Need an outside antenna for my car without any drilling

[xpawel15x]

Hello, I am thinking of installing some kind of an outside antenna on my 97 honda civic. I can't drill any holes so I don't know how i'm going to run the cable from the outside to the inside of the car. How do you guys do it?

 

[VFN05]

Do you have a hatchback or a sedan style? If you have a sedan style, a trunk lip mount on the front edge of the trunk might work well. With this type of antenna mount you can usually loop the antenna lead within the "clip", and then zip tie the wiring along the interior of the trunk lid and down one of the trunk supports. From there you should be able to tuck the wire between the rear seat and the side trim adfjacent to the back seat. Typically you can also tuck it in below the plastic panel that covers the rear door sill. If you have a coupe (and no back door), you might find it ever easier to run the cable. Depending on the cable length and where your radio is positioned, you can either continue all the way to your dashboard, or take a shortcut under the driver's seat to the center console. Be mindful of moving parts. Seat tracks do an excellent job of chewing up antenna coax when you aren't looking. Be sure to move all parts to make sure your wiring doesn't get crushed, sliced or otherwise damaged.

I hope this helps...and feel free to contact me off the list if you have any other questions.
-Jason

 

[xpawel15x]

Thanks for your response. I have the sedan model. I use a Pro-96 and I mostly monitor VHF/UHF and a little bit of 800mhz.


I am thinking about the RS magnet mount antenna because it is easily available for me in my local RS. I want to mount it on the trunk lid and run the coaxial cable through the trunk crevice near the rear window. But will the cable fit through there? And I hope it will fit and not touch the rear windshield.

 

[Skypilot007]

That RS antenna is quite tall at 36". Probably to cover the VHF low bands down to 25MHz as advertised. If you just listen to VHF hi/UHF and 800MHz you would be better off with a nice laird/antennex trunk lip nmo mount or nmo mag mount if you prefer them with a larsen 150/450/800 tribander. It won't cost much more than the RS antenna and will outperform it and is much shorter antenna.

 

[xpawel15x]

That RS antenna is quite tall at 36". Probably to cover the VHF low bands down to 25MHz as advertised. If you just listen to VHF hi/UHF and 800MHz you would be better off with a nice laird/antennex trunk lip nmo mount or nmo mag mount if you prefer them with a larsen 150/450/800 tribander. It won't cost much more than the RS antenna and will outperform it and is much shorter antenna.

Thanks for your post! Yes the RS antenna is too long and extremely clumsy. I do listen to VHF hi/UHF and 800mhz so 16.5" larsen 150/450/800 tribander antenna is much better than the clumsy 36" RS antenna. However I am having a hard time finding a laird/antennex trunk lip nmo mount that terminates to a BNC connector. And as far as I understand it, the antenna is already NMO style and will just screw on to the lip nmo mount?

 

[THETINMAN]

this is my laird combo. 24", no drilling, easy to take antenna off, and in my opinion, pretty cheap and great reception.

 

[xpawel15x]

this is my laird combo. 24", no drilling, easy to take antenna off, and in my opinion, pretty cheap and great reception.

Thanks for the picture. Does your lip mount's coax cable have the bnc male end?

 

[THETINMAN]

You can order it with any connector you want on it pretty much. I installed my connectors, the one on my scanner has a bnc.

 

[THETINMAN]

this one has a pl-259 connector (i think thats what its called)
and this has a 49" whip for my cb


oh, and sorry for the horrid pics. cell-phone..

 

[xpawel15x]

You can order it with any connector you want on it pretty much. I installed my connectors, the one on my scanner has a bnc.

Oh okay, can you provide me with the link to this mount? Thanks again.

 

[THETINMAN]

Oh okay, can you priovide me with the link to this mount? Thanks again.

Antenex TMB8 [TMB8] - $24.95 : The Antenna Farm :: , Your Two Way Radio Source!

the one I ordered was a "laird" but they're the same company, i think. anyways, this is where I ordered it from.

check out the antennas and all too..

 

[FedFyrGuy]

Trunk Mounts, Magnet Mounts, "L" Mounts

Many of these would fit the bill also....

Larsen Amateur Mobile Antenna Mounts NMOMM, NMOMMR, NMOTLP, NMOK, TLM

 

[THETINMAN]

yeah, some of it just comes down to the look you like

 

[xpawel15x]

Okay great, looks like i'll just order it with the BNC male connector installed than. Will the trunk lid clip for sure fit through the trunk crevice on my trunk (near the back windshield)?

 

[THETINMAN]

what kind of car do you have? my car has about an 1/8" and it fits..
take a look at that spot though- is it flat? even if I wanted to, I couldnt put it there on my car, because that lip, between the rear window and trunk, is curved

 

[xpawel15x]

what kind of car do you have? my car has about an 1/8" and it fits..
take a look at that spot though- is it flat? even if I wanted to, I couldnt put it there on my car, because that lip, between the rear window and trunk, is curved

I have a 1997 honda civic sedan. The trunk is flat. I wonder if anyone on this forum who owns or ever owned this car installed a trunk lip nmo mount on the trunk lid next to the back windshield. If someone reading this did, please come forward and let me know if fits. Thanks!

And the antenna I'm planning to get for the NMO mount is the Larsen 150/450/800 tri-band 16.5". I hope it doesn't touch the back windshield!

 

[THETINMAN]

i dont know if anyone here has one, but I have had a number of civics, and the gap it def larger than my current car. you will have NO problem with this fitting.

 

[xpawel15x]

i dont know if anyone here has one, but I have had a number of civics, and the gap it def larger than my current car. you will have NO problem with this fitting.

Okay I ordered the Antennex trunk lip mount. I'll let you know how it works out. Thank you so much.

 

[xpawel15x]

As I am still waiting for the lip mount... I am beginning to wonder...

Will there be a significant amount of signal loss if I use the entire 17' of coax that it comes with? Or is it a short amount and nothing to worry about? (I ordered it with a BNC male already soldered on)

 

[twhitson]

Diamond makes the best door/trunk lip made. it is adjustable via allen screws so that it can be mounted horizontally on a trunk, or vertically on the side of a door (I have two on my Honda Element's rear doors) and is available in NMO, SO-239, and several other versions. As to getting the coax in, it ALSO comes with about 20 feet of RG-316 teflon coated coax; it's only about 1/16" thick, and the teflon coating makes it especially tuff and durable. Being so small, it is easily tucked into the door jamb guards, and through weather seal. The tiny SMA connector on the end comes with a SMA to PL259 adapter, but you could probably use an SMA to BNC for a mobile scanner. The inside of the mount that comes into contact with the body of the vehicle has heavy rubber pads, and a plate that the allen screws tighten. I've taken mine off several times for maintenance, and there is NO scratching/marking on the area where it is mounted. Its model K-400 by Diamond. Pricey (about 75 bucks) but well worth it.