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Thread: TIL mounting antennas

  1. #1
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    TIL mounting antennas

    I have been running a nice mag mount antenna for my dual band ham radio.
    The mount holds sturdy at 75+ mph. and creates a great link for my radio ground plane.

    My HF antenna is another story altogether. It's going to be a nightmare one way or the other.
    I thought I could use a lip edge mount on the hatch to hold my large HF antenna.
    NOPE. There is zero clearance when the hatch raises for an edge mount. So......being creative


    I decided to try the mount on the remaining edge location. My hood.
    The mount fits GREAT! The antenna analyzer shows near perfect resonance.

    The bad. The hood is slightly weak, the antenna wobbles a bit and I think I need to reinforce the sheet metal.
    The mount has a quick release so raising the hood is a non-issue

    I want opinions. Do you think
    It's illegal?
    It's unsafe?
    It's stupid looking?
    Anything else I did not think of?Name:  IMG_20240317_123454.jpg
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    Name:  IMG_20240317_123412.jpg
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    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


  2. #2
    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wallythacker View Post
    I have been running a nice mag mount antenna for my dual band ham radio.
    The mount holds sturdy at 75+ mph. and creates a great link for my radio ground plane.

    My HF antenna is another story altogether. It's going to be a nightmare one way or the other.
    I thought I could use a lip edge mount on the hatch to hold my large HF antenna.
    NOPE. There is zero clearance when the hatch raises for an edge mount. So......being creative


    I decided to try the mount on the remaining edge location. My hood.
    The mount fits GREAT! The antenna analyzer shows near perfect resonance.

    The bad. The hood is slightly weak, the antenna wobbles a bit and I think I need to reinforce the sheet metal.
    The mount has a quick release so raising the hood is a non-issue

    I want opinions. Do you think
    It's illegal?
    It's unsafe?
    It's stupid looking?
    Anything else I did not think of?Name:  IMG_20240317_123454.jpg
Views: 98
Size:  96.6 KB
    Name:  IMG_20240317_123412.jpg
Views: 97
Size:  95.2 KB
    1. Are there any other options that have a smaller loading coil? I know HF can be difficult.
    2. Have you noticed any paint damage?
    3. What do the neighbors think? Haha

    Interesting solution.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


  3. #3
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    The problem, or issue, if I want to use both 40 meters and 80 meters while mobile.
    I can buy a monoband stick that covers either 40 OR 80 meters but in both cases a large coil is required in lieu of a really long antenna. That doesn't solve the problem of my wanting to cover all the major bands with 1 antenna.

    Heavily loaded multiband antennas like the Comet UHV-6 have coils sticking out, sometimes at odd angles, and there is the need to buy coils for the bands you want and it can get costly. Diamond offers the same setup, a nearly 6 ft. tall stick that sways dangerously at highway speeds unless you have guy wire on the antenna. Ya, now that looks stupid. And you have spent >$400 with tax. Hard Nope. Oh, and no 80 meter options for these antennas.

    Not to mention these coils/antennas are rated in some cases 120 watts ssb which is about 30 watts digital. Any more and you could cook hot dogs on them. Name:  Comet cma-uhv-6_lj.jpg
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    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


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    It doesn't look as stupid as my Blueberry pulling my 5'X10' utility trailer (with much bigger wheels/tire than the car).

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


  5. #5
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    We really do oddball stuff with our Mirages, don't we?
    Is it something the plastic gave off when it was still curing and new?
    Is it something already warped in our heads that drew us to the Mirage in the first place?
    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


  6. #6
    Money drew me in. I can buy more crayons, glue and arosol cans with the money I save on fuel.
    The unicorn horn looks like it came stock btw

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)


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    My biggest concern would be that it might be illegal due to the obstruction to the field of view. Not a lawyer or cop, though, so maybe the obstruction is small enough that it wouldn't matter.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2024 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 38.8 mpg (US) ... 16.5 km/L ... 6.1 L/100 km ... 46.6 mpg (Imp)


  8. The Following User Says Thank You to jebr For This Useful Post:

    Wallythacker (03-26-2024)

  9. #8
    Senior Member Wallythacker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fummins View Post
    Money drew me in. I can buy more crayons, glue and arosol cans with the money I save on fuel.
    The unicorn horn looks like it came stock btw
    It was the 1200cc 3 cyl engine with the promise of 50mpg that hooked me
    When I learned I could buy one LOADED for $10k OTD with the insane warranty I was hooked.

    Quote Originally Posted by jebr View Post
    My biggest concern would be that it might be illegal due to the obstruction to the field of view. Not a lawyer or cop, though, so maybe the obstruction is small enough that it wouldn't matter.
    But think this thru, antennas mounted on the fender like traditional cars are technically in the line of sight, not the direct line of sight, but nevertheless they are. The Highway traffic act is clear about crap hanging from the rear view mirror, NOT allowed , windshield cracks in the drivers line of sight, NOT allowed so my antenna technically should be OK. However I learned from looking at many other installs the sheet metal is likely to bend, even using my smaller antenna.
    Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
    Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
    Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.

    Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
    We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)


  10. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wallythacker View Post
    The problem, or issue, if I want to use both 40 meters and 80 meters while mobile.
    How about a magnetic antenna like on some WW2 aircraft? Then you would also need a good antenna tuner with high-voltage capacitors to prevent arcing. In these parts with all the interference from LED lights and cheap non-transformer PSU's, magnetic is the way to go.

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    What if you rigged some sort of brace from the roof extended out to the antennae? To stop the base from flexing the hood.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


  12. The Following User Says Thank You to 7milesout For This Useful Post:

    Wallythacker (03-26-2024)

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