Whipped up a couple quick mounts for my antennas on my Jeep, out of steel. My plan is to weld them both to the back of the body, so there's no concern about the mounts loosening over time. They will be properly backed and welded in order to avoid tearing out the sheet metal. I'm also thinking this will easily solve bonding of the mount to the body. It's a soft top, so roof mounts are out. I can't stand antennas in my view, so the common front bumper/fender mounts are out. I've found antenna mounts on the side of the tub are rock magnets, and rear bumper mounting will have the tub blocking too much of the 2m/70cm antenna.
Of course, this means rusting will be a concern. I was thinking of picking up some the of the conductive paint I've seen online to cover the part where the antenna mount grounds to the bracket, but I'm reading that a lot of this stuff has pretty high resistance, and frankly, I don't have a clue how it may affect RF.
I suspect the proper answer here would be to just leave the conducting surfaces bare, apply a thin film of dielectric, and call it a day. I'm not trying to reinvent any wheels here, just going down a slightly different path than most, lol.
Of course, this means rusting will be a concern. I was thinking of picking up some the of the conductive paint I've seen online to cover the part where the antenna mount grounds to the bracket, but I'm reading that a lot of this stuff has pretty high resistance, and frankly, I don't have a clue how it may affect RF.
I suspect the proper answer here would be to just leave the conducting surfaces bare, apply a thin film of dielectric, and call it a day. I'm not trying to reinvent any wheels here, just going down a slightly different path than most, lol.