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Best antenna for lifted pick up truck !!!??
- Thread starter Mobiletruck-tech
- Start date
Question:if I place some 1/4 wave ground radials on the ground around my parked vehicle,would that provide a good ground plane for for my mobile mounted antenna that I would use my mobile to talk to locals/DX?
"Mobiletruck-tech"
I ran a Wilson Trucker 5000 with a 10" shaft mounted to the tool box in the middle. It worked marginal. The coil was almost level with the top of the truck and I could never get the SWR down below 2.0 and it never performed like my mag mount Wilson 5000 did. I even ran a copper braid ground to the mount and to my tool box. Still 2.0 SWR.
I ran the 102" whip and it performed great but was TOOOOOO TALL for the truck!! It took a beating and got bent.
So i'm back to the old Wilson 5000 mag mount and it still works great with a 1.2 SWR.
Good Luck!!
I ran a Wilson Trucker 5000 with a 10" shaft mounted to the tool box in the middle. It worked marginal. The coil was almost level with the top of the truck and I could never get the SWR down below 2.0 and it never performed like my mag mount Wilson 5000 did. I even ran a copper braid ground to the mount and to my tool box. Still 2.0 SWR.
I ran the 102" whip and it performed great but was TOOOOOO TALL for the truck!! It took a beating and got bent.
So i'm back to the old Wilson 5000 mag mount and it still works great with a 1.2 SWR.
Good Luck!!
Yep. I'm not from here though. I was just reading about that it's not a good idea to mount an antenna on a pole like that. Mounting it like on the roof makes the vehicle act like a capacitor with the ground the vehicle sits on as a groundplane. I'm changing from a K40 mag mount to a Sirio Performer 5000 and hard mount it.
I know I never had any good results with that trucker wilson 5000 mounted on the tool box. I tried different length shafts and whips. It was a night and day difference when I went back to the Wilson 5000 mag mount. Something just wasn't right.
This hobby is a learning experience!
Good Luck!!
This hobby is a learning experience!
Good Luck!!
"Question:if I place some 1/4 wave ground radials on the ground around my parked vehicle,would that provide a good ground plane for for my mobile mounted antenna that I would use my mobile to talk to locals/DX?"
It would make -some- difference but I don't think it would make all that much difference. If you'd put a lot of them down then it may help, but still, not a lot. Ever notice how you may hear things a bit more when on a bridge? That's partially because there's a lot of metal in that bridge which does make a difference. Dirt just isn't a very good conductor, it takes a lot more radials in/on dirt than if they were in the air.
As for the 'local'/'DX' thingy, that's propagation mainly.
- 'Doc
It would make -some- difference but I don't think it would make all that much difference. If you'd put a lot of them down then it may help, but still, not a lot. Ever notice how you may hear things a bit more when on a bridge? That's partially because there's a lot of metal in that bridge which does make a difference. Dirt just isn't a very good conductor, it takes a lot more radials in/on dirt than if they were in the air.
As for the 'local'/'DX' thingy, that's propagation mainly.
- 'Doc
How good a 'ground' is depends on it's conductivity. Moisture isn't the only factor, it's also what the soil is composed of. Any while wet dirt is more conductive than dry dirt, it isn't all that conductive when compared to metals. Getting metal in the ground does increase it's conductivity, but really only in the close proximity of that metal. So putting down lots of radials is the 'answer' to that. Copper plating the dirt surrounding an antenna is even nicer! Unfortunately, it isn't all that practical. Testing or measuring the conductivity of your 'dirt' is one way of finding out how 'much' grounding or many radials would be satisfactory. That's not all that easy to do though. It's commonly done with a thingy called a "megar"(sp). I haven't seen one in a lot of years, good luck finding one. It produces a very high voltage/current which is then measured over a set distance. Then the conductivity of the soil can be figured from that. And just to cover all bases, the @#$ things are not toys, you can hurt yourself very easily with one. They're also used to determine the break down voltage/currents of insulation.
- 'Doc
- 'Doc
HAHA Ya I got hit with a SMALL megger a couple of times. Probably has something to do with why I'm a little off
We use them to find insulation problems with high current cables on electical mining equipment.op:
We use them to find insulation problems with high current cables on electical mining equipment.
op:
If you mount it on the tool box make sure the box is well bonded to the bed/frame. This can cause problems if not.
I would go with the bed rail and also make sure the bed is well bonded to the frame.
I run a 96 inch fiberglass whip on the rear corner of my truck and it works well....there is only a small difference from going from the roof to the bed.
I do not recommend mounting on the bumper, it is about the worst place to put it.
I am not saying it will not work there, it has been done many times, but so much of the antenna is in the shadow of the truck that you will lose what you gain from running a longer antenna.
73
Jeff
I would go with the bed rail and also make sure the bed is well bonded to the frame.
I run a 96 inch fiberglass whip on the rear corner of my truck and it works well....there is only a small difference from going from the roof to the bed.
I do not recommend mounting on the bumper, it is about the worst place to put it.
I am not saying it will not work there, it has been done many times, but so much of the antenna is in the shadow of the truck that you will lose what you gain from running a longer antenna.
73
Jeff
So fa,r I've never had or heard of good results with an aluminum tool box, but a steel toolbox may work better. As for mounting it on the bed rail, wouldnt that have possible propagation problems? Wierd gain?