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Reviews For: Larsen NMO-27

Category: Antennas: HF Mobile & Accessories

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Review Summary For : Larsen NMO-27
Reviews: 4MSRP:
Description:
26-30mhz 1/4 wave antenna nmo mount
Product is in production
More Info: http://
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0042.8
KK9H Rating: 2015-05-28
Used successfully for over 30 years Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had one of these for over 30 years that I use on road trips with a Larsen magnet mount. When I originally tuned it for the middle of the CB band it only required a slight shortening of the whip. I recently checked with a RigExpert antenna analyzer and it is still resonant right in the middle of the band. I have not compared it to other magnet mount antennas but over the years I have had no problem raising other mobiles up to 5 or 6 miles away which is all I would have expected with it. For 10M I have used an NMO-30 coil with a longer 64" whip that tuned easily to 28.400. Using that combination with the same magnet mount base I've made many contacts with a Radio Shack 25 watt 10M radio. Europe, Japan, Australia and South Africa are among the areas worked while mobile so my experience with these Larsen antennas has been very good.
AB0RE Rating: 2014-10-07
meh Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I also own a Larsen NMO-27. In side-by-side comparisons between the Larsen NMO-27 and a Wilson 1000, there was about 1.5 S-Units of difference on my FT-857D, always in favor of the Wilson 1000. Sure, the meter on the FT-857D is not a "calibrated" S unit. Sure, the Wilson 1000 is considerably taller so it goes without saying it *should* perform better. But the difference was astounding.

My take is that whereas the Larsen NMO-27 works okay for a CB antenna working somebody just down the road, there are much better antenna choices for making meaningful contacts on the ham radio 10M band.

One last note... My Larsen NMO-27 developed a high SWR. The "dip" would only go down to ~2:1. After much head scratching I looked at the base coil. It turns out there is a capacitor at the base (capacitive base matching) that had become unsoldered from the outer/lower NMO ring - must've been a cold solder joint from the factory. Once I fixed that, all was well again in regards to SWR. That is certainly worth checking into if you have SWR issues with your NMO-27.

73,
Dan / ab0re
K1DA Rating: 2014-10-07
Works as expected. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Typical Larsen quality, of course it is NOT a quarter wave it's a base loaded antenna. I use mine on 10 meters with a mag mount. I'm not sure what the "technical term" "play nice" means as used by the prior reviewer.
KD4ONT Rating: 2014-10-06
This antenna, despite the Larsen reputation, is a dud. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
The first time I bought this antenna, I was going on the previous excellent experience from their 144/440 antennas. I tuned it with a swr meter for 11m for my gf's radio on her vehicle. I noticed that she wasn't getting out very well and she couldn't hear me very well either. I had a Wilson 1000 on my car, and she wasn't a licensed ham yet. I was very shocked that I could hear her somewhat but she had a hard time copying me. Years later, I got the antenna back and was trying to tune it for 10m only. An antenna analyzer was saying that this antenna was having problems and wouldn't play nice with the transmitter, even if it was tuned to resonate frequency. I changed antennas to a Wilson 1000 and the readings showed a massive improvement! I do not suggest this antenna to anyone wanting to use it for its intended frequency ranges! Avoid like the plague!