Try a MFJ 10m Hamtenna.  It's only $14.95 +shipping.  I have it mounted on the roof of my SUV and it works great.

http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-1610T

Thank you for the post Teak!   

Best long distance mobile contact was while I was driving here in central Indiana and made contact with a Ham just east of Moscow, Russia.  It was on 15 meters.  I was running my Icom IC-7000 at 100 watts into a Jetstream "ham stick" on the roof of my SUV. I gave him a 5/7, he gave me a 5/8.  I looked his station up on QRZ.com and he has a massive beam farm and I think he was running 1kw.  

Best recent mobile-to-mobile contact was with a "7" ham who was driving in upper Washington state.  More than just a contact we had acutally had a conversation.  Again, on 15 meters.  Back in the 90's I remember a 10 meter band opening.  I had a mobile-to-mobile QSO with a ham in Los Angeles.  We both gave a 5/9 20+.  We both agreed that the audio was so clear and strong it sounded like we were sitting next to each other in the same car!!

This is a picture of a Cushcraft R7:

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/telwest/R7/R7-4.jpg

Not much chance I could disguise it as anything but an antenna.

I am just getting back in to HF after 13 years off to raise a family and run a business.  In the interim I moved into a house with a no antenna HOA.  I've been getting my HF fix doing mobile but with the weather getting colder would like to move inside permanently.  The good news is that I have a high peaked roof and my attic has a inside peak of 18 feet.  I put in a inverted V dipole, but it's not working for me.  I have a few more things I can try before giving up on it.  But....

Back in the 90's in a non restricted neighborhood I had lots of fun on HF with my Cushcraft R7 on 10 meters down to 40 meters. It's been sitting in a box since then.  The overall height of the R7 is 22.5 feet.  I'm no antenna guru by any means, but I think the overall length is to get down to 40 meters.  So I have two questions...

If I left out one of the bottom "boom" sections to shorten the overall height so that it would fit in the attic, would it work?  I could give up 40 meters if I could get on the air with 10 meters down to 20 meters.  But would an R7 work at all in an attic?  Would I be wasting my time to put it all together.  The R7 is a "no radials" vertical.  Am I crazy or could it work?

Today there's a high wind advisory with 25 mph winds and gusts to 40 mph.  But I'll stll be able to work on my inverted V diapole because it's in my attic.  Weather's not an issue when you're inside.  When we bought the house the very steep roof pitch with an 18' peak in the middle of the attic didn't mean much to me, it does now. 

Plus, as my youngest son finishes up high school and my XYL and I start to talk about empty nest downsizing she is totally onboard for the next house with no restrictions. 

Been getting my HF fix mobile, going to fire up the rig on the new antenna this afternoon.  Wish me luck.

I had to look at a unique solution for mounting an antenna on my Mini Cooper S convertible. There was no place to put a mag mount so I was considering this license plate mount from MFJ:

http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-2820

This might work for your Equinox.  I was looking at using it in combination with the Comet CK3M mount ( http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamantm/cometx.html ) which is the thin coax you mentioned.  You could use the thin cable closing thru the weather strip.  Use velco to keep the cable in place on the inside of the car.  Another option I was considering was drilling thru the body behind the license plate to get the cable in.  I would have done that only if I could find a plastic/rubber plug to put in the hole when I sold the car.  I go by the old axiom with buying a house.  Remember when you are buying a house, someday you will sell it.  Look at how it will be when you sell.  Same with a car.  Make sure your mobile installation will be un-installed so that the lease company, dealer buying your trade, or the next owner will never know there was a radio in the car.

I decided not to put a radio in the Mini and instead spend my $$ on an HF in my SUV.  Good luck and have fun.

Hi Adam,

Congratulations on your new IC-7000.  I run one mobile, in my 2004 Blazer, and love it.

I used to have a 1995 Jeep Wrangler.  I did not run HF in the Jeep but did have VHF/UHF.  Great business on your mounting the antenna on the front bumper.  One thing you may want to consider is mounting your antenna on the rear mounted spare tire on the jeep.  I did that with the VHF/UHF antenna on my Wrangler.  The spare time had 5 lug holes, but was held onto the spare mount with three bolts.  I fabricated a bracket out of L shaped aluminum that I mounted onto one of the open bolt holes.  I slit the vinyl tire cover, reinforced the slit by sewing around it.  I then mounted the antenna on the bracket.  I just did a Google search of "Jeep spare tire antenna mount" and found a couple of unique ideas.  It looks like most folks had smaller antennas and mounted between the body and tire.  I had mine on the outside of the tire.  Look also at some of the spare tire bike racks.  That might give you an idea.

I think you might be happier with the antenna in the back.  You won't have to see it while your driving.  Plus, if you ever get in an accident some bad/smart lawyer might say your antenna blocked your vision.  Now if you're going to have it mounted only when you're off road....nevermind.

One other bit of advice with your mobile HF.  Make sure your radio, antenna, and tuner (if you get one) is very well grounded to the body of the jeep.  I used these grounding straps on the radio, tuner, and on the antenna...

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Help-15-in-Universal-Ground-Strap/_/N-25ht?itemIdentifier=98830&_requestid=2420054

I found spots on the frame where I scraped the paint off, screwed and souldered the straps to make sure I got a good ground.  Good ground means good HF.  Also, if you are looking for a tuner, I am very happy with my LDG IT-100, works great with the IC-700.

This ham does modifications on the IC-7000 mic.  The mic may be the problem.

http://www.7000mic.com

I currently have an Icom 7000 and in the past had the Yaesu FT-897.  Operate the Icom mobile, did not operate the Yaesu either mobile or portable.

Icom.  Love it.  It's one of those good news bad news things.  Good news is, it does all kinds of things and has all kinds of operating menus.  The bad news is that doing all those things means the learning curve is high.  Lots of menus to step thru.  In time, I will be able to learn them all.  But in time.  I got the IC-7000 and also bought the LDG IT-100 tuner that's built for the 7000.  It works great, and cost $179, about half the cost of the Icom tuner.  This was my first Icom. I had a Kenwood TS-50 back in the mid 90's, but all of my mobiles and HT's are Yaseu.

Yaseu. Long story short. I worked for a company that bought me a FT-897, then the company went out of business six months later.  I lost my job and the radio stayed with the company.  From my six month use here's what I remember.  It was easier to use.  Since I had other Yaseus the logic of the menu system was more familiar.  I got the Yaseu tuner and attached it to the side.  It worked well on all bands. 

I would say the case of the Yaseu seems more rugged for portable use than the Icom.  I would say if you are looking to buy the tuner, look a the LDG page ( http://www.ldgelectronics.com/c/252/products/1/7/1 ), they have a tuner built for the Yaseu that's probably less expensive.  One of the things I like to do on HF is tune thru the band.  If I remember correctly the Yaseu had only a A/B VFO. So on HF I could bounce back and forth on the A/B between two DX stations I wanted to work.  The Icom has a "scratch" pad where you can choose 5 or 10 temporary memories.  You can be tuning thru a band, pop a DX station into the scratch pad, continue tuning and put more in.  Then choose thru all the DX stations, 5 or 10 of them and work 'em. 

I didn't get the built in battery.  One thing you may want to consider.  The built in battery is 13v and $140.  For around $16 you can get a 12v sealed battery ( Amazon: http://sk4.us/oAU01W ).  Stick some powerpole connectors on them and you could have eight 12v batteries for the price on the one Yaseu with a quick change powerpole option.  Though, the are 12v instead of the 13v.

Either way, I think you'll be happy.  Both good radios.

73,
Steve

I really enjoy HF mobile and when driving ID myself with my call and "Mobile".  Right now my only HF is the rig in my SUV.  Since it's the only HF radio and antenna I have, I sometimes back up out of my garage, hook up a power supply to the radio and make contacts.  On these "driveway QSOs" I identify myself as mobile since I'm running a mobile rig, 100w, into a hamsick on the SUV roof.  Is that the correct etiquette?  Should I identify myself as mobile only when I am actually driving?  Or is is OK to say mobile since I'm using the somewhat restrictive mobile setup?

Ran across this news story. No ham involved, no RFI or EMI.  Somehow during construction the steel beams in the house became magnetized corrupting computer hard drives and distorting TV screens.  This is a new one, thought everyone might find it an interesting read:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/10/05/high-court-drawn-into-magnetic-homes-case.html

I agree with you on the asthetics.  Plus, my 18 year old son really agrees with you.  He says my radios are ugly.  I had a hard time deciding where to put the radio. Under the seats was out.  Could have put it in the back of the SUV, but it's like a hot house back there in the summer, plus I do haul stuff and I might hit the radio loading and unloading


Sharp eye.  Had the cables out on the carpet putting new powerpole connectors on.  Should have put the cables back up under the dash before I took the picture. 


If I leave the car in the sun, I put my "Kleenex Box Security" solution over the head.  Keeps it covered for security and keeps it shaded from the sun.  Here's a link to how I did it:  http://www.kremer.com/kf9za-kleenex-box-ham-radio-security

James...Thanks for your question.  The IC-7000 overheating problem is something I heard about, so I did mount the main unit out the in open.  The temp meter has never budged in the three weeks since I installed the radio.

As to the tuner. If I had to buy either of the Icom tuners, the AT-180 or AH-4 at either $339 or $399 I would have taken a pass on buying a tuner.  But the IT-100 at $179 it was worth putting in the mix, plus if I ever get the diapole up in the trees I can tune it up with the tuner.  Back in the 90's I had a Kenwood TS-50 with my ham sticks and had trouble with the SWR.  Got the AT-51 tuner and it worked much better, so I guess I've always thought a tuner mobile is a good idea.

Alan, I don't understand your reply.  I posted the pictures of my install to give people ideas.  They can take my idea, or not.  Modify or improve on it, or not.  I enjoy seeing and reading other's mobile installs, so I wanted to share my ideas. What exactly is your point in posting your reply?