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Mag Mount lesson
Maybe some people can take something away from my unfortunate experience.
Wanting something to use on occasions where I don't want to install my Bugcatcher, but would still like to do a little HF, I went to a Hamfest Sunday and picked up a 20 meter Hamstick and a big honkin' mag mount for it. Installation was pretty straightforward. I installed it in the parking lot, tuned it up and set off home. Most of the way it was just FB. It wasn't the bugcatcher, but I knew that going in. Traveling over the Alleghenies, there is an area where there are some fair sized gusts of wind. I hit this on the downhill side of the last mountain rage heading into the valley near home. I was traveling about 65 mph, when a gust of wind came along, ripped the antenna and mount off the roof. The exit for the coax is on the back door. As the antenna and mount traveled backwards, the cable held it in position, so it swung in an arc and hit the rear window of my Vitara. Ouch. The glass of rear windows is different than that of front windows. It is designed to granulate instead of hold together. It looks pretty cool in fact. The sudden opacity of the glass radiating from the spot of impact, then everything disintegrating and falling into the back of the vehicle. But the visual interest does not make up for the fact that now I have an expensive mess to clean up. NO more frickin' magnets! PTUI! - 73 de Mike N3LI - |
Mag Mount lesson
As bad as that experience was, it could have been worse. If the coax had
come loose, it could have broken the windshield of or caused other damage to a following car. I had a 5/8 wave 2 meter whip come loose once. It stayed connected and bounced along behind the car for a while -- luckily no damage except to the whip. I've used only 1/4 wave 2 meter whips since. Roy Lewallen Michael Coslo wrote: Maybe some people can take something away from my unfortunate experience. Wanting something to use on occasions where I don't want to install my Bugcatcher, but would still like to do a little HF, I went to a Hamfest Sunday and picked up a 20 meter Hamstick and a big honkin' mag mount for it. Installation was pretty straightforward. I installed it in the parking lot, tuned it up and set off home. Most of the way it was just FB. It wasn't the bugcatcher, but I knew that going in. Traveling over the Alleghenies, there is an area where there are some fair sized gusts of wind. I hit this on the downhill side of the last mountain rage heading into the valley near home. I was traveling about 65 mph, when a gust of wind came along, ripped the antenna and mount off the roof. The exit for the coax is on the back door. As the antenna and mount traveled backwards, the cable held it in position, so it swung in an arc and hit the rear window of my Vitara. Ouch. The glass of rear windows is different than that of front windows. It is designed to granulate instead of hold together. It looks pretty cool in fact. The sudden opacity of the glass radiating from the spot of impact, then everything disintegrating and falling into the back of the vehicle. But the visual interest does not make up for the fact that now I have an expensive mess to clean up. NO more frickin' magnets! PTUI! - 73 de Mike N3LI - |
Mag Mount lesson
Michael Coslo wrote:
Maybe some people can take something away from my unfortunate experience. Wanting something to use on occasions where I don't want to install my Bugcatcher, but would still like to do a little HF, I went to a Hamfest Sunday and picked up a 20 meter Hamstick and a big honkin' mag mount for it. Installation was pretty straightforward. I installed it in the parking lot, tuned it up and set off home. Most of the way it was just FB. It wasn't the bugcatcher, but I knew that going in. Traveling over the Alleghenies, there is an area where there are some fair sized gusts of wind. I hit this on the downhill side of the last mountain rage heading into the valley near home. I was traveling about 65 mph, when a gust of wind came along, ripped the antenna and mount off the roof. The exit for the coax is on the back door. As the antenna and mount traveled backwards, the cable held it in position, so it swung in an arc and hit the rear window of my Vitara. Ouch. The glass of rear windows is different than that of front windows. It is designed to granulate instead of hold together. It looks pretty cool in fact. The sudden opacity of the glass radiating from the spot of impact, then everything disintegrating and falling into the back of the vehicle. But the visual interest does not make up for the fact that now I have an expensive mess to clean up. NO more frickin' magnets! PTUI! - 73 de Mike N3LI - Hello, and I'll also state from experience that mag-mounted whip antennas are not for vehicles in motion at any speed. Sincerely and 73s from N4GGO, |
Mag Mount lesson
On Jun 8, 10:48*am, Michael Coslo wrote:
I was traveling about 65 mph, when a gust of wind came along, ripped the antenna and mount off the roof. The exit for the coax is on the back door. As the antenna and mount traveled backwards, the cable held it in position, so it swung in an arc and hit the rear window of my Vitara. Ouch. The glass of rear windows is different than that of front windows. It is designed to granulate instead of hold together. It looks pretty cool in fact. The sudden opacity of the glass radiating from the spot of impact, then everything disintegrating and falling into the back of the vehicle. But the visual interest does not make up for the fact that now I have an expensive mess to clean up. NO more frickin' magnets! PTUI! * * * * - 73 de Mike N3LI - Your experience is exactly why I've been afraid to mount an antenna on my newest car. It never fails.. @#$% happens!!! And when it does, it's often ugly. I've also been afraid of mag mounts even though that is a possible way to get on HF from a small car. But they can get knocked off, and I'm also afraid that I could cause sheet metal damage just pulling some of the larger ones off the car. So anyway, I've had that car over two years now, and I still don't have a radio in it. That is very unusual for me, but I hate dents, scratches, etc on a car that doesn't have any yet.. I still have two radioactive trucks if I really feel the need to talk. :/ |
Mag Mount lesson
In message , J. B. Wood
writes Hello, and I'll also state from experience that mag-mounted whip antennas are not for vehicles in motion at any speed. Sincerely and 73s from N4GGO, A whippy stainless steel 'base loaded' 2m 5/8 on a 7" magmount is almost impossible to remove. It's probably good for 200 or 300 mph at least. I believe 'like **** to a blanket' is appropriate. -- Ian |
Mag Mount lesson
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Mag Mount lesson
On Jun 8, 3:41*pm, dave wrote:
Have a receiver type trailer hitch installed. Nothing to attach one to unless you installed some kind of frame underneath the rear of the car. There is nothing underneath except the bottom of the trunk floor if I remember right. But even if I could mount a hitch mount, I'm not sure how happy I would be with it. Generally, that's about as bad a place to mount an antenna as you can find. The one method I might consider would be a trunk lip mount. And even that makes me paranoid as I'm worried the stress of the antenna whipping back and forth will warp the trunk lid after a period of time. The metal is pretty thin on that car. "Toyota Corolla". I've just been taking my radio with me, and using the antenna's I have at the site. But now even more great news.. :( My 706mk2g has been acting squirrely. 440 went out on it, and I think the band switching diodes or transisters blew up. I used it a while with no 440 and was ok, but now it's acting weird, locking up, etc.. So it's sick and is gonna have to visit the radio doc. I don't think I want to mess with it. I've fixed most my own rigs in the past, but I don't think I want to mess with that thing. So I'm gonna send it off. I need to find me another HF mobile backup rig... The 706 is the only 12v HF rig I've got right now. Well.. I do have an old IC 730, but the display board is out. |
Mag Mount lesson
On Jun 8, 4:28*pm, wrote:
On Jun 8, 3:41*pm, dave wrote: Have a receiver type trailer hitch installed. Nothing to attach one to unless you installed some kind of frame underneath the rear of the car. There is nothing underneath except the bottom of the trunk floor if I remember right. But even if I could mount a hitch mount, I'm not sure how happy I would be with it. Generally, that's about as bad a place to mount an antenna as you can find. The one method I might consider would be a trunk lip mount. And even that makes me paranoid as I'm worried the stress of the antenna whipping back and forth will warp the trunk lid after a period of time. The metal is pretty thin on that car. "Toyota Corolla". I've just been taking my radio with me, and using the antenna's I have at the site. But now even more great news.. *:( *My 706mk2g has been acting squirrely. 440 went out on it, and I think the band switching diodes or transisters blew up. *I used it a while with no 440 and was ok, but now it's acting weird, locking up, etc.. So it's sick and is gonna have to visit the radio doc. I don't think I want to mess with it. I've fixed most my own rigs in the past, but I don't think I want to mess with that thing. So I'm gonna send it off. I need to find me another HF mobile backup rig... The 706 is the only 12v HF rig I've got right now. Well.. I do have an old IC 730, but the display board is out. Is this common 706 problem? i have heard it before |
Mag Mount lesson
Michael Coslo wrote:
Maybe some people can take something away from my unfortunate experience. snip - 73 de Mike N3LI - I have had a couple negative experiences with single magnets, and one with a 6 meter halo on a triple magnet. I would say the triple or quad with a hamstick is practically impossible to knock off, however. At least at any speed less than 30 over the interstate limit including normal wind gusts. Or so I've heard. One other thing you need to consider about magnet mounts is that a layer of water will end up underneath the magnet due to imperfections in it and the roof. You _will_ damage the paint if you leave it on for more than a few days at a time. You _will_ damage your paint if you put it on and remove it regularly to get rid of the water. It's a Catch-22. tom K0TAR |
Mag Mount lesson
Roy Lewallen wrote:
As bad as that experience was, it could have been worse. If the coax had come loose, it could have broken the windshield of or caused other damage to a following car. I had a 5/8 wave 2 meter whip come loose once. It stayed connected and bounced along behind the car for a while -- luckily no damage except to the whip. I've used only 1/4 wave 2 meter whips since. I have a 5/8th also. There is a bridge on the local interstate where a lot of pigeons live. They seem to like to play "chicken" with the cars. One day a couple flew really close while I was driving by. One of them swooped up, missing the windshield, but unfortunately finding my 2 meter antenna. All I could see in the rear view was a lot of feathers. The antenna stayed put. Bent it a little though. - 73 de Mike N3LI - |
Mag Mount lesson
tom wrote:
Michael Coslo wrote: Maybe some people can take something away from my unfortunate experience. snip - 73 de Mike N3LI - I have had a couple negative experiences with single magnets, and one with a 6 meter halo on a triple magnet. I would say the triple or quad with a hamstick is practically impossible to knock off, however. At least at any speed less than 30 over the interstate limit including normal wind gusts. Or so I've heard. It is perhaps that "normal" business that is where the problem lies. This road (speciifically, it is route 22 over Cresson mountain near Altoona PA, is notorious for high and gusty winds. They have wind warning signs, and even a tower mounted sensor that will trip electronic signs. Trailers have flipped over in that area. Who knows what exact wind hit me. - 73 de Mike N3LI - |
Mag Mount lesson
On Jun 8, 8:39*pm, KC0YCS wrote:
Is this common 706 problem? i have heard it before Dunno.. I know a lot of 706's are flaking out these days. I bet the tiny caps in the circuits have a limited lifespan.. I know several personally that run 706's, and many of them have flaked out recently and have had to go to the shop. It's almost like they all decided to die at the same time.. :/ I bought mine new in 2001, so it's over 8 years old. |
Mag Mount lesson
On Jun 8, 7:32*pm, Jim Lux wrote:
I use a Comet trunklip mount for the VHF/UHF whip. *If you adjust the angle right, it clears the roof of the car when you open the trunk. * CP-5NMO http://www.cometantenna.com/products...D=9&childID=14 Yep, a friend of mine used a CP-5 on his Lincoln town car. Seemed to work ok so far. That's probably what I will use if I ever get brave enough to try one. |
Mag Mount lesson
Michael Coslo wrote:
tom wrote: Michael Coslo wrote: Maybe some people can take something away from my unfortunate experience. snip - 73 de Mike N3LI - I have had a couple negative experiences with single magnets, and one with a 6 meter halo on a triple magnet. I would say the triple or quad with a hamstick is practically impossible to knock off, however. At least at any speed less than 30 over the interstate limit including normal wind gusts. Or so I've heard. It is perhaps that "normal" business that is where the problem lies. This road (speciifically, it is route 22 over Cresson mountain near Altoona PA, is notorious for high and gusty winds. They have wind warning signs, and even a tower mounted sensor that will trip electronic signs. Trailers have flipped over in that area. Who knows what exact wind hit me. - 73 de Mike N3LI - I have a triple magnet and hamstick that has survived 70MPH and 50MPH wind gusts with no problem. We get a lot of wind out here and it has handled it all for the last 3 years. Erich, N6FD DM15 |
Mag Mount lesson
Erich wrote:
- 73 de Mike N3LI - I have a triple magnet and hamstick that has survived 70MPH and 50MPH wind gusts with no problem. We get a lot of wind out here and it has handled it all for the last 3 years. Well that is great, glad it hasn't been a problem, Erich. But I'd feel pretty stupid to try that sort of mount again, unless someone wants to front the 275 dollars I just paid to put a new window on. Then I might experiment. Could be a weak or otherwise bad magnet, maybe just bad luck-who knows? But the antenna will now be mounted just like my Bugcatcher, which means it will only come off if there is enough force to pull the back door off, or otherwise destroy the antenna in situ. - 73 de Mike N3LI - |
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