Well guys, I'm a HAM, been one for probably 3 years now (KE5BRG)  but I haven't been active for most of that time.  I have quite a bit of gear (2 ht's, a YT-7800r, and a IC-718...not general YET, so can't use the Icom).

Well I'm wanting to set my 7800 up back in my truck.   I understand from the FAQ that NMO mounts are the way to go due to mount strength (other sources agree).  What I want to do is get a piece of square tube steel and bolt it into my rear truck bed stake pocket (probably 2x2 inches).  Then I want to get an NMO bracket (and mount) and bolt it onto the square tube steel.  This way I can have a 3foot antenna on my tundra and not have to worry as much about parking garages and drive thrus.

So my question is, where can I get brackets like this without the NMO attachment and coax?  
: www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=264_268_296_507  
I would prefer a mount that has no pre drilled holes and is also only 2 inches wide so everything fits flush and I don't have to have extra holes in my mount. However the preceding question leads into another.   Would it be worth it to run flexible RG-8 to run from my radio to the antenna verses RG-58 since my run is goign to be 12-17 feet?   I know the loss rates are 1.5dB to about 5dB per 100feet (rg8 to rg58).  


Now if RG-58 is fine, and you know of a mount that meets a couple of my needs I'd love to know about it!   Otherwise, where can I get a bare NMO bracket and how do I connect it to RG-8?    I'm going to run the cable thru a port behind the driver's side seat and thru the space between the body paneling and the truck bed.


Here's the antenna I'm probably going get based off of features and positive reviews off E-ham:  www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1603




Thanks for any advice guys!


Here's a drawing if it helps you visualize what I'm wanting:

Quoted: What I want to do is get a piece of square tube steel and bolt it into my rear truck bed stake pocket (probably 2x2 inches).  Then I want to get an NMO bracket (and mount) and bolt it onto the square tube steel.  This way I can have a 3foot antenna on my tundra and not have to worry as much about parking garages and drive thrus. So my question is, where can I get brackets like this without the NMO attachment and coax?   : www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=264_268_296_507   I would prefer a mount that has no pre drilled holes and is also only 2 inches wide so everything fits flush and I don't have to have extra holes in my mount. However the preceding question leads into another.   Would it be worth it to run flexible RG-8 to run from my radio to the antenna verses RG-58 since my run is goign to be 12-17 feet?   I know the loss rates are 1.5dB to about 5dB per 100feet (rg8 to rg58).

Well I have seen stake pocket mounts, even saw one today that is a "corner" bracket.  It is shaped like a triangle with a hole already drilled for a mount.  


As far as an "L" bracket without screw holes, not really sure that's easily available.  As a side note, today I saw "thru-mounts" that were NMO to with either an SO-239 or a "N" connector for direct attachment.  It would work rather well with the bracket I mentioned.  I'll see if he had them on his website....

have any idea who made the stake pocket mount?   There aren't to many makers of those.

A quick google search turmed up a few, not sure how many will do a NMO that you want.....  


www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=stake+pocket+antenna+mount

Sounds like a lot of extra work .  Are you opposed to drilling holes in the bed?  From your drawing I don't think an NMO style mount would be any better than a 3/8 stud mount like a CB antenna has.  If you were mounting through the roof then I would say get the NMO.  An NMO does have  alot of options as far as VHF/UHF vertical antennas go.  The 3/8 stud mount is what a lot of HF antennas use.  Plusses and minuses to both.

A TMB34 Larsen Motorola style will work for the L Brkt.  Available from AES Almost to the bottom of the page.

Link

If you have a Motorola or other communications place nearby you might check with them.

For FM repeaters and simplex vertically polarized antenna stuff, I wouldn't worry about the line loss on short run like that.

For VHF/UHF Weak signal ssb and cw horizontally polarized antenna stuff I would.  If you get into that make sure you get good coax LMR-400 or better.

As a Technician there are places you can talk on HF with that IC-718.  On 10m from about 28.305 to about 28.495.  I avoid the bottom and top 5 khz to avoid emissions outside your priviledges.  If you can do morse code there are some more places that you can transmit.

Quoted: have any idea who made the stake pocket mount?   There aren't to many makers of those.

www.geotool.com/antmount.htm
VERY VERY good stuff.  

Quoted: Quoted: have any idea who made the stake pocket mount?   There aren't to many makers of those. www.geotool.com/antmount.htm VERY VERY good stuff.

Because of that google search, I found this guy who makes some interesting mounts.  The best part is, he's only a few miles away from me    I have a hard tonneu cover, so this still might not work, but it can't hurt to talk to him and see if he can make it work....

members.fortunecity.com/breedlovemachineshop/page4.html

This site sells brackets.

www.eur-am.com/brackets.htm

One of the nice things about NMO is its resistance to leakage.  I broke down and drilled a hole for my mount, and it holds nice and tight, I can even use the sprayer and no water gets through.

Thanks for the help guys I have decided to go with an L-type NMO bracket mount, and I will be mounting it to a 1.5"x1.5" 90degree steel angle piece, which will be bolted into my truck bed stake pocket.

I also went with the Comet SBB-5 antenna.