Magnetic mount antenna lesson

[Ben Cotton]

I made a very important discovery Wednesday somewhere on IL9. As a semi passed me going the other way, I got smacked with a healthy gust of wind. So healthy that it overcame the magnet on my antenna and left it dangling off the right side of my car. I was lucky though, and got to learn my lesson the easy way. The distance from the door to the center of the roof plus the length of the antenna was greater than the distance from the top of the door to the road surface. Therefore, my antenna escaped damage. Those of you who use mag mount antennas -- before you leave check to make sure that if the magnet can't hold to the roof that you won't end up dragging your antenna across the roadway...I don't imagine that will help your signal any. It's not something I ever thought about until today, but now it will be routine for me, right along with checking engine fluids.


Ben

 

[Jeff Snyder]

Yes, I lost a nice tri-band mobile mag-mount last year after passing an oncoming semi on a 60mph 2-lane, 2-way road in northern OK... I was running the antenna coax from the trunk to the middle of the roof, which meant that when it flew off, and it smacked the road, splintered into several pieces. To make matters worse, the magnet smashed apart as well, leaving not only me without a magnet, but also causing for some high-speed metal debris, which is certainly a safety concern.

What did I do? I still run the antenna from my trunk to the center of the roof, but I did buy a very heavy-duty magnet, so I should no longer have the problem of the mag mount giving way. I've passed many trucks now at high speeds and it hasn't budged yet, so I strongly suggest that folks "upgrade" to a stronger magnet mount, especially for the Radioshack scanner antenna type of mag mounts, which are pretty weak I've found...

 

[David Drummond]

This is one of the exact reasons I always use an nmo mount whenever possible. The only magmount I have now is my little wifi antenna that is so small anyway I don't leave it out going down the road usually.

 

[Bryce Stone]

I've had bad luck with magnet-mounted antennas. I gave them up long ago. Everything on my chase vehicle is bolted down now.

 

[Ben Prusia]

I have 2 magnet mount antennas on top of the car, both have been there for about a year now. I considered them very sturdy until last Monday (21st), while driving down US-69 near Pittsburg, KS, they blew off when two dump trucks who were drifting each other went in the opposite direction along the 2 lane roadway. Unfortunately, I am not going to drill in the roof of the car (yet), but may consider that option down the road.

 

[Stephanie Koles]

I made a very important discovery Wednesday somewhere on IL9. As a semi passed me going the other way, I got smacked with a healthy gust of wind. So healthy that it overcame the magnet on my antenna and left it dangling off the right side of my car. I was lucky though, and got to learn my lesson the easy way. The distance from the door to the center of the roof plus the length of the antenna was greater than the distance from the top of the door to the road surface. Therefore, my antenna escaped damage. Those of you who use mag mount antennas -- before you leave check to make sure that if the magnet can't hold to the roof that you won't end up dragging your antenna across the roadway...I don't imagine that will help your signal any. It's not something I ever thought about until today, but now it will be routine for me, right along with checking engine fluids.


Ben

Oooo, This happened to me also. I had a cheapo radio shack antenna on the car. What brand of mag mount were you using on your vehicle ???

 

[John Diel]

I've "lost" quite a few mag mounts. I still use them, but manage to keep them on a very short leash. Now when they topple over to the the "trucker gust front" they smack the camper shell and go no further. Of course it's an older sheet metal shell so I hear it right off the bat. Usually gets my undivided attention for at least a few moments.

 

[Tony Laubach]

I lost a tire once to a situation exactly like that! The antenna came crashing off the roof and ended up (somehow) slicing my tire. This wasn't on a chase, but we were on our way to Dallas and had to get a replacement tire to continue our journey. This happened near Burlington, Colorado at 3:00am and really sucked! Since then, I have twist-tied my wires together and left all the slack wires in the trunk so that if an antenna bites the dust, it in reality can only fall over instead of crashing off the roof!

 

[Mike Peregrine]

This has happened to me several times too. It scares me to death when it happens ... think the antenna is going to come flying through one of the windows. Now we strap the mag mounts to the luggage rack ... we position in them in the back two corners of the rack so the wind is pushing them against the sides of the rack, and then we use bungee cords to wrap the bases against the rack ... seems to do the trick. I've actually had inflow winds blow them off too ... not fun.

 

[David Drummond]

Originally posted by Mike Peregrine
This has happened to me several times too. It scares me to death when it happens ... think the antenna is going to come flying through one of the windows. Now we strap the mag mounts to the luggage rack ... we position in them in the back two corners of the rack so the wind is pushing them against the sides of the rack, and then we use bungee cords to wrap the bases against the rack ... seems to do the trick. I've actually had inflow winds blow them off too ... not fun.

That was EXACTLY what happened to me, passed a truck and it blew off and shattered the back window!

 

[Scott Taylor]

Speaking of magnetic antennas, are any of you that own a wxworx system mounting the receiver antenna on the exterior of your vehicle? I was impressed with the strength of that little antenna's magnets. It was quiet an effort to get the thing back off the car when I tested it the first time, lol

 

[David Drummond]

Originally posted by Scott Taylor
Speaking of magnetic antennas, are any of you that own a wxworx system mounting the receiver antenna on the exterior of your vehicle? I was impressed with the strength of that little antenna's magnets. It was quiet an effort to get the thing back off the car when I tested it the first time, lol

That little bugger is strong isn't it. I haven't decided if it's just THAT good of a magnet, or if it's because the antenna is so small in the first place, or if it really is just that strong of a magnet. I have it stuck on the gas meter outside the house here using it here at home.

 

[Mike Sharp]

I use a micro antenna available here in the UK 2m and 70cms,good for 50W used to use it on my old car and it stayed stable, ie didn't even budge at 110mph down a German autobahn. I swear by that little beast, it is also the some size base as my external cellphone one. If I want more power I just go for the big whip mounted on the spare tire bracket on the tailgate.

 

[Ben Cotton]

Originally posted by Stephanie Koles
Oooo, This happened to me also. I had a cheapo radio shack antenna on the car. What brand of mag mount were you using on your vehicle ???

It's a Jetstream dual-band. The magnet is pretty decent, I've accidentally driven it into a parking garage roof and it held. I've used those Radio Shack antennas before to boost my NWR reception...every time I go around a turn it sounds like it's going to fly off.


Ben

 

[Court Hubbard]

I in fact have 3 magnet mount antennas. One for my Wi-fi card, one for the scanner and one for the HAM radio. Last night the wind was really howling, jeep was rocking it was blowing so hard while watching the lightning. Decided to drive into the wind, antennas still held strong going 55mph into those winds. Can't imagine how fast the wind actually was combined. I zip tie my wires to the luggage rack so if they ever do decide to come off, they aren't going far.