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XM / VHF antennas

Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:37 pm
by Big Blue TO/\/\
Sorry if this has been addressed, I searched but couldn't locate a thread...

I am thinking of putting a glass-mount VHF antenna on my rear window, and would like to put it on the same side as my XM already is on. The whip of the VHF would run right next to the XM glass-mount stick.

Any conflicts you can think of? The VHF antenna will be putting out X9000 power.

I was kinda thinking the XM band is so far off, that there would be no interference???

TIA

Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 1:44 pm
by alex
I have one of the mini magnetic XM antennas on my roof. It's far from the VHF, but ti's close to the UHF. With the 110w VHF spectra on there - i have yet to have a problem. No interfearance from the UHF or 800 as well.

-Alex

Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 4:54 pm
by tvsjr
I installed an XM Commander a few months ago with a mag-mount antenna on the roof. There's 15 NMO mounts on the roof, so it's hard to avoid getting near other coax. I had the install completed, plastic reinstalled, etc. and was enjoying my XM. Then, I hit the master power switch. Poof, no XM coverage.

After a few loud strings of expletives, I re-ran the XM coax to be totally isolated from the rest of the antennas, and it worked just fine.

Even with the XM antenna very close to the whips on the roof, it works just fine (even during transmit with 110-watt mobiles on VHF and UHF). But you may be out of luck if you parallel the coax.

If I were you, I'd install the VHF on the opposite side of the vehicle and keep the coax as far apart as possible.

Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:29 pm
by Big Blue TO/\/\
TVSJR- the question begs... 15 NMOs???

OK, thanks to you and Alex. Where/how this install would work, the coax for the VHF would run across the back of the box (this is going in the back of a f/s GMC p/u ) and down one side, and the XM cabling is going down the other side. The cables won't run on top of one another.

Now, I just hafta wait until the temp comes up, to do the adhering to glass part. It was -4 last night, and the high today was a balmy 25!

Later.
Tom

Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 5:53 pm
by tvsjr
[quote="Big Blue TO/\/\"]TVSJR- the question begs... 15 NMOs???

OK, thanks to you and Alex. Where/how this install would work, the coax for the VHF would run across the back of the box (this is going in the back of a f/s GMC p/u ) and down one side, and the XM cabling is going down the other side. The cables won't run on top of one another.[/quote]

I ran out of sheet metal (inside and out). What can I say? I should've bought the Excursion.

I think you'll be OK. You might want to loosely run the coax before you do the adhering part to see what will happen. That'll save the oh :o factor when/if something goes wrong.

Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 6:30 pm
by Big Blue TO/\/\
Good advice! Thanks.

Tom

Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 7:00 pm
by KitN1MCC
a few things about XM antenna.

1. they jus put the whole thing about very top of roof so they will not hear from ppl about cut outs. i put the one in my 2003 silverado on the hood on the driver side up close to the window and i have very few dead spots if any.

2. in my 97 e250 company van i have the ski fi boom box on the seat with the antenna in the window and it works great.

also PLEASE PLEASE call or write your senator tell them u do no want the FCC to censor or interfer with XM Programming, cause they plan on doing so.


(seeing how Bubba and howard are thinking about goin to XM or Sirius)


Channel 152 Bubba's army

Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2004 7:32 pm
by Big Blue TO/\/\
You wrote :"also PLEASE PLEASE call or write your senator tell them u do no want the FCC to censor or interfer with XM Programming, cause they plan on doing so.
(seeing how Bubba and howard are thinking about goin to XM or Sirius) Channel 152 Bubba's army"

I am a big XM fan, please open a thread in the Bat Lounge forum, and fill us all in a little more.

Tom

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 6:13 pm
by Gerbil
and before you do, learn to type.

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 7:02 pm
by jcobb
You might want to re-think the X9000 on a thru-the-glass antenna...

I tried Larsen and Antenna Specialists VHF and UHF thru-the-glass, and couldn't get more than 50w through them. The higher I went, the worse the signal and SWR got (the SWR is bad enough with the thru-the-glass even at the lower outputs).

I gave up, put my Spectras back on metal-mounted NMOs, and my 25/40w dual-bander ham radio on the two thru-the-glass antennas (VHF and UHF).

Just my experience...



Jack