zcg scalar antennas - you can get them here https://www.telcoantennas.com.au/sit...s/uhf-antennas

They are quite expensive but they are super tough. In terms of gain - exactly what ssmith said. Around a 6dBi aerial is a good compromise and should perform well across different hilly/flat terrains.

The same site has all sorts of little shorter antennas (lower gain however) if you want to go for a shorter antenna on the roof. They also have lots of options for mounting brackets etc.

A thing to look out for - some antennas are ground plane independent, others dependant (which means that they need to be in contact with a large flat metal surface under the antenna). You can google the technicalities of that, but basically a ground plane independant antenna will give you many more options for mounting on different parts of your vehicle. Just ask whenever you buy one if its ground plane independant or not.