Antenna mounting options

Sean Slavin

Sean Slavin

Adventurist
Planning out radio (CB and HAM) installs and I'm trying to figure out the best locations for antenna mounting.

Cruising around the Right Channel Radios site and trying to understand all the mount options for CB. I'll be going with a Midland 75-822 as I had one in my FJ and like the compact size. Mount the antenna with a hood bracket or use a NGP mount on the side of the topper shell? Maybe the front bumper?

For the HAM, I really have no idea this time around. Through the roof NMO mount? On a bumper? On a roof rack?

Right now, I'm leaning towards just trying to figure out the CB. I've got an FT-270 HT that I can use for HAM on the trail while I study for my General.
 
Technically speaking, the ideal location for both antennas is dead center on a metal roof. /nerdtalk

We ran CB and HAM like this on the Ranger, with an 18" gap between the antennas, and range was pretty uniform in all directions. NMO is going to be the most durable holes-in-the-roof option. Good HAM antennas will fold over for obstacles, sadly none of the CB antennas that perform well have that feature.


For HAM, I'm fond of Diamond antennas and their integrated mount/cable options. If you're running a good antenna it won't much matter where it's located as long as a fair portion clears the roofline. I'm actually in the process of moving mine from the center of the roof to the rear bumper with about 30% above the roofline. That extra ~1-mile of range (pushing past 40 miles) just isn't worth the hassle of the added height.

CB is finnicky at best, but if you're going General I'm sure you know that. :D I've found doing a proper tuning after the install (of both radio and antenna) is more important than location. CB is very susceptible to both objects in the way (cab of the truck), and becoming directionally biased—your range will pull toward the center of the truck, so if it's on the driver's side hood you'll have noticeably better range to the passenger side rear and worse range to the driver's side front. You'll probably see a good 20% performance difference between dead-center roof mounting and hood or bumper mounting with CB.
 
Nothing wrong with nerdtalk. As much as I would prefer full time photography, nerdtalk is still my day job... ;)

I had a foldable Diamond antenna on the FJ and was very happy with it. Foldability doesn't matter with the Tundra as it sits taller than the FJ by a few inches. No chance of it ever getting into places the FJ did but I will definitely get another Diamond. I like the idea of NMO roof mounts but I don't know what I'll be doing for a rack yet. My luck, I'd put holes in the roof, find a rack a I like then find out that the cross bars and holes don't line up.

Exp One should have the rear bumper to me by the end of the month. I bet I could find a spot on the swing outs for either one or both antennas.

CB finnicky? No way. You don't say. I have an SWR meter so I'll definitely get it dialed in.

Thanks for the input.
 
For close communication on trail rides you can use a splitter. Your factory fm antenna becomes the cb antennae. The range is not as good as a tradional whip but it is one less thing bolted to your truck. I've have used these splitters in two different rigs with good results. It depends on what you want he CB for.

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Al Swope said:
For close communication on trail rides you can use a splitter. Your factory fm antenna becomes the cb antennae. The range is not as good as a tradional whip but it is one less thing bolted to your truck. I've have used these splitters in two different rigs with good results. It depends on what you want he CB for.
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Well. Huh. That's an interesting approach. CB would be trail use only. I really don't have any other need for it. Maybe a weather check but I could do that over HAM too. Might have to look into that. Thanks for bringing that up.
 
Cool. Once you pull out the factory radio, just make the connections and zip tie the whole works up under the dash
 
Just FYI, while a little extra ground is helpful, the Larsen NMO270 is a "Ground Neutral" antenna, and can be mounted just about anywhere. Mine is mounted on a ditch light bracket in front of my windshield.

With any HAM antenna, altitude is everything, 360° clearance is very important as well, as your vehicle will act as a reflector of signal. Place it low on your right front, and your signal will be very strong outward in that direction, but those on your left rear will receive a weaker signal. Not much of a problem if you know this and work it to your advantage when you need to.
 
BoldAdventure said:
I just installed a Larsen NMO2/70B with Larsen NMOK for my Yaesu FT 8900R I installed. Dead center of the cab.
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I've been following your build here and on a few other sites. It's finally time for me to get around to putting my old Yaesu FT-7900R in my 2016 Ram 2500 Crew Cab and I'm going with an NMO mount in the roof as well.

Did you happen to take any pics of the install of yours? Do you recall what was involved in dropping the headliner enough to safely drill the hole and easily pull the coax down the pillar?

Thanks in advance.
 
GoXplore said:
I've been following your build here and on a few other sites. It's finally time for me to get around to putting my old Yaesu FT-7900R in my 2016 Ram 2500 Crew Cab and I'm going with an NMO mount in the roof as well.

Did you happen to take any pics of the install of yours? Do you recall what was involved in dropping the headliner enough to safely drill the hole and easily pull the coax down the pillar?

Thanks in advance.
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You don't need to drop the headliner at all.

http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/laird-technologies-hs34-1647.html

The good NMO mounts with cable, such as the Larsen NMO-FME (You'll also need an FME to PL259 adapter) mounts from above with a open end wrench or crescent wrench and a pair of Snap Ring pliers. You'll fish the cable through, being careful to make sure you go ABOVE and BEHIND any airbag deployment areas, many times this is easily accessible by pulling down the weather stripping from the door at the headliner, and pulling down lightly on the headliner to access the cable. The headliner is even more forgiving if you remove things like grab handles and sun visors that are holding it to the roof in the area you're trying to pull the cable through.

It should also be noted that I uses a semi-rigid wire fish to get the cable from the hole to the edge of the headliner.
 
GoXplore said:
I've been following your build here and on a few other sites. It's finally time for me to get around to putting my old Yaesu FT-7900R in my 2016 Ram 2500 Crew Cab and I'm going with an NMO mount in the roof as well.

Did you happen to take any pics of the install of yours? Do you recall what was involved in dropping the headliner enough to safely drill the hole and easily pull the coax down the pillar?

Thanks in advance.
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Mostly what Mitch said. On our trucks, if you don't have the sunroof, there is a huge empty cavity up there, remove the rear 3rd brake light and you can fish the wire to the back of the headliner and then drop it down the inside rear pillar. No need to drop the headliner.

I used a step bit to safely drill my hole. And then a deburring tool and some sandpaper to expose bare metal.

I used a Larsen NMO-k mount, this one: https://www.gigaparts.com/larsen-nmok.html

No adapter needed for my FT-7900R radio. Used this antenna Larsen NMO2/70B https://www.gigaparts.com/larsen-nmo2-70b.html
 
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BoldAdventure said:
I used a Larsen NMO-k mount, this one: https://www.gigaparts.com/larsen-nmok.html
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It should be noted that that cable has no end on it, and it requires cutting the coax properly and attaching the provided PL259 connector, which isn't easy for someone who's never done it.

The cable I linked to has the tiny FME connector on it, and fits easily through the roof hole and easily pulled between the headliner. Once it's run how you want it, put the adapter on and you're finished. No soldering, no crimping.
 
Thanks, gents. I was ahead of the game it seems as I had ordered a Larsen NMOKHFUD a few days ago from Amazon and it arrived yesterday. I also decided to upgrade to an Icom ID-4100 radio and relegate the Yaesu to use as a "shack" 2m here at the house.

With some luck and a little free time, I should be installing it all this weekend!
 
Chazz Layne said:
or HAM, I'm fond of Diamond antennas and their integrated mount/cable options. If you're running a good antenna it won't much matter where it's located as long as a fair portion clears the roofline. I'm actually in the process of moving mine from the center of the roof to the rear bumper with about 30% above the roofline. That extra ~1-mile of range (pushing past 40 miles) just isn't worth the hassle of the added height.

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I had a run of bad luck with Diamond antennas and have been running a Larsen NMO2/70B that has performed quite well, even getting branch slapped too often for my liking. The last Diamond antenna I had fell apart after some trail abuse, the Larsen has been tough, very tough through our abuse. If the OP mounts the antennas to the roof rack, be sure to have a good ground from the antenna to the rack and that the rack is well grounded. I have a ground strap going from my rack to my roof just for that purpose (since all of my antennas are mounted to my roof rack).
 
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