2 Meter Antenna

[kemosabe421]

Any suggestions on a low profile (height clearence) 2 meter antenna. MH roof is not metal, so ground plane mag mount won't work.

Thanks,
Chap Hodges
Niceville, FL
K4LEV

[whodo]

I resolved that same problem by mounting a piece of sheet metal off the A/C unit and then placed a Larson mag mount on it. I secured the coax to the side of the A/C so that if it hits some thing it will be knocked over but will not fall off. The Coax goes from there down through the fridge vent on the roof then into the MH.
I am sure others will have other better ideas for you to chose from.

[afchap]

I put a Larsen KG-2/70-CX-PL on-the-glass model on my motorhome, high on the driver side window where it sticks just a little above the roof line. (my MH has a non-opening window above the lower sliding window). All glass except the windshield in my motorhome is dual-pane, and the Larsen antenna works very well there. The coax come down the A pillar and under the dash to the radio. Actually, I guess it could also have been mounted high on the windwhield!

[kroving]

I resolved that same problem by mounting a piece of sheet metal off the A/C unit and then placed a Larson mag mount on it. I secured the coax to the side of the A/C so that if it hits some thing it will be knocked over but will not fall off. The Coax goes from there down through the fridge vent on the roof then into the MH.
I am sure others will have other better ideas for you to chose from.

That works very well but you can also mount the sheet metal right on the roof. Use heavy metal, screw it down at the corners and put plenty of sealant under it..
Dave KJ4OR

[wannabetravlin]

A Friend of mine had a square tube mounted under the bumper and brought it out and up just in front of his mirror on the left side with a flat plate welded to the top of the tubing. He then placed a mag mount onto the plate. Painted it all black and it seems to just disappear. He's running the diamond 72" dull bander so it's higher than his coach by about 18 inches.

Oh, he made it out of 2 inch the 2nd time because the original 1 inch was too flimsey at higher speeds...


KA5G

[kroving]

This is a little off the track of your question but I had an aluminum "head ake rack" made for my pick-up. It surves as a very secure place to mount all the antennas on my truck. I have a Childrens Band, wilson trucker cellphone and MFJ 2 & 440 antennas on it. It is made of 1 1/2" square tubing and all the feed lines are routed down through it. It makes a very nice mount.
For the smaller antennas on my trailer, I use marine antenna mounts that with a 1/4 turn of a lever, release and allow the antenna to pivot down for travel. My "screw driver" is mounted on the top of the ladder and is removed for travel.

Dave
KJ4OR

[wannabetravlin]

Just got back from Eureka Springs...what a great trip. Were you there?? I saw a dully with that same type set up. He had an neat little pin that allowed him to pull and then rotate 90 degree's so he could go into garages and such. What a cool idea.

Thanks for sharing

Wannabe

[tomlang]

My motorhome has an aluminum roof.

I went to the hardware store and bought a galvanized steel cover for an electrical junction box. Once glued to the roof, it made a great home for the Larsen magmount.

That is until I hit one two many trees with it. The antenna was pushed back by the tree limb, then whipped foreward, hitting the roof, at which point the metal element broke off and flew in front of the windshield.

[kroving]

Hi Wannabtravlin
No it was not me. That is a neet idea though, if you need to get into a gardge. We once had one of those but gave it up because we could not take it with us. Hi Hi Hi!!

Dave
KJ4OR

[kroving]

Hi Tomlang
Good idea but you must make sure that you have a good electrical contact between the roof and the plate. Also you need to attach the coax to the roof, near the mag-mount, so if it gets knocked over, it can't roll off the roof.

Dave
KJ4OR

[whodo]

For the smaller antennas on my trailer, I use marine antenna mounts that with a 1/4 turn of a lever, release and allow the antenna to pivot down for travel.

Your use of the marine antenna mounts reminds me of the Hustler antenna that I had about 30+ years ago, it had the loading coils for 10-80 and would fold over about 1/3 of the way up so that you could get into parking garages etc.

[wannabetravlin]

Look for one of those top/center loading type antenna's. It will give you a little more signal strength. If you have a ladder to your roof attach it there. What ever you do...be sure to have a ground wire going to the chasis of your MH. Effieciency will be a lot higher when you do. Even if you have to provide one from your antenna base. 12 guage wire works but grounding the ladder to your chasis works even better.

Using a 1 inch wide thin piece of copper or aluminum (in some applications) has shown to even improve performance. But keep a watchful eye because corrosion will start when using disimuliar metals. Using one of those conductive type paste's at each connection will go a long way in keeping it to a minumum.