A NEW 2m/70cm Antenna for Your Mobile Rig!

[@davidkbailey]

I connect to repeaters the same way. Key up, let it ID (and check that I am hitting it), then give my call and whatever traffic I am on the repeater for. It just feels cleaner to me - less possibility for repeater IDing over me. And it gives people a chance to listen - once they hear the repeater ID, their receiver has already got their attention, and they are more likely to successgfully hear my traffic.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Brothers in HF!

[@bb_37]

There's a slightly quicker way to enter frequencies into the IC-7100. For example, tap 1, 4, 5, ".", 2, 9, "ENT". When you tap the decimal point, the radio assumes that the digits you already entered are megahertz. Then, when you tap ENTER, the radio pads the digits you entered after the decimal point with zeroes.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Thanks for the tip!

[@BryanDaniel42]

146.700. the flame thrower. on top of the green building, best repeater in the DFW area.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Sweet! My man on the streets!

[@Cliff-KI5OPP]

I was going to say that repeater is way up there

[@craig9309]

Send "N 3" to station "REPEAT" on APRS to get the Nearest 3 repeaters in your area.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Great tip!

[@jakep5121]

Really!? . . You forgot to add. And then make a video about it to enlighten us all.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Of course there is one coming. We did it on Nuggets the other day as well.

[@wj4k73]

Waiting for the repeater to ID after the kerchunk and then calling again before it drops also keeps it transmitting long enough that those who are scanning are more likely to hear you.

[@temporarilyoffline]

#protip

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

If you have nothing else to do, you might turn the truck by 90 and 180 degrees and try the edge cases again. Vehicle body, of course, impacts the pattern.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Yeah - there are always so many edge cases - just moving to the roof or the opposite corner of the truck would have changed things also. Same as moving further up the hill. More testing to follow... but I'm happy at ~30mi

[@NatesRandomVideo]

Interesting. Diamond or Conet used to have one that size and configuration but looking through their current lineup I don’t see a 31” model from either anymore. Seems like it works… and not a bad price either.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Yeah, very well rounded! I'm happy with it.

[@bb_37]

NR73BNMO is 33.5 inches long.

[@TheRealBigEE]

I bought this almost by accident and I was IMPRESSED. I love it so much I think I’m gonna put one on my house roof for a temp setup until I can get a comet up!

[@temporarilyoffline]

I just installed it on my new truck...now I gotta figure out what radio to connect to it.

[@tgrossner]

Great review. I just bought a Comet HP-32FHN. It's massive. Absolutely enormous. Great performance, but man does it stick out like a sore thumb.

[@temporarilyoffline]

I need to look into this antenna - the more obnoxious the better in my mind ;-)

[@firemanbif]

Greta video as always. What hood mount are you using? Trying to find a good solution for my tundra without drilling holes.

[@temporarilyoffline]

This is the hood mount for this truck: amzn.to/3Vb8zeF Kalibur makes some for Toyota, but nothing for the Tundra, maybe you can find something compatible enough: amzn.to/4aautTt For the newer F-150s, I had to bend the mount a bit to get it to clear the hood without scratching. They make something a little more generic: amzn.to/4a1TUXo for the roof rack if you have one, or there is the "back rack" or "stake pocket" mounts. I'd be interested in seeing what you find.

[@AG4KN]

On a vehicle mount, antennas are in/on a dynamic environment expect gain/swr values to change due to surrounding vehicles and vibrations from the road. My biggest worry is applying enough ferrite beads and torroids to cancel out ignition noise.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Good points - my radio has an NB feature that is meant to take care of this. In practice I haven't had any issues/need for it.

[@robertmeyer4744]

looks like a nice antenna. I have learned not to stress out over SWR so much. just find the dip . anything under 1.5 on the frequency you want is great. as you drive around the SWR will change. I have same problem programming repeaters with PL tones. when you have many HT's that program a little different. you are getting the distance. not all repeaters are up and repeater book may not be correct. the PL tone on the voice ID is so you know what the tone is. the trick is listen with PL tone off. some repeaters ID what the input shift is and tone. up to repeater oner if they want that in ID. when you find some one to talk to drive around and try antenna. 73's

[@temporarilyoffline]

You are correct!

[@Siskiyous6]

I use an antenna witht e same form factor. That radio's display is sure easy to read!

[@temporarilyoffline]

You know I'm a fan... and I know you're a fan. Giants among men, we are!

[@DonzLockz]

It works well. Did you say how much power you used?

[@temporarilyoffline]

I didn't, but I'm thinking 50w. The power meter never showed in the video.

[@DonzLockz]

@@temporarilyoffline I can't read that on my phone son. 😄 I need more power!⚡️⚡️⚡️

[@temporarilyoffline]

@@DonzLockzYes, that is always the answer.

[@notreallydaedalus]

​@@temporarilyofflineif brute force isn't working, you aren't using enough

[@blueboy1183]

Great video!! Looks like antenna is working over 30 miles not bad for sure!!

[@temporarilyoffline]

I think that's all you can ask out of a car antenna in a river valley.

[@hamradiowithkevin]

It is always interesting to me how many repeaters are silent when trying them as a visitor to an area.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Didn't make a single contact on any of them, and with one of them in Dallas, TX, you'd think there would be a lot of people!

[@rayveritas2361]

Ok, I love how easy the 7100 is to program repeaters!

[@temporarilyoffline]

Big 'ole touch screen to the rescue! There is even a GPS/Memory function, so if I had properly pre-gamed I could have just gone through the "nearest repeater" function instead... but I was lazy.

[@rayveritas2361]

@@temporarilyoffline I’m looking to upgrade from the ic-706miig and a xiegu x6100, and that feature (also on the Icom handhelds) is really compelling for my use case.

[@donnakano3697]

Most repeater controllers ID at the end of a transmission to avoid talking over the op. If you ID initially, it should ID after you unkey, not over you.

[@temporarilyoffline]

That's good to know.

[@jerryKB2GCG]

Any suggestions for a mag mount to match this antenna ?

[@temporarilyoffline]

I don't /think/ it would be a problem on a single mag mount, but I haven't tried it myself. Anybody local you can ask?

[@sleeve8651]

I have to wonder, since the antenna is mounted on the driver's side, if you were to point the Right front of your vehicle in the general direction of the repeater you're trying to work, you may also lose some of the noise in the receiver ? Mobiles need all the help they can get ! Just Say'n ! 👍😉

[@temporarilyoffline]

I bet it would!

[@HamRadioDX]

Nice! The antenna kinda looks a little bit like the Diamond Super Gainer series.

[@temporarilyoffline]

I thought so too

[@norm_sueb122]

Thanks for the video!

[@temporarilyoffline]

You bet!

[@TheZolon]

Uhh.. if I run with no PL Tone on RX, I would still hear that message. That is how I scan for PL Tones to set my TX to.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Agreed, I was talking about not being able to hear it on kerchunk with the wrong tone.

[@RadioExpeditionProject]

Good morning! New antenna..🥳🥳🥳

[@temporarilyoffline]

Best Morning!

[@M9A1MAN]

I had to do a double take. Thought it said "get hard" 🤣

[@temporarilyoffline]

Well... Whatever gets the message out, right?

[@stahpit1971]

Thanks for the video. I just got a 22 F350 I'm thinking about doing the same antenna mount. Is there a reason for going with so239 and not NMO?

[@temporarilyoffline]

with the SO-239 and the All Band/All Mode IC-7100, I have the ability to switch out the 2/70 antenna and go to an HF Vertical or even just use it to get coax out of the car to a wire antenna. Other than that I don't have any particular reason. Is there a reason that NMO would be better? I see that some people use it and it just seems to me like its more adapters and bits. I have no NMO in my life right now.

[@jakep5121]

still tiny... ;) Look at the NR22L. muhahhaa it's like 9'

[@temporarilyoffline]

Now you're talking! I'm in!

[@johnm0jfe]

Best car antenna is the 7900. Big solid works

[@temporarilyoffline]

Ooh I can see that! Looks like they copied some of that design.

[@johnm0jfe]

@@temporarilyoffline yes there are a few about 7900 biggest then 7600 middle bear 7300 is the baby bear 🐻 this made by many companies watson etc but the diamond is better made as I live by the sea .QRZ me. The tilt breaks on the other makes due salt ingress. Keep up the good work ❤ the channel de M0JFE

[@pale_2111]

Try mounting the antenna on top of your vehicle.

[@temporarilyoffline]

Try mounting it to the rear hatch.

[@Ezzell_]

length it or shorten it to lower SWR?

[@temporarilyoffline]

It kinda depends on where your antenna is 1:1 and where you want it to be 1:1. In general, lower frequencies need longer antennas and higher frequencies need shorter antennas, so if you are 1:1 below your frequency you shorten the antenna to make it resonant.

[@Ezzell_]

@@temporarilyoffline Thanks

[@randyhavener1851]

Thanks Steve!

[@temporarilyoffline]

You bet!

[@paulthelefty]

Good video… how is it on 70 cm? (Or GMRS?)

[@temporarilyoffline]

You know... I didn't even think to check. Next time!

[@TheSmokinApe]

Nice work TO 👍

[@temporarilyoffline]

Thanks boss!

[@MikeN2MAK]

1.5 is just fine.

[@temporarilyoffline]

💯

[@ghostmandka5498]

Ohhhhhh…..new truck! F-250 Platinum?

[@temporarilyoffline]

Nope, not even close 😎

[@Ezzell_]

Were you in Waco?

[@temporarilyoffline]

A few months ago yes, this one was filmed in Ennis, TX

[@Ezzell_]

@@temporarilyoffline I drove through Ennis last Saturday! Are you sticking around for the Belton Hamfest in April?

[@temporarilyoffline]

@@Ezzell_I went to Belton Hamfest last winter, I'll be in Wisconsin in April.

[@chesty1369]

just reminder. just because you key a rrepeater doesn't mean it isn't on the air. I know for a fact there are some repeaters in repeater book that are not on the air. just FYI

[@temporarilyoffline]

Agreed, thanks!

[@DaytonaJim78]

Will it work on gmrs

[@temporarilyoffline]

If you tune it (cut it shorter) it should.

[@Cliff-KI5OPP]

Google Green Building Dallas texas I think the 146.700 is on top of that building

[@temporarilyoffline]

That's an impressive location for a ham repeater!

[@victorcharlie7491]

Great video tnx man!

[@temporarilyoffline]

Always a pleasure!

[@charlierumsfeld6626]

Roof mount will do better

[@temporarilyoffline]

I would hope so!

[@charlierumsfeld6626]

@@temporarilyoffline yeah?

[@caroleemoreno8086]

And how about 70cm??? Did you try that?

[@temporarilyoffline]

Works great.

[@RichardHopkinsLobosSolos]

Great video

[@temporarilyoffline]

Thanks!

[@jefferyyarborough6236]

Good video,but the gain figures are very misleading. Shows gain in "dbi" vs "dbd". Make sure to do your research. "dbi" references gain over an isotropic antenna,which is a theoretical antenna...it does not exist. "dbd" references gain over a resonant dipole. Lots of fresh outta the can hams don't understand the difference and think 2.15 dbi is a lot of gain when in reality it is exactly 0 dbd gain. Thanks for the vid.

[@temporarilyoffline]

I hear what you're saying, couple of things for clarity - those are manufactures specs, so they are always suspect, and you and I both know that you can't compare a vertical to a horizontal antenna, hence the need for dbd and dbi in these specs. In reality I'd expect a pretty big loss on paper when comparing a vertical to a horizontal antenna. That's why I do these field tests, regardless of the marketing hype, if it gets out, it gets out. The real "brass tacks" test would be to compare this antenna directly to another vendor's similar size/shape antenna and see if you could make any better contacts on either.

[@agoraphobicadam1171]

Always good info. Thanks, Steve. KO4HPC 73

[@temporarilyoffline]

Thanks Adam!

[@johnprather7149]

K5TXJ, EM12NE first time seeing a local on youtube

[@temporarilyoffline]

Thanks for watching!

[@KenVet]

Thanks, always a pleasure to learn from you, Carry on

[@temporarilyoffline]

Hey Ken! Thanks for stopping by!

[@timothymaimone8611]

Steve… too bad you couldn’t cheat with a spectrum analyzer or having a repeater map. 73 de KD6UYK (Tim).

[@temporarilyoffline]

What would you use an SA for in this context?

[@ramonbennett8416]

Awesome 🤩 KN6JHC

[@temporarilyoffline]

Thanks Ramon!