Dual antennas

[Sodium Duck]

So I think this is going to be temporary. The mounts are not as strong as I would like them to be. This is turning into such a pain.

Passenger side is an AM/FM 3' Firestik, and the driver side is a Wilson FGT 3' CB antenna.

[1NZYaris1]

looks like Atom Ant , with bloody big feelers .
looks cool though :thumbup:

[Revsson]

Diamond makes some nice mounts, though they are pricey.
They come in black as well.
http://www.rfparts.com/diamond/k400photos.html

Here is the main page for mounts.
http://www.rfparts.com/diamond/Product_Catalog/mounts.html
The K600 series looks interesting.


Just a thought.

How did you end up mounting the radios inside the car?

[auxmike]

I had a wilson 1000 magnetic once. Those look kinda odd and a temptation for vandals or curious kids. Also, it screams "hey, I've got real expensive radio gear in my car".:iono:

[Sodium Duck]

This is how I mounted my CB radio and stereo:
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17834

I think I'm going to end up buying one of those lip mounts. It's pretty much my only option. I did have some mirror mounts that I had screwed to the car, underneath the plastic triangle piece in front of the sideview mirrors. I figured it was just one sheet of metal I would go through, but there are about three layers, some are weak and give way as I was screwing in my self tapping metal screw -- it just wasn't good. I think I could easily get away with a lip mount on the fender... or get a 102" whip and a beefy Wilson roof mount. If you notice in my pictures, I removed the factory antenna completely. Had to drop the headliner and all that jazz.

[Sodium Duck]

$76 dollars fors a K400?!?! :eek:

There has to be a cheaper option...

[Revsson]

$76 dollars fors a K400?!?! :eek:

There has to be a cheaper option...

Yeah, like I said, they are pricey. Meant for ham radio I suppose,
but even hams have budgets.

[Sodium Duck]

I'm a ham, and I could see paying for that mount if I had some big whopper expensive HF antenna... but for a 3' CB radio antenna, grrr. I gotta try and find something cheaper -- or attempt building something else.

[Sodium Duck]

Bought a 102" whip this afternoon, pulled off the rear bumper, and test fit it on the actual metal bumper itself. It was a no go. Too much in the way, though it did just barely clear the hatch on opening and closing.

Looks like I'm back to the drawing board...

[Revsson]

Maybe you could make something like this?
I'm trying to picture how that would look on a Yaris. :iono:

http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-2820

http://www.mfjenterprises.com/pictures/MFJ-2820.jpg

[Sodium Duck]

The hatch would definitely whack the antenna. =/
*inaudible noises of frustration*


That's a cool idea though.

[Sodium Duck]

Maybe there's a way to mount it on the sideview mirror... I may take one apart later on. But then again, I'm not sure if the plastic would be strong enough to support it -- or that I could even get a good ground.

[Revsson]

The hatch would definitely whack the antenna. =/
*inaudible noises of frustration*


That's a cool idea though.

Just throwing out ideas to get your brain cells motivated. :tongue:

[Sodium Duck]

Just throwing out ideas to get your brain cells motivated. :tongue:


One thing similar to that that I was thinking about... Having someone weld a tab onto my tow hook and mounting a 102" whip off that.:iono:

[PatrickJohnson]

you could probably modify that license holder bracket to be attached to your mudflap (or mudflap area if you don't have them). Good placement and a good sturdy mount point.

[llimonce]

So I think this is going to be temporary. The mounts are not as strong as I would like them to be. This is turning into such a pain.

Passenger side is an AM/FM 3' Firestik, and the driver side is a Wilson FGT 3' CB antenna.

i think i´ts better in the rear ..

[cali yaris]

looking at post #1, couldn't you bend them back and attach the tips to the roof just above the doors?

Or is there some technical reason (reception and suchd) why that's a bad idea?

[CTScott]

The ideal way to go would be to punch two holes in the roof. My father's been a HAM for 40+ years. The first thing he does when he buys a new vehicle is to punch a hole in the roof (drills a pilot, then uses a metal punch) and uses an NMO type mount.

[Sodium Duck]

My antenna's are very rigid and don't bend. Also, it would make them throw crazy SWR's on transmission.


I could mount them on the hatch area, but I'd need 2 of those ridiculously expensive K400 mounts that run $70 bucks each.


And I don't have the brass to drill holes in my roof, haha.

[Tamago]

tow hook mount.

[Sodium Duck]

Was just about to go out and look at it.

[Sodium Duck]

I think I could easily just sandwich that tow hook with two thick pieces of metal and make this work. I think it's 102" whip time.

[Sodium Duck]

Finally just ended up having some mounts welded on. I got a piece of flat stock from home depot and cut it up, drilled some holes and had a friend weld the tee nuts to it. Then had that welded on to the car. I have one antenna up, the other one after work today. Will post pics then.

[*MAD DOG*]

Has anyone got any bug spray? I'm sorry but that looks totally rediculous. But if it meets your requirements, i'm happy for you. Can you talk to people on other planets with those? If so say hi to captavise :wink: :bellyroll:

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb65/MADDOGZONER/Smart_Mortein-1.jpg

[Sodium Duck]

At least my idea actually works. Maybe I'll work on my air conditioner intercooler system after work as well...

[Sodium Duck]

Just have to cut those plastic covers to fit over the mounts. I'm gonna wait a while to make sure that the mounts are secure and not coming loose.

[CTScott]

Nice. How about a closer-in shot of how you mounted the brackets?

[kac]

looks sweet!

[Sodium Duck]

I'll take some better shots of the mounts tomorrow for you Scott.

I had originally taken it to this guy... what a mistake. It ended up looking like tin man turds and bubble gum. So I pulled a friend out of the blue I haven't talked to in a long time and asked him to fix it. A case of beer later, and I was in business. But it doesn't look as clean as I had hoped. Doesn't matter though since it will be covered.

[N2scouting]

Jetstream makes lip mounts that are as good or better than Diamond. Price is half of what you would pay for Diamond. I bought mine at R and L electronics in Hamilton Ohio. www.RANDL.com If these guys don't have it, you don't need it. They also carry Amatuer radio equpment as well. KC8ZSZ. 73, Jim

[Sodium Duck]

Here's a picture. It's a basic truckstop mirror mount. The top part has a spacer to keep the antenna's vertical. Then it's just the 1/4" piece of steel with two tee nuts welded in.

[Sodium Duck]

I couldn't get the CB antenna tuned down enough. My SWR was way too high. I ended up taking them down, and got a Wilson 1000 magnet mount. Perfect SWR. Just tonight I was talking to a guy about 15 miles away from me, crystal clear.

Now my car is 10' 8" tall, muhahahahahaha.