M1031 antenna question

[b4thundr]

OK i have a question,
I have a 1031 that i would like to mount a whip military style long antenna on with the tear drop ball on the end. we use a RELM RH256 radio in the truck UHF 154.190. Can i use a antenna like that with that radio? we are not looking to talk super long distances with it maybe a mile or two. i just thought it would look cool on the truck. we are using a small one now it works good.

 

[b4thundr]

or is 154.190 vhf?

 

[tennmogger]

Those "long" antennas are either for low band VHF (typically 30 to 80 MHz) or are HF antennas (below 30 MHz). Do you know specifically what antennas you are referring to?

Those numbers tell the story: they don't work at 154 MHz. But, if a simple HF antenna like an AB-15 base and MS-116, 117, 118 elements is used, it would be possible to tune the length to be an odd multiple of a quarter wavelength at 154 MHz, and that would keep the transmitter happy. That trick setup would have to be tuned though, won't just happen by accident if you hook up the antenna.

 

[Irv]

Those are good ideas. The larger antenna you mentioned screws onto a MX6707 base. The antenna itself is a coaxial dipole, fed in the middle, where it separates into two pieces. The coax feeds down the center of the lower section to the base, where the magic of electronics tunes it to work on several sub bands from 30 to 80 MHz. I don't have the dimensions handy, but the antenna is already about 3 times the length of a half wave dipole, which is close to what you want, so long as you hacked the MX6707 to eliminate the tuning stuff. 154.19 is used for emergency vehicles around here. I think you'd need what's called a VHF tuner to electronically adjust the antenna to be correct for your radio. They are available from ham radio equipment dealers. I have a mil vhf antenna around here that uses a base that looks just like the MX6707 but has a 3 foot whip or so on top of it. I don't remember the designation, but I'm sure they're available. Contact me if you have a burning desire and can't find one.

Irv