Yeah, I passed the test on Monday and my wife buys me a Yaesu FT-1802 today for my birthday.  What's a good antenna for 2M mobile rigs?  What are you guys using?

Thanks, and NO she doesn't have any sisters.

A magnet mount is not a bad choice for a first antenna. It is portable from vehicle to vehicle . Just get something like a 5/8 wave antenna and get talking. Hamradio.com has a 5/8 hustler magnet mobile antenna for only 28.95. AVOID the glass mount antennas they are trash. If you are going to perm mount the antenna look in the ham radio thread tacked above for some antenna installs. Personally I prefer the NMO mount to all others. Good luck and congrats.

Congrats on passing your test and welcome to the world of ham radio!! Now when you're reading in different forums on the net you won't be the one worried about a UHF/VHF radio solution because it doesn't matter now. You passed the test. I find so many of the discussions regarding radio are nothing more than people just not wanting to take a simple exam. Funny really how much time they will spend on something not to take the test, but studying for the test would have taken half the time.

1802...great rig!

For the last 5 years I've been using mag mounts on my vehicles...yes people make fun of them. I needed to go with a 1/4 wave antenna or I wouln't be able to get my vehicle in the parking garage at work...and yes people make fun of that to. The fact is the solution works and it works well. I have not intentions of changing the 1/4 wave mag mount any time soon.

Congratulations and welcome aboard!

I use a Radiall/Larsen NMO 2/70 dual band antenna on a trunk lip mount.  The mount is frequently disparaged  but is secure and works great if you don't want to or can't put a 3/4" hole in your car.  I can hit all the local repeaters with ease.

Congrats!

Hustler has a good reputation. I love my Comet SBB-5, though. A few of us around here use that antenna. Great antenna! Go with the NMO mount over anything with a PL-259. You can see my installation here.

Quoted: Congratulations and welcome aboard! I use a Radiall/Larsen NMO 2/70 dual band antenna on a trunk lip mount.  The mount is frequently disparaged  but is secure and works great if you don't want to or can't put a 3/4" hole in your car.  I can hit all the local repeaters with ease.

I'll second the Radial/Larsen NMO suggestion.  I love mine!

I had a Larsen NMO 2 meter antenna for over a decade now.  Works great.  Weather permitting, I'm transferring it over to my truck this evening.

IMHO, you should avoid the needless expense and hassle of getting a magnetic mount antenna, and just go ahead and drill a hole and be done with it.  Magnet mounts are no cheaper, are larger (uglier?), they can part company with your vehicle (I've had mine fly off in very high mountain pass winds, also when some "construction zone" tape was blowing across the road it ripped it right off the car), and finally, they will end up tearing up your paint through scratching and water entrapment, worse than just drilling a hole for a permanent NMO mount.

One 3/4ths inch hole.  Just do it...

I think it depends on the vehicle and application as far as the value of a mag mount. For example, I don't use the radio in my wife's car enough to warrant a permanent antenna. I may sometimes put my spare in her car in town but usually it's only on long trips. We don't take many so it makes more sense to just slap a mag mount on temporarily. My truck is another story so I have a permanent mount. I still didn't drill the hole, though, since I don't want to get in and out of the truck to fold the antenna down/up every time I enter/exit our parking garage.

I have a Diamond MR-77 mag mount that I'm really happy with for 2M and 70cm.

The one thing I did to it before putting on my truck was to seal all joints with liquid electrical tape, to keep out water.  I would recommend this with any mag mount antenna.

The Hustler 5/8 wave mag mount MX2 & MX2B(same as MX2 but all black) are very good antennas for the money. I have one and know several people in my area that have them. Never had a problem with it other than when I got it the little tab in the center of the coil section that makes contact with the center contact on the mount was bent up to far. I bent it down about 3/16 of an inch no more problem. I may end up replacing it with a more "permanent" mount at some time, but it is always good to have a mag mount around in case something goes wrong, or you want to use another car.
The 1802 is an excelent radio by the way.

Hillbilly

My personal favorite is the Austin 500C - Very compact, efficient, rugged and inexpensive.

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I'm Googling them as I type this to get further info.  I'm headed out to a local Amateur Radio store in Ft. Lauderdale to see what's in stock.

Thanks again for all the replies.