There are 3 ways to mount an HF (that's high frequency, or short wave to you
non-hams) antenna on a vanagon camper.

1 - easiest and no holes to be drilled, highest cost.  Get a good gutter mount
from an amateur radio gear supplier, such as Radio City, in minnesota, it's on
the net for shopping, or was last I looked.  A good gutter mount will be about
$60.  Mount it above the pillar in front of the sliding door.  Route the cable
down the gutter toward the front to the bottom of the gutter in front of the
door, and from there, in the front of the door above the hinge and across the
dash.  Use a small amount of Coaxseal (an electrical putty) every 6 inches to
stick the coax in place in the gutter, it will last about 3 years before it
needs replacing.

2 - harder, 1 or 2 holes depending on routing, cheap.  Mount a 3/8 cab mount,
about $14 bucks, just even with the top and behind the drivers side rear air
intake.  Removing the plastic intake cover allows easy access to the backside
for tightening mounting hardware.  Routing the coax is a bit of a chore.  If
anyone really wants to do this I could provide pictures.

3 - harder yet, 1 hole, cheap.  Drill a hole through the luggage carrier, and
through the metal roof of the cab.  Install a 3/8 inch mount from Radio Shack.
This is a real pain, but doable.  I did mine dead center, but you do them
anyplace, and do several if running VHF/UHF/microwave verticals.

I have installed all 3 on my 85 westy, and use all 3 for different antennas.
Performance depends more on the antenna used than the positions, although the
gutter mount is probably the worst as far as getting a really good RF ground
and cointerpoise.  For HF, 3.8 MHz through 50 MHz, I use the mount by the rear
vent, for VHF and up, the cabtop is superior.  The cabtop is also probably
physically weaker than the other 2, but could be reinforced by bracing to the
luggage carrier.  I have never run a physically long antenna there while in
motion for that reason.

tom

On 21 Jul 2003 at 13:20, kevin obrien wrote:

> Hello All:
>
> I have one of theose Cobra CB's with everything
> conatined in the mike...any advice on the best
> antenna/mount for a Vanagon?  How is performance?

------
Tom Ring K0TAR, ex-WA2PHW  EN34hx
taring@taring.org

"It is better to go into a turn slow, and come out fast, than to go into a turn fast
and come out dead." Stirling Moss