Mobile antennas and parking garages

[mmckenna]

This seems to be a big concern for some. I understand the fear of drilling a hole in perfectly good vehicle to install an antenna, but it really does look and work better.

So, to help dispel some of the fears that people have, I'm going to share some photos.

This is my wife's 2021 Chevy Colorado Crew Cab. We were on a bit of a vacation this week and we spent the night in a big city. Nice hotel with an attached Parking garage. The parking garage had pretty low clearance.
The truck has an EM Wave VHF 1/4 wave whip permanently mounted in the center of the roof (where God intended!). Larsen NMO mount in a 3/4" hole that I installed when the truck was new.

Tallish truck, lowish parking garage, permanent antenna. If you listen to some, this is a recipe for disaster and I risked getting the entire roof, no, cab, torn off the truck.

Not the case.

Here it is, proof:


OH NOES! My antenna touched the roof of the parking garage!!!!!! The end is nigh! Hide your kids, hide your wife! Permanent damage! NEVER drill a hole to install an antenna! Should have used a mag mount like a real HAM!

Whatever are we going to do! Permanent damage! I'm out $16.95!

Oh, wait a second! We're higher level primates with large brains with opposable thumbs, maybe we can fix this?:

Catastrophe averted! Just bend the antenna back to vertical. No damage to the sheet metal. No NMO mount ripped from the roof. No paint damage. No antenna damage. Not the end of the world. Not the end of the hobby. Saved myself $16.95 and another $45K on a new truck to go under the antenna.

But seriously folks, there are plenty of people on the internet that will give you all kinds of stupid reasons not to do something. Here's proof that permanent mount antennas are just fine on top of your vehicle, even in a low parking garage. If you use your brain (and your opposable thumb), things are going to be OK.

And like I always say:

 

[phoboss1]

I agree 100%! I've installed antennas on two trucks that I own and drive daily, and it's not as difficult as people make it sound. You just need to drill a hole, apply some silicone if you want, and then place the mount and antenna. That's it! I’ve never experienced any leaks.
Antennas get wacked on trees, garages, drivethroughs. Just bend them back or, worst case, replace them. Every time the mount is still in good shape, and the roof is fine.

 

[exkalibur]

I use StiCo Flexi-whip antennas, cut to 1/4 wave on VHF. They're very flexible and very parking garage/car wash friendly. No excuse not to do a proper install. If you don't want to go the commercial antenna route, you can go with the Comet SBB-1 dual band, it is not as durable but is still flexible and would be perfect for a parking garage. I wash my car at least once a week in an automatic "soft cloth" wash and in 7 years I've had zero leaks. Just make sure its done properly and you seal the mount, it'll be good for 20 years.

 

[mmckenna]

apply some silicone if you want,

I think on the very first permanent antenna I installed, I used silicone seal because I was concerned about leaking. (Pretty sure it was a Larsen LM mount….). But I never did it since.

Unlikely to hurt if the sealant is compatible with the paint, but not necessary if using a high quality mount. In 30 years since, I've never had one leak. Never run across one in the field that leaked, either.

I use StiCo Flexi-whip antennas, cut to 1/4 wave on VHF.

You can save yourself some money now, EM Wave has a similar whip for a lot less cash:

EM Wave EM-MFLX132-FT Ultra-Flexible X-Nut® 132-1000 MHz - Field Tunable

EM Wave EM-MFLX132-FT Ultra-Flexible X-Nut® 132-1000 MHz - Field Tunable

theantennafarm.com

Never needed one, though. Never had an issue with the standard 1/4 wave whips.

 

[exkalibur]

Neat. Looks like these are a good option too. Super-Elastic Signal Stalk™ (Quarter-Wave) with NMO Connector

The StiCo ones are nice as the mounting nut is very low profile.

 

[merlin]

My GMC truck had a Wilson 1000M antenna center roof. Good part for that was unscrew the antenna and replace with weather cap.
Still, going through drive throughs, the antenna would scrape on the overhang.
Installed by the book, never leaked.

 

[FFPM571]

I swear by Sti-co .. I had gotten about 60 from removals from a gov agency that was going from single band to APX8500's They did not want them back lots of donations to ambulance companies and friends

 

[alcahuete]

Should have used a mag mount. Wouldn't have had to spend the 2 seconds bending it back.

 

[6079smithw]

Should have used a mag mount. Wouldn't have had to spend the 2 seconds bending it back.

Friend of mine didn't want to 'ruin the roof' on his brand-new 2014 Impala by installing a NMO mount so he used a mag-mounted 48" 5/8 wave center of the roof with the coax coming out the right rear door. Hit a low-hanging branch on a rural road one night about 45 MPH. Mag came flying off the roof and the coax turned it into a tether-ball; big dent in the rear quarter panel and another in the door. About 500 in 2014 dollars to repair, plus an extremely irate wife, but hey.... the roof was still in pristine condition! Lesson learned!

 

[6079smithw]

>Unlikely to hurt if the sealant is compatible with the paint, but not necessary if using a high quality mount. In 30 years since, I've never had one leak. Never run across one in the field that leaked, either.<

Same here; it's all in the prep. If the mounting surface is squeaky-clean and the hole totally free of burrs, that mount isn't going to leak.

 

[mmckenna]

Friend of mine didn't want to 'ruin the roof' on his brand-new 2014 Impala by installing a NMO mount so he used a mag-mounted 48" 5/8 wave center of the roof with the coax coming out the right rear door. Hit a low-hanging branch on a rural road one night about 45 MPH. Mag came flying off the roof and the coax turned it into a tether-ball; big dent in the rear quarter panel and another in the door. About 500 in 2014 dollars to repair, plus an extremely irate wife, but hey.... the roof was still in pristine condition! Lesson learned!

As a relatively new ham, I watched a friend do that. Pretty much sealed the fate for me.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

A couple of problems I've run into with my last truck. The truck itself was almost too tall to use some parking garages (but it did have a minor lift). One in particular I wouldn't even try with the knobs on it.

My county truck and my new personal truck are the same body style. While I already have the antennas sorted for the county truck (dual Sinclair SW-2340's) the personal truck I haven't yet decided which route I'm going to go with. First one with a full length OE console (yes I miss my split bench that every pickup has had before but my old 2013 was the last year you could option leather (in that trim) and subsiquently the last year you could practically option a split bench with leather interior and I haven't quite located a radio I can use my O3 with yet.

 

[mmckenna]

While I already have the antennas sorted for the county truck (dual Sinclair SW-2340's)

I've been running one of those on my personal F250 for about 2-3 months now. I have not really put it through its paces yet, but so far VHF performance seems good.

Not sure I'm sold on the design, especially how the spring mounts to the base.

I keep trying to find time to hook it up to the antenna analzyer, but I keep forgetting.

 

[kb4mdz]

This seems to be a big concern for some. I understand the fear of drilling a hole in perfectly good vehicle to install an antenna, but it really does look and work better.to

So, to help dispel some of the fears that people have, I'm going to share some photos.

This is my wife's 2021 Chevy Colorado Crew Cab. We were on a bit of a vacation this week and we spent the night in a big city. Nice hotel with an attached Parking garage. The parking garage had pretty low clearance.
The truck has an EM Wave VHF 1/4 wave whip permanently mounted in the center of the roof (where God intended!). Larsen NMO mount in a 3/4" hole that I installed when the truck was new.
...................................

When you properly install an antenna by drilling a hole in a perfectly good vehicle, you have (wait for it....)

A PERFECTLY GOOD VEHICLE with an antenna mount hole in it. Sounds like a plus to me.


Nice job mmckenna.

I used to drive a Chrysler minivan that I put a 5/8 wave VHF antenna in the middle of the roof, via standard NMO mount. I was pretty rigourous about closing the garage door after I pulled in so the whip could spring up again. Until one afternoon I pulled in, forgot my rule, headed in to dinner. An hour later I headed out with DD to a meeting, backed the van out and we heard a terrific and ominous noise. By the time I was all outside I had a nicely warped hole and busted mount ears. Tiny channellock pliers and judicious ball peen hammer, plus a new NMO, got me back in action again.

I've heard enough old wives/old mechanics/old technicians/old blowhards tales that I don't listen to them anymore. Storing a battery on concrete discharges it, UHF connectors are better than N's, and a thousand others.

 

[kb4mdz]

Friend of mine didn't want to 'ruin the roof' on his brand-new 2014 Impala by installing a NMO mount so he used a mag-mounted 48" 5/8 wave center of the roof with the coax coming out the right rear door. Hit a low-hanging branch on a rural road one night about 45 MPH. Mag came flying off the roof and the coax turned it into a tether-ball; big dent in the rear quarter panel and another in the door. About 500 in 2014 dollars to repair, plus an extremely irate wife, but hey.... the roof was still in pristine condition! Lesson learned!

We often get too soon old and too late smart.

What about the coax flopping around on the roof at highway speeds?

 

[Golay]

I myself do pop the hole my vehicles. But I'll do it next to the factory am/fm antenna. When it's time to turn it in, I just leave the nmo in place and put a rain cap on it. Dealership has never blinked.

 

[Chris155]

The first few low hanging stiff limbs on forest roads had me checking on the antenna. The kind of low limbs where leaves and twigs scrape the cab and the antenna is way up in the big wood. The permanent mount and commercial antennas really are tough.

 

[mmckenna]

I myself do pop the hole my vehicles. But I'll do it next to the factory am/fm antenna. When it's time to turn it in, I just leave the nmo in place and put a rain cap on it. Dealership has never blinked.

That's the other argument you'll hear from the guys whose wives won't let them drill a hole in the minivan.

This is a non-issue and only used as an excuse.

 

[JensLK]

I have an off-roader and the car just looks better with a radio antenna installed in the roof. And of course it works better than any other antenna mount.