Specific Question - 2m antenna, ARB Mount

[abeaudin1971]

Hi folks,

New Amateur here in Canada - I have a double cab tacoma that I really really don't want to drill a hole in the roof of.

I do however have an ARB bullbar on the front with two built in antenna mounts.

I'm planning on using 2M in the truck with a permanently mounted mobile - I have a Wouxun handheld for now - 5W output.

There are threads for recommending 2M antennas but most seem to focus on lip mounts or NMO mounts.

I have a flip pac so the lip mounts will get in the way just like the roof mount will..

For range, I'm likely looking to achieve 30 to 40 miles.

Anyone running a 2M antenna on a bull bar?

Recommendations?

Thanks
-a

 

[gary in ohio]

Hi folks,

New Amateur here in Canada - I have a double cab tacoma that I really really don't want to drill a hole in the roof of.

I do however have an ARB bullbar on the front with two built in antenna mounts.

I'm planning on using 2M in the truck with a permanently mounted mobile - I have a Wouxun handheld for now - 5W output.


For range, I'm likely looking to achieve 30 to 40 miles.

30-40 miles is not achievable with a 5w hand held unless your using a repeater. Mobile mobile, figure 5-10 miles depending on your antenna location and other stations signal.

For pure performance and not taking into account "Aesthetics" the Hustler G6 mobile antenna would be the best. Its sometimes hard to find as a standalone mast but is often sold as the CGT-144 which includes an antenna mount. The antenna is a 5/8 over 5/8 wave antenna, is 7ft tall and mounts with 3/8x24 mounts that would work well with your ARB mount.

This is one of the best 2m antenna available, but is tall antenna and that scares off many folks.

 

[abeaudin1971]

Thanks Gary, I'll look into the antenna - 7 ft may be a bit high for me - at the moment, the 5W handheld is what I have but I'll be upgrading to a higher powered mobile - permanent mount - later in the year.

-a

 

[1911]

Bull bars are sometimes hard to get a good enough ground plane from, though the ARB has a lot of metal and it is close enough to the hood that should augment the ground plane. The antenna holes in the ARB are sized for a standard CB antenna BTW, you'll need to enlarge them for many (most?) 2m antennas. If it were mine, I would enlarge it enough to use an NMO mount; then it would be easy to change antennas. You'll want to get or borrow and antenna analyzer to see what kind of SWR you can get with whatever antenna you want to try. If you don't have enough ground plane there for a 5/8-wave antenna to tune up, then try a 1/2-wave antenna, they are much more forgiving of poor ground plane.

+1 on the Hustler 5/8-wave as being a very good antenna. They also make a base-loaded 5/8-wave that is only about 50" tall that I have had excellent results with (mounted on the roof of my FJC). A good 1/2-wave antenna if you end up going that route is the Larsen NMO150 (be sure to specify 1/2-wave). I have one of these on the spare tire mount of my Land Cruiser (where there is not much ground plane) and it works very well.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Nope, it's not ideal to use a bull bar. Shrug. I had my Comet C767 on mine for long time for similar reasons as you, camper, bike racks, etc. It worked alright. I moved my VHF/UHF antenna to the roof and it definitely works better but it just takes a few minutes of it banging around on the bikes to seriously consider moving it back to the bull bar. Not to mention taking the antenna off and on every morning and evening pulling into the garage... I'm a firm believer in that you have to find a way to live with your radio installation daily to keep it fun. Find a mount that works for you and then do your best to optimize that spot.

The key with a bull bar is to scrape back the powder coat and get to steel under the mount. I also found that grounding the whole bumper to the frame helped tremendously. In my case I drilled a 1/4" hole on a part of the bumper down low to mount a length of braid to the truck frame. Use star washers to help bite into metal. It worked pretty well really. Best ever was about 75 miles talking between me mobile on I-70 just east of Grand Junction to another ham on the Moab Rim. That was with me pointed towards him, so with the worst aspect from a ground plane orientation.

 

[Borrego60]

Hi folks,

New Amateur here in Canada - I have a double cab tacoma that I really really don't want to drill a hole in the roof of.

I do however have an ARB bullbar on the front with two built in antenna mounts.

I'm planning on using 2M in the truck with a permanently mounted mobile - I have a Wouxun handheld for now - 5W output.

There are threads for recommending 2M antennas but most seem to focus on lip mounts or NMO mounts.

I have a flip pac so the lip mounts will get in the way just like the roof mount will..

For range, I'm likely looking to achieve 30 to 40 miles.

Anyone running a 2M antenna on a bull bar?

Recommendations?

Thanks
-a

I am running a dual band on a Sahara bar from ARB.I find it a good location. I also run with the use of a repeater so my range is extended.As far as simplex I have done 30-50 miles but I have or the other person has been in an elevated spot.Antenna is from Diamond and you do not have to drill a monster hole for the NMO. They make mounts for thick metal with a 3/8 hole designed for that purpose.

 

[abeaudin1971]

thanks for the responses folks - I've got some things to look at now and I'll get my dad to take a look this weekend as well - he's an amateur also.

I've seen some mounts I can use that shouldn't require expanding the mount hole size. Once I settle on what I'm going to use, I'll post up data and pics so someone else can see.

-a

 

[Mashurst]

I use a CB mount like this drilled out a tiny bit to fit one of these and this antenna. Mine is on my roof rack but I think a similar setup with the bulkhead adapter would work well on your bull bar with the built in tabs. I usta run a CB antenna on my bull bar back in the day with half a mount like the one I pointed out bolted on and I had good SWR with it. I don't think you will have ground plane issues. It wont be as good as a roof mount but it will work fine.