Humvee side antenna mount

[Kenneth Cole]

HI
I have my antenna for a 2 meter radio mounted on a military antenna mount on the rear. The SWR is somewhat high and I wonder If It would be better if I mounted it on the side about in the middle. Also is there a special mount that is used in this location?

Thanks
Ken

 

[Coug]

Are you talking about mounting if hanging off the side of the vehicle, or instead on top of the fender or something like that? Off the side might interfere with your already limited rearview capabilities (depending on model) and more likely to catch on stuff if you go off road.


My thoughts on it, being very new to the HAM world, is the following, and I may be way off base.
If you are having issues with the SWR then you would probably be better off checking things like your cable and antenna being compatible to lower impedance than the actual placement of the antenna. The military would shove antennas on these things wherever they would fit and with all sorts of different mounts and brackets for the same antennas, so unless something funny is going on the location isn't likely the issue.

And by military antenna mount, do you mean just the bracket that bolts to the fender, or are you also talking about the whip antenna spring base assembly as well?

(just for personal interest, what configuration is your truck? Might be different a little bit with a turtle back as opposed to a troop carrier with metal bows or straight truck configuration)

 

[Mogman]

If it is a "civilian" antenna you should be able to tune it, doubtful moving to the side will help with reflected power,
If it is not able to be tuned replace it with one that is, antenna's designed for marine use should work best as they do not require much if any ground plane to function.
Tram make a relatively cheap base load marine antenna, search for "marine VHF" rather than "2 meter"
Laird B1442N is specifically listed as a no ground plane 2 meter antenna.

 

[Kenneth Cole]

Hi
Thanks for the replays. I guess I should have given more info. I have a 1991 Humvee in the command configuration with a soft top and doors. The current mounts are the style on the rear on each side. The type with two metal loops under the base. I use one for my am/fm radio and the other for the 2 meter. The antennas are from Firestik 5/8 wave and the cable is RG213/U. I have checked the continuity of the hook up and hooked up a dummy load and all looks good. The antenna only sticks up above the soft about a foot . I don't know but because of this maybe it's the best I can get which is about 2.5 SWR. I will look into the marine antenna thought.
Thanks guys
Ken