antennas on Toyota RAV4? - MobileHam Forum at eHam.net

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eHam.net Forum : MobileHam : antennas on Toyota RAV4?

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antennas on Toyota RAV4?	Reply
by K7SO on September 20, 2002	Mail this to a friend!
Has anyone put HF antennas on a RAV4? Any suggestions on what works? tnx, Doc

RE: antennas on Toyota RAV4?	Reply
by K0BG on September 23, 2002	Mail this to a friend!
I'm surprised no one has answered this. Maybe, it is because you didn't give enough info. Are we talking about HF, VHF, UHF?? I step son has a 2002 RAV4 and I don't think it's much different than most small SUVs. He's not a ham, but I am familiar with the vehicle, so fill us in on what type you are looking at. Alan, KØBG

RE: antennas on Toyota RAV4?	Reply
by K7SO on September 23, 2002	Mail this to a friend!
Sorry for the lack of adequate info. I am interested in installing an HF antenna (10-40M, 80M not necessary) on my RAV4. There is a vertically mounted tire in the center of the back gate, and the gate swings open from L to R. I don't want to drill holes in the roof or sides of the car. What is recommended? How far out from the car should the antenna be? There just does not seem to be much room to place an antenna with a RAV4. Thanks for any advice. Never put in a mobile rig before. 73, Doc

RE: antennas on Toyota RAV4?	Reply
by K0BG on September 25, 2002	Mail this to a friend!
Doc, I'm a drill-hole type of guy, but then again I'm a died-in-the-wool mobiler. There are lots of guys who use trailer hitch mounts, and frame mounts who swear by them. But keep in mind, the lower you mount the antenna, the higher the ground losses will be. In fact, on 80 meters, the difference between bumper mounting and top mounting may be as high as 20 db of difference! The rule of thumb is: as long as possible, as high as possible, as high of a Q as possible, and properly matched. Search for my call on this site for a look at my personal antenna. Shy away from spirially wound antennas like the Hamstick and Outbacker. They are so lossy they are commonly referred to as dummy loads on a stick! I don't like screw driver antennas, but lots of folks swear by them, and they are a lot better than the short spirally wound jobby dos. If you want to carry this futher, and need more information about matching, mounting, etc., I'll be happy to continue via e-mail at k0bg@aol.com. I'll even call you if you wish. Alan, KØBG

RE: antennas on Toyota RAV4?	Reply
by AB8OJ on September 27, 2002	Mail this to a friend!
I have a '97 RAV4, and I can sympathize with trying to find a place for an antenna. You might want to take a look at the SUV/van door mounts, from Comet and probably others as well. I have a short VHF/UHF antenna on the Comet door mount; it has an SO-239 connector, so it should be able to accommodate many different types of antennas. Might be a nice alternative to putting a hole in your roof.

RE: antennas on Toyota RAV4?	Reply
by W4JPP on October 1, 2002	Mail this to a friend!
I resisted drilling holes forever in my avalon... Then I bought a mount that reuires drilling 2 small holes in the side of the vehicle..the mount sticks out about 1.5" and has a female 3/8x24. I installed a quick disconnect and when I want to use it, I have a 2 piece shakespeare 8 foot marine whip that just pushes together. I'm using an ah-4 tuner with this, which is located just on the inside of the car, where it hooks to the lead from the mount and a 706. It works quite well on 20 and up, though it will tune on 40 and 80. I have used it on these bands, but I rarely use these bands anyway. Yesterday at noon I worked Algeria and 2 Russian stations and an English station on my 10 minute commute home. A 5th Italian station said I was the loudest he had heard from North America that day. That evening I worked a JA station on my way to home depot. This is fine for me - and I can tune quickly on any band and can "hide" my antenna when I want to.

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