Ham Radio Install
 

Hams & Hammett's,

I need some help. My Yaesu 7800 Dual band just arrived. I will be installing it under the driver's seat with the remote head to be installed over the rear view mirror. Power from the battery and ground from the engine compartment. So far so good. What has me stumped is where to install the antenna. It will be a Larsen half wave length dual band. The connecting hardware is 3/4 inch which makes it difficult to install between the spare tire and tailgate which is where I have my CB antenna installed. I looked at magnetic mounts for the hood, which looked strange and lip mounts that can also be attached to the back of the hood, but they all look strange with the antenna in the front of the vehicle. Larsen also makes a "glass to glass" mount that can be used on any window except the windshield. There is some question about the performance of this type of mount. The next class of mount involves drilling a 3/4 inch hole into the fiberglass top, which also leaves me cold. Bottom line, what type of antennas are you all using and where do you have them installed? Many thanks for your time. KI6VBQ

I'm not sure how long your antenna is, but I have one mounted to the front bumper (mag mount, Schrockworks Mid) on the passenger side. Looks cool (I think), is not in the way and trees do not hit it. Mine is short (no name brand), however.

Front bumper mount is pretty common in Australia - most ARB bumpers have two holes for them on top of the grille guard tube.

Hey Guy........First off let me say......Congrats on the new toy...!!!:ya: Nothin' like a new HAM radio to make you feel like a kid on Christmas again...lol:thumbsup: btw, the Larson is a real good antenna.

First off.....as far as ground wave is concerned, which is VHF/UHF stuff, even local HF stuff (ie ground wave also), always remember that when placing an antenna on a vehicle, you will tx and rx the best OPPOSITE from the spot you have the antenna. Meaning......if you have the antenna on the back of the rig, you will hear and talk better towards the direction of the front. Likewise....if you place an antenna on the left (drivers) side of a rig, then you will tx and rx the best of the direction pointing to the right. That's why it's always best to get the antenna as close to the middle of the rig as you can....this way it "gets out" in all directions (Omni) as close to evenly as possible.

I know you mentioned cutting a hole in the middle if the hardtop..."leaves you cold", and I understand, but believe it or not, that IS where it would perform the best. I'm sure you could drill a small hole in the roll bar and ground it there. I know you don't want to do this but in my younger days, while striving for the best radio performance we could get, we were all drilling holes in the top of our cars or trucks and placing antennas there. Imagine a 102" stainless whip, whippin' around on top of the cab of an F-250...!!! We found out later that the Wilson 1000 performed pretty much the same as the whip, but with a little lower profile, so that became the antenna of choice. BTW, you can buy a real nice rubber gromet that will make your install look professional and keep the hole water tight.

Anyway......another thing to think about would be a HAM Stick antenna where your CB antenna is now. You could use a two position coax switch and switch between either radio, but you would have to switch stingers (antennas) for whatever rig you would want to use. May not be what you are looking for, but it is and option.

As far as a mag mount goes.....as long as you have a good solid "steel"surface that is well grounded to the rest of the rig, they work just fine. They may not look the best but they do just fine when installed in the right place. Remember, there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with placing a few "extra" ground straps between the body and the frame. The more the better.

Just remember......when talking about a mobile antenna, it's all about making sure that where you place it, it will be grounded to the WHOLE vehicle. I mean all the way down to the frame, not just the body, as the steel of the vehicle becomes the "other half" of the antenna. So you want to utilize it as much as you can. If you can do this it will work as good as it possibily can. As far as where you put it...???...just keep in mind....directionality.

Good luck and let us know what you come up with....!!! :thumbsup:

If I were you, I would leave the CB antenna in the rear, and look at the lip or windshield bracket mount for the dual bander. You want the antennas to be as far apart as possible. There are mounts you can use to mount the antenna to the lip underneath where the hood rests, and I have seen ( not for the JK yet) antenna mounts that connect where the windshiled mounting torx are. Keep them as far apart as possible. Ham radios xmit much more power than CBs, and antennas too close together are going to couple, and may destroy the receiver of the radio that is receiving, that you are not using, by overloading it.

Guys,

Some great advice. Several points that I hadn't considered, actually, I didn't know about them. Thanks. KI6VBQ

The antenna is what has stopped me from installing my Yeasu FT-857D I have not seen anything that will look and perform well at the same time:naw:, Keep looking and let us know what you find will be very interested :thumbsup:
KF4ZEL

Well, I just returned from a breakfast sponsored by our local HAM club, EARS,
aka the Escondido Amateur Radio Society. One of the members is a fellow JK'er and has my exact radio, Yaesu 7800, installed in his JK. He says that he regularly works repeaters 60 to 80 miles away and has never been out of range of a repeater in SoCal. Best of all, he is using the antenna I have, the Larsen dual band half wave length. I couldn't wait to see his installation and after the breakfast we went out into the parking lot to see his rig. The radio was installed under the driver's seat and he had remoted the head to the top center of the dash. So far, so good. However, the antenna was installed on the passenger's side of the front of the hood via a lip mount. Technically sound with excellent performance, but I couldn't get by the appearance. His CB antenna was installed on the spare tire mount and he said that he had never experienced interference on either radio. So, we know of one location to install a half wave length antenna that will provide excellent performance.
Is it form follows function -or- function follows form? Back to the drawing board. I want it all - good performance without distracting from the lines of the vehicle. Silly me.

Of course with an all mode/all band radio like yours, as far as mobile performance goes nothing can touch a screwdriver antenna......IF, (and it's a big IF for sure) you can afford one, and IF you don't mind the size. They are fantastic antennas but it's been very hard for me to get past the size of the darn things.

Another option, like I posted above are the "Ham Stick" antennas. Check them out here: http://www.hamstick.com/9106.htm

And to hear what others have to say about them go here:
http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/19

Ham Sticks are a very strong low profile antenna. And the best part they are pretty inexpensive. As far as performance goes, pretty much the only difference between running a Ham Stick over a screwdriver antenna would be that when you want to change bands, you'd have to stop the vehicle and physically change the stinger.

A good friend of mine in Santa Barbara CA. did not have a 40m antenna for his base in the shack. But he did have a 40m Ham Stick hooked up to his van in his driveway. We were able to have a very nice qso one evening on 40m.....him in his van in his driveway in CA. and me on my base in Alaska. It was very good conditions that night, and you can't expect that all the time. But it is a great way to get into some good coms, at a pretty affordable price.
It would at least be something to get you on the air asap, while possibily thinking about another option down the road.

73 and Good Luck......

Thanks for the info My friends use the screwdriver antennas NOT FO ME:eek2: if That was the only thing to use I Would not have a mobile at all, The hamstick sounds more like my stile I will check them out. I hang on 2m most of the time. Still need to upgrad my license gives me more time to think and the radio makes a great base staiton.:thumbsup:

I've had success mounting an antenna to a METAL off road light windshield mount. With some looking, I found a CB and a Ham antenna that looked close enough alike in thickness and length. One on each side looks "balanced".
Dave
KC9LEM