Practical Antenna Handbook 5/e, 5th Edition

CHAPTER 16Mobile and Marine Antennas

Mobile operation of radio communications equipment dates back nearly as far as “base station” operation. From the earliest days of wireless, radio buffs have attempted to place radio communications equipment in vehicles. Unfortunately, two-way radio was not terribly practical until the 1930s, when the first applications were amateur radio and police radio (which used frequencies in the 1.7- to 2.0-MHz region). Over the years, land mobile operation has moved progressively higher in frequency for practical reasons. The higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength and therefore the closer a mobile whip can get to being a full-size antenna. On the 11-m citizens band, for example, a quarter-wavelength whip ...