Dumb Q but does this antenna require a ground plane?
471729
Ditto Jerry Morris is correct. You do need a ground plane. That does not imply grounding to the car roof through the mount. The difference in performance you get when you just slap it on a large cookie sheet in the basement is significant. ;-) Did that for a bit until I had a yard of my own.
471730
Negative, not required. It comes with a plastic film bottom which covers the magnet. I also have a tiny piece of wax paper underneath it to prevent it from rusting. So there is no conductive contact from the antenna to the top of the metal on the car.
471731
It works a lot better if the magnetic is affix to a sheet of metal like the roof of a vehicle.
471732
Jerry Morris is dead on here. It does require a ground plane, but the car's roof fills that role! Just make sure to mount it as close to the middle the roof as possible (a quarter wave on 2 meters really needs 20 in radius for the ground plane, at minimum.), and you'll be fine.73s!
471733
This is a magnet mount mobile antenna, the metal body of the vehicle becomes the "ground plane" for this antenna. Although, if you have a metal roof on a shed or your house you could mount the antenna on it.
203864
Hi, it counts on your wiring. If the box is ground and you use the screw in the loop then yes it will be ground. If the box is not then of course a ground will not just appear from no where.
1062763
You can use it without grounding but it's neither wise nor legal. The National Electrical Code (NEC) requires that every TV antenna installation be grounded. You town/city/county may also have a requirement. But that's not the only reason - it's common sense. Because the antenna is usually the highest point on the house, it is highly susceptible to lightning strikes. TYhe ungrounded system will take the massive charge right in your coax, frying your system and possible starting a fire.
2108976
There are no special grounding requirements for this antenna. It is primarily a passive device. The amplifier that is between the antenna coax and the TV merely boost the signal. Of course as with any device that is wired into your home, if lightning strikes it is possible for it to travel down the coaxial cable. This should not be a major worry because, as I mentioned, the antenna is a passive device that merely is sensitive to radio waves. It won't attract lightening.I hope this answer is helpful.
2094078
There is a menu setting that gives you a choice between "air/cable," so it seems that there is an input for antenna. I saw nothing on the back that was separate from the cable connection, but I think that the same connection is used for both antenna or cable.
469122
If the antenna is being used at your home QTH, then a pl259 connector and RG8 cable will do. You will need to create a mounting platform with a ground plane of some type since you will not be using the car as a ground plane.
2277495
I noticed that some folks suggested using PVC or at least a PVC adapting sleeve to complete the connection.THAT"S A NO-NO!All antennas, including satellite dishes, need to be grounded to drain off static electricity. The PVC insulates one part from the other, thereby breaking the ground path.You are running a ground wire, aren't you?
204233
This is essentially a dipole, you cannot ground the antenna, it will not work.
2070515
No need for an antenna, I don't believe this dongle would even be able to use it if you had one.Mine certainly works fine without.
1911070
You'd have to mount this on an angle bracket first or else the antenna would be parallel to the ground.
762033
Do you mean horizontally? The vendor's pix shows it vertically. I have not tried it horizontally, but assume it WOULD work - just not as well. Ideally, both antennas (base and mobile) need to both be vertically polarized. Something called "1/4-wave Marconi" necessitates having a "ground plane" orientation identical to the antenna's plane. If you have the antenna oriented 90-degrees to your ground plane, it works poorly - especially when transmitting.
1314000
No wires needed only screws the only wire i come to mind of if you attach a wireless network mini pci card you need 2 cables for the antenna
120127
You should be able to bend the antenna so that it's not hanging below the landing gear. It feels a little bit loose, but it will hold it's shape if you do it correctly.
365399
No it does not come with the ground wire, Just the unit and the power adapter.
912308
Correction...my mistake . It takes does not have a ground wire. It grounds itself when bolted to the car. In my case, I have a fiberglass body so I had to run a ground wire to the bolt. All in all easy install, and for those who claimed bad reception probably should check their power connection. This thing is awsome!!
2085983
I suspect this questioner is talking about a "straight" telescoping antenna. I believe that there is no external antenna connections on the receiver. If that is the case, then this antenna is not the solution to the "static and poor reception"..
1056805
Ah, crap I'm too late and the answer is gone...um... so does it include it's own cable and what kind will I need? I'm looking at this "RG6 Premium Solid Copper Quad-shield Coaxial Cable" does anyone know if that's the right kind for this antenna?