If you plan on doing any off-roading, it would be a good idea to have a spring loaded mount.....:fireman:

 

The Antenna looks great! Just right click the red "x", show properties. High light the link and plug it in the address field and you can see them.

Cebby from the looks of DH6...'s antenna I'd probably do a 3'. That thing is huge and you'd definitely have to adjust that baby when pulling in the garage(if that's what your worried about).

I'm actually going with a 2' on my Surco rack like Jackson did. He said he hasn't had any problems reaching the people he has wanted to reach. The 2' I'm going with is a FireStik II Non Ground Plane Antenna. From what I've read these work almost as good as a grounded antenna. Due to the fact that the ground is built into the coax cable, the coax absorbs a little power therefore dropping your distance 10-15%. I haven't decided if that's enough for me to go with a grounded antenna up top. I figured one cable was enough to run, but I'm started to wonder if the extra 10-15% is going to be neccesary. I think I'm going with a grounded 3' FireStik II on my wifes truck, and I think I'm going to try the door jam mount on the rear cargo door of her Suburban. That way I can adjust high much actually sticks up above the roof. She always parks in the garage and I don't want her wacking the antenna on the top of the opening every morning and evening. I hope that helps a little. I hope to have mine installed in a week or two, and I'll share my results.

Jeremy

 

Looks good DH6.
Looks very familiar.
It will work out great there.

But do get the HD spring, it will take pressure off of the fiberglass like was mentioned.

 

Jeremy, I'm curious to see how yours turns out. DH6's is GIGANTIC!!! 3' might even be too big. Has anyone thought of having a flat bracket up in the roof under one of the mounting tracks for the factory roof rack? The ends thingies that are screwed in might provide a decent spot. Then I could do a 2'. I'll likely have it removed most of the time and slap it on when I go wheelin' or have a road trip. Hmmmm....

Oh no - not again!!! The wheels are beginning to turn......

 

Hey all,
Thanks for all the compliments. I guess some of you probably know my real name now. Oh, well. Bound to happen sooner or later. I wish I would have gone with a 3' antenna. Would have looked a lot better. I'll probably get one of those springs too. There seems to be some stress put on the fender when I move the antenna back and forth. Maybe I'll try and exchange it tomorrow. If I do, I get some more pics so Cebby can see how the 3' looks.

I'll start a how to thread in the off topic forum so I don't go all over Cebby's thread with a bunch of how to post pictures questions.

Have fun all.
DH6twinotter

 

I'd prefer if you put your pics here. It's a part of the thread and appropriate subject matter. You can do direct links to both of these free hosts:

http://www.montypics.com

http://upload.nomonkeyno.net

Montypics is still down for new action - it may be available by the 31st. Who knows...

After uploading your pics, just copy the address to it onto the clipboard and paste it into the IMG command. Like a walk in the park...

 

Ok. Thanks. I'll post any pics I have here. I just didn't want to over run your tread with the "how to do that" part. Thanks for the links though. I'll check those out tomorrow. It's 12:15 and I have a quiz tomorrow at 8:15. Bed time now.

Have fun all.
DH6twinotter

 

Here's another try with using one of those hosts.

Pic of the whole antenna and bracket:



And a close up pic of the mount:


Hope it works.

I didn't get a chance to exchange the 4'. Not sure if they will as I've had it for a month and don't know where my receip is.


Thanks for the help all. Now I know how to post pics. Woohoo!

Well, have fun all.
DH6twinotter

 

I personally have this setup:

Firestik External Locking Quick Disconnects (R-1A)
Firestik Stainless Steel Stpring (SS-3H - Heavy Duty)
Firestik Adjustable Stainless Steel Hood Channel Mount Mini-Kit(MK-274R)
Wilson "Silver Load" FGT Antenna (2ft and 4ft)

I use the 2ft antenna for the city driving off my hood. Then change to the 4ft when i'm n about on the trails!

I think the wilson's are better than the firestik antenna but then again it's just personal preference!

Lance

 

I just exchanged my 4' for a 3'. Here's a picture:



Looks better I think. Once I get a spring, I think the height should be just right.

Cebby--you may be able to use that swivel mount and jury-rig it between the tail lamp and tail gate. Then you could use a 4' antenna on there. Just a thought.

Have fun all.
DH6twinotter

 

That looks alot better. Has your range suffered at all? That's my fear of putting it in the back...

 

A 3 footer?
Man your rig is going to get antenna envy if it parks by my 4 footer

Actually 1 foot is not much, and you should be able to transmit almost as far.
I like the looks of the 4 footer, and almost went with a 5' one.
But I think the 4' is about as big as I'd go.

The 3' one looks good on yours.

 

If you have'nt installed it yet, check out www.can4x4.com. Go under Technical Articles. They have some good info on where to mount and where not to. It will tell you how to tune your antenna and maintain your coax.

Just trying to help.

 

I'm not sure on the range. I haven't gotten my CB radio hooked up yet. :cry: I'm going to buy a $10 dremel tomorrow so I can trim my trim and maybe make some brackets for it. Otherwise, I'll go down to the machinist shop and have them make up some that I drew up. (they gave me a quote for $20, but I may be able to get it cheaper I I bend them myself.

lol, yeah I think a 4' would have looked better on my 4Runner if it was a trail rig. Only thing is, I seem to accidentally be going towards the 4x4 sport truck look. (not sure if that makes sense).
If I would had a 4wd, I probably would have stuck with the 4'. I'm trying to keep it kinda sorta low profile, so that's why I went with a 3'. Hopefully it wont hurt performance too much.

Well, have fun.
DH6twinotter