Help on Antenna for uhf radio

Never heard of a problem with cabling on a diesel. You just need to have a professional do the work and make sure any through metal cabling is protected with cable shield.

Apart from that the UHF antenna should be located on the roof NOT the bull bar. If you go to the GME site or the RFI site you will see plenty of guidance on the best antenna and setup.

Size is nothing it is the efficiency of the antenna. We can get 20-30km on the Oodnatatta track with a 6.5 dba roof mounted antenna that is about 400mm tall

For the best setup go to an expert. In South Australia we use and recommend Electric Bug. Not sure about anywhere else

Regards

RobA

GME409L,comes with 2 antennas in the box.
Use the 9DB antenna ,thats the one with the 2 BLUE coils...

Agreed,the center of the roof is the IDEAL spot,but in newer cars its not practical as you dont want holes through your roof.. We mounted our 9DB on our mudguard .
We get excellent range..
HTH.. Rod

I use a AE4702 GME antenna on our cruiser and continually find we out preform most people with range.These are a large antenna(about 1mt long) with a spring base and really need to be mounted on a bullbar or similar(not gutter mount)

Absolutely, roof is best, in the centre. You don't need one of those big long thick things you see on some 4WD's.

When these big ones are put on the corner of a bullbar, if you clip the branch of a tree, they slam back onto the bonnet and the internal wiring breaks, rendering the whole thing useless.

In the past I have used a heavy magnetic base on the roof with a steel aerial and the cable running through the door seal on the rear drivers side. If the steel aerial hits something it will bend, and you bend it back and keep going.

Talk to a CB specialist, they will know.

I reccon you need 2 antennaes Heather.

1. A little, indestructable, rubber 1/2 wave or 1 wave length (Zero to 1 dBi gain) for when you are chatting to your mates or on the highway.
You really DON'T want to hear everyone for 30km radius.
These will also give best clarity in hills etc.

2. A 6 or 9 dBi gain for if/when you need long range.
You might never need to fit it, so store it in a tube somewhere safe.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

Heather,

I would suggest getting the GME AE4018K1.

Its ground independant, and a 4.5db job that is a great all rounder. Good range on the flat, and ive picked up clear chat in the hills we have run at.

I mounted mine on the drivers side half way up the guard from the front to the windscreen, with the gme MB407ss.

This keeps it away from the passenger side, or bull bar mount,(people going past bending, or taking it), its in a position that does not interfere with clear vision, and its going to get some assistance from the bonnet re signal direction even tho its ground independant.

I can then fit a small, or lager whip to this setup as has already been mentioned.

This setup works very well on my vehicle.

Trains

Hi Heather

As per a couple of other posters here , centre of the roof is best and its usually one of the first things we do with new cars.

I find it strange that some seem to resist this as it usually enhances the car and costs least.

The best aerial is also the cheapest , a short flexible 1/4 wave about $13 , but you can get longer gain antennas as well however not reccomended as they catch on branches and also make wind noise.

If you do end up mounting a rod type as many do on a bullbar then be awhere that this causes a distortion in the radio wave signal and you get uneven transmission and reception.

Over the years I've used a variety of UHF antennas on work and private vehicles. The most reliable UHF antenna by far that I've used is the Polar 317GC made by a comapny called Polar Electronic Industries. They have plenty of agents Australia wide.

http://www.polarelectronicindustries.com/model.php/model_id/465/

Being ground independent, means it will not suffer any reception degradation when mounted where no ground plane is present. It has been desigend with bullbar mounting in mind . The spring at the base is VERY strong and keeps the whip quite stable at hwy speed. At slower speeds the spring is still flexible enough to stop the whip getting smashed, but firm enough to prevent the whip flicking back and hitting the vehicle bonnet like some brands with inferior quality springs will if you hit low overhanging branches.

Using them exclusively since 1985, we've not had a single breakage or failure and on that basis I rate them 10/10. They're very tough, reliable and perform faultlessly.

There is also a Unity Gain version, the 317UC

http://www.polarelectronicindustries.com/model.php/model_id/466/

But, for all round hwy touring and 4WD travel the 317GC is the one to get.