2m/70cm ham antenna Mount options

[Orbital Debris]

Just installed my TYT TH-9800 quad band and Tram magnetic 2m/70cm antenna. I ran power direct from the battery through the firewall rubber grommet on the drivers side, used 10ga wire and a 40 amp circuit breaker. The hvac part of the dash pops of easy and allowed me to hide the wires. The head unit is just velcroed to the carpet under the passenger seat.

Looks great!

 

[Orbital Debris]

Its really not flexible at all (in my opinion...I guess it does bend a little, but I'd be afraid I'd snap it on a sturdy tree limb)...you could add some flex to the mount with a spring, similar to the rigid firestik antennas for CB.

Agreed, the SBB-2 is very stiff, the SBB-1 is more flexible.

 

[Ol'Baditude]

The ANLI AT-2 is a really nice shorter antenna for offroading. It has the spring base that is tested (by me) to bend under low hanging branches on the trail.
Seems to work as well as my Comet SBB5, so pretty damn good.

Pg13 of this online catalog.

 

[bleaches]

Has anyone here ever tried to bolt on a military vehicle antenna mount and use those surplus antennas? They do make them in narrow band and wide band. Personally I think it would look pretty badass.

Thinking after market rear bumper area at the rear driver would work.

 

[DannyLlama]

Went this route and came out pretty good.. I would suggest if you can , bend the brackets up a little prior to installing, it will make the antenna more straight.

 

[wweinaug]

My Yaesu FTM-100DR I just installed, bought a antenna extension cable and everything was just the perfect length. Ive got the mic comming up under the side of the seat to the console.

Mount and my around town antenna, I carry a longer one in the back.

 

[Xplore]

I use a Comet RS-66U mounted to the roof rail. Been really satisfied with this setup. I keep it in the lowered position in the woods and getting in and out of the garage. Very sturdy even with the longer antenna attached.

 

[hereinhelena]

NMO antenna routing

I am picking up a 2017 4-Runner tomorrow (bought my last one almost exactly 30-years ago) & am wondering if anyone has specifics on antenna cable routing for an NMO mount in the cab. The cab roof installation is my preference, as it has a good ground plane & is out of the way of the roof rack, but it looks like one must disassemble much of the interior to accomplish this - unless if there are some short-cuts.

 

[fbksurferjoe]

I am picking up a 2017 4-Runner tomorrow (bought my last one almost exactly 30-years ago) & am wondering if anyone has specifics on antenna cable routing for an NMO mount in the cab. The cab roof installation is my preference, as it has a good ground plane & is out of the way of the roof rack, but it looks like one must disassemble much of the interior to accomplish this - unless if there are some short-cuts.

Just finished mine I'll post some pictures on my build thread tomorrow. I purchased an icom remote mount Radio. the main unit is under my drivers seat. I ran the remote wire along my floorboard up through my a pillar and under my dash. I used a ram mount to attach my faceplate to the windshield. the power wire runs into the engine compartment. the antenna was mounted to my roof rack. antenna wire in the windshield gap along the firewall and into the firewall follows the floorboard and goes under seat to main unit.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Bk6418]

Thanks guys. I just ordered a comet RS-720.

I already have a comet SS-460SB ant. That should take care of me for now. I may get a better gain and also a more durable ant in the future.

BTW. for some ham nerd stuff. Here is how I mounted my ICOM 2730A.

Still tweaking a few things and learning how to program the radio, but pretty happy with it so far.

Oh look a sun glass holder. My 2017 TRD Pro Doesn't have one of those.

 

[FLY_FISHING]

My Yaesu FTM-100DR I just installed, bought a antenna extension cable and everything was just the perfect length. Ive got the mic comming up under the side of the seat to the console.

Mount and my around town antenna, I carry a longer one in the back.

I have this same mount and an SBB1. Works perfect. I also have an SBB5 I bought for when I wanted more antenna but honestly the SBB1 never comes off

 

[FLY_FISHING]

My Yaesu FTM-100DR I just installed, bought a antenna extension cable and everything was just the perfect length. Ive got the mic comming up under the side of the seat to the console.

Mount and my around town antenna, I carry a longer one in the back.

How is that radio head mounted?

 

[rochmpr]

I made a custom bracket to mount my antenna on. It mounts to the optional Hi-Lift spot on the rear swing-out. I can the cable from there under the truck and into the cab at the grommet in the firewall and to the head unit. I have the head unit mounted under the steering wheel area behind the knee airbag with the speaker pointed down and out. From the, the cable to the face place is routed in the dash to the small, circular knock-out in the center of the dash by the windshield. For the mic, I found a RJ-45 mount and mounted that in the side area by the HVAC controls to allow easy plug in and removal of the mic without having to reach under the dash to plug in.

 

[MTN4RNR]

Hood mount

I decided to mount my antenna to the passenger edge of the hood. This gives me good visibility of the antenna when I am in tighter, forest areas and keeps it out of my general field of vision when driving. Being able to keep and eye on it was the biggest reason for installing it where I did. Nothing worse than a broken antenna on the trail. More on the installation here.

 

[Ol'Baditude]

I made a custom bracket to mount my antenna on. It mounts to the optional Hi-Lift spot on the rear swing-out. I can the cable from there under the truck and into the cab at the grommet in the firewall and to the head unit. I have the head unit mounted under the steering wheel area behind the knee airbag with the speaker pointed down and out. From the, the cable to the face place is routed in the dash to the small, circular knock-out in the center of the dash by the windshield. For the mic, I found a RJ-45 mount and mounted that in the side area by the HVAC controls to allow easy plug in and removal of the mic without having to reach under the dash to plug in.

View attachment 244377

I found that the x-mount interfered with satellite acquisition on my 400. Are you having any issues? This refers to the last pic in your post above.
I went with a direct mount to the m5 hole on the back of the head unit and instantly had full acquisition every time.

 

[rochmpr]

I found that the x-mount interfered with satellite acquisition on my 400. Are you having any issues? This refers to the last pic in your post above.
I went with a direct mount to the m5 hole on the back of the head unit and instantly had full acquisition every time.

Yes, it seams to have a hard time. Going to have to try that and see if that works better.

Thanks for the pointer!

 

[Ol'Baditude]

Yes, it seams to have a hard time. Going to have to try that and see if that works better.

Thanks for the pointer!

Yeah, see page 3 of my build thread.
The m5/m6 adapter was quite difficult to source; I ended up finding one at an online model train shop in England.
It would be A LOT easier if RAM just made a ball to m5 thread, but all they had at the time was a ball to m6 thread, hence the need for the adapter.
Worth every penny though.

 

[rochmpr]

Yeah, see page 3 of my build thread.
The m5/m6 adapter was quite difficult to source; I ended up finding one at an online model train shop in England.
It would be A LOT easier if RAM just made a ball to m5 thread, but all they had at the time was a ball to m6 thread, hence the need for the adapter.
Worth every penny though.

I have a Ram ball that has a ¼" X 20 thread. Hmmm, just put the welder away, guess I will break it out and make an SAE X Metric adapter.

 

[Ol'Baditude]

I have a Ram ball that has a ¼" X 20 thread. Hmmm, just put the welder away, guess I will break it out and make an SAE X Metric adapter.

Or that, yes. Hehe...

 

[DannyLlama]

[MENTION=129593]MTN4RNR[/MENTION] can you share the part number or website where you bought that cat5 connector? I would like to something similar to hook up my computer to my ham. Thanks!

Cool install by the way