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102 whip .
- Thread starter Rkonrade
- Start date
yes it will be enough unless your bed is all rusted or corroded.
It will be more directional though then it would if it was mounted on the roof.
the direction with the most metal underneath it will be the favored direction of your signal.
so, if you mount it to the drivers side rear corner, you will get out a bit better toward the passenger side front corner.
now, this doesn't mean that you will only reach 1 mile out the back corner of the truck and 50 miles in the favored direction, but it does mean that if you would like to try to help your signal in one particular direction, you can point your truck a certain way in order to do that.
the best things you can do for your mobile installs is to put a common mode choke right at the feedpoint of the antenna, and to bond the different sections of your vehicle together with 1 inch wide copper braid strap. (dont bother using wire, it won't do the job well) bond the hood to the firewall, bond both the cab and bed to the frame, bond the doors to the cab, and bond the exhaust pipe to the frame right near the end of the pipe.
here is a link to some snap on chokes that make the common mode choke easy:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Palomar-En...hash=item2ceb82cd39:m:m-wJ51yopcNoX6gN5D7Vzfg
the copper braid can be found in many places.
hope this helps.
LC
It will be more directional though then it would if it was mounted on the roof.
the direction with the most metal underneath it will be the favored direction of your signal.
so, if you mount it to the drivers side rear corner, you will get out a bit better toward the passenger side front corner.
now, this doesn't mean that you will only reach 1 mile out the back corner of the truck and 50 miles in the favored direction, but it does mean that if you would like to try to help your signal in one particular direction, you can point your truck a certain way in order to do that.
the best things you can do for your mobile installs is to put a common mode choke right at the feedpoint of the antenna, and to bond the different sections of your vehicle together with 1 inch wide copper braid strap. (dont bother using wire, it won't do the job well) bond the hood to the firewall, bond both the cab and bed to the frame, bond the doors to the cab, and bond the exhaust pipe to the frame right near the end of the pipe.
here is a link to some snap on chokes that make the common mode choke easy:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Palomar-En...hash=item2ceb82cd39:m:m-wJ51yopcNoX6gN5D7Vzfg
the copper braid can be found in many places.
hope this helps.
LC
I ran a 102" in the corner of my old dodge for years. I grounded the mount directly to the frame though as I was running big powa back then. Great SWR, and I actually didn't find it as directional as I though it would be. Definitely had a stronger signal towards the front of the truck than the back though.
Big Kahuna, did you have your 102" whip on the bumper or was it up on the top of the bed rail near the tailgate?
Put a metal tool box mounted to the bed of the truck and mount your antenna on that.
You get additional secure storage and a good mount for your antenna.
You get additional secure storage and a good mount for your antenna.
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That is how mine is mounted works great!!!
Bond the toolbox to the truck box and truck box (all 4 corners) to the frame.
Just a suggestion if the op has SWR issues. If everything is bonded, he will have better ground plane.
I've never had to do any extra bonding and had a good match. 1.3 or less. Guess I've been lucky.
I've never had to do any extra bonding and had a good match. 1.3 or less. Guess I've been lucky.
RT431, I just get curious when folks make claims, and then I tend to ask questions about their experiences. I what to hear what they learned as a result of their bonding. I haven't made up my mind about this issues.
Vehicle construction was obviously different back in the 70's and 80's when I was working my radio in my truck. I did some bonding back then, but I never saw any difference, as best I could tell. The same stories were going around and some just told me I did something wrong...if I didn't see a difference.
Vehicle construction was obviously different back in the 70's and 80's when I was working my radio in my truck. I did some bonding back then, but I never saw any difference, as best I could tell. The same stories were going around and some just told me I did something wrong...if I didn't see a difference.
Just to clear up a common misconception.
The metal in the vehicle is not the ground plane.
The actual ground plane is the earth under the vehicle.