Vehicle Antenna Mounting

&
My SUV Roof-rail Bracket Solution

by N6JSX /8 06/2012

A major draw back to doing mobile HAM radio is HOW to soundly mount vehicle antennas
especially HF antennas that require solid frame grounding. With the new trend of making
aerodynamic plastic bumpers for improved MPG efficiency antenna mounting has become a
real struggle. Now one of my major vehicle buying criteria’s is ‘how I can mount my
antennas’? What will it take to create a mount? Can a mount/bracket be attached?
For years I created dog-ears off the trailer hitch assembly for all my antennas.

When I became an Extra I was determined to go all-band mobile HF with a screwdriver

(another major educational experience - for another article another day).
Copyright 2012, N6JSX Sidney, OH
All rights reserved – only non-profits may copy or reprint.
Screwdriver spare tire mounting worked great but required a custom made bracket. This
bracket alone with the chroming, lug machining, and more - cost me nearly $200.

Most of today’s SUV’s no longer have the swing door (with an external spare tire mount)
they have gone to the flip-up hatches. I just upgraded my SUV to a 2011 Pathfinder that has
this rear hatch. The flip-up hatch has an arc of three feet past the rear bumper making a
trailer hitch contraption a large extension (requiring a red clearance light), aka useless, plus
I have serious concerns about an inconsistent and ever changing HF ground even when
using a ground jumper strap if it uses a hinge. Worse the trailer hitch is now been integrated
into the rear bumper frame covered with a plastic aerodynamic bumper shroud (see last
page picture). So dog-ears off the trailer hitch can only be done by cutting serious holes into
the plastic bumper cover. This makes adding a screwdriver bracket a serious design
challenge. But hark, I’ve got a design idea - it will require some SUV frame welding. This HF
screwdriver design will be in the sequel to this article.

My more immediate concern is getting my homebrew CB-whip 2m/440 ‘J’ antenna

mounted on the Pathfinder without drilling holes into the roof rails. I’ve found no viable
brackets for roof rail mounting (to my shape roof-rail) in any HAM catalogs, eBay, or blog
sites.

I’ll need to design and build my own SUV roof rail bracket. However, this bracket needs
to be able to accommodate an easy method to drop the antennas onto the SUV roof. My old
CRV-SUV created difficulties in hoisting in service garages, the CRV could never run
through a car wash, nor park inside my own garage, nor travel into a parking structures. This
new bracket mount will solve all these problems and still be sturdy, durable, and robust.

Since my primary radio is an IC-7000, I want to once again do mobile 2m SSB using my
refurbished M2 2m-loop and 2m/440 FM using my CB-whip “J” antenna design.

Copyright 2012, N6JSX Sidney, OH

All rights reserved – only non-profits may copy or reprint.
Pathfinder roof-rail measurements – cross section view.

Here is my bracket in its first fit check, using aluminum 2.5” x ½” flat stock. The reason for
the hinge placement is to insure when lowering the antenna assembly the 2m loop will not
clear the roof-rail. Also found I needed to cut the 4” bolts down to 3.75” so I can install SS
Ny-lock nuts.

Copyright 2012, N6JSX Sidney, OH

All rights reserved – only non-profits may copy or reprint.
Here is an abbreviated drawing of my Pathfinder roof-rail bracket.

The bottom of the roof-rail is 2.25” wide, I added 1.5” to make the bottom bracket dimension.
Using four 4”x¼”-20 hex-head bolts I laid out a pattern to insure the bolts would clear the
rails and the bolt heads/nuts will have plenty of material to apply tensional holding force. I
placed both pieces on top one another (as they would be mounted) and drilled the same bolt
pattern through both pieces at the same time, insuring identical bolt alignments.
With the thickness of the aluminum being ½” it allows for plenty of ¼”-20 tapped threads in
the bottom bracket. I then over sized the four holes on the top bracket bar to allow the bolts
unobstructed passage.

Copyright 2012, N6JSX Sidney, OH

All rights reserved – only non-profits may copy or reprint.
Since grounding is not required for ‘J‘ operations, I use a marine stainless-steel 5.25”x1.5”
hinge (found on eBay) to accommodate the drop-down requirement.
Next I drilled the hinge ¼”-20 bolt holes and tapped. I positioned the hinge so the actual
hinge is off the edge of the top bracket bar. I used two stainless-steel (SS) bolts to hold the
hinge in place. To insure no loosening, by vibration, I added two SS Ny-lock nuts to the
bottom threads. Before mounting the hinge a hole was drilled into the opposite hinge side
center for a 3/8”-28 bolt - this is the antenna hardware attachment device. The bolt heads
create a near perfect equidistant parallel of the hinge plates compensating for the thickness
of the hinge joint, this will allow the antenna to be perpendicular to the vehicle roof.

The third hinge hole at the top of each hinge plate was used for a ¼”-20 thumb-bolt. This
thumb-bolt holds the antenna from flopping forward when you hit the brakes. Remove the
thumb-bolt to tip the antenna forward and down onto the roof.

Copyright 2012, N6JSX Sidney, OH

All rights reserved – only non-profits may copy or reprint.
And finally my finished bracket mounted to my Pathfinder roof-rail awaiting my new CB-whip
2m/440 “J” and refurbished M2 2m-loop.

This bracket should insure the vehicle will endure this type of antenna abuse.

Writer BIO: Dale Kubichek, MS-EET, GROL/RADAR, N6JSX - Amateur Extra; first licensed in 1972.
Served 10yrs USN, Vietnam Vet, FTG1 Gun/Missile systems & electronics instructor. Electronics
Test/Manufacturing/Project/Quality Engineer/Manager in; aerospace - Hughes, Northrop, Rockwell,
commercial - Magellan, Mitsubishi, Emerson; heavy construction – TEREX, Manitowoc Cranes,
Magnetek; communications – STM, RockwellCollins. Currently, Sr Engineer on USAF UAV SIMs.
Interests are designing/testing antennas, RDF hunting/training; published numerous articles in 73
Magazine & eHAM. Owner of:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HAM-SATs ,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RDF-USA , and many more.
Copyright 2012, N6JSX Sidney, OH
All rights reserved – only non-profits may copy or reprint.