EF Johnson 5100 (VHF) w/ Motorola PMAD4094A Antenna

I've been trying to decide on a VHF stubby antenna that I liked for use on my EFJ 5100 portable. I've been using one of the Motorola Wideband antennas on it since I got it, and while that antenna performs well (as I'm sure those who use them will testify), to me is just to cumbersome for the day to day use. I'm used to using a stubby antenna on my 800 portable and with our recent system upgrades on the VHF side I don't need the bigger antenna.



I looked and came finally settled on the Motorola PMAD4094A. It's usually marketed with the TRBO line. It's advertised/listed coverage range is 147-160 MHz which will suit me just fine. The only thing I listen to over 160 is the NOAA weather radio stations which are RX only. I did "kerchunk" a few ham machines on 2 meters and didn't notice any degradation in performance. The antenna itself is a bit "fatter" than it looked in the picture but it doesn't make it any more cumbersome or uncomfortable on the belt. Of course the wideband will stay in my collection for the times it may be needed, especially since I spend a fair amount of time in the NC mountains.



The last thing I will touch on is how well it seats into the antenna connector on the radio itself. The Motorola wideband antenna seems to be the popular choice among users of this series radio I think mainly because of having full coverage of the VHF Hi range & how well the antenna performs from one end to the other. The biggest complaint however is that once the antenna is screwed down and seated into the radios antenna jack the skirt on the antenna isn't quite long enough and leaves the barrel of the antenna exposed, thus allowing debris and such to get in there. The barrel on the PMAD4094 is a bit shorter and this allows the antenna to seat all the way down onto the radio itself. I think the antenna looks great on it. So if you're considering a VHF stubby for your EFJ 51xx line, or another line I wouldn't hesitate to buy this antenna again. I'm attaching 2 pics....... One of an overall shot of the radio and antenna, and a closeup of the antenna and top of the radio. Enjoy and feel free to ask any questions you may have !!!!



*** I forgot to mention that I ordered this antenna from Wiscomm this past Friday at 4pm. I got an email 15 minutes later that it had been shipped & it was in my mailbox this afternoon. Total after shipping was just over $14. I'll definitely do business with them again in the future!! ***



Overall view





Closeup

Mode: T ?

Thanks to all that helped me with an answer to this question !!!

Home Patrol on its way

I live in Indiana, I am told the Home Patrol is really the only game in town.



Last night I finally caught one on Amazon refurbished for a price I would pay.



So its suppose to be on its way! Should be here next week.



I am pretty rural, but most of the listening we are interested in would be in a 20 mile radius.

Will I need an out door antenna? We are in hilly southern Indiana.



If I need an outdoor antenna; what and where to get it?



Thanks

SLCC PD

Hey all, random question:



I hear the UHP units at SLCC come up on the UHP/SL Co TG, .but never on the SLCCPD TGs. Are the two SLCC PD talkgroups (HEX ID 56c and 56e) used still?

Unitrunker?

Anyone running Unitrunker in Brevard?

DTMF Tones

Listening to the Lancaster/Tehachapi feed on railroad radio.net and am hearing DTMF (phone) tones.

What purpose do they serve?



Thank you

Dic

N1XBA

surveillance frequencies

Any one know the surveillance frequencies used by AZ State, PHX PD and Maricopa County? I am sure they run encryption on the RWC or other local trunking systems but they probably have a few simplex channels that they operate on when conducting business away from RWC coverage. Have noticed that AZ state have statewide authorization on the repeater inputs and outputs. Based on that they could conduct surveillances on repeater input channels that are not paired with a local repeater. Could be way off on this.



I have heard PDs conduct surveillances on city wide paging systems. No one would listen to that racket all day, a perfect place to hide. Radios used by the officers had PL on the receive side to minimize receiving pager traffic.



Actually know a PD that uses a commercial trunking system and another one whose narcotic officers use a pig farm channel for surveillance, not kidding.



Some PDs have blown the dust off their old low band radios and actually conduct surveillances on old 30 to 50 MHz radios which they still have licenses for.



Others operate on school bus frequencies, DPW and local maintenance channels at night so locating the channels the PDs use for surveillance can be challenging.



If anyone is aware of frequencies used by PHX PD, Maricopa County or AZ State could you share them with me?