How bad is putting a ham radio in my car going to look?

[.Cheese.]

If the antenna doesn't scrape the roof of the drive through when you go to the bank or the fast-food joint, then you are not serious about ham radio. You need to be able to knock down overhanging tree limbs in the city when you drive down residential streets.

Well, if I really wasn't serious, I'd be installing the cheapest 2m mobile unit I could find used along with a 2m quarter wave teeny antenna.

Seriously, if you are more concerned with appearance than you are with effective performance, then why bother putting a rig in your car?

It's certainly not unreasonable to want to minimize detracting from the aesthetics of my vehicle, particularly since I love how my G35 looks and baby it.

At the same time though, I do like ham radio.  I'm doing this mobile rig for 2 reasons:

1) I want a mobile rig.
2) My apt won't allow any radio gear (no antennas, etc.)   So, all I can really have is an HT, which is fun, but 5 watts doesn't do that much.  50 watts on the other hand, can be fun, and the apt can't regulate what's on or in my car so long as it's legal.

[go_bang]

If you were really serious about a mobile rig you'd ditch the trunk lip mount, cut a hole in the roof, and mount that antenna dead center for maximum ground plane.

Re you apartment, I wonder whether PRB-1 can overrule antenna restrictions in a lease in the same way it knocks the wind out of the same restriction in HOA agreements.  Some states have passed legislation that is almost identical or more forceful than the FCC's PRB-1, so check that angle to.

Oh, and a cheap 2M mobile rig with a cheap 1/4 wave whip can still be extremely useful.  I ran a rig like that for a number of years.  A Radio Shack HTX-212 was the best I could afford and the fact that I had to deal with a parking garage every meant tall antennas were out of the question.  I picked up a cheap no-name 1/4 wave whip at a ham fest.  It turned out to be one of my better antennas with a near perfect SWR rating all across the 2M band.

[KD5NRH]

I discovered that the sheetmetal the roof was made of was too weak to support it, the antenna would bend the metal when it whipped back and forth.

Use the cheapest 10" circular saw blade you can find behind the headliner and a fender washer on the outside.  I put a 10m Hamstick on a station wagon roof this way, and it never had any trouble.

[One of Many]

You can run 50 to 75 watts inside your apartment with a portable antenna, a mobile rig and a power supply.  I don't remember the brand and model of my antenna, so I will describe it. It is an automotive ground plane antenna of the type usually mounted through a hole in the roof. Instead of being mounted to sheet metal, it is mounted to a 90 degree angle bracket, and there are three equidistant radials pointing down at 45 degrees. The angle bracket is attached to a short piece of pipe with a u-bolt, and the pipe is attached to a small board (bookshelf) using a plumbing floor flange. The entire thing sits on a table and the tip of the antenna is just below the ceiling. You can place this portable antenna where it least interferes with your lifestyle, and put your rig and power supply where the operation is convenient. This antenna works much better than a J-pole type of antenna indoors, as it is less sensitive to SWR fluctuations due to nearby objects that detune the J-pole.

You can run as little power as needed to get into the area repeaters, or set your rig to full output for simplex contacts many miles away. Since there is no fixed connection to the building structure, there is no issue of damages and necessary repair. It can be broken down and moved easily by detaching the radials from the angle bracket, and the pipe from the floor bracket. You can store it (or disguise it when not in use) in a fishing rod case.

[.Cheese.]

If you were really serious about a mobile rig you'd ditch the trunk lip mount, cut a hole in the roof, and mount that antenna dead center for maximum ground plane.

Actually, the antenna for it does better NOT mounted dead center.  It does better with asymmetrical mounting.  Take a look for yourself at the instructions and specs for the Diamond CR8900A for yourself if you don't believe me.  :|

Re you apartment, I wonder whether PRB-1 can overrule antenna restrictions in a lease in the same way it knocks the wind out of the same restriction in HOA agreements.

Don't know, don't want to find out by getting on the management's bad side.  I should only be living there for 3 years anyways, so I'll deal with it.

You can run 50 to 75 watts inside your apartment with a portable antenna, a mobile rig and a power supply.

The rules at this complex are insane.  No antennas that transmit.  No antennas that receive without written approval.  You can't even install a TV without written approval.  How bizarre is that?

This isn't a small company either.  They have multiple properties in at least 11 states.  Just weird rules.  They really have the Minneapolis market by the balls.

[Doggy Daddy]

How bizarre is that?

If you ask me, it sounds pretty .cheesy.   

[go_bang]

Actually, the antenna for it does better NOT mounted dead center.  It does better with asymmetrical mounting.  Take a look for yourself at the instructions and specs for the Diamond CR8900A for yourself if you don't believe me.  :|

I was being somewhat sarcastic.  If you ever poke around some of the ham radio forums you'll see plenty of posts from new hams asking about trunk lip or magnet mounting for mobile antennas and sooner or later some grouchy old ham will jump in and berate them for not wanting to drill a hole in center of the roof.  I didn't want you to feel left out so hence my pathetic half-hearted berating.  :)

But back to your point, hey look at that.  It does say that in the manual:

http://www.rfparts.com/diamond/pdfdocs/CR8900.pdf

That SWR curve for 6M is nothing to write home about though.  The rest look fairly typical for a multiband antenna, at least in my limited experience.  Looks like a nice antenna, all things considered.

[.Cheese.]

Ah.  It's touch to know when somebody is being sarcastic online.  Gotcha.

[go_bang]

Ah.  It's touch to know when somebody is being sarcastic online.  Gotcha.

I could have done a better job of conveying that too.

[mtnbkr]

FWIW, a trunk lip mount works quite nicely, at least for 2m and 440.  I use one mounted to the lip of my Camry's trunk and a 5w HT and I have no problem getting to repeaters many miles away.  Is it as optimum as an NMO mount on the roof?  Probably not, but it works well enough for my needs.

HF is a different beast, but you're only dealing with VHF+UHF.

BTW, since you can't set up in your apartment, have you considered field operations?  I bought my Yaesu FT-817 so I can do that.  I have a "kit" that includes the radio, a few long wires, a tuner I built from a kit, and the radio's internal battery.  It packs into a small camera bag and let's me get on the air from 80m to 440cm anywhere.  Take your kit to a park and set up there for a couple hours. 

Here's my station at Field Day last year: http://www.k4gvt.com/field_day_2008/image1.html

I've added a gel cell battery, solar panel, and charge controller for the event.

Chris

[One of Many]

Actually, the antenna for it does better NOT mounted dead center.  It does better with asymmetrical mounting.  Take a look for yourself at the instructions and specs for the Diamond CR8900A for yourself if you don't believe me.  :|

Don't know, don't want to find out by getting on the management's bad side.  I should only be living there for 3 years anyways, so I'll deal with it.

The rules at this complex are insane.  No antennas that transmit.  No antennas that receive without written approval.  You can't even install a TV without written approval.  How bizarre is that?

This isn't a small company either.  They have multiple properties in at least 11 states.  Just weird rules.  They really have the Minneapolis market by the balls.

There has already been court rulings that determined that TV receiving antennas may not be prohibited by ownership or their management agents, regardless of any clause to that effect in the lease. Those provisions are unenforceable in your lease agreement. Unless you have agreed to allow inspections at a moments notice, or inspections when you are not present, then what chance is there that they would find a portable amateur band antenna that was in storage and determine that it was being used in violation of your lease? Does your lease prohibit you from even owning an antenna, or does it state that you may not use an antenna? How would the management determine that alleged interference was originating from inside your unit, instead of from the automobiles immediately adjacent to your unit?

Antenna performance may be beneficially enhanced by asymmetric mounting in mobile applications under some circumstances, but that is a matter of directivity versus omnidirectional patterns. Directivity offers gain enhancement in the favored direction, at the expense of gain reduction in other directions. Usually an omnidirectional pattern is the best approach for mobile situations. You could experiment with a magnet mount antenna in different locations, and determine if you can notice any appreciable difference in performance. In my experience, the only time you might notice any difference is when you are on the very edge of the antennas effective range into a repeater, and with an asymmetrical mounting location you may find that your contact distance is a mile farther depending on which direction you are traveling, when you are 30 miles or more from the repeater.

[.Cheese.]

There has already been court rulings that determined that TV receiving antennas may not be prohibited by ownership or their management agents, regardless of any clause to that effect in the lease.

They're not prohibited.  I just have to get written approval.

Does the same apply to dishes?

[One of Many]

I suggest that you look into ARRL membership, and access their web site, at www.ARRL.ORG. You should be able to find a lot of helpful info there.