Vintage secret agent antenna tested - STI-CO VHF/800 mobile antenna. $1 at Orlando Hamcation 2024

[@Swamp-Fox]

Hard to believe you bought a Sti-Co for $1, even it it was vintage! Interesting test results!

[@survivalcomms]

Another friend of mine bought the whole doggone box once he heard about it. The test results were interesting - it is a compromise antenna however. Comet made a triband antenna back then with a diplexer to pair with the Kenwood TM741 but in the part 90 world this was avant garde. Thanks for watching !

[@bruehlt]

Love the street-sign ground plane! Also - is that a cat whisker I see on the screen of your spectrum analyzer? :D

[@survivalcomms]

Thank You ! I like to take advantage of whatever materials I happen to obtain :) It likely is a cat whisker. Good to hear from you ! Thanks for watching !

[@GUERRILLACOMM]

lol, I have a handfull of the glass mounted disguise stico's in a Old "New stock" shelf collecting dust. Tough little units.

[@survivalcomms]

Cool ! I have a handful of NOS antenna specialist glass mounts. These must have come from a closed up two way shop as there was an enormous box of them. It would have been a real jackpot if there were a bunch of those superflex quarterwaves you did a video on years ago but no such luck. Great to hear from you GC I hope all is well in your world ! Thanks for watching !

[@rickmaudlin2160]

Fun find. Back in the day, we used to sell and install hundreds of Sti-Co's UHF undercover cowl-mount OEM/converted vehicle antennas with am/fm broadcast diplexers. Always had excellent results on the specifically tuned frequency. Now I like their Flexi-whip nmo quarter-wave antennas for high-profile vehicles that get whacked by tree limbs and awnings.

[@rickmaudlin2160]

Hey Guerrillacomm, I always enjoyed your videos. Hope all is well for you sir.

[@GUERRILLACOMM]

@@rickmaudlin2160 Thanks for the kind words, really appreciate it. Stay tuned, working on a comeback to reboot the channel.

[@SimonWilton]

A very interesting watch. Thanks for sharing. Simon VA3SII G7HCD

[@craigpalmer9196]

i just wanted to add a thank you, Sit-cohas some really cool antennas. i really like the above the headlinner one with the raditor down the roof post, you you laive in not so good area but you want the antenna mounted but not advertising the radio, as always thanks

[@survivalcomms]

Yes they make a ton of interesting products. Thanks for watching !

[@Subgunman]

I have read in recent publications that one is to avoid placing coax and radiating elements anywhere near air bag components. I can understand this issue, RF could interfere with the electronics used by this system. Nothing worse than keying one’s Mike and having the side curtain airbag deploy while you are on the road. Guess air bag computers operate under Part 15 FCC Rules.

[@survivalcomms]

@@Subgunman IIRC it was worry about the cabling interfering with the deployment area. There are a lot of things that modern vehicles do not like about RF. Apparently some manufacturers are telling buyers that installing two way radios violates the warranty.

[@Subgunman]

@@survivalcomms I saw that notice, kinda moot if you have a professional instal the equipment and manufacturers must supply information as what they recommend not just a we don’t care we will cancel your warranty.

[@survivalcomms]

@@Subgunman You are right it was to stave off the examples shown in the crappy two way installs group on facebook :)

[@Subgunman]

I was wondering if they were still in business. Semi retired from communications business some 20 years now. I have used these in the past, very efficient and very expensive. Nice Portamobile! Kick myself for not buying several at Dayton many years ago, they were equipped with MX 300 chassis, a sound platform however with the loss of ICM no one is left that can recrystal and compensate the channel elements. From what I remember Sti Co could build to specific requirements and you would be paying a bit more than their already high price. 73!

[@survivalcomms]

Sti-co is still doing well with government contracts and the prices haven't dropped but they still are a US company. I have a lunchbox radio collection. The one shown is a PX300-S Using a PROM programmed by an R1801 suitcase programmer and it still works great on VHF. I liked the MX series now just about all of them in my collection have disintegrated PTT covers unfortunately. You are right SP products for big wallet customers. I have more sti-co toys in my toy box that I may make some videos on. Thanks for watching!

[@Subgunman]

@@survivalcomms I have several of the MX 340’s and a MX360S, last I checked eight years ago they still worked. Even have two of the Converta Comms and several amps that Motorola made for them. Just a few parts as well. Some day if I get a chance I will convert a gun cabinet I built 50 years ago into a display case for my collection Moto HT's. I know about the disintegrating PTT covers, it’s quite annoying. I don’t remember when they quit making the KVL loaders for programming crypto codes into the Astro Saber line it used the same chassis as the MX360 and if they might still have that part available since it was discontinued years after the MX line. I wonder if it could be duplicated in any way utilizing silicone. The real interesting piece of history is the suitcase repeater that was a SP line for Uncle Sam. It too utilized the MX chassis but was a VHF unit set up just above the 2 meter ham and where commercial VHF begins. The one I have seen is set for the archaic DVP encryption and had a built in RF amp and an unusual duplexer to handle the eight frequencies used with two being repeater pairs and the rest simplex.

[@survivalcomms]

@@Subgunman Sounds like we have many of the same collectables. I spend most of my time in search of to add to the collection. It's like preserving history. I have shelves in my radio room for display but I'm about built out. I have seen the repeater in the past and saw one on ebay years ago but the seller wanted a mint for it.

[@Subgunman]

@@survivalcomms it’s a wonderful hobby that brings back the good old days of radio when one was king is you had one of Motorolas finest. Living in the EU now there are few Hamfests here to attend and Dayton Hamvention is not only 5200 miles away, it happens when I can’t make it back due to other commitments. I did however make it back in July of '23 for some get togethers and picked up an XTL5000 remote mount for my car. Good thing is that it’s on the low UHF split so I can use it here on the Ham Bands. Still have not installed it since i need to find the appropriate power wire size for the trunk mount brick. Not to mention slowly working on an in dash mount for the control head. I need to find a source for traditional Saber NiCad batteries and for the HT1000 line. The holy grail for my collection is to find one of the latter JT1000 radios in UHF that can do both narrow band and front panel programming.

[@survivalcomms]

@@Subgunman The XTL will be a cool rig. The best Jedi Batteries (HT1000) available are : gtspower.com/products/two-way-radios/batteries/h7144-m27/ Good Saber batteries are hard to come by. I did the 18650 mod from my earlier MX battery video on an astro saber R battery and a conventional saber battery . You need a D revision JT - shoot me an email I can probably help you out with that.

[@tunnelrabbit2625]

:O )

[@survivalcomms]

Thanks for watching !