slowmover
Active Member
Versus touting one brand/model over another, how about a thread where How to Use A Magnetic Mount Antenna is the theme.
A UK retailer who likes to make videos.
We’ve probably all of us used them at one time or another. For good or for bad. But, let’s attempt to be of help where experience lends focus.
The Big Road Triple
My now antique triple mag (25+ years old) has sported any number of antennas as it’s capable of handling a 9’ quarter-wave up to about 62-64/MPH assuming no headwind.
A WORKMANN L-Pad which has served well. Best for antennas 5’-7’ and one is on a road trip. “Big” antenna is the idea (wind load) so if one wants to run a Predator 10k, or Signal Engineering GR45, I’ve thousands of highway miles with those, plus 5’ & 7’ Skipshooter.
As you investigate, be sure the stud is the type the antenna needs. Not all are 3/8-24, some are SO-239 or NMO. Or the stud mount can be changed.
Clearance underneath is a concern with this magnet mount type. The L-Pad uses a 90-degree connector for a PL-259 coax end. In whatever fashion is required, be sure of proper assembly order.
A big road trip antenna is one that doesn’t get left on the automobile overnight. So a quick disconnect is a handy addition.
There are a number of triple & quadruple mounts using 3/8-24 stud made over the years. Maybe at a Hamfest or on Craigslist. They’re generally too heavy to ship to take the risk on used, IMO.
There should be an unbroken silver foil cover over the magnets. Sometimes a rubber-like gasket.
But the magnets can get broken. I’ve epoxied one several times. Super-glued that foil. Completely disassembled the mount and used a Dremel to get rid of corrosion. Re-assembled using JETLUBE.
Used FLITZ to polish and buff. Formula 33 on magnet housings.
I’ve replaced the stud several times. Used different designs. Added washers to raise the plate.
Added RF Choke/CMC Isolator.
Gone round and round with the mag mount Fatal Flaw #1: getting coax into vehicle without damage.
My favorite has wound up being a Memory Foam strip with a cut channel to fit the window glass, and a square snap-over ferrite with a large enough I.D. that the coax moves freely once the window is “closed” against foam and “hard collar” (ferrite). In a door used least.
On a triple, two forward and one backward. On a freshly cleaned roof. Centered and just slightly aft of B-pillar or centerline. If there’s a roof rack, zip tie the coax lightly to help keep it from Fatal Flaw #2 (coax beating paint off roof). Otherwise one will have to find a way to keep the coax from spooling out the window.
Fatal Flaw #3 is: what the hell do I do with 14’ of an 18’ coax cable? Well, you sorta loop it around hither and yon. Across the package shelf. Across the front seat backs. Around the baby seats. Be imaginative.
Fatal Flaw #4 is where to store it when not in use. Take my word, they acquire an aura which prevents easy solutions. It’s like your dog and its leash. Just touch a radio in its presence and it’ll start to slide off that shelf.
And, for you young fellers, it’s a wife-catcher atop that baby Subaru. “Exotic foreign women looking to correspond with American men”.
With all that aside, you can expect to have other operators ask you about it. Have a great radio installation done with an impressive clarity to your TX. Theres plenty of men wanting to know if it’s worth it (sure is, so prove it).
A GR-45 + NRC AM/SSB Export Radio is the ticket if you want to run a big mag mount in order to Hear, and Get Heard.
.
A UK retailer who likes to make videos.
We’ve probably all of us used them at one time or another. For good or for bad. But, let’s attempt to be of help where experience lends focus.
The Big Road Triple
My now antique triple mag (25+ years old) has sported any number of antennas as it’s capable of handling a 9’ quarter-wave up to about 62-64/MPH assuming no headwind.
A WORKMANN L-Pad which has served well. Best for antennas 5’-7’ and one is on a road trip. “Big” antenna is the idea (wind load) so if one wants to run a Predator 10k, or Signal Engineering GR45, I’ve thousands of highway miles with those, plus 5’ & 7’ Skipshooter.
As you investigate, be sure the stud is the type the antenna needs. Not all are 3/8-24, some are SO-239 or NMO. Or the stud mount can be changed.
Clearance underneath is a concern with this magnet mount type. The L-Pad uses a 90-degree connector for a PL-259 coax end. In whatever fashion is required, be sure of proper assembly order.
A big road trip antenna is one that doesn’t get left on the automobile overnight. So a quick disconnect is a handy addition.
There are a number of triple & quadruple mounts using 3/8-24 stud made over the years. Maybe at a Hamfest or on Craigslist. They’re generally too heavy to ship to take the risk on used, IMO.
There should be an unbroken silver foil cover over the magnets. Sometimes a rubber-like gasket.
But the magnets can get broken. I’ve epoxied one several times. Super-glued that foil. Completely disassembled the mount and used a Dremel to get rid of corrosion. Re-assembled using JETLUBE.
Used FLITZ to polish and buff. Formula 33 on magnet housings.
I’ve replaced the stud several times. Used different designs. Added washers to raise the plate.
Added RF Choke/CMC Isolator.
Gone round and round with the mag mount Fatal Flaw #1: getting coax into vehicle without damage.
My favorite has wound up being a Memory Foam strip with a cut channel to fit the window glass, and a square snap-over ferrite with a large enough I.D. that the coax moves freely once the window is “closed” against foam and “hard collar” (ferrite). In a door used least.
On a triple, two forward and one backward. On a freshly cleaned roof. Centered and just slightly aft of B-pillar or centerline. If there’s a roof rack, zip tie the coax lightly to help keep it from Fatal Flaw #2 (coax beating paint off roof). Otherwise one will have to find a way to keep the coax from spooling out the window.
Fatal Flaw #3 is: what the hell do I do with 14’ of an 18’ coax cable? Well, you sorta loop it around hither and yon. Across the package shelf. Across the front seat backs. Around the baby seats. Be imaginative.
Fatal Flaw #4 is where to store it when not in use. Take my word, they acquire an aura which prevents easy solutions. It’s like your dog and its leash. Just touch a radio in its presence and it’ll start to slide off that shelf.
And, for you young fellers, it’s a wife-catcher atop that baby Subaru. “Exotic foreign women looking to correspond with American men”.
With all that aside, you can expect to have other operators ask you about it. Have a great radio installation done with an impressive clarity to your TX. Theres plenty of men wanting to know if it’s worth it (sure is, so prove it).
A GR-45 + NRC AM/SSB Export Radio is the ticket if you want to run a big mag mount in order to Hear, and Get Heard.
.
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