GMRS antenna on smaller vehicles

[jadmt]

my buddy has an mxt105 midland and he just took a small 2"x2" square of thin steel and used double sided tape to tape it to his roof. He uses the small magnetic mounted antenna that comes with the radio and I have the same radio and I have a piece of clear 3m tape on my roof so the magnet does not scratch my paint and they come in crystal clear for several miles away. both are right on the edge of the roof above the driver's side door.

 

[DaveInDenver]

my buddy has an mxt105 midland and he just took a small 2"x2" square of thin steel and used double sided tape to tape it to his roof. He uses the small magnetic mounted antenna that comes with the radio and I have the same radio and I have a piece of clear 3m tape on my roof so the magnet does not scratch my paint and they come in crystal clear for several miles away. both are right on the edge of the roof above the driver's side door.

LOL, the sheet metal on modern vehicles is so thin that regular NMO mounts barely can clamp without dimpling, not to mention seem like they'd bend up in a stiff breeze. So I reinforced the underside of my roof with something similar. I ended up using a little bit of conductive epoxy rather than tape, though.



A side note about mag mounts. I get why you used the clear tape but it's dirt and grit working its way under that cause the damage. It seems solid but they actually vibrate and rock a little with the whip, it's like a little disc sander.

So you probably should periodically remove the mount to clean it regardless of the additional film. They aren't really designed to be a permanent mounted thing so there's no attempt to seal them from doing it.

Maybe, if I understand, the way you've done it (adhesive down?) will be better. But even that, I dunno. I have 3M clear on the leading edge of my hood that looks like crap now 10 years on from when the P.O. put it on. It left a dulled surface when it started peeling and has to be removed that isn't much better looking than the rest of the unprotected hood that has had regular washes, touch-up and wax. I'm not convinced it helped in the long run. I suppose it did prevent rock chips, though.

 

[SBSYNCRO]

I'm running a Wouxun KG-1000G with a Midland 6db antenna (5/8 wave, I believe). I made a mount for the antenna at the rear center of my Jeep's roof by extending a steel plate off the Rhino roof rack. I'm also running an RFI CDQ7195 LTE antenna over a folding RFI bull bar mount for signal to my Cel-Fi Go M LTE booster (also on a steel plate mounted to the Rhino rack). When in thick cover, I drop the LTE antenna and swap the GMRS antenna for a 1/4 wave antenna that is about 6" tall.

So far, I've been really impressed with the performance of the radio/antenna combo. On a recent trip back from the Sierras, I was able to hit another member of our group from about 25 miles away at the gas station in Mojave while I was coming down the long grade. And he was on a 5-watt hand held.

 

[Chorky]

LOL, the sheet metal on modern vehicles is so thin that regular NMO mounts barely can clamp without dimpling, not to mention seem like they'd bend up in a stiff breeze. So I reinforced the underside of my roof with something similar. I ended up using a little bit of conductive epoxy rather than tape, though.

I greatly despise mag mounts. I also dislike lip mounts because then you have a wire hanging loose that still has to go through the body somewhere. Permenant mounts IMO are much better. The biggest issues are 1) finding the right place to mount it, 2) finding an actual mount that works (for some reason it's impossible to find a 90 degree type mount similar to the ball mounts for a CB), and 3) making sure that the place you plan to mount it will work for ever. This third reason is why I'm always asking questions. Have not yet settled on the place to mount the GMRS and cell extender, and want to be extra sure before drilling any holes. Also have not been able to find, in the 3 years I have looked) somethign similar to a ball style CB mount that will work for GMRS or cell extenders.

I suppose one could mount on the flat spot of the front fender of jeeps - but that seems like it would look very weird. not to mention the constant threat of rocks, mud, road salt, etc.... I dont think that would work well in the long run.

I had also thought about using a NMO mount on the drivers side pannel just in front of the windshield. But if I understand correctly that not only really affects the radio wave distribution (how do you make those schematics by the way), but also seems just too close to my body to be safe. I had far too many instances of being drieclty next to a high watt military radio during transmission and prefer not to go there again.... Sometimes you just cant worry about things like long term problems when immediate threats are far worse.

 

[Chorky]

I'm running a Wouxun KG-1000G with a Midland 6db antenna (5/8 wave, I believe). I made a mount for the antenna at the rear center of my Jeep's roof by extending a steel plate off the Rhino roof rack. I'm also running an RFI CDQ7195 LTE antenna over a folding RFI bull bar mount for signal to my Cel-Fi Go M LTE booster (also on a steel plate mounted to the Rhino rack). When in thick cover, I drop the LTE antenna and swap the GMRS antenna for a 1/4 wave antenna that is about 6" tall.

So far, I've been really impressed with the performance of the radio/antenna combo. On a recent trip back from the Sierras, I was able to hit another member of our group from about 25 miles away at the gas station in Mojave while I was coming down the long grade. And he was on a 5-watt hand held.

Not a bad idea. I dont have a roof rack however... And I would question how benificial it is to be so high considering the roof is just fiberglass.... Although, it does look like the rest of your body acts as a ground pane a little better with the body below the antenna rather than just directly on the side if the antenna was on a corner. It looks like you just drilled a small hole in the top for wire routing? I also plan to be taking my top off more often next summer...so not sure thats a solid plan. But I do like what you have going on.

 

[SBSYNCRO]

Not a bad idea. I dont have a roof rack however... And I would question how benificial it is to be so high considering the roof is just fiberglass.... Although, it does look like the rest of your body acts as a ground pane a little better with the body below the antenna rather than just directly on the side if the antenna was on a corner. It looks like you just drilled a small hole in the top for wire routing? I also plan to be taking my top off more often next summer...so not sure thats a solid plan. But I do like what you have going on.

I never remove the top - too much dust!

Also getting the antenna up high clears it from attenuation cause by the body metal and all the passenger cars. I used to have it down lower and would notice a big drop in signal when in traffic (such as passing through LA traffic on the way to the desert).

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Chorky]

my buddy has an mxt105 midland and he just took a small 2"x2" square of thin steel and used double sided tape to tape it to his roof. He uses the small magnetic mounted antenna that comes with the radio and I have the same radio and I have a piece of clear 3m tape on my roof so the magnet does not scratch my paint and they come in crystal clear for several miles away. both are right on the edge of the roof above the driver's side door.

LOL, the sheet metal on modern vehicles is so thin that regular NMO mounts barely can clamp without dimpling, not to mention seem like they'd bend up in a stiff breeze. So I reinforced the underside of my roof with something similar. I ended up using a little bit of conductive epoxy rather than tape, though.

View attachment 679799

A side note about mag mounts. I get why you used the clear tape but it's dirt and grit working its way under that cause the damage. It seems solid but they actually vibrate and rock a little with the whip, it's like a little disc sander.

So you probably should periodically remove the mount to clean it regardless of the additional film. They aren't really designed to be a permanent mounted thing so there's no attempt to seal them from doing it.

Maybe, if I understand, the way you've done it (adhesive down?) will be better. But even that, I dunno. I have 3M clear on the leading edge of my hood that looks like crap now 10 years on from when the P.O. put it on. It left a dulled surface when it started peeling and has to be removed that isn't much better looking than the rest of the unprotected hood that has had regular washes, touch-up and wax. I'm not convinced it helped in the long run. I suppose it did prevent rock chips, though.

Still have not found a mounting solution I like very much. So I'm considering this idea. However, I really want to take the top off at times in the summer. So if I put a metal plate under the roof and mounted it to the roll bars - woudl that suffice? then I would have a surface to mount the antenna to when the top is off. It would mean probably a good 4 or maybe 6 inches between the metal plate and antenna when it is mounted on the fiberglass roof. Not sure if that would cause any problems?

As for the 102 incher for the CB. It's just going to stay in the old school passenger side location since I have a ball mount drilled through the body.

 

[Chorky]

From all I have looked up, this is an appropriate meter for checking wiring quality to the antenna for GMRS. Correct?

Amazon.com: Power SWR Meter Digital VHF UHF Power SWR Meter and Frequency Counter - HF RF Meter HAM Two-Way Radio (PM-100W) : Electronics

 

[DaveInDenver]

From all I have looked up, this is an appropriate meter for checking wiring quality to the antenna for GMRS. Correct?

Amazon.com: Power SWR Meter Digital VHF UHF Power SWR Meter and Frequency Counter - HF RF Meter HAM Two-Way Radio (PM-100W) : Electronics

Says:

- Frequency Range: COVER - 125MHz~525MHz

So that means it'll cover amateur radio 2m, 1.25m and 70cm bands as well as GMRS.

 

[dbhost]

On my now long gone CJ7, the 102" whip was mounted on a spring, and a ProComm stud mount through a purpose built antenna bracket / spare tire stop from one of the big Jeep shops. Probably Quadratec. Obviously quite directional, but man the RX/TX was awesome with that setup as the SWR would dial straight in.

The regular radio antenna was on the drivers side front fender just below the cowl in front of the door opening as is pretty common on these, was probably factory that way...

IF I had to do a GMRS on a rig like that, one of those clamp mounts to the inner fender lip where the hood meets the fender would do the trick, or even just drill and mount to the other side fender from the radio antenna. Not so close as to booger SWRs...