Ham Radio install help

stanswx · **Posted:** Mon May 31, 2010 11:22 am

I just purchased a 2007 Jeep Liberty a few days ago and it looks naked without all my ham antennas and radios.

I was spoiled with my old car as I could throw all the antennas on the trunk and be done with it. I was able to install my XM radio this morning, so that made me somewhat happy.

However, I am stumped as to how and where to mount my 2 ham antennas. I've seen some people mounting them off the spare tire mount but it seems like that would limit your reception as well as being in the way of the window. For those hams in the audience, I better mention which antennas I'm talking about.

-Comet CA-2x4SR dual band antenna (40")
-Yaesu ATAS120A HF screwdriver antenna (64")

Both antennas use an SO-239 mount (UHF mount). My first thought was to mount them on one of the doors with a trunk/hatchback mount like the Diamond K400. I don't know if opening/closing the door would cause any problems of it loosening up or not. (not to mention the strain on the coax.) My second thought was to mount them to the luggage rack (Diamond K540 mount), but then there would be the problem of finding a ground. There is a small screw on the luggage rack itself where you could put a ground strap from the antenna, but I don't think the screw itself is attached to the frame in anyway. (I suppose I should test that with a meter) I'd prefer to be able to utilize the luggage rack for mounting my bicycle, so drilling holes in the middle of the roof isn't going to work for me. I'd prefer not to do any drilling at all.

So any thoughts? How are others mounting their antennas on their Liberty's? Thanks!

brtzworld1 · **Posted:** Tue Jun 01, 2010 1:21 pm

Probably not much help but I've got 2 NMO mounts right through the roof. 1 is generally centered on the roof considering the sunroof and the other is about 6 inches in front of the sat antenna. A Larson dual band lives in the front and right now a 48" whip is on the rear as a scanner antenna. I have the same HF antenna as you and will be devising a guying system to use it in the mount that works out the best. I tried it without any support and I was not comfortable with the amount of movement.

stanswx · **Posted:** Thu Jun 03, 2010 7:58 am

I'm going to try mounting the dual band antenna on the hood on the drivers side. I also ordered one of those spare tire mounts for the ATAS120 antenna. Not the best location, but going to give it a shot.

Jase3gt · **Posted:** Tue Jun 08, 2010 9:31 pm

I have a mount that goes on the lip of the hatch. I'll have to get some pics posted. It works great. I ran the cable through the back panel to the edge of the rear door. The mount attaches right there. I bought it at Hamradio.com. I live a few minutes from there Salem, NH location.It's a comet mount with a larson 2M antenna. I found these pics:

And here's where I have the 2M mounted:

stanswx · **Posted:** Wed Jun 09, 2010 7:19 am

Jase3gt wrote:

I have a mount that goes on the lip of the hatch. I'll have to get some pics posted. It works great. I ran the cable through the back panel to the edge of the rear door. The mount attaches right there. I bought it at Hamradio.com. I live a few minutes from there Salem, NH location.It's a comet mount with a larson 2M antenna.

Very nice! Which model was it that you got? I have a Diamond K400C mount that I've mounted my 2m/70cm antenna on to the drivers side door. I'm still waiting for my spare tire antenna mount to arrive and see how that works. Your mount looks like it might work better since opening the gate would allow the window to open without hitting the antenna. I wonder if it would support the ATAS120 though. Thanks for the info/pics!

Jase3gt · **Posted:** Wed Jun 09, 2010 6:17 pm

stanswx wrote:

Very nice! Which model was it that you got? I have a Diamond K400C mount that I've mounted my 2m/70cm antenna on to the drivers side door. I'm still waiting for my spare tire antenna mount to arrive and see how that works. Your mount looks like it might work better since opening the gate would allow the window to open without hitting the antenna. I wonder if it would support the ATAS120 though. Thanks for the info/pics!

I don't remember which model it was. It doesn't hit opening but you have to watch it when you close it. You have to start closing the window while you're closing the door. Or you can just bend the antenna out of the way like my wife does because she always forgets. I'm not sure if it would support the ATAS120. It looks like it might be a little too big. Are you using it with an FT-857? I want one of those.

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:50 am

I have my radio mounted where Jase has his. But...my antenna is mounted to the rack on top of the Jeep. The coax is then routed between the weatherstripping...down to the hood...under the hood...through the firewall...and to my radio. So, you only see 6" of the coax! And no drilling!

stanswx · **Posted:** Thu Jun 10, 2010 9:33 pm

LibertyCRD wrote:

I have my radio mounted where Jase has his. But...my antenna is mounted to the rack on top of the Jeep. The coax is then routed between the weatherstripping...down to the hood...under the hood...through the firewall...and to my radio. So, you only see 6" of the coax! And no drilling!

Very cool. Could you snap a few pics sometime and post them? Thanks!

nzoliver · **Posted:** Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:08 pm

Hi!

Same here! Would love to see how you did the coax down the weather stripping. :idea:

Thank you

Oliver

ZL3OOC :CAMPING:

nursecosmo · **Posted:** Mon Jul 12, 2010 6:05 am

I'd like to use one of these on my roof rack but don't know if it will be able to hold up to a medium sized screwdriver. http://www.rfparts.com/diamond/k9000tm.html Why doesn't anyone list their call signs? KC9QPF

LibertyCRD · **Posted:** Mon Jul 12, 2010 1:09 pm

This site blows because you cannot upload pics to it. But... I'll try to maybe snap some and post to my cardomain site and give you a link if I have time.

Basically, the weatherstripping can be gently pulled back, lay the coax down into the "valley", and then let the weatherstripping rest on top of it and cover it up. I started at the top corner of the rear door...laid the coax under the stripping all the way to the hood...then went through the fender at the front door hinge, under the hood, and to the firewall. It is a clean looking installation with zero drilling, and my antenna is higher than anything else on the Jeep.

Your only issue will be possible grounding issues...but a wire ran from the mount to the chassis somewhere will solve that.

For a mount I just used a basic "luggage mount" from walcottcb.com

nzoliver · **Posted:** Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:50 pm

Hi,
Grounding shouldn't be too much of an issue if you use ground independant antennae like I do. :JEEPIN:

KJs are a bit of a nuicance to mount anything on the front but I am running a short(ish) dual bander on the rear edge of the bonnet(hood to you NAs!) using a Diamond k400 3way mount. If I had a bullbar or nudge bar it would be out there. I do have an unused mount on my roof rack but it would be a hassle to take the antenna off every time I want to put the car in the garage!!

Oh well.... :pepper:

Oliver

stanswx · **Posted:** Mon Jul 12, 2010 4:05 pm

Thanks for all the suggestions! I ended up mounting the dual band antenna on the drivers side door with the K400 mount trunk lip mount. I mounted the ATAS120 on the gate near the handle with a 2nd K400 mount. I also picked up a 2m stick antenna and mounted it on the spare tire mount which I have hooked up to the FT-857 so I can monitor 146.520 or other 2m frequencies. The ATAS120 tunes up on all the bands and I made a few contacts on Field Day with it driving around. I just need to tidy up all the cords a bit. Fun times!

Stan, K9SWX

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