Antenna Mount/ Ideas??

rbabroff · #1 (**permalink**) 07-26-2009, 03:13 AM

I am more than likely going to be purchasing a pick-up bed tool box soon and I am wondering if anyone has any experience with putting antennas on the tool box. I am looking for antennas for use with the following frequency ranges: 800mhz to about 870mhz for scanning purposes and one that is 470-490mhz for commericial two-way radio. The trick is that the antenna cant be any taller than 24" total.
Any ideas would be great also any drawbacks of where i am thinking of mounting them.

izzyj4 · #2 (**permalink**) 07-26-2009, 02:23 PM

There are a couple of people I know that have used "L" brackets and mounted them on the sides of the tool boxes and mounted the antennas that way. That was for the style of tool boxes that open up towards the back of the cab.

Another install I have seen was with the top of the box opening from either side of the truck (2 separate lids) and the antennas were mounted in the divider that had the top lid hinges.

Hope this would help with some ideas for you. I have never installed an antenna on these but wanted to let you know what I have seen.

rbabroff · #3 (**permalink**) 07-26-2009, 02:41 PM

I am looking for photos also if anyone has any of the antennas mounted to a tool box.
Thanks

paramedszaf · #4 (**permalink**) 07-27-2009, 11:18 AM

Maybe some of the more advanced users can elaborate but I think you are going to run into an issue with the fact the tool box sit low (behind the cab) and thay my reduce performance.

digitalanalog · #5 (**permalink**) 07-27-2009, 03:54 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=270341149202

they also make taller ones as well.
If you have access to a metal shop
it looks very very simple in design

Good luck on your install.

DPD1 · #6 (**permalink**) 07-27-2009, 04:44 PM

At VHF it would be less of an issue, but at 400 and especially 800, you will probably have issues with the cab blocking the signals at certain times. If you're trying to get in a garage, maybe you could look into finding mounts that flip down easily and then use those on the roof.

garys · #7 (**permalink**) 07-27-2009, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paramedszaf

Maybe some of the more advanced users can elaborate but I think you are going to run into an issue with the fact the tool box sit low (behind the cab) and thay my reduce performance.

You're likely to run into some directionality issues and degraded performance if you mount an antenna that short on the truck box. If possible, mounting the UHF on the roof of the truck, maybe using a mag mount, will work better.

I used a longer scanner antenna mounted on the bed rail of the pickup, but I don't know if that's of interest to you.

ambdrvr · #8 (**permalink**) 07-28-2009, 09:42 PM

Hello,

My question is this: why are you looking at installing on the tool box? Is there a low garage you are parking in that is going to limit your height or is there another reason? My suggestion would be to go with 2 NMO mounts on the roof and use a low profile antenna for both 800mhz and 400mhz. We use low profile UHF on all of our ambulances at work and at my volunteer station and they only sit about 1 1/2" high. An 800mhz low profile should be about the same. It's just a suggestion if you have the option to go to the roof with your antennas and you would get much greater ground plane on the roof with no obstructions of any kind.

Just my 2 cents worth

and hope it helps.

Ambdrvr

rbabroff · #9 (**permalink**) 07-28-2009, 09:51 PM

I do have many different parking garages that I have to enter and exit daily for work. Some have a lower ceiling than others, as it is my antenna for my car radio hits sometimes, I am completely against drilling holes in the roof of my truck since it is still fairly new and I dont really want mag mounts with cables running through the door jamb of the truck.
I was thinking of mounting them to the tool box because then I could do antennas that are around 20" in height and not worry about them smacking into beams and then i also wouldnt have to remove them for garages or tip them over.
I see alot of people with antennas mounted to the back of their suv's isnt it kind of the same idea?

Thanks for all the help and ideas out there

DPD1 · #10 (**permalink**) 07-30-2009, 08:52 PM

If you have to do it that way, I would get antennas that don't need a ground-plane, then mount them at the back edge of the bed. That would minimize the blockage from the cab. It's not that putting them behind the cab won't work at all, it just won't work great.