Posted: 5/5/2010 5:33:43 PM EDT
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I am working on getting an antenna mounted on my truck for a Icom 207 i picked up this week. After looking at a bunch of dual band antennas I like this one because of the size ( have a short entry into carport)
Comet B-10 and this mount 3D4M but now I am worried about how weather tight the PL 239 connection drilled through the roof of my truck will be. I ordered from HRO and this is what the guy set me up with, although the more I look NMO seems to be the perferred mount. Am I asking for trouble here? |
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I have the B10 and it's an ok antenna for in-town use only if you have decent repeater coverage. I certainly understand the height dilemma as I have to worry about a parking garage myself. Just know it's not a great antenna. Just mediocre.
I think you'd be better off with a NMO mount. |
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When I put the 2 meter radio in my truck a few weeks ago, I really struggled with the antenna mounting options. Finally just bit the bullet and drilled a hole and installed an NMO mount. Easier than I thought, custom look, weather tight. The only mistake I made was getting just a bit too close to the back edge of the roof when I drilled the hole. The O-ring for the NMO is on a flat surface and seals perfectly, but the O-ring for the antenna mount gaps slightly at the rear edge. My plan is to seal it with a bit of silicon, but this is really secondary - as long as the NMO O-ring seal is good it's going go be water tight. Bottom line - NMO is a good system and should give you no trouble - just make sure your roof is flat for a couple of inches all around the hole you're going to drill.
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| I had it in my mind to order the NMO but somehow when I was on the phone with them the stuff got switched around, I am thinking now that i might mount it on the rear of my toolbox to get away from the hieght issue anyway. I prob should send it back and reorder but I am impatient, what can you say. |
| Well I got the part order in today and after looking at it and thinking about it I went ahead with the roof mount installation. Everything is in tonight and I was able to hit our Weathernet repeater about 14 miles away with full quieting still sitting inside the bay of the FD. Now I just have to set down and read through the Icom IC-207 manual and figure out how to program all the memory channels and all. |