Mag mount antennas on roof rack.

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
I've been using mag mount antennas for my CB, Ham and Cell boosters on the Rhino Rack on my Porsche. They all seem to work well. I only put on the rack when I go on a trip hence the mag mounts.

I have a Rhino Rack platform rack on my 200 Series LC and I'm thinking of rather than hood or hatch mounts , I'd just put the antennas on the roof with the mag mounts. Since they are all different freqs , I was thinking of mounting the antennas along the width of the rack (56") with the Ham in the middle.

I prefer roof mounting as height does make a difference in Comms.

What do you gurus think?
 

Billoftt

Active member
Roof is always best. Not really because of height in a mobile installation, just getting all of the antenna above the roof-line and out of the way of the vehicle’s sheet metal and getting a even ground plane. If you are intending on using repeaters mostly, a half-wave antenna in the fender is good enough.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

sonoronos

Usually broken down on the side of the road
If one is talking about a three foot height difference, then no.

If one is talking about a 30 foot or 50 foot height difference, then sure.

In relative terms, the earth is massive and round, and vehicles are tiny. One does get small gains in effective LOS for every foot in height, but terrain swallows most of that advantage, until you start building towers or masts.
 
Last edited:

DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Seems to me the main reason for having a mobile antenna on your roof as opposed to a fender or bumper is reduced chance it will detune from close by metal or create a distorted pattern.
 

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