One antenna or four? - Page 2

stonestatue · 03-14-2008, 10:20 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Werewolfx

Nice looking van, I'd go with a mirror mount bracket on the drivers side right behind the drivers door, as high up as you can get it on the metal. Go with a wilson 5000 trucker, use a long enough shaft to get the whole coil above the roofline, and drill a hole to bring your coax in through. Use RG8x. Second choice would be a hood/fender lip mount on the drivers side..either with an angle cut to keep it perfectly vertical, or use a flat mount infront of the hood screwed to the top of the core support. Bring the coax in through the firewall/doghouse. You could mount on the passenger side behind the rear side door, but thats not an optimal location for use on the highway..Whatever you do, ground all your doors to the body, and your "hood" to the body..the braid from some old coax works great..Also, ground the exhaust to the unibody with some braid strap at each end of the vehicle. Subtle mods like these can help make up a LITTLE bit of the performance loss for going with a form over function antenna system..I'm going to attempt to attatch a couple of the pics I tagged with potential mounting locations. The yellow circles mark potential mounting locations.

Is that just for the CB antenna, or the scanner and ham antennas as well? I already considered mounting an antenna opposite the radio, or maybe even next to it.

Werewolfx · 03-14-2008, 10:27 PM

A good place to look at some mounts is http://www.premiere-electronics.net/

There are several that would work well on your van..Stainless is best, aluminum works pretty well too though..Firestik SS-204A or Firestik SS-274a mounts from that website might be good choices..Firestik SS-64AGM GM Sport Mirror Bracket MIGHT be a good choice too, but pay attention to what size antenna you put on it.. Try to spring for the "monster stud"..thats a good strong stud for mounting vertually any antenna you want.

Stay away from the fiberglass antennas ESPECIALLY the ones under 4 ft long, anything under that is going to be a very poor performer. If you REALLY want to use a fiberglass antenna, get a francis..they're the best of the fiberglass antennas..you'll need an external SWR meter to tune your setup no matter what you get. The wilson 2000 trucker is also a good choice for an antenna for 10/11 meter use..

Hope all that makes enough sense to be of some help.

Werewolfx · 03-14-2008, 10:29 PM

The ham depends on what band you're gonna be operating on..Those mounts are mainly for the CB(11 meter) and 10 meter ham antenna choices..Premiere has a couple of mobile scanner antennas that are roof mounted, they should work on a fiberglass roof and are fairly inconspicuous..

Werewolfx · 03-14-2008, 10:32 PM

A good place for LOADS of information regarding CB and ham radios, antennas, amps, etc is www.cbradioforum.com if anyone is interested in learning more..

stonestatue · 03-19-2008, 01:00 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Werewolfx

The ham depends on what band you're gonna be operating on..Those mounts are mainly for the CB(11 meter) and 10 meter ham antenna choices..Premiere has a couple of mobile scanner antennas that are roof mounted, they should work on a fiberglass roof and are fairly inconspicuous..

Where would you recommend I put the scanner antenna?

stonestatue · 03-19-2008, 01:10 AM

Also, I was looking into this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-MOBILE-SCANN...QQcmdZViewItem

It "adapts" the FM antenna already on most cars and allows it to be used with a scanner as well as the FM radio.

stonestatue · 03-19-2008, 03:07 PM

Nevermind the evaluation of the FM radio splicer. I checked out some reviews of it in an antenna forum, and they weren't favorable. I did find this link on the same forum though:

http://www.sti-co.com/antenna-produc...band-antennas/

This is a covert antenna designed to be used with police radios and FM radios.

http://www.sti-co.com/antenna-produc...ntenna-system/

This one is an antenna inside PVC pipe designed to be used as a luggage rack bar. Since I have a van, this would blend in perfectly.

Werewolfx · 03-23-2008, 01:15 PM

Be careful about putting multiple antennas that close (ie inside that pvc tube). For one, horizontal polarization for most transmitter omnidirectional antennas is BAD. Two, you put two antennas that close together, and you can have disasterous results for both radios. It would be alright for the scanner alone, but why bother? A big white (or you could paint it i suppose) pvc pipe mounted on the roof of your van is going to be just as conspicuous as a 15" tall scanner antenna, and you still need the other mounts for your CB and ham radios. I'd just use a cheapo rubber FM antenna from an auto parts store for your FM radio. They mount on your front fender and work pretty well. You would need to drill a 1/2"-7/8" hole depending on the antenna.

Werewolfx · 03-23-2008, 01:34 PM

Mount this antenna http://www.www.premiere-electronics.net/store/mor.html on the fiberglass roof for the scanner, and route the coax however you need (it only includes 12 feet, so keep that in mind). Scanners dont need a ground plane.

JC-S60 · 03-23-2008, 01:40 PM

Why not mount a metal plate (very thin) of 1 by 1 meter (or bigger) underneath the fiberglass roof and ground it to the body? Then mount your antennas on the roof (through the metal plate).

That will give the best performance and will look best...

Just an idea...

Good luck,
Joachim

kandyman676 · 03-23-2008, 07:56 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by stonestatue

Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Either way... I don't guess I mind the ability to scare people...

Nah, he would need to black out the windows, paint it white, and mark on some really fake company name. THEN be scared :-)

pir8radio · 03-24-2008, 07:17 PM

a good ham radio (10 meter) that can be converter to cb as well is an RCI 2970 or similar. The new cool thing is the UHF ham band. small antenna and lots of fm channels.

Werewolfx · 03-26-2008, 01:55 AM

The said metal plate will NOT be a good RF ground. It would perform similar to slapping a mag mount on a cookie sheet. Ideally, your vehicle would be one continuous piece of metal, no hinges or gaps or un-welded joints. Electrical ground and RF ground are not the same, thats why you need to ground your doors and hood to the body using ground straps, either pre-made or make your own from old RG-8 shield braid, not ordinary wire. You want to ground the exhaust at both ends to the vehicle chassis. Extra battery to body grounds are good for reducing alternator whine..Run the power and ground leads for your radio(s) straight to the battery, dont ground it to the body, and DEFINITELY don't use the lighter plug. Thats asking for interference, both rfi and tvi.