AC5AA - On the Road!

I no longer own this vehicle, and have sold the equipment pictured here.  Were I to do it again, I would do exactly the same thing (this was my third iteration of choices of mobile equipment, including using the TurboTuner.)   Presented here is my approach to doing a mobile installation.

One diversion that can make long distance driving more fun is amateur radio HF mobile operation.  First I'll describe my mobile setup, and then I'll show how I mounted the antenna, in case someone else is looking for ideas.  

Gear:
            Transceiver:   ICOM IC-706 mkIIG
            Antenna:        Hi-Q 80/3 RT
            Tuning control:  N2VZ "TurboTuner"

Inside the cab, all the gear is mounted on the cup-holder ledge of the center console.  The control head is mounted on a Panavise cell phone mounting stalk, and the antenna controller is just 'wedged' in between it and the console.  I recently added the Palm Radio "Mini-Paddles," and you can see one mounted to the console where the hand easily reaches it while driving.

(Click on the thumbnail views for a larger image.)

The first photo shows the rig set up and ready to go (MFJ controller is no longer there). The other three photos show how it looks most days.  I made a denim cover for the radio's control head so that it "disappears" from curious (or larcenous) eyes.  The paddles slide into their case (or the case can be removed leaving only the baseplate.)  The antenna is disconnected from the stainless steel bayonet mount and stowed in the covered bed in a cradle made just for the purpose.  A vinyl cover for the outside part of the mount is installed just to keep grime out of it as much as possible.  I left the antenna on teh vehicle during the first two years of operation, but the earlier aluminum bayonet mount welded itself together over time and one or two encounters with salted roads.  Also, the Lexan at the top of the coil form became cracked (from UV?) and needed to be replaced (which Charlie did, gratis.)  Great support from Charlie on his Hi-Q antennas.

On the Air!  What?  I can work DX from the mobile??

I've enjoyed a lot of chat time on 40m, 20m and 17m, spending most of my on-air time on 17m.  I've worked DX too - that's fun, although typically my engine noise (mostly ignition) is significant (S5-6).  Still, here is a sample of the DX I've worked while casually mobiling:

I could list  more, but that gives you the idea that working DX while mobile may be more of a challenge than it is at home, but it isn't terribly hard.  I have gotten responses of "you sure don't sound like a mobile!" innumerable times.  I'm only running the IC706's barefoot 100 Watts to the Hi-Q antenna.  I've been very pleased with its performance.  I wish I could remove more noise from the vehicle - that would help a lot.

Installing the HiQ Antenna on a 2002 Ford F-150

There are any number of ways this could be done well, but I had a few restrictions to work around.  Many use mounts in the truck bed, but I have a "Snug-Lid" cover on my bed, so none of those work.  I decided to go with something at the bumper level. 

The first photo shows how the welding shop tied back into the frame-mounted class 3 hitch, and then they bolted a support to the body sheet metal.  It is very secure.  (Click thumbnails for larger view - back button to return)  The second and third photos shows how the Hi-Q bracket looks prior to beginning to mount the antenna hardware.  The last photo is the almost-final view with the loading coil in place.  I don't have a photo, but after this, I added a large 00 battery cable to tie the bracket securely back into the chassis ground.