Author Topic: Antenna on Class A (Read 2457 times)

Doc Roads · « **on:** October 16, 2019, 01:02:13 AM »

Looking for ideas on how to attach a UHF/VHF antenna to my 2015 Winnebago class A that works well while I’m rolling down the road ... three points ... how to attach it to the RV .... how to insert the coax into RV ... to a lesser challenge ... where to mount the radio body and the face plate in the cab of the RV ...

Any one idea for any of the points would be appreciated ... biggest challenge seems to be the mounting of the antenna ...

-doc
KC3IDS

NY_Dutch · « **Reply #1 on:** October 16, 2019, 07:06:53 AM »

I take it you're referring to ham band radio reception?

Doc Roads · « **Reply #2 on:** October 16, 2019, 10:19:41 AM »

Indeed ... 2m and 70cm is the objective ... enroute and local communications while wandering the western states, western Canada, and AK

HappyWanderer · « **Reply #3 on:** October 16, 2019, 11:56:44 AM »

Your best bet will be an antenna which doesn't require a ground plane, something like a Diamond NR72BNMO. There are a variety of mounting options, depending on your specific vehicle.

K0BG has a great website dedicated to mobile radio installation: K0BG.com

SLOweather · « **Reply #4 on:** October 16, 2019, 12:52:29 PM »

I have a dual or tri band no-gound-plane-required antenna mounted on a Maldol Power Mount, which I can raise or lower with a rocker switch at the driver seat.

The amateur antenna coax, as well as the motor wire, GlobalStar antenna and SiriusXM antenna coax all enter through a hole in the roof into the upper cabinets via a Winegard 3 cable entry plate secured with butyl tape, stainless steel screws, and then the screw heads sealed wit self leveling Dicor.

SLOweather · « **Reply #5 on:** October 16, 2019, 05:04:31 PM »

BTW, Maldol discontiuned that mount, but Diamond makes one.

https://www.gigaparts.com/diamond-antenna-k9000lrmo.html

Doc Roads · « **Reply #6 on:** October 16, 2019, 11:27:03 PM »

Thanks for the pics SLOweather! I have a few questions based on them. First, does this antenna work while the coach is underway? I need the radio while I’m driving down the road. I saw two other antennas ... the white stick antenna on the right I assume is the SiriusXM antenna ... the white cone antenna is the Global Star antenna ... correct?

I have an existing satellite antenna and an existing entry hole in the front of the coach. I’m looking at using this entry point which is almost the same as yours.

Doc
KC3IDS

SLOweather · « **Reply #7 on:** October 17, 2019, 07:55:17 AM »

You're welcome, Doc.

Yes, the antenna is up and operational under way. The top of it is the tallest part of the moho when it's up, so I lower it to go under trees and such. I'll post a picture of it vertical after the sun comes up here.

Yes, the cone is GlobalStar. It's a mag mount, so I stuck a galvanized steel plate down with butyl tape and stainless steel screws and Dicor to mount it on.

To the right of the entry plate are 2 small mag mount antennas the PO (previous owner) installed, the original SiriusXM antenna, and aGPS antenna. It's a crappy job. He just glued them down and drilled a hole for the cables and then filled it with household caulk Without a ground plane, the Sirius antenna sucked. I kept them both (Sirius as a backup, the GPS is wired to an old Garmin GPS III connected to a dash mounted Kenwood d710 for APRS), and resealed them with Lexel.

And the white stick is the new marine SiriusXM antenna.

Heh, except since I took that pic, I've replaced the GlobalStar and SiriusXM antennas. I'll post an updated pic of that too.

Somewhere here should be some pix in a thread about installing the D710 under the dash cowl of our Sunstar. I'll look for it.

SLOweather · « **Reply #8 on:** October 17, 2019, 08:21:32 AM »

Here's a thread on another forum about the room under the dash cowl.

http://www.winnieowners.com/forums/f263/plenty-of-room-under-the-dash-cowl-for-techy-stuff-353624.html

SLOweather · « **Reply #9 on:** October 17, 2019, 12:04:17 PM »

Pics of the latest antenna installations. You can just see the vertical amateur antenna in the first pic, the second is from the ground looking up at it on the Maldol mount.

SLOweather · « **Reply #10 on:** October 17, 2019, 02:39:26 PM »

Quote

...to a lesser challenge ... where to mount the radio body and the face plate in the cab of the RV ...

The D710 radio is under the dash cowl, along with the control box for the GlobalStar phone and the SiriusXM receiver.

Here's a pic of the dash, showing the D710 control head, the GlobalStar phone on a flexible stalk, and the Samsung tablet used for the OBDlink MX dashboard and Waze.

Way off to the left, almost off the screen just above center is the momentary SPDT center off rocker switch to raise and lower the amateur antenna.

Doc Roads · « **Reply #11 on:** October 17, 2019, 11:22:21 PM »

I’m going to have to figure out how to open up and pull the cables inside the dash safely. Once I figure out the antenna mount, where to bring the cable into the cab, and the power, I’ll be looking at which hardware to buy ... the investigating and planning is 90% of the project!

SLOweather · « **Reply #12 on:** October 18, 2019, 04:54:51 PM »

I just got an email from HRO re: Yaesu specials during Pacificon. Expires midnight 10-20 EDT.

https://www.hamradio.com/yaesu_special.cfm

SLOweather · « **Reply #13 on:** October 18, 2019, 04:58:24 PM »

Quote from: Doc Roads on October 17, 2019, 11:22:21 PM

I’m going to have to figure out how to open up and pull the cables inside the dash safely. Once I figure out the antenna mount, where to bring the cable into the cab, and the power, I’ll be looking at which hardware to buy ... the investigating and planning is 90% of the project!

If you come into the eyebrow through a hole in the roof above any overhead cabinets like I did, my A pillar covers came off with 3 screws each. That's where Winnebago and the PO ran antenna cables and some DC. I ran everything along the left A pillar., including more DC for some overhead lights.

Gordiegaffer · « **Reply #14 on:** October 19, 2019, 10:01:54 AM »

I have an old duel band that i mounted on my ladder ran a ground to the frame and ran the coax under the rv and in through the fire wall through one of the rubber grommets for the wiring. works great

Doc Roads · « **Reply #15 on:** October 19, 2019, 05:20:50 PM »

SloWx and Gordie ... both alternatives have crossed my mind ... I am replacing the satellite antenna and will probably use the same coax entry port to access the brow area ... the new SAT antenna does not need three coax cables, so there’s some free space there ... I have a metal rail on the side to mount an antenna, pretty sure I’ll be able to mount the antenna similar to SloWx’s antenna you can raise and lower. Lots of room in the brow area for cables and boxes plus DC power available.

So, I’m closer than I was last week

... and I’ll look at the Yaesu sale online too!

Doc
KC3IDS

SLOweather · « **Reply #16 on:** October 20, 2019, 12:04:06 PM »

I forgot to mention that Winegard makes those cable entry plates for 2, 3, and 4 cables.

Stephen Ryan · « **Reply #17 on:** June 11, 2020, 07:31:47 AM »

I owned a KING OA8300 for 6 months, it gets more than 30 channels and took me about a half-hour for installing. Its use of the improved UHF signal reception is impressive. You can get better coverage when you maximize the reception. While it provides better signal for DTV channels, it has maintained its reception of VHF channels, so you can enjoy TV watching more. Besides, it comes with retrofit upgrades that allow upgrade batwing to digital HD.

Lou Schneider · « **Reply #18 on:** June 11, 2020, 01:10:53 PM »

A quarter wave 2m antenna is about 19" long. 5/8 wavelength on 70cm is about 17 inches. Both of these have 50 ohms driving impedence so you can connect them directly to the coaxial line.

I cut the antenna for the best 70cm match and still had an acceptable match at 2 meters. Attach the antenna mount to the pizza pan and then use Dicor or another sealant to glue the pan to the roof. Using the refrigerator vent or another roof vent is an easy way to route the coax into the RV.

Mark_K5LXP · « **Reply #19 on:** June 13, 2020, 10:00:43 AM »

Cross post from another forum but on topic:

... the roof of an RV gives a height advantage that cars don't have. Meaning, you can get away with a less than optimum antenna and let line of sight work to your advantage.

There are existing structures on the roof that can make for a "workable" counterpoise for a mobile antenna. On mine I used the factory satellite TV dish hardware to mount a small dual band whip. On one of my trips I used an angle bracket attached to my slide topper mount with an existing screw. Other options would be the frame of the air conditioner or the frame of a solar panel.

I bought a couple of 18x26 aluminum baking pans I thought might make good antenna bases. Affix them bottom side up to the roof surface using dicor or other sealant and then have a standard NMO mount in the center. The only roof permeation would be for the coax which you can get a standard cable entry for. Hasn't risen high enough on the project list yet but the satellite-bracket mount dualbander has worked pretty well up to this point.

Mark K5LXP
Albuquerque, NM

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Author Topic: Antenna on Class A (Read 2457 times)