Okay so I just picked up my 2004 F-150 and now I want to get my ham radio antenna mounted. I do not want the antenna in the truck bed area like it was on the 01, and I don't want to drill more holes than I have to.

I have looked at stake hole mounts and that puts it too close to the cab for my comfort on SWR, and the rear stake hole will interfere with hauling things and loading/unloading the bed with what I do.

So my last two options are glass mount and hood mount brackets. If I go glass mount I can't pull into the garage without dropping the antenna each night...so that won't work too well...and with hood mount and my 30 some inch antenna it will barely hit the header as I pull into the garage.

Anyone mounted a hood bracket for CB or Ham? I'd like to see pictures if you have them. The local CB Shop has a bracket that will work, but I will have to drill out the hole to fit the SO239 connection. I did this on the last mount, so that doesn't bother me...if you have other suggestions let me know.

Thanks!

 

I could not find a satisfactory mount for the hood or front fender so I went with an NMO type mount in the center of the roof. It was not as hard as I had feared and worked out well. Pics in my gallery.

 

hmm, that does look nice, but the getting inside the garage becomes even more of an issue with the antenna on the roof than on the glass.

Thanks for the input!

 

You didn't mention what bands you run. Assuming you are running 10-12m (gee isn't CB, 11m in the middle there somewhere?) you could theoretically run an extended stinger, or cut down depending on your app, mag mount CB antenna like a Wilson 1000.

I have never had a radio antenna mounted directly behind the cab. How badly does it impact SWR?

BTW. I am looking at extending myself beyond CB, and I know the tests changed last year sometime, to a fully no code system. Any study guide reccomendations to get past my test?

 

You're right, I didn't mention it...I run a dual band 2m/70cm Yaesu FT7800r. It's a nice radio and I have hit some pretty distant repeaters.

I just received my tech license (no code) in march of this year, and it was easy. I picked up a technician license study guide from the arrl.org web site, read the whole thing in a week's time and then did the study test on qrz.com until I received passing grades on all 12 variations of the test.

After doing this there was a test site in town the next weekend and I only missed two questions on the exam. It is well worth the $14 or whatever I was charged and in my opinion...folks on 2m are much nicer than SOME of the folks on 11 meter.

I will always have a CB, just won't use it unless I am on a road trip and then I'll stick a mag mount on the roof. Someone is always listening though no matter what radio band you're on.

Order a guide online, read up, and good luck on the test!

To get back on the main topic of my post...I am probably going to pick up that hood mount soon and see if I can make it work. I'll just have to be careful tweaking it to be an exact fit for the truck. If anyone does end up with a photo of the install please post it!!

Thanks,

 

Well the hood mount bracket did not work...don't like the clearances on the bracket and the coax did not fit between the hood edge and side panel of the truck...so the Truck bed was drilled and my old mount was re-used.

Looks pretty good, used a smaller screw and it seems pretty strong. The complicated part was getting my hand behind the back seat with out taking the seat back off.

All is working and I got my Amateur Call Tag license plates the other day after I paid my taxes on the truck...that was a big OUCH! $950... whew glad that is over.

 

I have mine behind the cab... it affects more of the reception than the transmission... especially if you've got a big hunkin' transmitter.

I used to have mine on the roof with a Hustler 2m MX-2... until it got stuck in my garage door a few times... now I've got a Diamond SG7900 with some Belden Coax...

My current rig in my truck is a Yaesu FT-2800M with a 75W HD transmitter. My HT is a Yaesu VX-7R quad band... 2m, 70 CM, 1.25m, and 6m... it's a TOTALLY AWESOME HT by all respect.

 

Well, not currently a big honkin xmtr, at least not that I can use yet. I am aiming to ram through the Tech, and General class exams as quickly as possible. I found the local Ham club offers free classes to get you through. I want to do 10 and 12M, as well as 2m. I have a RCI 2970DX (stock, not modded to work on 11m or anything like that) that I am wanting to run. From what I can tell 200w is all you are allowed to run anyway, and more than enough if I am not trying to be heard over a tailbiter with a 1600w linear...

I am looking into using a 102" whip for 10-12M work, but am wondering if there is any way to get decent SWR out of a range that wide with an antenna that is right in the middle... And is there any way I can tie in my CB to the antenna system so that I do not have to have a rolling porcupine.

The 2M is pretty easy. I figure I will use a handheld transciever, with a mag mount for those times I want the ground plane of the truck to work with...

Hey O.P., can you post some pics of your antenna rig? I'd like to see how you set it up...

 

I run a hood or rear deck edge type mount on the top rear edge of each rear door. Got a dual band on one and a 6M base loaded on the other. They are adjustable for side to side and front to back angle. They do not need any holes drilled and just clamp on with allen sets. The cables run down the inside of the rear of the doors and drop under the chassis and into the cab. So far working very nice as they are above the roof line. They also fold down.

I also have a custom mount at the rear drivers side of the bed. It holds a High Sierra screwdriver for my Icom IC-706 HF radio. Great to chat with VK's on 20M in the evenings.