Newbie here, with a 2 meter mobile rig and a magnet-mount antenna. I am currently routing the coax out an almost-closed window and am tired of having rain water enter the car through it. Is there such a thing as a commercially available feed-thru kit that can be attached to the roof of my vehicle, through which I can route my coax? Ideally I would want to send both my 2M and 10M coax through the roof to separate antennas.
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2$\begingroup$ Welcome to hamSE, Niels. Please tell us what internet or catalog sources you have searched, so we don't duplicate your efforts. Thanks! $\endgroup$– Brian K1LIJan 29, 2021 at 12:17
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1$\begingroup$ If you feel that your question was answered by a member of the hamSE community, please so indicate by selecting the "check" button under the up/down voting arrows to remove it from the list of unanswered questions. $\endgroup$– Brian K1LIJan 29, 2021 at 13:58
3 Answers
The Hints and Hacks column on page 30 of the July 2020 edition of ARRL's On the Air magazine carries an item titled, "Mounting an Antenna to the Body of Your Car." The author explains the process:
- Use a specialized hole saw to make the opening in your car's body - carefully avoiding critical physical, electrical and hydraulic obstacles
- Rust-proof the edges of the opening with an appropriate paint - ask your local dealer, garage, auto parts store or body shop for recommendations
- Place the mount of your choice, per the manufacturer's instructions, tightening against the supplied O-ring to seal the opening without distorting the opening or the mount
(I have no affiliation with Laird Connectivity. Pointing to the resources on their web site was the easiest way to provide the basic information needed to answer the question.)
For two meters there is an option to have a capacitor on glass as feed-through. Just stick it on both sides of a non-metallized window screen and use a quarter lambda vertical with a small inductor to compensate the feed-through series capacitance. Coax screen must be connected to the car body with a short connection. No hole in your car, no rain water inside.
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1$\begingroup$ yes yes, I have one of those on order, should arrive this weekend! $\endgroup$ Feb 2, 2021 at 18:25
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1$\begingroup$ these are now properly mounted and tuned, both show swr's of less than 1.2:1! $\endgroup$ Feb 11, 2021 at 3:39
Now you could buy a kit, or you could buy a water shield (Window roof) to put over your windows so rainwater wouldnt go in the car. This is just a suggestion. Do as YOU please.