Magnetic antenna on car

[KB2FCV]

What kind of car do you drive? If it's a sedan, you can always get a trunk lip mount. You then feed the coax through the back seat and can sneak it under carpeting to get up front. I had that for a while on one of my leased cars.

Of course another option is to drill. Some of my cars came pre-drilled already when I used to drive old police cars. Our van which we own I drilled.

A long time ago when I used to run mag mounts the problem I ran into was when in the door jam, it would get crushed and let to problems. Some cars have tighter clearance than others.

[K8JD]

I've never used one of the biggies, but my guess is that they do drive into their garage.
Once

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

Most ant makers have a fold-over , like a hinge at the bottom, that you can unlock and fold down the taller antennas to enter a garge !

For the mag mount;
I would see if there is a rubber "boot" available, that covers the magnet to prevent paint damage. Maxrad makes them and I have used this with no problems.
My antennas go from car to car often.

[KF7EIF]

Thanks for all the thoughts. I'm not terribly worried about paint damage. My last car had desert pinstriping (scratches from off-roading through the desert) before my first oil change. I guess getting out and folding down an antenna is not that big of a hassle, but maybe when I get one big enough to need that, I'll let my XYL park her car in the garage.

My car does not have real tight door jams and it does not seem to be a problem for the mag antenna for now anyway. Got it running through the back door, behind the drivers seat. That door only get's used a few times a week.

Thanks again for the thoughts and comments.

Stephen KF7EIF Arizona

[KL7AJ]

Depends on the neighborhood.

[WB2WIK]

Well, I tried driving into my garage once with my bike on the roof rack. That didn't work so well. The antenna just barely hits the garage door as I drive in or out. It doesn't touch at all if my wife or either of the kids are with me.

Time for new shocks.

Welcome to the hobby. I hate mag mounts and only use them occasionally on a rental car if I'm traveling. It's not that they don't work -- they do -- I just hate the way they look, and that the coax is exposed. It's messy. The "through hole" mount takes care of all that and yields a more professionaly, neater appearance.

The through hole mounts are also cheaper, and being cheap, that's a good thing.

[K0CMH]

If mag mount antennas didn't work reasonably well and were not so darn convenient, there would not be a bizillion of them sold and in use.

You should be fine with your mag mount antenna. About the only limitation you will have is the power level of the VX radio. A 50 watt mobile unit will bring the best out of you mag mount antenna.

I had one on the trunk lid of a four door, full size sedan for a few years. I only took it off once in awhile so that I could give the area under the mount a good cleaning and waxing. It worked very good. It was a dual bander, 1/2 wave on 2 meters and ??? on 70 cm. Had no trouble getting in/out of the garage -- plenty of clearance being mounted on the trunk lid.

[KF7EIF]

It seems to be meeting my needs. I can hit a couple repeaters that are up to 100 miles away with great signal. I have a hatchback/mini SUV, so not trunk option, but it barely taps the garage door, so I am not to worried about it. If I still had my Durango, I would have a bigger problem and would probably be parking in the driveway (XYL would be happy to get her car in the garage, LOL). But I did enough off-roading with the Durango, if I still had that, I would probably have a mobile unit and a BIG antenna mounted. Maybe someday I will get to do that.

Thanks again to everyone here and on the air that has been very welcoming as I get used to this new world.

If mag mount antennas didn't work reasonably well and were not so darn convenient, there would not be a bizillion of them sold and in use.

You should be fine with your mag mount antenna. About the only limitation you will have is the power level of the VX radio. A 50 watt mobile unit will bring the best out of you mag mount antenna.

I had one on the trunk lid of a four door, full size sedan for a few years. I only took it off once in awhile so that I could give the area under the mount a good cleaning and waxing. It worked very good. It was a dual bander, 1/2 wave on 2 meters and ??? on 70 cm. Had no trouble getting in/out of the garage -- plenty of clearance being mounted on the trunk lid.

[K0CMH]

Fine business. Glad to see another Ham who has equipment working and that they like.