SUV Luggage Rail As A Receive Only Antenna

[RadioJonD]

Has anyone used a SUV luggage rack as a receive only scanner antenna?

I’m considering this as an alternative to multi antennae on top of a new SUV. The goal is one drilled hole. A temporary magnetic mount for an occasional additional scanner, most times a handheld, is out as the vehicle isn’t magnetic. (Luggage racks are tough.)

As a basic receive only antenna with no specific band target, would a run of RG58 cable properly affixed to a roof side luggage rail yield significant enough results to forgo a telescopic or rubber duck on a scanner inside the vehicle?

Is the material used for roof rack systems (in my case, a 2018 Ford Expedition) even conducive for such a purpose?

Could a proper ground plane be established?

 

[mmckenna]

I think you'd likely find that the luggage rack is grounded, so connecting to it would essentially ground the center conductor of the coaxial cable.

If you could isolate the rail from the vehicle ground using nylon screws, you might be able to get away with it. However it's polarization is less than ideal.

Would be an interesting experience, though.

Personally, I'd drill the 3/4" hole and put in an NMO mount with a Larsen NMO-150-450-800.

 

[RadioJonD]

I think you'd likely find that the luggage rack is grounded, so connecting to it would essentially ground the center conductor of the coaxial cable.

If you could isolate the rail from the vehicle ground using nylon screws, you might be able to get away with it. However it's polarization is less than ideal.

Would be an interesting experience, though.

Personally, I'd drill the 3/4" hole and put in an NMO mount with a Larsen NMO-150-450-800.

Pretty sure your recommended Larson is going on top. Thank you! While researching RR for this topic, I've read too many good things from you and others about it. I am contemplating the additional cable run to the rack while everything is loose for the "real" antenna installation. Why not? As you say mmckenna, for the experience. I've always been fascinated by the early ham days of using bed springs as antennae.

I remember Grove Enterprises once selling a similar in theory product that fastened to a car frame underneath the floor trim near a door where carpet was anchored. In essence, the entire vehicle became a receiving antenna. I bought one and had decent urban environment results.

 

[mmckenna]

Yeah, it could certainly work, but probably not as well as you'd want.

I've installed a lot of NMO mounts over the last 30 years, including many on personal vehicles, those of family, etc. I've never once had anyone regret doing the permanent install antenna. I've also never had a Larsen antenna fail on me, and I'm running some on my own truck that are near 30 years old. You can certainly save a few bucks by going with one of the cheap Chinese knockoffs, but I doubt it'll last that long.

Back in the 70's when vans were popular vehicles, there was a company that made a TV antenna that doubled as a roof rack (or a roof rack that doubled as a TV antenna&#8230 that essentially did what you were thinking. It was isolated from the body. It worked because TV signals are usually/always horizontally polarized.

 

[Markscan]

I tried a variety of different temporary antennas on my 2013 Explorer, but went with an NMO and the Larsen and it works great.
Sorry I didn’t do it sooner.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Has anyone used a SUV luggage rack as a receive only scanner antenna?

I’m considering this as an alternative to multi antennae on top of a new SUV. The goal is one drilled hole. A temporary magnetic mount for an occasional additional scanner, most times a handheld, is out as the vehicle isn’t magnetic. (Luggage racks are tough.)

As a basic receive only antenna with no specific band target, would a run of RG58 cable properly affixed to a roof side luggage rail yield significant enough results to forgo a telescopic or rubber duck on a scanner inside the vehicle?

Is the material used for roof rack systems (in my case, a 2018 Ford Expedition) even conducive for such a purpose?

Could a proper ground plane be established?

Assuming that it is grounded properly and securely, you could find a feedpoint along its length and it might be resonant for some very narrow range of frequencies. But the radiation pattern will be weird. I would go with the NMO mount whip.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Pretty sure your recommended Larson is going on top. Thank you! While researching RR for this topic, I've read too many good things from you and others about it. I am contemplating the additional cable run to the rack while everything is loose for the "real" antenna installation. Why not? As you say mmckenna, for the experience. I've always been fascinated by the early ham days of using bed springs as antennae.

I remember Grove Enterprises once selling a similar in theory product that fastened to a car frame underneath the floor trim near a door where carpet was anchored. In essence, the entire vehicle became a receiving antenna. I bought one and had decent urban environment results.

I would love to see an ad for that old product. There was a waveguide type UHF antenna made by ASP that went into a rear parcel shelf speaker hole and turned the vehicle into an antenna. The problem was that right after that hit the market, folks started to worry about RF frying their brains and the lawyers got involved.

For reception, the interior of a modern vehicle is one big pit of horrendous electronic noise. The center of a metal roof with an NMO is about as good as you can get away from that noise.

 

[captainmax1]

A friend of mine use to install surveillance/radio antenna's on top of undercover work vans which were integrated with the ladder racks, plumbing racks, etc.on these vehicles. You would never know it was an undercover vehicle. I have used a luggage rack antenna adapter with success on scanning. Sometimes trying new antenna configurations is part of the fun..

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

A friend of mine use to install surveillance/radio antenna's on top of undercover work vans which were integrated with the ladder racks, plumbing racks, etc.on these vehicles. You would never know it was an undercover vehicle. I have used a luggage rack antenna adapter with success on scanning. Sometimes trying new antenna configurations is part of the fun..

When I worked at Motorola in Miami we had all kinds of surveillance vans from scruffy plumbers trucks with PVC pipes with antennas in them to sleek "spy vans" with para scopes and subdued red lighting inside. It got so I could spot these "at work" driving around town. They were staking out for bank robbers a lot. One give away was that usually the gas tank was large at the rear and hung down. This may have been for more interior clearance or more capacity, but you could spot them easily.