Great video! Thanks for the sub. This is exactly what I need. I tried a cheapo antenna from Amazon a while back that was a magnet bottom and wired down the side of my car door. After a while it just fell apart. I’ll try one of these. I’m a total noob at HAM life. But trying to learn a bit as I go. Thanks dude.
Trim the glass and antenna base out with blue painters tape. Run your bead all the way around then remove the tape. No mess and perfect lines. I do the same thing when i use a caulking gun. Tape both sides if necessary run your bead of caulking, smooth out with your finger then remove tape. Works perfect.
A tip my dad showed me many years ago, dip your finger in some liquid dish soap before you smooth out the silicone. The wet silicone will not stick to your finger and the fillet comes out very smooth and less cleaning up to do after it dries. ;-)
I've used several of these over the years on different vehicles. Never had a problem. I currently have one for GMRS use on my pickup and my inlaws RV. Due to restrictions in my neighborhood, I have one attached to the only single pane window in my home. They all work perfectly. CHEERS from Colorado
I work for a two-way radio shop we installed hundreds of ASP's glass mount 800 MHz antennas the installation kit came with silicon rubber and the instructions spelled out using silicon around the mount of the antenna on the outside of the glass to reinforce the 3M double-sided tape pad, We use silicon rubber on both the antenna and a coil on the inside of the glass.
I had one of those aerials about 15 years ago. I don't think the glass I attached it to had a flat enough profile and it flew off into the distance some months later :( While I had it I was extremely impressed by how well it worked on both bands. I believe you've made a better job of sticking out on than I did so let's hope it stays with you for many years :) 73 de G0TVJ
Ideally one should put it out of the wind perhaps on the back window if you don't have those heating defrost lines. I think this silicone will keep water and dirt from getting in between and keep it on. Hopefully this will help out some new ham.
Funny thing: I've been installing glass mounts for more than 30 years in both ham and commercial applications... Mainly Larsen, but quite a few Tram models... And I've never had one fall off. I've seen them last ten or more years in use. I've had my own last more than five despite Illinois winters and weekly automatic car washes. And I've never had to seal any of the hundreds I've installed and maintained. Seems like overkill, but if it makes you feel more secure, go for it.
I have found that by craping off the paint on the L shaped ground rod on the end that screws and attaches onto the RF connector, the SWR tuning is 100 % better than before with better return loss etc.
I've used glass mounts before with good performance. I'm not trying to hit repeaters 100 miles away, just local ones. No problems hitting some repeaters 40-50 miles.
Interesting install! Silicone wouldn't have been something I would've thought of using for a good tight seal, especially on glass for an antenna but I understand as to why you use it. Been thinking about putting two different glass mount antennas on my car to do away with my two stud mount antennas and seeing how you've done yours, looks to be s very good idea. Thanks for your informal video! It's very helpful
The silicone seems like a very good idea...but, really and truely, I've used these on-glass antennas for 30 years, and never had one fall off, not even close. In fact, I've often taken the old antennas off the cars when I got a new car, and reused the same antenna by using the remount kits with new pads, after cleaning off the residual adhesive pads on the used bases. The antenna bases are rock solid on the window using the adhesive pads provided, and when removing the bases to move them to another vehicle, I've had ro use Glue Gone, a putty knife to pry the bases loose, and it took some real elbow grease, and very cautious effort not to break the window. That's how tightly adhered to the window they have always been. Now, my vehicles are always garaged, and perhaps if vehicles are outside all the time, the silicone sealant is necessary. I live in St. Louis too, where Ham Radio CQ indicated he also lives. So the weather I experience is the same as he experiences. Perhaps it's something that someone would experience in a different climate where the sealant idea would be necessary. But, for over thirty years, and probably six or seven antennas, some remounted using the remount kits, sealant has never been necessary. Just my two cents that might save an extra step.
@@hamradiocq Hi, yeah, it occurs to me that some may have purchased on-glass antenna brands that needed some extra help from Silicone sealant. I always puechased MFJ brand or Antenna Specialist Brand on-glass antennas, and with those two brands, the adhesion was always excellent. I'm not affiliated with either of those brands. But, with respect to Antenna Specialist, I began using them when I was employed in law enforcement, and that was the brand that was always installed on the patrol cars. Then, later on, over time, Antenna Specialist just seemed like they had lost some of their prominence in the market place as other brands started to cut into their market share. So, I started using MFJ brand, and it performed as well as what I experienced with the Antenna Specialist brand.
I’ll never trust another glass mount antenna ever again. I bought a new Dodge Dakota in 1999, didn’t want to drill a hole in a new truck and definitely didn’t want a mag mount scratching my paint. So, I bought the Larsen dual band glass mount antenna. It performed ok for about three years. I noticed a gradual decrease in received signal strength and I also noticed it was more and more difficult to get into my usual repeater (about 15 miles from me). It got so bad that I checked the SWR, which was acceptable right after installation, and it was in excess of 4 to 1. I was using a tri band Kenwood 742A at the time and the 2 meter module wouldn’t transmit more than a few watts no matter what the power setting was. I used a different antenna, temporarily, and still the same RF output was indicated. I rarely used 70 cm so it wasn’t affected. The glass mount antenna was removed and when it was, I could hear a sloshing noise in the plastic base the antenna screwed on to. There it was, water created a dead short and ruined the RF final on my radio. I examined the base and couldn’t find how the water entered the plastic case but, it did somehow. That was my first, only and last experience with a glass mount antenna. If they work for some folks, great. I ruined an expensive radio with one of them. Since I had that experience, I decided to drill a hole in the Dakota and have a proper mount. Every vehicle I’ve owned since has had a hole drilled and a proper mount installed. Not one issue with any of those mounts and I’ll never use anything else.
With glass being such a good insulator, how in the world is this so affective? I would think the glass would negatively impact the reception. I realize that RF isnt electrical supply, but I wouldnt have thought an antenna like this would be good at all.
That silicone skills ^^ 1.) apply silicone kind of like you did but dont put it on top - only in the seam 2.) make sure you have enough because you won't be able to add anything after the next step 3.) spray some soap water on the whole thing 4.) use a plastic shaper made for silicone work of your choice to remove anything you don't want and leave a nice CLEAN seal. 5.) dip finger in soap water and gently smooth out last imperfections. No extra time needed, just skill.
Good question. This would def work for police scanners. If you are receiving only you can be a lot more flexible than when transmitting. The police frequencies are pretty close to the same as the ones intended for this ham radio antenna. I say go for it! There is a link to this scanner in the description. If you use that link I get amazon credit for doing so. Appreciated. thank you.
Thanks for the video . I've been eyeing this antenna on amazon for a while but was unsure if it would work. I think I will pick one up. How is it on 70cm?
Five watts on 2-meters with a 2-second transmission is not going to hurt you. You could sit there for half an hour and have a qso and I doubt you would walk away with a third eye or something. More likely to get ball cancer from having a cell phone in your front pocket.
Nice! I just ordered this antenna. My explorer plus antenna doesn't fit in the garage. I live in St Charles. Let me barrow that meter. I'm kidding of course. KD0LJK. Hope to hear you on the radio.
Ok so i tun on my radio and the red light on my radio is blinking. I oress one the side assign buttoms on my cp200 motorolla and im ablemto hear conversation. but as soon i let go of that buttom i dont hear anything but the light keeps blinkin so the conversation still there but i have to press the side buttom. Not the ptt buttom but the lower bottom side buttoms . How can i listen continuous without presssing the side buttom. Im doint something wron or that is how it works
Hey man I'm in Florissant I'm new to this. I just bought a diamond mr77 uhf hooked to uv5r I just noticed you were in stl. The only repeater ive found was 145.320 just from scanning. Do you have a list of repeaters I could try. I don't really have a clue what I'm doing lol. Mostly just want to scan. For fun
There is a capacitance that is created when the two antenna pieces are placed on either side of a pane of glass. Actually I was surprised that it worked at all on a newer car. I used a glass mount from Radio Shack on a 91 Nissan years ago, but newer cars since then had glass encapsulated with tiny bits of silver in the glass which prevented the SWR from being adjusted to an acceptable level. I didn't use silicone, and with the 3M adhesive you really shouldn't need to use silicone.
The glass is a dielectric, making the two plates into a capacitor. Capacitors pass AC, but block DC. Since RF is AC at very high frequencies, it works well, and forwards power through the glass. It will also bump up your impedence, but there is always a price for convenience. Because reactance decreases with higher frequency (check your license exam manual), these capacitors work even better on higher bands (i.e. 70cm, 30cm, etc.) but will still work fine for 2m and 1.25m.
God morning Tom with the Mosquitos try Johnson's baby creamy oil on the face and hands don't get any oil in your eyes. It should help you on my bush walks.73 de Dennis vk4oc.
How much did you pay for said glass mount antennas? I’ve tried 2 or 3 and they all came off within a number of weeks (maybe I didn’t follow instructions right. Who knows???)
It works very well, it's been approaching 2 years since I made this video and still works great. But still follow the directions as they are specified.
I am looking for about your product place lace me a message . When I post this , I am looking for more information no this. Where can I find one of these at how much do they run looking for a cup of a
Mag mounts work fine, but its really easy to scratch the paint. Even though the mag mount is flat against the car's body, water can still accumulate between the magnet and the car's body.
I would think so, but the problem would be the window is vertical and so your antenna would be horizontal. You'd want the antenna to be vertically polarized.
My God! what a mess! Have yo ever used silicone before? A finger dabbed in a bit of soapy water and half the amount of silicone would have done the job nicely.
Only 4 mosquito bites....amateur....! Looks like a pretty decent antenna for the auto! Heck of a lot easier to install than running an antenna cable thorough a grommet, or making a hole.
I did on my old Cherokee, but it was a beater, ya know. I'm going to look at my truck this weekend and if I can find a way through the firewall without cutting, or drilling I'm going to use my old antenna (if the mount fits under the hood).
