Member III
Ham Antenna Mount Question
- Thread starter RainierandTacos
- Start date
Enthusiast I
Ok so I got the antenna, coax and a fender mount on order. (5 dollars. Why not.) Is the fender mount going to require paint removal or will drilling it in take care of grounding? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for a fairly inexpensive SWR meter? I really don't care about toasting a 20 dollar baofeng but I'd like to do the mobile install as right as I can manage.
Member III
- 2,827
- First Name
- Joshua
- Last Name
- Downs
- Member #
-
20468
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KK6RBI / WQYH678
- Service Branch
- USMC 03-16, FIRE/EMS
I use a Surecom meter. It gives you a lot of info including SWR and power output.
Influencer III
- 4,312
- First Name
- Rex
- Last Name
- Drake
- Member #
-
19540
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KI5GH
- Service Branch
- Air Force
The drilled holes should give enough metal. I’ve done that on several vehicles.
Enthusiast I
I've looked at that one, was a little leery of the mixed reviews but I may end up pulling the trigger on it.
Awesome, that's good to know. Thank you.
Will this be fine for a GMRS radio? I literally bought the same ditch light bracket mount (and a little "ghost" antenna to go with it) directly from Midland's website, and they feature a very similar picture. I assumed (maybe mistakenly) that if they sell one for the radio, the setup should work fine! But of course different bands.
Does GMRS have the same "grounding" plane issue that HAM antenna's have? I am studying for my HAM license now, so was hoping i could just use the same setup for HAM (maybe mount a second bracket on the LEFT side ditch, with the GMRS on the RIGHT side ditch. SO much to learn, thanks guys!
Member III
I just did a similar install on my 2nd gen Tacoma, except that the antenna is mounted directly to the "ditch light" bracket. On my install I used an NMO mount and ground off some paint where the NMO clamp touches the bracket and also where the bolts contact the bracket to hold it to the hood. I re-sealed both places afterwards to prevent rust. I then used a multimeter and confirmed very low resistance (tenths of an ohm) between the antenna and the negative battery terminal. And yes, the concern is not with a low resistance connection to the battery and is instead in establishing a good ground plane, but I figure if the ground connection was good then it means the connection to the chassis and hood is solid. I also bought an NMO to 3/8" stud adapter so I can put a CB antenna on the same mount and was able to achieve a SWR of below 1.5.
Ultimately I will likely put an NMO mount on the roof where the satellite radio antenna is currently since I don't like the idea of transmitting at 50w so close to my face. But, this hood mounted setup is working great for now and I usually run lower power anyway.
Ultimately I will likely put an NMO mount on the roof where the satellite radio antenna is currently since I don't like the idea of transmitting at 50w so close to my face. But, this hood mounted setup is working great for now and I usually run lower power anyway.
Enthusiast I
Got the bracket mounted today and test fit the antenna. Things look pretty good for the moment. Once I find my multimeter and soldering iron I will get the cable routed and connector mounted. Looking at where its mounted, I'm curious what kind of power people with similar setups are running? That seems a little close for me to be running a full 50 watts. Is that something I should be concerned with?
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Influencer III
- 4,312
- First Name
- Rex
- Last Name
- Drake
- Member #
-
19540
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KI5GH
- Service Branch
- Air Force
I've had that kind of arrangement in the past. If you think about it, you transmit very little compared to listening time. My current rig has three roof mounted antennas, but I'd consider a cowl mount again if I had a roof rack.I just did a similar install on my 2nd gen Tacoma, except that the antenna is mounted directly to the "ditch light" bracket. On my install I used an NMO mount and ground off some paint where the NMO clamp touches the bracket and also where the bolts contact the bracket to hold it to the hood. I re-sealed both places afterwards to prevent rust. I then used a multimeter and confirmed very low resistance (tenths of an ohm) between the antenna and the negative battery terminal. And yes, the concern is not with a low resistance connection to the battery and is instead in establishing a good ground plane, but I figure if the ground connection was good then it means the connection to the chassis and hood is solid. I also bought an NMO to 3/8" stud adapter so I can put a CB antenna on the same mount and was able to achieve a SWR of below 1.5.
Ultimately I will likely put an NMO mount on the roof where the satellite radio antenna is currently since I don't like the idea of transmitting at 50w so close to my face. But, this hood mounted setup is working great for now and I usually run lower power anyway.
Traveler III
Sorry, I realize I’m joining this conversation a bit late. I use the Rago ham mount for the hood (same thing as their ditch light mount, only with a 3/4” hole for a NMO mount). I have a 1 ft braided grounding cable running from the mount & hood bolts to a body bolt in the engine compartment. My tx/rx is just fine and the professional radio installer that helped me (I think he’s probably been a ham longer than I’ve been alive) didn’t see a problem with that location.
Influencer I
- 2,358
- First Name
- Dillon
- Last Name
- Wilke
- Member #
-
20298
- Ham/GMRS Callsign
- KJ7LVO/ WRQL275
- Service Branch
- USAF
Im running a similar antenna mount. I actually scavenged an odometer mount for an HD trailer hub out of the scrap bin at work, then used some sheet metal screws to mount that to my fender, then mounted the antenna to the mount. I made sure there was a good ground by removing paint where fasteners contacted the mount. I did use some blue loc tite on the sheet metal screws and I coated anywhere I had removed paint with corrosion inhibitor (get the brownish stuff marketed by Truck Light) after installation. I have no problem running 50W with this set up.
