Any Xterra owners out there?

[KE6ETZ]

I have a 2006 Xterra and am considering getting an antenna for the roof. But cant decide on a magnet mount or glass mount or any other type of mount. The roof has a roof rack so maybe others have used that for antennas. I don't want a terribly long antenna. Lookin' for something low profile where I dont have to worry about parking garages, etc....

I'm probably going to get two antennas - one of ham and other for scanner bands.

any ideas for

[K0BG]

Forget the glass mount for sure. The glass is passivated, and the antenna will not be much more than a dummy load.

You can use a mag mount, but you're liable to get alternator whine as a result of the ground loop it will cause.

The best course is to bite the bullet, and install a decent NMO. If you want good performance, and long life, get a Larsen NMO2/70BK and never look back.

Go to my web site, and look under VHF Options in the left frame.

Alan, KØBG
www.k0bg.com

[N1WLF]

Your best bet is definately an NMO roof mount and Larsen antenna.  They make a 34" and a 19" dual-band antenna that would work for you.  If you drill the hole and mount the antenna on the roof near the rear hatch, you can pop the dome light out, pull the hatch trim, and squeeze a paw in there without a full headliner drop.  Pretty easy actually.  Then just snake the coax behind the side panels to the front.

FYI: I just traded my Xterra for a new FJ Cruiser and the hole (now covered with a rubber plug) did not detract from my resale value at all.

Howls,
N1WLF

[KC2BUN]

I just got a 2005 xterra, I mounted a glass mount scanner antenna n still trying to figure out where I'm mounting the rigg in the cabin. Let alone my 2meter yaesue rigg. I'm trying to figure a way to mount my federal signal 3pod vector to a heavy aluminum plate n the roof rack, that same plate is where I was thinking of mounting the 2meter hustler buck buster any other ideas? I haven't been able to see a solution to my rigg mounts

[K7RBW]

I'll 2nd (or 3rd) the vote for an NMO mount in the roof. I put one in my RAV4 and it currently has a 12" dual-band antenna on it. Not the most efficient, I suppose, but it works OK with the local repeaters and on simplex. Most important to me, however, is that it has never hit a garage ceiling. If I know that I won't be near a parking garage for a while, I have a much longer antenna in the trunk that I can swap out in 2 minutes.

When considering mounting locations, consider how you'll run the cable. with a roof-mounted NMO, the cable is in the car and it's just a matter of running it down a roof pillar (minding any airbags that might be in the way). If you run a luggage rack-mounted antenna (I have one of those, too), you have to find a way to get the cable into the car. That's harder to hide and you have to watch out for water leaking in with the cable.

I know everyone says that a glass-mounted antenna isn't the best (and they're right), but they work (at least mine have).  My RAV4 has one of those, too. They are definitely a compromise, but then so is a 12" dual-band antenna (even a roof-mounted one). So, while a compromise, they might still be an option. I would point out that when I mounted mine on the windshield, I had to cut it down a couple of inches because the thicker glass de-tuned it a bit. YMMV, of course.

However, after installing all these different mounts on my car, if I had it to do all over again, I'd just punch a hole in the roof and be done with it (in 30 minutes or less). It's not as traumatic (after the fact) as it sounds (before the fact) . As WLF said, the impact on resale value is mostly imaginary.

[N5TWB]

I've owned a 2006 XTerra for just over 5 years and it has had 4 NMO mounts on the roof since about a week after I bought it. The suggestions for the 19" dual-band antenna are right on the mark but you'll still be too tall for many parking garages. It works for my home garage because I had the opening made taller during construction for just that reason.

For your scanner, I highly recommend the Larsen (or whoever they are now) NMO 150/450/800. It is also around 19" tall and works very well in those bands. If you haven't already got the scanner, I recommend the Uniden 996XT because it can be mounted in the dash by taking out the double-DIN factory radio, replacing it with a single-DIN radio/CD combo and using the remaining DIN slot for the scanner. If you do this, you ought to consider whether you want to take advantange of the GPS capability of that scanner so you can run the connection to it while you've got the dash open for the install.

Since you are talking about just doing two antenna mounts, I'd recommend you do them as far forward as possible because most antenna mount packages come with just 17' of coax. If you follow the suggestion to mount towards the rear for easier install access, you will run out of cable before you get to the usual mounting spots. If you decide to use the rear mounting for your antennas, consider using the covered cargo space in the rear for the radio body and put a remote control head at the operating position.

Enjoy the new vehicle and getting the radios the way you want them.

[KC2BUN]

I have a yaesue ft2800(2meter) I got no idea where I'm mounting that radio letalone the scanner n I wanted to know if it's safe/ok to mount 2 hustler buck busters on top my 2005 Nissan Xterra. Where I want to mount them is beside my light bar(federal signal 3pod vector) using the bolts that mount the lightbar down, the bolts r bout 18"+/- apart. Can any fellow hams help me out? Thank you
KC2BUN