B Pillar NMO Mount

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Has anyone ever seen a B Pillar NMO mount? I have found one that is designed for mounting 3/8" mount antennas.

I haven't found anything without resorting to a bracket and I don't want to do that.
Closest I have found but wrong mount.

https://www.rightchannelradios.com/products/cb-antenna-molded-side-mount

 

[Airmapper]

This would be the next closest thing I can think of, might can clamp to the front edge of a rear door but I don't think it's a good idea:

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Unfortunately this time I don't have a rear door. I like that mount I have used it on my 3 door truck.

 

[Airmapper]

Is the reason your not keen on a bracket because it will be exposed, not clean looking?

A little outside the box, but using a bracket for the NMO, then using a 3D printer to make a clean cover to attach over the bracket, might give an end result that looks like what you first posted. I mean that is all you have there, a bracket with a cover.

It will be fatter since NMO is quite large....

I'm not sure what you have to work with though, so what I'm seeing in my head and what you have may be wildly different.

Depends on a few things, like access to a 3D printer, and access to someone who can design a 3D object. I do stuff like that all the time, but I can model my own stuff and have a 3D printer in my office.

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Is the reason your not keen on a bracket because it will be exposed, not clean looking?

A little outside the box, but using a bracket for the NMO, then using a 3D printer to make a clean cover to attach over the bracket, might give an end result that looks like what you first posted. I mean that is all you have there, a bracket with a cover.

It will be fatter since NMO is quite large....

I'm not sure what you have to work with though, so what I'm seeing in my head and what you have may be wildly different.

Depends on a few things, like access to a 3D printer, and access to someone who can design a 3D object. I do stuff like that all the time, but I can model my own stuff and have a 3D printer in my office.

Airmapper you nailed it. That is exactly my problem. I could fabricate a nice looking bracket but the install would not be very clean looking.

Santa is bringing me my first 3D printer and that was my thought. Just expand the idea of the 3/8" mount to fit an NMO. I had used Autocad and Draftsight to design in 2D. 3D will be a new step for me. It may take a me a bit of learning to get the first one correct but feel confident I can handle it.

Depending on the room, I could improve on the RF connection side. Two fasteners are needed to physically attach the mount but maybe a BNC or UHF chassis mount connector instead of ring terminals. This would mean 3 holes in the vehicle body. Some are hesitant of drilling one hole for a roof mount NMO they would run scared of 3 in the B Pillar. However there are some of us that don't mind because once mounted no one knows.

I do not want to end up looking like Dumbo just an idea I had that sometimes a good physical pillar mount might be a good option if the roof is covered by a RTT or rack. Yes I know you could mount them to the rack but if you were to remove the rack you lose the antennas.
A two door vehicle does not have the option of using a lip mount on the doors so a pillar mount offers an option.

If NMO mount could be designed then I see no reason why a UHF mount could not be as well. Me, I prefer the NMO over UHF and all my antennas are NMO already.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I'm not aware of an off the shelf bracket like you have in mind.

What I thought of is a right angle with one of those NMO-to-SO239 flush mounts.

I mount my NMO on cowling brackets, just using plain old Larsen NMO-K with a generous covering of RTV on the underside. But I'm not concerned with it being particularly attractive visually since the underside isn't really in sight. The cable runs immediately down under sheet metal and through the firewall.

To be honest, the NMO was never thought for non-flat surface mounting so we're really in customization region. But the large base also I think means it's not ideal for this task and the 3/8" stud or even a SO239 has a slight advantage in being more slim and unobtrusive.

It'll be interesting to see what you come up with.

 

[Airmapper]

I know exactly what you mean with the difficulty of mounting antennas when you use a RTT. Been there, done that, and still am not really happy with the result.

All in all I have 3 separate coax feeds run through my truck from different setups. At least I have options.....

Good luck, that 3D printer will give you the ability to try different things until you find something you like without a bunch of expense.

 

[mjac]

This would be the next closest thing I can think of, might can clamp to the front edge of a rear door but I don't think it's a good idea:

Had a similar Comet brand on the rear door of my t4r and didn't care for it. It could not handle the flexing weight of the 2/70 antenna. Comet did replace it no charge tho.

Sub'ed for new ideas.