Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I need to make a decision where to weld the antenna mount for my UHF pretty soon. I don't want to mount it on the center hoop of the bullbar because it will interfere with the bonnet.

If make a mount down on one of the wings will i get rubbish TX from having a lower ground plane, or the metal of the car being higher than the base?

Any suggestions where to mount it? on the roof or roll bar is out because i'll rip it off in short order.

the only thing left to add is a set of scrub bars and sliders

The ideal place for an antenna is the centre of the roof. A cheap flexible antenna mounted there will outperform any bar mounted antenna. I have a centre roof antenna and also a very expensive eletraphone bar mounted antenna for those times when I use a roof rack and I can guarantee the roof one is better at around 1/9th the cost.

Ian

what about on the edge of the tray at the headboard (where the headboard / bar meets the tray) ?

you have basically ruled out every spot on the car lol


just put a cheap one in the roof as suggested.

or dunno it works as well, but a spring based aerial mounted on the rollbar at a height that only the whip sticks out over the roof

i got no idea where to mount your antanna, but your truck is f@#kn sick!

AUSDOG wrote:i got no idea where to mount your antanna, but your truck is f@#kn sick!

cheers mate, persistence pays off it seems.

i think i might temporarily mount it on the front bar and when i make an exo for it i'll mount it on the roof with a smallish flexible whip.

I'm thinking now either a z bracket onto the fender between the fender and the bonnet, or a gutter mount.

how strong are either of these?

GME have a small bracket that you screw on the side under the bonnet. the tab ends up outside. I have used a few of them on some mine vehicles, they seem to do the job. http://www.gme.net.au/public/images/pro ... b403ss.jpg
GME also have a glass mounted antenna, I dunno how these perform, but that may be an option.

Also gotta comment on your ute, F***ing awesome!!

I'd peronally just go a small whip on the roof, but why not a bracket like this off the front bar?

centre roof mount on a spring base

rockcrawler31 wrote:I need to make a decision where to weld the antenna mount for my UHF pretty soon.

If it's only for comp work then distance of transmission isn't a huge issue so what about mounting it on the bars behind the cab with the top of the antenna above the cab.

Oh.. and your tyres are on the wrong way.

these are the go, we have started using these at work so we dont have to replace broken ones frequently. pretty cheap really and work reasonably well
http://www.laser-antenna.com/latest_inn ... #UHF4.5dBi

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/WHAT-AN-IDEA-OnG ... 911.c0.m14[/url]

I'd fab a bracket that mounted off the A pillar snorkle mount. Put it forward and just to the inside of the snorkle. Run the cable down the rain gutter and under the bonnet, or run it straight under the door rubber and into the cab. Its a compromise- not as low as the bullbar, not as high as the roof, and protected a bit by the snorkle.

another option would be to use a 1/4 wave.. you wont break it.


it all depends on how far you want to be able to be heard

rockcrawler31 wrote:

how much space is between that bar and the bonnet, it looks very very close....? first thing you hit with it will Tonka0 the bonnet.

There's about 3 inches to the front of the bonnet. It's closer than i'd like but i can't change it now. the uprights will be getting gusseted and hopefully if i hit something hard enough to move it, it will hit the bonnet parallel and just take paint off or enough to bog it up.

MILO

bogged wrote:

rockcrawler31 wrote:

how much space is between that bar and the bonnet, it looks very very close....? first thing you hit with it will Tonka0 the bonnet.

That's a new one!

?!

whys the bar so close anyway? not much room for movement when you have a hit

rockcrawler31 wrote:I'm thinking now either a z bracket onto the fender between the fender and the bonnet, or a gutter mount.

how strong are either of these?

I use one of these

with this antenna


Seems to handle it all ok.

ToNkA wrote:

bogged wrote:

rockcrawler31 wrote:

how much space is between that bar and the bonnet, it looks very very close....? first thing you hit with it will Tonka0 the bonnet.

That's a new one!

?!

j-top paj wrote:whys the bar so close anyway? not much room for movement when you have a hit

Just a balls up when making it. I noticed after i welded it all up so it was a bit late. I could probably pie cut the upright tube a fraction just above the existing horizontals and stand it up a little more but it might look poo and won't be as strong.

Oh well. lesson for next time.

MILO

can't use an elevated feed on the side bar of the front bar?, that'll sit the whole thing a bit higher.

Make a tab on the top of the rollbar on the tray?

Weiner wrote:Make a tab on the top of the rollbar on the tray?

X2

AJFeroza wrote:

Weiner wrote:Make a tab on the top of the rollbar on the tray?

X2

still think center of roof is the best place

my UHF aerial is mounted behind the cab on the tray with a spring base, top of the aerial sticks about 5" above the roof height, havnt done any long distance radio work, but around all the comp sites it work well,

It doesn't need to go on the roof as UHF are ground plane independant, hence don't need to be surrounded by a sq metre of steel (ground plane) like the old 27mhz cb aeriels used to.

I suspect that the truck is going to be used in the bush rather than out in the desert. Therefore a high db gain is not needed, it has been proven to be detrimental in thick bush, but beneficial in open spaces.

As far as sighting the aeriel, I would place it on the top of the main part of the bull bar, between the headlight and the indicator. You will get good receiption from there.

If you are unsure, tack a few different tabs on the bull bar and try the aeriel on them all to see if the reception is better or worse, until you are happy. The other tabs can then be ground off.

My 0.02c worth

Corgie Carrier wrote:It doesn't need to go on the roof as UHF are ground plane independant, hence don't need to be surrounded by a sq metre of steel (ground plane) like the old 27mhz cb aeriels used to.

I

Unfortunately that is incorrect. You can buy a very cheap antenna for around $20.00 that is ground plane dependant. The one I use is approx 150 mm tall and flexible. It easily outperforms a very expensive ground plane independant antenna mounted to the bull bar. As the small antenna is only 4,5db gain it is ideally suited to hilly country.

Ian

Corgie Carrier wrote:It doesn't need to go on the roof as UHF are ground plane independant, hence don't need to be surrounded by a sq metre of steel (ground plane) like the old 27mhz cb aeriels used to.

i dont know where to begin with that

corgie, it still works best up high. and sitting on the bullbar meanit it wont work aswell behind the vehicle as the body of the vehicle gets in the way of the signal. ground dependant worked the other way, in that if mounted to the front, it will work better towards the rear...