Mobile mounts

I just got my new mounts in today for the radios that I built the console for in the last post!  I've been trying to figure out how to mount the antennas for my radios in such a way that they work good and look good.

When I only had a single radio in the truck I used a Comet hood-lip mount with matching coax connector.  This mount works okay, but it is a bit bulky.  I have never been a fan of lip mounts as they sometimes deform the surface that they are attached to.  This one seems to be large enough to spread the stress out over a fair area and may alleviate this issue.  I haven't seen any deformation in the six months that I've had it on.  Here is a pic of the truck with this mount using a 38" Diamond 2m/70cm half-wave antenna.

As I said, this mount seems to work pretty well. But I wanted to add a second or third antenna without starting to look like a four-poster bed.  So I decided to investigate stake-pocket mounts to relocate this antenna and add the additional antenna for the CB in the other stake pocket.  After much searching and reading I decided to order some mounts from Breedlove Mounts out of Gastonia, NC.  They had amazing reviews and seemed like a good deal.  I ordered the EZN Flat mount Model #14 (SO-239) and the Model #55 (3/8" stud) mounts.

I ordered these mounts Sunday evening off of their website, and the arrived with today's mail (Wednesday).  Pretty quick service!  The mounts appear to be extremely well made.  The craftsmanship is top notch and you definitely get your money's worth.  Here are a few pics, front and back, of the mounts that I ordered:

As you can see, these are extremely well made and rugged.  The only thing that I would suggest is adding some anti-seize compound to the screws.  This should keep the stainless steel screws from possibly spalling in the aluminum mount over time.

So once I moved the Diamond antenna from the front to the back and installed the Hustler FG-27S I was completely happy with the results.  The mounts were strong and stable, as well as providing a good grounding solution that is drilled and tapped into the bottom of the bracket.

This turned into more of a review than a project, but I hope that you've found it informative.  In an upcoming post I'll cover the coax runs and the DC grounding.  I need to do some additional grounding for the radios, as well as under the truck to try to quite it down electrically.

73,

Richard, KK4JDO