so ive been running a mag mount dual band on my truck for about two years now and honestly its been fine for local stuff but i keep noticing the signal just isnt as clean as i want it to be, especially when im moving. the mag mount slips a tiny bit on the roof and i think thats causing some of the weirdness im seeing on the waterfall when i use it with the SDR.

anyway my buddy keeps telling me to just drill the roof and put in a proper NMO mount and run the cable through the door jamb or down through the headliner. he says the ground plane difference alone is worth it. i believe him but im also not thrilled about putting a hole in a truck i still owe payments on lol.

has anyone gone through this and regretted it or had issues with the install? also wondering if it makes more sense to do a through-hole on the lip of the roof or actually center of the roof. ive seen both and not sure which is cleaner for VHF/UHF specifically. the antenna im looking at is a Tram 1185 or maybe a Comet SBB-5 if i can find one locally.

did this to my last two vehicles, no regrets at all. the difference between a proper NMO with a good ground plane and a mag mount is actually pretty noticeable once youve done it. mag mounts are great for temporary setups or if youre borrowing someone elses car but for a daily driver thats also your main mobile rig its just not ideal.

i did center of roof on my Tacoma and it worked great. ran the cable through the headliner trim, popped it out at the A pillar and down behind the dash. looked totally factory when i was done. the lip mount is easier to get to the cable but you lose some ground plane symmetry and at VHF/UHF that can actually matter a bit depending on the antenna. not huge but its real.

the Comet SBB-5 is solid, ive used one for years. the Tram stuff is fine too, just make sure whichever you get is actually rated for the NMO base because some of those antennas are threaded differently than you expect. use a step bit when you drill and seal around the mount properly, never had a water issue in years of doing this.

i went through the whole debate and ended up just getting a better mag mount with a bigger base plate, like one of those 6 inch diameter ones. helped the slipping problem a lot and i didnt have to touch the truck. not saying the NMO isnt better because it probably is but depending on how long you keep the vehicle it might not be worth the resale headache for some people. just a different way to look at it.