Mobile 3RD Brake Light Antenna Mount

[Recon]

Antenna installations look great

But....garage looks way too neat and uncluttered.

The base of the antennas are not higher than the roof and they are not centered on the roof but the VSWR, transmit and receive are fantastic.

 

[Slowmover]

Antenna installations look great

But....garage looks way too neat and uncluttered.

He hired some neighbor kids and made a plea for visual logic after XX dollars offered.

 

[TheRealPorkchop]

 

[Recon]

View attachment 33734

In this photo you can see the base / coil of the antenna does not protrude above the roof and it does not degrade / alter the 1.3:1 VSWR and the transmit & receive. Would the antenna produce better results if it was located in the center of the roof? I will never know because "it's not broken and I'm not fixing it"!

 

[RT431]

I looked at that mount awhile back, but couldn't justify the price.

Btw, looks good.

 

[Recon]

I looked at that mount awhile back, but couldn't justify the price.

Btw, looks good.

I had taken a lot of time to decide if I should spend that kind of money but I had taken the risk and ordered it and I'm glad I did. These are my 2018 and 2019 trucks and contrary to the majority, I was not going to install the antennas in the center of the roof for a CB radio. If it was detrimental to family safety and communication, I would have considered installing an antenna in the center of the roof, but my cell phone has more coverage than the CB radio.
For me, it is not a big deal that the coil is not higher than the roof and the antenna does not have the "perfect" ground plane surface, but the VSWR is well within the recommended range and it works for me.

 

[Recon]

I installed the Predator on No.2 truck for display purpose only, to show the coil is above the roof with the 17" shaft and to show the distance between the cab and antenna shaft. This truck does not leave the garage during the winter.
Top photo shows the taper of the cab in relation to the vertical line of the antenna shaft.
Bottom photo shows the six-inch space between the cab and the antenna shaft.
I had this set-up on truck No.1 and the VSWR was 1.2:1 to 1.3:1 and I decided to remove the Predator and leave the Laird antenna with the brake light mount.
Tomorrow I will re-install the Predator on No.1 truck and compare it with the Laird antenna. It will be interesting to see if the cab will degrade the transmit and receive.

Correction! The shaft on the Predator is 22" long, not 17" long. The 27" long shaft would definitely raise the coil higher above the roof but I'm staying with the 22'.
A six-foot piece of PVC pipe with threaded end caps is a perfect storage container for the Predator when I remove it and toss it in the bed of the truck.