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Hood Mount with Wilson t2000 antenna

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So I currently am using one of those universal hood mounts that is rated for up to a 4' antenna and I want to beef up the mount a tad so that I can run a Wilson t2000 on it.

I was thinking of running a piece of stainless about double the length of where the mount is bolted to my engine bay on the hood rail. I would bolt the stainless so that it's on top of that part of the mount.

I would also run a piece of stainless on vertical part of the mount just to give it a little more bulk and help keep it from flexing.

Anyone run with anything similar or have any suggestions on what might or might not work?


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movinon

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Photos .....what vehicle ......

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Photos .....what vehicle ......

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Sorry those would help!

2008 Toyota Highlander

Using this
0860465eb69433925e3aeda83d6f0444.jpg

86aff3c4c6f5c75563b686840212e2a5.jpg


It's mounted pretty much exactly like this but a little closer to the cab
915218935f92ef53ddefeb414a5c2ea5.jpg





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I emailed the vendor I bough this mount from and they were pretty confident that with just an extra screw the mount will be perfectly fine. I'm still going to "strap" the mount down with a strip of stainless to add to the width of the mount and keep and flex to a minimum.

I still have a bit of concern with that swivel and I will likely drill a hole through where it overlaps with the mount and bolt it into place once I have it aligned perfectly vertical.

I will post up pictures when I am done


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jonwienke

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IMO it's a bad idea. The biggest issue is the grounding of the hood. Even if you bond it to the vehicle body with copper braid, the long looping RF ground path is going to raise SWR and do weird things to your propagation pattern. The ground plane should have a direct connection to the base of the antenna mount, rather than having to go back along the fender to the windshield area, and then up the hood.
 

movinon

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What if fenders and hood are fiberglass?? Will it still ground off the frame?

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IMO it's a bad idea. The biggest issue is the grounding of the hood. Even if you bond it to the vehicle body with copper braid, the long looping RF ground path is going to raise SWR and do weird things to your propagation pattern. The ground plane should have a direct connection to the base of the antenna mount, rather than having to go back along the fender to the windshield area, and then up the hood.



Unfortunately it's really my only option for mounting and my battery is close by so I could run a ground to that if it will help?


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jonwienke

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What if fenders and hood are fiberglass?? Will it still ground off the frame?

No, because fiberglass is non-conductive. If the body is fiberglass, the proposed antenna mount is a complete no-go.

Unfortunately it's really my only option for mounting and my battery is close by so I could run a ground to that if it will help?

No, it won't help. A RF ground has to be a flat conductive surface under the vertical whip, connected directly to the ground side of the antenna mount. If you don't have that, antenna performance will suffer.
 
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My body isn't fiberglass and the mount has direct contact with metal. I'm sure that the Wilson will provide better results than the 4' firestik in currently using.


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movinon

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My hood and fender are fiber I guess I will mount mine on the bed.
The 4' firestick should do a good job but let us know if the Wilson does better.

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This is not the same mount as mine however mine is in direct contact like this one is. I bought a couple of zinc coated corner brackets today that I will put on top of the bracket as well as under the hood metal and bolt them together to act as a clamp and add more stability. I will also run a ground cable from one of those bolts to a bolt nearby to help with the ground.
3b11e4b6049dcd35431433be0ffde73f.jpg



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Looks solid.

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I think it will hold the antenna. Hopefully I can manage good swr there. I mean lots of trucks have these antennas mounted on their mirror brackets and they seem to work fine. I realize I'm not going to get as much out of it mounted where it is but I should get better than the 1.5 miles I currently getting. If not than I just kind of have to accept that for the time being.


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JayMojave

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Hello BaRLV: Please let us know how that all works out for you. Good looking install.

Jay in the Great Mojave Desert
 
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Hello BaRLV: Please let us know how that all works out for you. Good looking install.



Jay in the Great Mojave Desert



Jay - will post up picks of my install once it's complete. Won't be as simple as that one bolt install but I'm sure it will hold my antenna:)


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Also a bit of a noob question regarding swr with this Wilson and adjusting the whip. I have searched google every which way I can think of and can not find an answer to this.

Does the Wilson 5" t2000 have room in the shaft to lower the antenna for swr purposes or do I need to cut off small portions from the bottom of the whip?

According to the Wilson manual on this it says "If SWR is lower on channel 1 than on 20 and 40, loosen set screws and remove antenna whip from mast. Tighten set screws and read SWR again."

It does not say what to do with the whip or to even put it back in!

If I do need to cut it will bolt cutters work? From what I've read it seems like it is pretty difficult to cut the bottom. I don't have access to a dremel or a grinder so that's not really an option for me.


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sloop

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Best description that I have seen on adjusting SWR of CB antennas.

SWR

Good luck, and yes bolt cutters will be needed to trim excess wire from the whip.
 
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Here is my "reinforced" mount. I'm happy with it and think it will work fine as far as actually holding the Wilson.
ce19eb5d9780dfcf7d127a872d46f24b.jpg



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Figured I would update this. Everything seems to be working well. Swr is 1.5 on all channels without making any adjustments to the stinger at all. I have made contact on am up to 7 miles away, ssb up to 12 miles and shot some skip from Las Vegas NV to Rogue River OR. Getting great feedback on the quality and sound so far so I am satisfied with where it stands.

Thanks again to KC5AKB for all of your help!


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