Who do I look for to have an NMO mount installed in my vehicle?

[JoshuaHufford]

After all the good help received from great people here, I've decided to go ahead and have the hole drilled in my 2014 Subaru Outback. There is a Motorola dealer/service center here in town, however they are booked up on installs until May right now. I did have them install 3 in my work van, however I wasn't overly impressed with their installer. While he did a decent job, I was a bit worried when he asked me where I wanted the mounts located. I told him one exact center for my VHF antenna, he said that is fine but it doesn't matter where you put the antenna, it still uses the whole roof as the ground plane.

Anyway, I've searched around a bit for other companies that do this but haven't found anything so far. Maybe they are the only ones but I thought maybe I'm missing something. I don't want to tackle this myself, just don't want to take the chance of messing up.

Thanks!

 

[Hit_Factor]

He installed it as specified, something you couldn't or wouldn't perform. Why does his antenna ground plane knowledge matter? His knowledge of taking down a headliner and putting it back, without evidence of being disturbed, is what I would want.

Check local truck stops for a radio shop. Ask local Police, Fire, and EMS who does their work.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

He installed it as specified, something you couldn't or wouldn't perform. Why does his antenna ground plane knowledge matter? His knowledge of taking down a headliner and putting it back, without evidence of being disturbed, is what I would want.

Check local truck stops for a radio shop. Ask local Police, Fire, and EMS who does their work.

If you are doing it right, you aren't taking the headliner down at all...

Source: Done a few hundred NMO installs...never have dropped a headliner.

 

[Hit_Factor]

That's why I don't do installs, I would be struggling with the headliner.

You don't happen to live near Josh do you?

 

[MUTNAV]

I was thinking about something similar to this also. I was thinking that maybe Best Buy, that installs car stereo and video systems might be someplace to look at. I don't care to start running wires around pillar and side airbags when there are people that already (I hope) know how to do this without trouble.

Thanks
Joel

 

[mmckenna]

Any decent two way radio shop should be able to do it for you, not sure who's in your area, or how far you are willing to drive.

Beware of stereo/alarm installers. They'll tell you they can do it, but from what I've seen in the field, they can't.
You may be able to find a local amateur radio operator that knows how to do it (make sure you see some of their work, first).
If you were local to me, I'd be happy to do it for you.

 

[bharvey2]

Two way radio shops are your safest bet. I'd be very cautious of "stereo shops" unless you're very familiar and comfortable with their work. I've seek some serious hack jobs done by some of those.

 

[MUTNAV]

Good info... Thanks.

Joel

 

[FFPM571]

If you are doing it right, you aren't taking the headliner down at all...

Source: Done a few hundred NMO installs...never have dropped a headliner.

This day and age of airbags and wiring being run through the headliner you best be dropping a headliner.. Anything else is a a hack job

 

[mmckenna]

Dropping it enough to visualize what is up there is necessary. It doesn't require removal.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

This day and age of airbags and wiring being run through the headliner you best be dropping a headliner.. Anything else is a a hack job

All you have to do is pull the edge of the liner down a bit so you can see the airbag and route accordingly. This can typically be accomplished by simply pulling the weatherstripping off (unless it's a VW...those are a little more difficult). You can also see the roof cross-bracing between the major pillars to an extent. Just enough room to get your hand in there and grab a fishing rod (the 3 ft long zip ties work really well for this) passed through and attached to your coax.

 

[JoshuaHufford]

Thanks everyone. I guess I will just get on the schedule of my local dealer, I've done some web searching but not really finding anything else in my area.

No way I would let anyone from Best Buy touch my car, I've been to training with some of their "Geek Squad" guys in the past, they were not the least bit impressive.