Antenna location thoughts?

[338_MtRushmore]

I'm going to be mounting a screwdriver antenna on a gull wing cross bed toolbox. Obviously it will be centered left/right, but does it make any difference if it is centered fore/aft? Would it be better to be further from the cab and have no tool box under the rear of the antenna, or be closer to the cab but have metal directly underneath the rear of the antenna? It's going to have 6 or 7 feet of bed behind it no matter what, but I have no idea how the elevation of the ground plane effects things.

It's not really something I can just move around and see what works best. Yes the mount will be strong enough, and I should be able to bond the toolbox well enough I think.

 

[Slowmover]

I think BREEDLOVE has a bed/front/center mount which would be worth considering. Sccoch the toolbox back a little (if the bigger brains are okay with next-to-cab on the lower portion).

Frankly, nearly every screwdriver I’ve seen has been bedside or corner/rear.

 

[338_MtRushmore]

I think BREEDLOVE has a bed/front/center mount which would be worth considering. Sccoch the toolbox back a little (if the bigger brains are okay with next-to-cab on the lower portion).

Frankly, nearly every screwdriver I’ve seen has been bedside or corner/rear.

Breedlove only has a stake pocket and hitch mount for the scorpion antennas. I already have a folding mount made up, I just need to decide where it will be mounted.

 

[Crawdad]

May I recommend a read-thru of K0bg.com for lots of great mobile antenna mounting do's and don'ts.

73

 

[338_MtRushmore]

May I recommend a read-thru of K0bg.com for lots of great mobile antenna mounting do's and don'ts.

73

Unfortunately it isn't a whole lot of help for specifics. It more of a general guideline. He doesn't discuss my particular question because he says to mount the antenna on the driver's side, not in the center of a pickup.

 

[Crawdad]

Unfortunately it isn't a whole lot of help for specifics. It more of a general guideline.

Interesting..........
I found K0bg.com/install to have some detailed tool box install info.

 

[338_MtRushmore]

Interesting..........
I found K0bg.com/install to have some detailed tool box install info.

There is a lot of info there, I just assumed it would be under "antenna mounts." A search came up empty, but maybe I will scroll around a bit this evening.

 

[338_MtRushmore]

Interesting..........
I found K0bg.com/install to have some detailed tool box install info.

I just can't find any details. This is all I can find:

"Bed boxes are often used as antenna mounts, although there are better solutions. If you do use a bed box, make sure they are properly bonded to the bed. If in doubt, run short (!) bonding straps to the bed on both sides of the box. And don't mount the antenna in the center! if you think about this for a moment, you'll figure out why you shouldn't."

Is there more than this somewhere?

 

[338_MtRushmore]

I guess I don't feel so dumb for asking since nobody else knows the answer either. I will spit the extremes and shoot for center.

 

[Slowmover]

I guess I don't feel so dumb for asking since nobody else knows the answer either. I will spit the extremes and shoot for center.

Found pics of any installs similar?

 

[338_MtRushmore]

Found pics of any installs similar?

I have, but just because someone did it doesn't make it efficient. There are some terrible installs around. I've never mounted an antenna anywhere other than the roof. You would think someone has done some modeling or testing for the most efficient location other than the roof.

Maybe the gooseneck hitch would be the best place, I don't really know. It seems most people mount their antenna in a convenient spot, including K0BG.

 

[Slowmover]

I have, but just because someone did it doesn't make it efficient. There are some terrible installs around. I've never mounted an antenna anywhere other than the roof. You would think someone has done some modeling or testing for the most efficient location other than the roof.

Maybe the gooseneck hitch would be the best place, I don't really know. It seems most people mount their antenna in a convenient spot, including K0BG.

I wholly agree.

Had I been asked I’d have said bed corner rear followed by bed side. IOW, what I’ve seen (on road and in pics).

That said, I know that “convenience” rates highest for most men. Skews the data. The Antenna Mount Efficiency charts I’ve seen relate to 11M, and I’d assume (maybe a mistake) they apply here.

The mounts which bolt to bed floor appear the most impressive for a screwdriver.

Plus, room for tuner, shunt, etc is in play.

I’ve seen where a toolbox is used for those PLUS amp. Still seems a “convenience” compromise (bond).

k0bg picture gallery is useful. Maybe also at Scorpion and other high-end antennas websites?

How one uses the pickup is a major concern (8’ bed on mine not available what with a Leer bed topper in use). On-road “ready” or stationary-only another factor.

Contributor BJRadioNut has posted pics of a bed-side mount, IIRC, several times. Might be that he and others have tried several locations (or are familiar with the installations of others).

.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

All I can say it that the further the antenna is away from the cab the better and that mounting on toolboxes is not the greatest idea due to grounding.

 

[338_MtRushmore]

If mounting on the toolbox is a no go, the only other option that could be better is the center of the bed in the gooseneck receiver. I have an 8' bed, and the gooseneck hitch is centered in the bed. If I remove the silver box, and install the black box behind the cab, will the black box being there have more than a tiny negative impact on the ground plane? The tailgate would be 48" from the antenna, and 37" between antenna and black box. It wouldn't be a big deal to offset the mount 6" to be centered between the tailgate and box. I assume this would be ideal?

This is assuming that CK's comment about being furthest from the cab has some limit to it. We can all agree (I hope) that hanging an antenna 2 feet behind the bumper would be terribly inefficient. Maybe I should cheat it closer to the tailgate than the cab? Heck, I don't know