Tram 1192 glass mount antenna performance

[WSFL333]

I know many people are reluctant to drill a hole in the roof of the vehicle. I agree with the fact that a roof mounted NMO antenna is the best in performance, followed by magnet mounted antennas. Glass mounted ones however are still viable assuming you don't have passivated windows. 

I'm not going to install a NMO antenna mount ( I've had them in previous cars and trucks) and don't like having a cable visible leading into the car interior, including the possibility that its can be difficult to find a suitable route for it into the interior

Thats why I decided to install the Tram 1192 glass mount 150-154 vhf / 450-470 uhf dual band antenna. Mounting is easy on the trucks back window, and the interior module has a tuning set screw that allowed me to get the SWR down to 1:1.3 in the 462M frequency and near 1:1.9 at 468 M 

Once mounted I attached a 5-watt HT to it and was able to connect with the same unit that was inside the house from 2.5 miles. 

For comparison, I was able to get 3.5 miles when the house unit was connected to the outside antenna on the garage up around 15 feet.

Eventually I will install a mobile unit into the truck, but for now I'm satisfied. 

Edited - thanks for the tip on how to edit. I changed the antenna spec to 150-154 vhf instead of the typo 150-150 vhf

[WSFL333]

PS - forgot to mention that this is city driving with trees and buildings in the way. No direct line of sight

[SteveShannon]

5 minutes ago, WSFL333 said:

PS - forgot to mention that this is city driving with trees and buildings in the way. No direct line of sight

FYI - You can edit your original post and add that to it by clicking on the three dots in the upper right corner and selecting edit.

[kidphc]

Do you have anything empirical for power loss. I guess to get accurate numbers you'd have to sacrifice a bunch of mounts and coax (nmo, mag and glass mounts). You know removing variables by clipping coax to as short as possible equally across all the mounts.

Although, any antenna is better than no antenna. I was under the impression that the power loss through glass mounts as well as it's rated power handling are severely limiting.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

[WSFL333]

No. I don't have the equipment to determine power loss, nor do I have the interest to do so. I related my experience and results to let others know that a glass mount antenna is a viable option to mag mounted and NMO mount systems. While not the best solution, it is a workable one that might be of interest to others that are unwilling to drill a hole in their cars roof or don't want to have a magnet mounted antenna.

 

[Socalgmrs]

I’m glad it works out for your needs but man if I only got 3.5 miles from my ht I’d toss them in the trash.  I get 10-15 miles inside the car with no external antenna and more than 30miles with an ht and a ut72 mag mount.  But if it meets your needs great. 

[SteveShannon]

23 hours ago, WSFL333 said:

Edited - thanks for the tip on how to edit. I changed the antenna spec to 150-154 vhf instead of the typo 150-150 vhf

You’re sure welcome. And pay no attention to the guy who has thrown away more radios than Baofeng has manufactured.  We all just understand that he only feels good about himself when he’s sniping at others.. The range you’re getting is reasonable inside a city with trees and buildings.  He lives on the edge of a desolate valley and apparently doesn’t understand the difference.

[WRUU653]

@WSFL333 very cool, thanks for sharing. I was wondering if you happened to test the SWR on 2 meter and what results you might have had. I do realize that might have changed as you tuned the antenna in for GMRS but I was curious about that antenna. 

[WSFL333]

The 150 - 154 mhz frequency is in the MURS band, while the 2 meter band is 144-148 mhz, so I had no reason to check the SWR in the 2 meter band. I bought the antenna specifically to use in the gmrs band and tuned it for the best response. 

There is a Larsen glass mount antenna specific for the gmrs band, Larsen KG450UDPL 450-470 MHz, for $109 art Gigaparts which was more than I wanted to spend. I know that there are several glass mount 2m / 70 cm ham antennas available that might work for you. 

[WRUU653]

1 minute ago, WSFL333 said:

The 150 - 154 mhz frequency is in the MURS band, while the 2 meter band is 144-148 mhz, so I had no reason to check the SWR in the 2 meter band. I bought the antenna specifically to use in the gmrs band and tuned it for the best response. 

There is a Larsen glass mount antenna specific for the gmrs band, Larsen KG450UDPL 450-470 MHz, for $109 art Gigaparts which was more than I wanted to spend. I know that there are several glass mount 2m / 70 cm ham antennas available that might work for you. 

Thanks, I missed that and had looked up the Tram 1191