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To Drill or Not to Drill? (DRILL)

S

Skywalker

Guest
This dilemma is one that every mobile operator will face eventually and rightly so, one may become as unsure and timid as a first time virgin. Yes thats right! The first time can be mentaly tough but when done correctly theres no pain, regrets nor mental or physical scarring for you or your sweetheart. My experience was do we do it now or wait untill we both become older. Would that make it any easier? Nope, not really because a hole is still a hole and then i stepped back and took a good long look from a logical standpoint. First off i noticed that there were already numerous holes within the body of my veh starting from the top mounted off road search lights, Not to mention the GPS along with the vehs phone installation antenna's. When viewing it in this manner things did'nt look so bad after all and as a matter of fact, everyplace i unplugged something there was another hole and then i realized one more little hole won't make a hell of a difference. After the deed was done, the upgraded performance of my system left no doubt as to whether it was the correct decision. Will i do it again? Absolutely! The difference is as different as night or day and the only way to know is to do it for yourself. 8)
 
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drill

Skywalker,

I do think this is going to spread (the idea,not the hole size ;) :D )..
One of our lowbed guys decided to bite the "bullet" and drill into his "Petercars" roof........he now has one "Big Wilson" hard mounted and we can't shut him up,loud and proud ,plus no more wacking branches , tearing antennas or mirror brackets off :LOL: 8) 8) ..The other two are really thinking hard and the shop foreman can't wait....
Newest look up here is too keep the roof line clean.....one single hard mount antenna and the "BUS LITES",thats it..even the airhorns are hidden.....Truck drivers,what trend will we want next??/ :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: ;)

Snoope back quiet
 
Mag mount antenna

I have a Wilson 1000 mag mount antenna stuck to a 5" square plate welded to the roll bar of my dune buggy. Can I convert this mag mount to a hard mount? How?
 
mrgizmow,
Can you convert the magmount to a fixed mount? Probably, but don't bother. It would mean retuning the antenna at the least, and more than likely you'd have to do some kind of adapting to get the thing mounted (as in finding a mount for a hole). Easiest and best solution is to just get a "hole" mountable antenna.
While there can be a difference between performance of a magmount and a 'fixed' mount antenna, it usually isn't all that much, sort of. If your antenna is doing okay now, then stay with it.
- 'Doc

PS - I would rather have a 'hole' monuted antenna than a magmount. But, I've also got a magmounted one. Any difference in performance? Mot much. So, unless I find a really good bargain (as in -cheap-), I just don't figure it would be worth the bother.
 
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mag mount antenna

Doc, thanks for the input. I won't obcess about it, but do you think I could find a nut or bolt if I remove the plastic film preventing the magnet from scratching the surface it's stuck to. If such a nut/bolt exists, could I attach a ground lead to that? Thanks again folks
 
mrgizmow,
Good question, and I have no idea how the magnet is attached. Some are bolted on, some glued on, and who knows what else.
You can try the grounding from a blolt if you like. What's it gonna hurt? Still would mean retuning the antenna. I sort of doubt if there's any 'good' way of modifying a magmount to a 'fixed' type antenna. Or, there's no very simple way of doing it. The bottom line is that if you want a 'fixed' mounted antenna then go get one.
- 'Doc

PS - There are 'good looking' antennas and there are good performing antennas. The two are very seldom the same thing. The 'bigger' the 'better', and the uglier the 'better' is the general 'rule'. Obsessing is part of the fun of antennas and radio'ing, so have fun...
 
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Mag mount converted to hard mount

Folks, after peeling the plastic film from the underside of my Wilson 1000 I could see the head of a 3/8" inch bolt. With a socket, I turned the bolt counter clockwise (bad idea). It seems the nut inside rotated and broke the ground connection. I unthreaded the antenna body from the mag base, then unthreaded the thin locknut that held the large plastic cap on the mag base. The 'innards' was nothing more than a U type bracket with the female antenna fitting and a hole for the securing bolt of the mag to go thru. I spot welded the nut for the mag bolt, resoldiered the crimp fitting on the antenna ground and reassembled. I drilled a hole in my mounting plate and picked up a longer bolt that would go thru the plate and into the nut up inside the antenna. All in All very easy and straight forward, apart from breaking the soldier connection by rotating the bolt. Doing it again, I would remove the antenna part and the plastic mag base cover first and hold the nut while unthreading the bolt. Have not officially run an independent SWR reading but the meter on the radio suggests the signal is better.......... Take care, Gerry.
 
I would'nt wast a whole lot of Brain cells trying to permantly mount a "Mag. Mount". Do it right the first time, and get the right mount, for the antenna.

Also before drilling a hole for anytype of mount. Best look under the headliner before you drill! Make sure you have room, and a way to run the coax. Also dont want to be drilling into any wires or brace's that may be where the mount will go.

Another thing thats a good idea. Is to first test where you want the antenna to be located, with a mag mounted antenna, to see how it tunes. You can move it around to different locations to see where it work's the best. Then drill your hole there, for the perment mount. All vehicle's act different. ;)
 
All Wilson antenna's have parts that can be bought at your local CB shop if they should carrier Wilson assesories. You need the roof mount type there Jerry ....should cost you about 20.00 bucks but more then likely cheaper then that because you can use the parts off your magmount .....it will come with the coax a star and connector that your antenna and load will screw into just like the magmount style......I think what your trying to do is a good thing Jerry and can be done without to much brain power. Good Luck to you. .....this should give you a pretty good idea ..... Wilson Parts
 

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