Hello all. At some point (hopefully soon) I'll be doing the radio install on my new Dodge 2500. I'm not opposed to drilling holes, but I have a cab-over aluminum skin/steel frame shell. The pic below is similar to my current set up, but is of my old Ford. Note where the mag mount antenna is.
I'm afraid that the shell will block signal to the rear of the truck, essentially acting as a J-pole if I put the antennas in the truck roof in front of the shell.
The top of the shell is way in the air, and an absolute bear to get at from the inside, so I thought about building a rack with an expanded metal base and using that as my ground plane. Or maybe building a bracket to mount in the rack mounting tabs on the side of the shell.
I intend to install two Kenwood commercial radios, one VHF, one UHF. I'll also need antennas for a scanner and a cell amp. I'm thinking of doing a dual band commercial antenna through a duplexer for the Kenwoods and a combined radio/scanner antenna in the stock antenna spot.
Any thoughts?
I'm afraid that the shell will block signal to the rear of the truck, essentially acting as a J-pole if I put the antennas in the truck roof in front of the shell.
The top of the shell is way in the air, and an absolute bear to get at from the inside, so I thought about building a rack with an expanded metal base and using that as my ground plane. Or maybe building a bracket to mount in the rack mounting tabs on the side of the shell.
I intend to install two Kenwood commercial radios, one VHF, one UHF. I'll also need antennas for a scanner and a cell amp. I'm thinking of doing a dual band commercial antenna through a duplexer for the Kenwoods and a combined radio/scanner antenna in the stock antenna spot.
Any thoughts?