Compactenna TriBand

[W0RS]

I have a compactenna tri-band and was hoping that someone with experience with this type of antenna can help. I do know they work best on the vehicle corners. I have a SUV so it sets rather high. The compactenna works best for me with garaging the vehicle.

I want to place the antenna on the luggage rail near the vehicle corner which the mount would be grounded to the vehicle chassis. The antenna would set a little higher of the metal roof since it resides on the luggage rail.

Before I buy the mounts for the luggage rail, I was hoping that someone with the same type of setup could provide any feedback?

 

[K4EET]

I have a compactenna tri-band and was hoping that someone with experience with this type of antenna can help. I do know they work best on the vehicle corners. I have a SUV so it sets rather high. The compactenna works best for me with garaging the vehicle.

I want to place the antenna on the luggage rail near the vehicle corner which the mount would be grounded to the vehicle chassis. The antenna would set a little higher of the metal roof since it resides on the luggage rail.

Before I buy the mounts for the luggage rail, I was hoping that someone with the same type of setup could provide any feedback?

Here is a post from 6 years ago with a situation like yours:

https://www.reddit.com/r/amateurradio/comments/gl7bd7

 

[K4EET]

Here is another post of a full install of a radio system using the COMPACtenna on a roof rack. The description is near the end of the post.

Ham Radio Clean Install - Yaesu FTM6000

After looking around and not seeing any ham radio installs I liked, I decided to take on this project. I think it turned out decent. Hopefully this...

www.tacomaworld.com

 

[kh2]

There are like or leave it groups for the COMPACtenna. I like it and have 3. I am running an HT at 5w and my IC-705 on 10w. For my truck I have it in the worst possible position. Front fender mount. it works amazing. I am not advocating doing what I did - my ultimate mount will be above the 3rd brake light. But even in the poor location I cannot believe how well it performs.

Side note I have an SDS200 hooked up to a Diamond D3000N discone, on a 2nd story deck (yup I know) and a second scanner hooked up to a COMPACtenna on the corner of a cookie sheet on the 1st floor of my L/R and I hear the same on both scanners - no BS - period. Take it for what it's worth - RF is a strange beast at best. In my case it's everything wrong and it works awesome.

Your mileage may vary

 

[prcguy]

Most antennas including the COMPACtenna will loose radiation efficiency if mounted several inches above a ground plane like on a roof rack. It may improve the SWR on VHF compared to the middle of the roof due to the way these antennas work but it introduces problems. If there is a way to attach a moderate size sheet metal ground plane to the roof rack like in a corner where you have bars that meet it should improve performance without creating too much of a ground plane and causing SWR issues. Using the picture example in post # 2, maybe a triangular piece 1ft X 1ft on the edges mounted in the corner with the antenna stuck between the front bar and the one several inches behind. You could even Ty-Rap a triangular sheet of metal in the corner of a roof rack with the COMPACtenna in the middle.