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It's amazing what a good antenna will do for you!

PostPosted: Sat Aug 10, 2002 3:22 pm
by bwsaloum
Ya'll,

Well, I finally got my omni hooked up to the jeep today. I was absolutely amazed with the difference. I was using the basic orinoco gold card with it's internal antenna. I then inherited a cushcraft 5.2 dbi omni. In my previous stumble attempts, I averaged about 30-35 AP's over a two hour period, and this was consistant, as I am trying to get consistancy.

Today, I snagged over 140 ap's, following the exact same routes.

I'm sold!

So, to all the newer folks (like myself) if you're going to stumble and you're interested in finding as many as you can, opt for the best antenna you can afford for your particular application.

PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2002 11:50 am
by audit
What omni one did you purchase and from where?

PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2002 11:56 am
by blackwave
Originally posted by audit
What omni one did you purchase and from where?


Greetings audit, I think you forgot what bwsaloum mentioned as quoted below

Originally posted by bwsaloum
I then inherited a cushcraft 5.2 dbi omni

PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2002 1:55 pm
by godlike
A good antenna is great to have. I was using a orinoco gold with out antenna and bought a 5dm mag mount from fabcor. Wow what a difference. I just wish I could find a good 10-15 db omni that was not 6ft long to put on the car.... :) That would be nice...

PostPosted: Wed Aug 21, 2002 2:55 pm
by Carnager
Same thought.. 10~15db omni to mount on the car, preferably magmount again.. Maybe time for borgman to reply to this thread? ^_~

PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2002 6:43 am
by mentat
Yeah, I'd love it if they sold a magmount even for the 18" omnis.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2002 9:24 am
by bwsaloum
Originally posted by mentat
Yeah, I'd love it if they sold a magmount even for the 18" omnis.


Far be it for me to recommend anything from Tandy, but can't you find a non-marring mag-mount base at the shack?

PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2002 11:59 am
by mentat
I wasn't able to just find the base. They told me I had to get a CB antenna and take it apart. Do you have an item number or something? Calling BW searchbot!!!

PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2002 5:46 pm
by bwsaloum
Originally posted by mentat
I wasn't able to just find the base. They told me I had to get a CB antenna and take it apart. Do you have an item number or something? [B]Calling BW searchbot!!! [/B]


Would something like this work?

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&category%5Fname=CTLG%5F001%5F002%5F002%5F000&product%5Fid=940%2D1200

PostPosted: Thu Aug 22, 2002 5:49 pm
by bwsaloum
However, if that isn't satisfactory, I do know of a radio/ham/cb shop just down the street from my dad's house that specializes in all kinds of wild stuff, not found in the usual chain stores... If you want, I can get you a phone number and he might be able to hook you up.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 23, 2002 11:31 am
by mentat


I don't think so. You can't really see in this picture, but the connector sticks off the bottom by about an inch. So, I need enough space for the connector and the cable without bending the cable too much.

Let me know that contact info and I'll do some measurements and call.

PostPosted: Fri Aug 23, 2002 3:09 pm
by sparafina
Originally posted by Carnager
Same thought.. 10~15db omni to mount on the car, preferably magmount again..


Here's the magmount I built for my g.net omni. Its just a pvc pipe bolted to a metal plate with 3 magnets attached to it. The antenna is held in place with set screws. It works great at 100+ mph and withstood the high winds at Defcon.

http://forums.netstumbler.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2034&perpage=15&highlight=sparafina%20antenna&pagenumber=7

magmounts and your paint job

PostPosted: Fri Aug 23, 2002 7:30 pm
by robdeadtech
magmounts can whack your paint job pretty nicely... especially if you take it off and put it on a good bit.

I put one of those superthin plastic bags from the grocery store cut into a little circle and put it between the car metal and the magnet. It's thin enough to have little, if any, negative impact on the magnet strength and keeps the scraping to a minimum...

-enjoy,
rob.

PostPosted: Sat Aug 24, 2002 8:01 pm
by mentat
Felt has also been suggested to me as a paint protector. I'd seen your magmount before sparafina, but hadn't looked closely enough. Looks pretty good, I'll have to give it a try.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 25, 2002 4:24 am
by ted
A rubber membrane would be better due to added friction. (Yeah, the non lubricated one) :D