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install	Reply
by WY5Y on November 1, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
How do you install a rig in the new small cars?

RE: install	Reply
by N0FPE on November 1, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
First thing you do is drill a hole in the roof for the antenna! Forget the mag mounts and do it right from the start. Run the coax into the interior of the car and then decide where to put the radio. The new rigs with the remote heads make it pretty easy to find a place for the radio head. BUT first drill the hole!!!

RE: install	Reply
by K0BG on November 1, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
Swing over to my web site, and have a look. Then drill the hole! Alan, KØBG www.k0bg.com

RE: install	Reply
by K2OOG on November 1, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
Alan, when you drill a hole into the roof of a brand new car, what does that do to the resale value of the car? or do you just keep the car forever and forget about trying to sell it at the market price anymore?

RE: install	Reply
by N4NYY on November 1, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
Couple things. Buy lot's of velcro. I cannot intall any rig because the basically elimimated the spaces for in in my Dodge Journey. The only place I can put it, is under the radio, which is where it's CD changer is. Screws are out. If's it's not velco, it's not going. No room for humpmount. The magmount. Many people will say not to get a magmount. If that is practical, then by all means, don't. But I have to go into a ton of parking garages, so a magmount it the only practical solution.

RE: install	Reply
by WB2WIK on November 1, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
I'd say it depends how big the rig is! Most modern mobile rigs are very small. I've never seen a car, including very small ones, where I can't mount a rig sideways on the passenger side of the center console, in a bracket that tilts the rig back to "aim" towards me so I can see it. Some modern rigs have detachable front panels so you can mount the rig in the trunk and only mount the control panel, which is very small and 1/2" thick, up front. Those are so lightweight they can be safely mounted with velcro, because even if they went "flying" they're unlikely to hurt anybody. For rigs themselves, I always use approved brackets and screw them into something solid enough to hold them in a crash. As for a mag mount being better for a parking garage: I've never found that to be the case. With the same effort required to remove a mag mount and toss it inside the car, I can unscrew an NMO mount antenna and just toss the whip itself in the car, leaving the mount, which only protrudes 1/4" vertically, mounted in the roof. The advantages of "drilling the hole" are many, including not slamming the door or window on coax, a much nicer and more attractive appearance when the whip's in place, no marks on the roof from the mount or the coax rubbing on the roof, a safer installation that can't go "flying" in an accident, and improved performance. The through-hole mounts also cost less! WB2WIK/6

RE: install	Reply
by WD8T on November 1, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
"Swing over to my web site, and have a look. Then drill the hole! Alan, KØBG www.k0bg.com " What he said! Oh, I was a "no driller" lip mount wuss for a while..then I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, er, the hole I mean.

RE: install	Reply
by K9YLI on November 2, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
If you drill the hole behind the interior light then nothing shows inside. when you sell the car, just fill with some body putty or epoxy and sand down flush and a shot of paint. <pst people are too short to actually really look over the roof to spot a filled hole. My self excluded. but I would be happy as I could then just pop the plug out and put my antenna there. I only buy used cars and drive them down to dust.

RE: install	Reply
by N1LO on November 2, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
I choose radios with detachable faces. I put the radio chassis under the seat, and use a flexible gooseneck stalk with a clamp or custom plate to hold the face plate. GL, --...MARK_N1LO...--

RE: install	Reply
by K0BG on November 2, 2009	Mail this to a friend!
The truth is, any body damage can be fixed. Yes, it does take a few bucks to do so, but that depends on the specific case. For example, a roof mounted NMO can be left in place with a cheap cellphone antenna screwed on. Most of the time, they don't even see it because it's in plain sight! What really counts isn't a hole in the roof, or trunk, or whatever. It is the mileage, and overall physical condition which really counts. When the inside looks like a pig sty, replete with the remnants of a chocolate ice cream cone, the dealer will never see the antenna hole! Another oft cited excuse is, it's a lease car. So what! If you lease a vehicle for private, non-commercial use, you're paying a whole lot of extra cash trying to keep up with the neighbors. If you can write a lease vehicle off to business, then whatever the extra tariff is gets written off too. So that argument is moot. One thing very few folks consider is the insurance standpoint. Devices, other than trailers generally, which aren't bolted on, are not covered. I've not heard of any denial of claim, but I'd bet if your mag mount flew off, and caused a big pileup on the interstate, you'd bet they'd look hard at that one. Never happen you say? If you think that, you're kidding yourself! Alan, KØBG www.k0bg.com

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