Have any ham radio operators figured out a way to get good reception with a 2 meter/440 dual band radio? The fiberglass top makes placement of a mag mount problematic and my reception with same is less than stellar. Any suggestions on type of antenna and placement without drilling holes in the car? I have a Gen 2 Volt Premier and can't find a suitable solution to my reception/transmission problems with my Yaesu FTM 400 radio.
Ham Radio Antenna on a Gen 2 Volt
1 - 20 of 20 Posts
Joined
·
5,595 Posts
Gen 2 has an aluminum roof though, yes? That would explain the issue with mounting something magnetically.
Thought just the hood was aluminum.
Joined
·
29 Posts
I've been inactive for several years, but I recall having good luck with the Larsen KG-2/70-CX-PL. It's an on-glass mount setup that should work nicely on the rear window. I had one on the back window of my '88 Ford Turbo Coupe and was impressed with its performance. I'd expected that it wouldn't stand up to a conventional base-mounted setup, but it was quite acceptable. Hope this helps...
BTW, when you wire up that Yaesu, be careful which battery you connect to...
Joined
·
499 Posts
Gen2 Volt has a steel roof. My magnetic mount antenna is hard to pry off.
Joined
·
23,703 Posts
The hood, hatch, wheels and engine block are aluminum for Gen 2. The roof is High Strength Steel (HSS). Maybe the OP was trying to mount the antenna to the hood?
I used a trunk lip mount which works really well:
Diamond Antenna DMN-K400CNMO (You can find this on a variety of sites, I used DXEngineering. I would post direct link but I can't yet).
Any NMO mount antenna works with it. I used a Larsen NMO2/70SH and have had good results.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Diamond Antenna DMN-K400CNMO (You can find this on a variety of sites, I used DXEngineering. I would post direct link but I can't yet).
Any NMO mount antenna works with it. I used a Larsen NMO2/70SH and have had good results.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Joined
·
2,737 Posts
I think he has confused the Volt with a Corvette. They are very similar.
Joined
·
747 Posts
Not sure if this is a permanent install or not but JC Whitney (yes I am dating myself alittle) used to advertise a splitter/pigtail that allowed you to connect a CB radio to your car's antenna plug and use the car's antenna for CB reception.
That might work for reception, but not for transmitting.
I'm using a hatch lip mount with a short dual band antenna and have been really pleased with the results. I used a fuse tap to get accessory power from the fuse panel under the dash, and the whole thing can be done without making any holes if you run the cables right.
Where do you run your antenna coax? Did you find a good spot to run it into the cabin? I'm concerned just running it over the weather stripping could lead to leaks in rainy Oregon.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I ran it through the hatch weather stripping right above one of the rear doors. There's a small hole in the back of the rear seats you can run a cable through (you have to fold the seats down some to get to it). Any that point, you can run the cable in a crack in the seat, then under the door trim. I haven't noticed any problems with leaks.
I put the body of my transciever under the drivers seat and mounted the head unit in the compartment under the touch screen.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Awesome! I'm glad to hear it doesn't leak. I have an ID-5100 I've been wanting to install for quite some time, but don't want to drill holes and have been concerned about water leaking into the car.
Thanks for the tip!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Joined
·
170 Posts
I am probably going to go with a trunk lip mount on the driver's side right up in that little space above the hatch window. Someone else here has posted photos of a similar setup. I am also considering having a NMO antenna base mounted in the center of the roof, per someone else's photo on this forum, depending on how much it would cost to have installed. I got a horrendously high quote from a local auto stereo install shop (>$1,000). I am going to get prices this week from a couple of commercial 2 way radio shops to see if they are any more reasonable. The body of the radio will mount in the stowage space near the 12v battery and the head will go into a cup holder mount.
Dr. Manhattan has it right. Glass mount antenna on the rear hatch is the way to go.
Pulse Larsen KG-2/70-CX-PL is pricey but made by a known quality antenna manufacturer
https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-000530
Mag Mounts usually leave rings from paint fade, trunk lip same fade issue plus paint chipping. May have slightly less efficiency with glass mount but won't have the chipping and fading issues. Paint under the mag mount doesn't fade, rest of car roof does.
Assume GM did due diligence and performed EMC immunity testing for strong RF fields not effecting the volt electronics. Just verify while transmitting that car functionality is not compromised.
Pulse Larsen KG-2/70-CX-PL is pricey but made by a known quality antenna manufacturer
https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-000530
Mag Mounts usually leave rings from paint fade, trunk lip same fade issue plus paint chipping. May have slightly less efficiency with glass mount but won't have the chipping and fading issues. Paint under the mag mount doesn't fade, rest of car roof does.
Assume GM did due diligence and performed EMC immunity testing for strong RF fields not effecting the volt electronics. Just verify while transmitting that car functionality is not compromised.
1 - 20 of 20 Posts
