Mobile Antennas for Today’s Vehicles
The vehicle that I drive is a Chevy Luimna Van. The body is all fiberglass and bumpers are made of a rubber-like material that is non-conductive. After a lot of study, the most practical solution seemed to be a trailer hitch mounted antenna support. Trailer hitches can be mounted to almost any new car or van and does not distract from the value at trade in time. My choice was the small, inch and a quarter size plug-in type of trailer receiver with a removable hitch. This type of mount put the antenna dead center at the rear end of the van. I looked over some of the hitch units that were available but I did not like the way they positioned the base of the antenna so close to the ground. The unit I had in mind would need to be custom built.
A local welder made my first plug-in mount. It was L shaped and elevated the base of the antenna about 2 feet above the pavement. It just plugged into the hitch receiver and was held in place with a nut and bolt. This worked very well but to open the rear van door I had to remove the darn thing to get it out of the way. This would not be a problem on a car as most trunks open upward. A friend of mine, ED, KE8VJ saw this mount at one of the ham swapfests and had to have it for his car. If you knew ED you would know how easy it was for him to talk me out of it. He drove off with a new HF antenna mount for his car and I left trying to think of ideas for a new and improved plug-in base unit. A few days later I stopped in a bicycle shop and spotted a trailer hitch bike carrier. It was a little pricey at $125.00 but I liked the way it could swing out of the way of the rear door, yet still hold the antenna mount firmly in place. After getting the bike rack home, I bolted a standard antenna mount to the upright support of the rack and added a base mount and spring to provide some shock protection. Trees are not much of a problem here in South Texas but we do have low flying seagulls. An added bonus was that this setup positioned the bottom of the antenna about four feet above the pavement. This put the loading coil of the hustler antenna well above the roof of the vehicle. You will be amazed at how well those mobile antennas work when you get them up off the ground a few feet.
As you can see from the photos below, this type of trailer hitch mount has several possibilities limited only by your imagination, pocketbook, and skill with hand tools. If you can weld or have a buddy that can, you can make custom plug-in mounts to fit your needs. Otherwise check out the local bicycle shop and see what they carry in ready-made bike racks. Be sure to use a ground strap of some type to ground the antenna base to the frame of your vehicle. The hitch did not seem to give a good ground and sometimes it caused static and noise. The addition of the ground strap eliminated this noise completely and reduced SWR
Detail shot of the receiver hitch with the bike rack plugged in and bolted. Notice the quick release safety pin that allows the entire unit to tilt backwards. This feature allows for unrestricted rear vehicle door access.
Alpha Delta Communications, Inc.
P.O. Box 620
Manchester, KY. 40962
Telephone: USA (606) 598 2029
Originally posted on the AntennaX Online Magazine by William Lee, N5WRX
Last Updated : 12th March 2024