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Mobile Antenna Question

psycho

psycho

Running a special on our rooms!
Aug 25, 2006
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Floriduh
I personally have a 2014 F150 supercab 4x4 which has sheet metal body panels and the steel whip on the tool box works excellent.
A friend of mine has bought a nice 2016 F150 Crew Cab and the body panels are all aluminum.......should aluminum panels work just as well as sheet metal or would he be wasting his time?
I just didn't know what to tell him since he wants a setup that works as good as mine. anyone have any input.
Aluminum bodies seems to be the way auto manufacturers are heading.
 

psycho said:
I personally have a 2014 F150 supercab 4x4 which has sheet metal body panels and the steel whip on the tool box works excellent.
A friend of mine has bought a nice 2016 F150 Crew Cab and the body panels are all aluminum.......should aluminum panels work just as well as sheet metal or would he be wasting his time?

I just didn't know what to tell him since he wants a setup that works as good as mine. anyone have any input.
Aluminum bodies seems to be the way auto manufacturers are heading.
Click to expand...

Psycho,

A ground plane is a necessary part of a monopole antenna, often called a "vertical" since that's how they are usually mounted. These antennas are essentially half a dipole, with the other half being the electrical "mirror" of the antenna on the other side of the ground plane. The only requirement for the ground plane is that it conducts. The more conductive it is, the better. The bigger it is, the better.

Now it doesn't really matter on your vehicle is the ground plane is in metal or aluminum. What is REALLY important is that the coax shield of your coax cable is well grounded to the aluminum or metal surfaces RIGHT under the antenna.

  1. Keep your antenna as high as possible on your vehicle and at least 2/3 of the antenna above the rooftop.
  2. Keep your antenna as far as possible from ANY vertical metallic surfaces to avoid the RF to get blocked by it. RF do not pass very well through metallic surfaces.
  3. Ground your radio to your vehicle.
  4. Keep the antenna as low as possible to the ground surfaces that is right under the antenna.
Carl
 
And here I though aluminum was a type of metal. :whistle: Sheet metal is exactly that, a sheet of metal. That metal could be aluminum, copper, magnesium or any other metal however on vehicles it is usually sheet steel. I can't understand why people do not call aluminum metal. I have often been asked "Is that aluminum or metal?" My response has always been "Yes". :) My only concern about the new aluminum bodies is how well the pieces are bonded together and if electrical continuity was good between them. Manufacturers are starting to use new adhesives to bond panels and that may not be a good thing however it is nothing a few star washers and a few bonding straps cannot cure.
 
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Captain Kilowatt said:
And here I though aluminum was a type of metal. :whistle: Sheet metal is exactly that, a sheet of metal. That metal could be aluminum, copper, magnesium or any other metal however on vehicles it is usually sheet steel. I can't understand why people do not call aluminum metal. I have often been asked "Is that aluminum or metal?" My response has always been "Yes".
Click to expand...

It's because for a lot of people, "metal" is something that contains iron thus reacting to a magnet... So steel is what I was referring too.

Carl
 
Chameleon Antenna said:
It's because for a lot of people, "metal" is something that contains iron thus reacting to a magnet... So steel is what I was referring too.

Carl
Click to expand...

Yes but a lot of people will refer to stainless steel alloys that will not be attracted to a magnet as metal. Perhaps because it has the word "steel" attached to it. It is along the same line as "Is that wood or bamboo?" when asking about flooring. Yes I know that technically bamboo is a grass but most people don't know that and it is used as a wood in construction of various products.
 
Aluminium is a better conductor of RF than steel so it'll actually work better as a groundplane than a steel bodied vehicle would. The main problem comes from mechanical strength as aluminium is more pliable than steel so on some vehicles some load spreading may need to be done and it would be inadvisable to use solid antennas such as Firestiks as the wind resistance when driving places more stress on the mount than an antenna that flexes such as a stainless steel whip.
 
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M0GVZ said:
Aluminium is a better conductor of RF than steel so it'll actually work better as a groundplane than a steel bodied vehicle would. The main problem comes from mechanical strength as aluminium is more pliable than steel so on some vehicles some load spreading may need to be done and it would be inadvisable to use solid antennas such as Firestiks as the wind resistance when driving places more stress on the mount than an antenna that flexes such as a stainless steel whip.
Click to expand...


He has ordered a nice toolbox so we'll mount the antenna just like mine. Thanks for the replies everyone!
 
Captain Kilowatt said:
And here I though aluminum was a type of metal. :whistle: Sheet metal is exactly that, a sheet of metal. That metal could be aluminum, copper, magnesium or any other metal however on vehicles it is usually sheet steel. I can't understand why people do not call aluminum metal. I have often been asked "Is that aluminum or metal?" My response has always been "Yes". :) My only concern about the new aluminum bodies is how well the pieces are bonded together and if electrical continuity was good between them. Manufacturers are starting to use new adhesives to bond panels and that may not be a good thing however it is nothing a few star washers and a few bonding straps cannot cure.
Click to expand...


Aluminum is metal???? Learn something new every day. LOL
 
I and the guys I work with work with aluminum, brass, and stainless steel all day long and some of them still ask "Is it metal or aluminum " when asking about the make-up of something. LOL
 
psycho, that is why i use military/govenment style springs, they take impact but still keep the whip up and not laying back,,,,,the one i have got at a state surplus sale about 35 years ago,,,,the braid inside spring wont rust and break either,,,
 
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