[TowerTalk] Mobile Antenna

[Jim Lux]

At 07:57 AM 10/1/2005, you wrote:
>I'm looking to mount an HF antenna on my Honda Del Sol.  It's a small car
>which is not meant to tow anything, so there's not a lot of exposed frame 
>and it
>has a "rubber bumper".  I took a quick look underneath and didn't see a whole
>lot to attach the antenna to.

Is there a towing/tie-down lug?  On my VW Passat, I fabricated a kind of 
"clamp" that had a bolt through the middle of the tow lug and essentially 
gripped the lug with a 1/4" steel plate on each side.  All it took was a 
couple feet of 2"x1/4" flat stock, sawed and bent and drilled.  I used the 
one in the front, because I have a screwdriver and I needed to be able to 
see it.  Reaching in through the front grille to tighten the bolt was a bit 
of a pain, but only has to be done once.


On my BMW, there's a removable cap in the (plastic) bumper that exposes a 
tapped hole that one can put a bolt into. I haven't checked to see if it's 
grounded, but clearly, it's structurally sound.

The other approach is the SGC QMS scheme.. a couple straps and rubber 
suction cups to hold it to a body panel.

Or, something that clamps to the roof rack.  On the Passat, there was a 
great bolt for grounding underneath a plastic endcap that went into a 
threaded insert welded to the body.  I started with that for the 
screwdriver, but because I couldn't see it, I went to the front mount.

>Anyone out there who has installed an HF antenna on a Honda Del Sol.  Please
>don't suggest that I sell the car and get one that can accommodate the
>antenna.  I'm fanatical about my home station antennas, but not about 
>going mobile!
>
>Bill K4XS