Antenna and mount question

SilverBullet

Explorer
Hey guys, I need some suggestions.

We have a new 2006 Superduty and I have an older Icom radio with detached face to install. The truck is my wife's DD and she is not a Ham. She approved putting in the radio, as long as I follow her usual rules.

1- Radio and wires must be as inconspicuous as possible.
2- No holes in the roof, no exceptions.
3- antenna must be smaller and not in sight when driving.

So my challenge is set. I figured I would use the cabin vents behind the rear seat for coax pass through, and the uplifted switches give me switched power, so I am good there. Now I need an antenna recommendation. I searched the sticky thread, and that focuses on small and flexible for the trail rigs, but this needs effectiveness for highway use.

Any ideas? And pictures will help. I am trying to keep this above board with her, she was great enough to let us buy the truck, the least I can do is keep this nice for her.

I am not a fan of magnets on the roof, they scratch too much.
 

chris snell

Adventurer
If your wife is driving it, your problem is going to be garages. You need an antenna that is easily removable. I suggest a Diamond mount and antenna, maybe one of their gutter mounts and NR-770HB antenna. They also make high-quality magnet mounts that won't scratch your roof. You can always glue a thin layer of felt underneath to be doubly-sure.
 

SilverBullet

Explorer
Thanks Chris. Yeah the truck does not fit in our garage due to length. As for parking garages, we don't have many around here.

I have seen a hood mount, maybe with a whip she would go for that... Thanks.

Other ideas?
 

Ryan1975

Observer
This was my old setup.

photoHAM2.jpg
 

chris snell

Adventurer
That's a great setup, Ryan. That mount is very nice.

I bought the same antenna, hoping to use it for my APRS tracker but I found that it did not perform well unless it was flush-mounted to a large ground plane, like the roof of a vehicle. I could never get it below about 3.0 SWR and had to ditch it for the much bigger NR770HB. It's a shame because that antenna, being of lower gain, has a nice omnidirectional pattern and would be perfect for hitting APRS digipeaters on top of nearby mountains.
 

crawler#976

Expedition Leader
How about using a removable mag mount setup?
.
With a fitting like the one pictured, it would be easy to attach the antenna as required.
.
I'm trying to find info on this bulkhead fitting below:
 

Attachments

  • SO239 bulkhead.jpg
    SO239 bulkhead.jpg
    51.3 KB · Views: 1

bat

Explorer
This was on a 2006 superduty and the bracket is hidden out of the way. You will need to drill a small hole for the antenna to go through on the plastic trim and the mount is under that.

cb 00001 (Small).JPG
 

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