Local clubs I have seen who operate portable operations with generator and batteries simply run all the equipment off the battery and charge the battery with the generator.  ( Many if not most small generators now have 12V charge outputs. )  You do not need to shut anything down when operating this way.   If you do decide to shut down,  the battery should be fully charged and able to carry the load for a good period.

Ed   K7AAT

   If you  ( the original poster ) decide to go with quality rather than price,  and to do the job properly for a house,    I suggest you go back up this thread and re-read what N5VTU said.   Get away from the little portable types such as B&S, Honda, etc,  and go with a robust product like Generac.   You should also look at generators made by kohler and Onan.  They do make small units.   RV service stores are a good place to view such generators.

Ed   K7AAT

  OK.  Its clear to me now.  I do think you could experience unforeseen issues with both installation and antenna mount mechanical problems if you tried to mount a standard NMO mount on those two sheets of metal,  as Alan also mentioned.  If you don't want to use the special mount I pointed out,  then perhaps your suggestion of moving it back just beyond the stiffening layer would be the way to go.   While visualizing it best I could I think that is what I would do.   Good luck.   I was going to suggest a low profile trunk lip mount available from Antenex,  but in reality your hole mounted antenna while outperform such,  considerable.

   Ed  K7AAT

 Yes,  I fully agree with Alan's comments.   The picture originally posted is a good one but unfortunately I am having difficulty 'getting my bearings'.   It appears to me that the inner bracing material is actually spaced away from the actual external trunk sheet metal in the mounting area you were speaking of and that you possibly could install the antenna normally with an external 3/4" antenna hole drill bit of the type made for that purpose and insert the NMO mount from the top as is normal,  and IF the spacing underneath is at least half an inch ,  you could route the coax between the external sheet metal and that inner brace material without drilling a hole in it.   The NMO mount was designed to be installed this way.  I think using a GreenLee punch may make your installation more difficult.    Perhaps a couple more pictures of both the inside and outside could give me a better perspective.  Looks like some kind of small 2 seat sport car from what I can see now.

Ed   K7AAT

  The bottom line answer to your question,  I do not believe the standard NMO mount will fit on two thicknesses of automotive steel.  I can not say whether or not a green-lee will cut through, either;  possibly,  but it may be risky.

   On the bright side,  there ARE special NMO mounts that are made to mount on thicker materials.  There are also some special thick mount NMO s that mount in a 3/8"  hole and are much easier to install for your particular need.   Some such are available on EBay at:  http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=thick+NMO+mount  .  ( I had merely Googled  " NMO mount thick"   to find this.    I recently purchased one of these and it appeared to be a rather good quality unit.  It was mounted on an aluminum boat with rather thick decking.  One caveat,  it requires an FME coax connector for the underside.  I also found this connector on EBay, listed for 4 dollars.... for the RG-8X coax I was using.   It was a crimp connector so you will need a crimp tool with proper sized die.

   Ed   K7AAT

  Robert said,  "  I think the fact that someone needs to look up the codes to understand the message only proves that the messages are coded. That the codes are available on line doesn't change the fact that they are codes.  ".

   Robert,   the use of codes in ham radio is nothing new at all,  and is perfectly legal if those codes are readily available and in the public domain.    Q   codes are one good example.  So is the ARRL   numbering message system for NTS traffic.  You can also see that  RTTY,  PSK31, and all the other digital signals are certainly encrypted from meaning unless decrypted from available sources and software.  This has all been deemed legal by the FCC.    Simple law enforcement codes to abbreviate and describe a situation are no different.

  Ed   K7AAT

  No, Robert.  "Obscuring the meaning"  is not the purpose of tactical shorthand.  Tactical codes and shorthand refers to a large body of acronyms, abbreviations, codes and slang used by law enforcement personnel to provide quick concise descriptions of people, places, property and situations, in both spoken and written communication.  The fact is that anyone who wishes to obtain the meanings of these codes usually can,  and many ardent scanner enthusiasts have done so, amongst others.

Ed   K7AAT

  Original Poster:  " I'm using my rig for a base unit currently. "     


     . . . .   Sure looks like transmit is intended, to me.

   Ed   K7AAT

 Yes,  you can communicate on any frequency to save a life.  You can shoot someone to save a life, too,  but you may not be happy with the followup legal response.    The real problem is most hams don't have a clue what constitutes a real life threatening emergency.

  Ed   K7AAT

  Plug a stereo audio cable into the radio's  speaker output jack and the other end into your computer's sound card mic  input.   Then setup and run Echolink in Sysop mode.   You may need to adjust your radio's volume control for proper audio level into computer ... without over driving it.

 Ed   K7AAT

  Ha Ha,.  that's funny.  In the area I live there's a guy running around selling stuff on Craigslist and when the buyer shows up to purchase and pick up the item he robbed them at gun point.   Kinda hard to do on PayPal.

Ed   K7AAT

Antenex products were purchased by Laird Technologies.  They remain a quality product.  That being said,  I would concur with the others;  the Larson 2/440  antenna would be a prime choice.

Ed   K7AAT

  Your little 1.5A charger has barely enough output to maintain an unused battery of 120AH such as yours... the charge rate is barely over 1 %   consequently you do not need to worry about which terminal to hook up the charger ... any will do.

  I have used a larger 10A  Astron power supply across my battery bank,  with only a large high amperage diode in the hot lead between the battery and the P/S.   I set the P/S output for 13.5VDC  AFTER the diode  ( battery side of diode )  so the batteries are always being float charged at 13.5V.   Under normal operation the power supply provides all the current needed for my radios... but the battery provides any extra if I my operations draw more than 10A. 

   While your 1.5A charger would slow down the depletion of your battery,  I'd suggest you get a larger capacity charger or power supply if you want true reliability and a fully maintained battery.

   Ed   K7AAT

  I still believe my suggestion a few above would be best,  if the original poster has the means to fabricate a custom mast base.

  Ed   K7AAT

  Metal roof sections are usually fastened together to the roof structure with sheet metal screws.  If you could possibly fabricate a custom steele base plate.... with perhaps considerable spread at the base for stability,  and having legs with holes that would line up with pre-existing roof screws,  you might be able to put up a 10 or 20 foot aluminum mast perhaps.

Ed   K7AAT