Antenna on bull bar.

[Dobbie]

Probably a silly question but can a bull bar antenna, installed for mobile phone coverage, be used also for UHF via a portable cb?

Cable to phone comes into cabin, patch cord to phone but wonder if cb can be linked to this. We've gone for high gain cb which works fine for our needs but it is a portable...not installed permanently.

I'm looking at adapters but not sure if it's a good solution. Don't want a permanent cb...been there, done that...but want to keep the mobile blue tick phone available ( an extra one for safety purposes in addition to usual mobiles which don't have blue tick coverage) but want to use the antenna for extra cb range.

As said, probably a silly question but wondered if anyone else has done it.

 

[dagree]

UHF and Mobile antenna's are different frequencies so I would doubt it'll work @Dobbie

 

[Dobbie]

Thought that might be the case but you never know.

Someone, smarter than me, might have sorted it out.

Worth asking.

Thanks anyway.

 

[dagree]

There may be a way to do it but I went down the lazy track and fitted an antenna for both!
I do know that you can get an adaptor to run an AM/FM radio from a marine UHF antenna but you get a lot of static through one radio or another.... Know that doesn't help you but there might be a smart cookie out there that can do similar for UHF and Mobile????

 

[Dobbie]

Yep.

As I said. Worth asking.

 

[bigcol]

if you run a 6Db aerial for the UHF (if you can patch it into the hand held...........)

all you need to do then is run a length of 8mm cable (like the RED plastic coated ones they use for wiring Amps in cars........)
out from the aerial atleast 5m to 10m (preferably on a hill)
you can use that to boost the phone aerial
( I have heard of people putting the end into a bucket of water or a Lake - if you have one handy)

but much easier to fit the different dedicated ones for each as @dagree said

 

[crackacoldie]

Short answer, as per @degree , no you cannot use the mobile phone antenna for a uhf as they are wired, and loaded, for different frequencies. If you did, you would damage the transmitter in the uhf.

 

[Dobbie]

Sounds like a second antenna is the go.

I know the auto electrician said it couldn't be done but I couldn't remember the reason and was mulling it over again yesterday.

Thanks for replies.

 

[Drover]

Yep as @crackacoldie said aerial needs to be tuned to the freq or when you click the mic you will blow the finals in the radio but you could receive signals in fact you could pick up signal with just a coat hanger but not transmit.................

hey @bigcol that wire in the bucket reminded me years and years ago to get a great directional signal I would park the old Nissan in the water at the boat ramp and transmit, worked a treat to talk to the brother in law 100 kms away........27mhz.

 

[bigcol]

Yep as
hey [USER=2415]@bigcol that wire in the bucket reminded me years and years ago to get a great directional signal I would park the old Nissan in the water at the boat ramp and transmit, worked a treat to talk to the brother in law 100 kms away........27mhz.[/USER]

one of the Geo's at work once told me thats how he would get extra signal out of his mobile phone in the Great Sandy Desert
fling 8mm wire into a big bucket, and attach to the aerial on the phone

never tried it myself



and I had heard you could do it with the 27mhz AM radios, but never tried it

 

[Drover]

Used to do all sorts of experiments with 27mhz , long wire aerials for out bush, a marine whip aerial mounted on the bull bar and back into a creek which pointed in the right direction, sometimes it would work a treat others not so great but could talk around the world skipping signals. Then they made it legal and ruined it all.

 

[Dobbie]

I'm wondering how you manage to carry a creek or put your antenna into a big bucket while travelling....maybe there's a use for my grey water container to sort out my UHF?

My mind is boggled.

I'm tracking down a cradle and separate UHF antenna. I think.

 

[Drover]

I'll refrain from a smart, hilarious answer @Dobbie .................(until a brilliant one comes to mind anyway )..

When I had a hand held I bought a magnetic base 6db aerial and it worked a treat....







......It's amazing what you can do when you drive a Colorado.....