• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

Best Mobile VHF/UHF Antennas

Joined
Feb 11, 2006
Messages
119
Location
Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Maybe some of us could post personal chase favorites and prospective antennas.

I recently discovered the Diamond NR22L 2m whip and am considering it with a mag mount. The antenna is 97 inches in height but you get an amazing 6.2dB of gain. Combine that with a classic chaser radio like the Icom V8000 and you have a pretty killer mobile setup, instead of talking the usual 10 - 12 miles you could probably get 20+ miles out of this. The only thing I would worry about is lightning (it is pretty tall!) and overhead objects such as trees, power lines and the occasional bird when you consider that most SUV's and vans are around 75 - 80 inches in height without anything on their roof.

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/5055

75 watts with 6.2dB gain = 190.641 watts ERP

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Another antenna which I think is great that I have actually tried (unlike the one above) is the Wilson 2m 5/8 whip. It comes as a full kit like any of the wilson CB antennas and sells for $30 - $50 plus it is only 53 inches tall so you will not be hitting all sorts of things.

75 watts at 3.4db gain = 100 watts ERP

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A great tri band antenna is the NR2000NA by Diamond which covers 2m/70cm/23cm and is only 39 inches tall! The antenna also some really good gain figures. You get 3.15 dB on 2m, 6.3 dB on 70cm, and 9.7 dB on 23cm. The antenna is very rigid (not a whip) and very stable.

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Finally, last but not least as far as strictly dual-band whips go try things like the Workman made models and Cushcraft models but beware, only buy stainless steel products and never pay more than $60 for the complete unit with magnet included. At times it can be really hit and miss so beware with the cheaper models.
 
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