Anyone use a bed stake pocket mount for your dual band antenna?

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ru108

ru108

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I apologize if this has been covered. Searched, but didn't find it. I'm going for my HAM ticket pretty soon and am in the process of putting together a rig for my DD (2014 Tundra), but I'm stumped on an antenna mount. I know there are better options (roof, fender), but I've seen the stake pocket mounts during my interweb searches and it peaked my interest as a no drill or no scratched paint solution.
So, as the title asks, does anybody have any experience (good or bad) with these types of mounts? It'll be topped with a Diamond NR770HNMO paired with a Yaesu FTM-7250DR.

Thanks in advance!
 
Prerunner1982

Prerunner1982

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Since that antenna is a 1/2 wave on 2m it won't be too bad as it is not as ground plane dependent. Part of drilling the holes is to make sure the antenna has enough ground plane to work efficiently, more so with 1/4 or 5/8 wave antennas.
Too close to the back of the cab though may cause some high SWR and prevent some/much of your signal from going forward.
 
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ru108

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That was my thinking, too when I was antenna hunting. The Diamond seems like the best compromise for what I'm looking to do. As far as distance from the cab, I'm looking to mount it in the rear corner on the driver's side. I figure that SHOULD give me a good line over the top since it's around 40 inches long. The fact that it folds over is a plus as well. If I can't make the stake pocket work, then I'll likely just mount it in the same area, except under the lip of the bed somewhere. I've got the crappy one piece plastic bed rail cover, so I'm trying not to tear it up too much if I can help it.
 
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4L_Warrior

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Hey ru108 !

Any updates?...
Which antenna mount and antenna did you go with?

I recently changed from a mag-mount nmo mount (which worked okay, at least I thought was working okay) to the stainless fender mount and man, what a difference! I really notice it on 2m simplex. No holes to drill or scratched paint. I run the Lasen 2m / 70cm 1/2 wave antenna.
 
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ru108

ru108

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Sorry y’all. I completely forgot about this post. I ended up mounting the Diamond 770 with a modified mirror mount to the back of a cross bed toolbox that I found on sale at my local Tractor Supply. I needed a box anyway, so.... Works really well. SWR is less than 1.5 on both 2m and 440. The repeater I hang out on is about 40 air miles from my house and I get full quieting most of the time running 50 watts. Highly recommend this setup if you have or in the market for a toolbox and a no ground plane antenna.
ETA, I’ll snap a pic here in a bit if I get a chance this afternoon.
 
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