I live in a heavily wooded area so trees are going to be more of an issue then overpasses. I have my SG 7900 mounted on the roof and it seems to do fine. I avoid the trees and branches as much as possible. If anyone has pictures of an HS Sidekick or Little Tarheel mounted on top of a Chevy Tahoe please let me know so I can get a rough idear of how to do it!!!


73's

As far as over passes go, they are high enough. The sidekick is the smallest of the mortorized antennas is why I have choosen to go with it. That or the little Tarheel. I want to be able to perma mount it on the roof but also want the feedline and what have you hidden. I am sure there is a way to do it however I just need to play around with it!!

The best mounting position for the HS Sidekick motorized antenna can be placed where? I was thinking on the roof perma-mounted. Is this possible?

Wheather there is a demand or not, I think a mono band w/separation kit rig is a great idear. Perhaps one of the big wigs from one of the big radio producers, Icom, Kenwood, etc etc read these forums and think about it!!!!! Apparently it would make some amatuers happy,me included!!!!

102" stainless steel whip + antenna tuner!!!!!  I used to use this setup on my 4x4 tire service truck. FT100D was the rig I had at the time. I was constantly off road, over rocks, in the mud and sleet and constantly bouncing and catching lots of air. My dual band antenna is the sg 7900 from diamond. That one I still have. It took a beating as well and held up just fine.  

All I was getting at is if he is only going to "listen" then anything will do for that. The other alternatives are great too, but, with no holes to drill no scratches from mag mounts etc etc. Heck even a coat hanger can recieve a signal, I know I've done it just experimenting!!!!!!!

If you want to go inexpensive then get a 20-30 dollar glass mount antenna. Looks like a cell antenna and is more or less perma-mount, depending on location. That way n o holes need to be drilled on the van and if he isnt going to do much xmitting then this is a very good option!!!!

Great advise Lon. I live in Placerville Ca. just bout 45 minutes from S. Lake Tahoe and we have lotsa deer here. I see them dead on the side of highway 50 all the time, and sometimes you can not even make out that it was a deer. Anyhow, what I did to avoid hitting one myself is I bought these niffty lil items at Wally World (I forget what they are called ....)that adhere to your bumper. While driving down the highway they make a high pitch sound that is only audible to animals. They have saved many a deer that have been tempted to cross my path. I see them and they run and jump the other way. Perhaps Shawn may want to try these niffty lil items on his rig as an extra precautionary measue.  All the logging trucks up here have em in their rigs!!!!  Just a sugestion!!!



73's

<Mine is mounted to a 2" steel tube welded to the transverse member of the hitch platform and is off the left rear. Higher would be better, but I have no problem working all over the East and Southeast on MARS nets either side of 40m and 80m with 100w into my HS 1800Pro. And 67 countries and 41 states, including Hawaii and Alaska, on 20m isn't too shabby, either.>


Yes I have studied all the photos on Alans site, yours included. As I stated before, I wanted to mount the HS1800 from the hitch coming out on the left side of my SUV. Taking Alans advise, he says this not ideal either. So either Alan is wrong on his advise about this configuration or pehaps yours does just fine. I dont know what to believe or trust but one thing is for certain, one way or another I'll get back on HF even if i have to use a 102" whip with a tuner!!!!!!

I agree, Alans site is the best source for info, but I also agree with AFK, its catered more toward cars and pick-ups. I have an SUV and antenna mounting options are very limited especally if you want to use a screwdriver type antenna (ie HS1800DX). I can not find any other place to mount this type of antenna except for the trailer hitch. Alan says this not the ideal place to mount it but no other options are avaiable on an SUV. So I've decided to get and HMC-6S from Comet. I have more options on mounting w/o having to drill a hole in the roof. The XYL would kill me if I did that  HIHI.

I have a reciever hitch on my Tahoe. Thinking of getting a HS 1800 antenna. I have seen a few pix of the antenna mounted off to the side of the hitch. Is this an ideal way to mount this antenna using their (HS) mounting kit?? And will it perform well? Any suggestions would be great!!!! Tnx and 73's to all!!!!