MOBILE INSTALL: 579 Peterbilt

[Slowmover]

My $50 cophase harness. Secret ingredient noise & common mode reducer attached each end. 3.0” loops per The Alien.

In a post pic above, the antenna mounts shown are through-bolted. I’ll get brave enough to remove the nuts on one to see if it’s feasible to use a fishtape to pull the rats nest up to the mount from the interior.

12-wraps of RG8X thru a FT240-31 toroid ferrite. Barely.

Used ten feet of eighteen foot leg. (Will probably re-do these first).

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[skip searcher]

View attachment 27238 View attachment 27239

A view of the radio rig waiting for tech at Clays CB (Robert) to go over it with me. And basic bench test.

Rig sits on passenger seat.

Presently:

1). RigRunner 4005 45A
2). Galaxy99v2 Transceiver
3). RM ITALY 7505v Amp
4). MFJ 945 Tuner
5). West Mountain Radio ClearSpeaker
6). Rk-56 microphone.
7). Palomar 12V Filter
8). Palomar CMC Filter

(I’ll add more to this post — and more posts with questions inviting your advice or thoughts — as time permits).

Very impressive set up you have there sir

 

[Slowmover]

Very impressive set up you have there sir

Learn by doing. Read & re-read. Suffer the pangs and arrows of outrageous fortune.

Sitting at shipper wondering how bad it’ll be to to start down thru Chicagoland in another hour from well north, down, down into the maelstrom thence hopefully to emerge once around the lake into Michigan.

The outhouse of evil. Home to Jarrett, Obama, Rodham, Ruby, Giancana, and lesser minions. The Archetype of Corruption. Bubbles and Festers below the toilet lid.

And the Truckers reflect it. No matter where we’re from. It’s in the air.

It’ll be a fine time to stir that s-pot on 80/90. Covid Cookery for Un-Ending Miles of Big Trucks. On Friday Evening.

And, there’s no end of named groups to insult. Race, Country of Origin, Religion.

1). Crank the powah,
2). robot the voice,
3). aggravate with echo echo echo,
4). Rodger the Bip.

Put on the full armor of . . . .

Yea, though I walk thru the Valley of . . . .


The Dark Side is calling me.

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[Slowmover]

Very impressive set up you have there sir

Keeps me sane.

Despite other impressions.

Am determined to have a VG setup relative to the conditions faced.

Thx

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[Slowmover]

So, the saga of using the factory cab antenna mounts is near an end.

I worked up a cophase harness. CMC/RF Chokes. (Took four tries before I was satisfied. Equal lengths, was the thing per wrapping toroids).

Had hoped that I could use a fishtape to work that through from interior after disconnecting cheap factory coax.

Nope. Not an SO-239 type connector. Much, much smaller.

Should you get to where I was in the second picture you’ll want Vise-Grips to keep the bolt-plate on the interior side from disappearing. (It’s also RF bonded with a copper braid strap to the cab structure).

I started to take apart the exterior metal case, but decided I could at a later date use junkyard parts:

1). Modify a pair for this location.

2). Modify a second pair as basis for mirror-mounts. What I think Robert was starting with at Clays before that got shelved a year ago.

 

[Slowmover]

Here’s an example of XHD for a Freightliner exterior mirror mount. Owner supplies stud and coax.

This is strong enough for a 108” whip. But would need some forward tilt to bring it under 14’ when underway (even with wind load; seven foot antennas are pushing luck). It was sold at BELLS & Bobs CB. Info may still be up.



Here is the Procomm mount for latest model Cascadia. Post 2017. Note tilt. Running s pair of 7’ Skipshooters worked well for me out on the Great Plains.

Both shown as are models for something for the 579 at a future date.



Here is the TOP GUN TEC SS Mount that’s a better version of the Wilson aluminum mounts sold at truckstop. The Bird Perch. Overall, good enough for most top load antennas.

All three of these fit only Freightliner Cascadia. Nothing available for the 579 Pete.
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[Slowmover]

New arrangement:

This is the SS Top Gun Tec (Bobs CB) Z-Mount which fits the 579 passenger door spot mirror. I’ve left the plastic-cased mirror off till I get home. Need to remove paint from bolt hole flanges which protrude slightly.

Mines marked “Wilson” but it’s now the K40 MM-MAX aluminum antenna mount I’ve installed onto the above. I must have bought the pair around 1998. No telling how many miles.

I buzzed it with the Dremel and Mojo Polish when last home. Figured this day would come. Only rust was on serrated washer under beehive.

I’ve sometimes had the mounts aimed backwards as above. Keep insect build-up out of the Allen-head clamp screws.

Used clear-packing tape this time over those. View shown is from rear (Coax protected from hits).

I ran 8-turns of WILSON Mini-8 thru a fat 3/4” ID snap-over Mix 31 ferrite and covered all with self-amalgamating tape. Used zip-ties from Coax loop to mount arm to limit movement.

Thru window with coax (now covered with split-loom) and hung from mini-bungee cords to reach stock radio location. Door can be opened and closed: Coax slides. (Duct tape over window gap).

With (one) Wilson 2000 on a Hustler QD the arrangement netted me “around” 1.5 on the SWR meter (Ch 1, 20, 40) once I took the whip out the last quarter-inch.

AM-19 is at 1.3.

Cranking up the Galaxy 99v2 a ways (into the KL203-P) doesn’t change that much. Backed down to 2.5W the reports are “good enough” once Mic Gain backed off a smidge (636L).

Put the Morgan Systems 411b Bandpass filter onto the Galaxy and a jumper to the amp. (Works; left other jumpers at home).



This is the latest from Procomm. AC-65. Aluminum. Fits the 579 at the spot mirror location. Run CB plus SIRIUS/XM antenna. Or a Wilson 4G antenna for telephone.

Not to my interest, but maybe someone else. (WALCOTT has it listed).

Since everything in the truck had to come out, all connections were gone over with CAIG De-Oxit lately received. (Am loving that chemical).

The little SOTA BEAM 4-way DC distribution box already recouped it’s cost as power connections don’t take an inordinate amount of time. I’m much closer to a true mobile rig, as a result.

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[Slowmover]

As of today.

Don’t think I need the tilt after all. Pennsylvania has proven handy in that regard.

Notice the unoccupied Factory Mount.

And the latest (Eldorado828 cringes) “Install”.



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[Handy Andy]

How is it doing as far a torque (twist) on the wind whack and tree limbs?

Pruning them or Self-pruning?

 

[Slowmover]

How is it doing as far a torque (twist) on the wind whack and tree limbs?

Pruning them or Self-pruning?

Two days since install. 450-miles since leaving Pete dealer.

Rain and some close-fit roads = okay, so far.

I haven’t measured mount height. Have a 10” shaft installed. May order an 18” & a 22”. Have both longer & shorter stingers already.

 

[Handy Andy]

I'm just concerned about what I can do to the door frame when it does hit.

It looks like it'll take it out on the door first - before it lets go.

It looks pretty mean.

 

[Slowmover]

I'm just concerned about what I can do to the door frame when it does hit.

It looks like it'll take it out on the door first - before it lets go.

It looks pretty mean.

Si, Si

But we drilled no holes, Senor,

 

[Handy Andy]

Aye - mate - eh?​

Si, Señor....

Just be sure to remind those that don't remember Mama's SAGE advice she always used to say...

"Always look both ways before crossing the railroad tracks..."​

Unless you enjoy Speedy Gonzales reminding you...saying "Excuse me Señor, I think this belongs to you." as he's handing you your Tail Feathers back...

 

[Slowmover]

If I got that mount close enough to rip, other body parts (below) would make first contact.

Antenna is on a QD in the event I do need to get in close. That will be a choreographed maneuver.

It isn’t my preferred solution. That would a pair of mounts at the main mirror bases on doors as with the Freightliner examples above. I’d like to run a pair of 108” whips.

Just glad I was prepared. Performance is up on RX over previous. TX not so much (as expected), but at least CMC problems lessened.

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[144inBama]

I'm just concerned about what I can do to the door frame when it does hit.

It looks like it'll take it out on the door first - before it lets go.

It looks pretty mean.

They used to (might still?) make a mirror mount that would swivel back and forth as needed on their own. A lot of the log truck drivers around here used them because in the woods, the antennas would take a mean beating. Had to be pretty good as a few of them were running power and never had issues.
*edit to add*
the mount looked a lot like the one you're using except it had a weighted bottom to keep the antenna vertical rolling down the road but would lay back when it hit a limb or something. I've tried googling it but having no luck.