Batboard

As I'm still picking aluminum and metal shards out of body and clothes from having to grind the top and underlayment of the roof of a 2002 E-One Aerial truck, I guess I will ask if anyone has ever done this before even with a thick roof antenna mount.
I had the opportunity to install the radio in this new truck, ( well it was a demo). Trust me , the roof thickness is very great. Starting with the actual roof body itself was a good 3/8" thick, and on top of that was a 1/8 " diamond plate across the entire surface. Yes, one could hold a rooftop party with a full band and wet bar on top this rig.
I litterally had to grind a 3" X 3" square area away from the area 1/8th" deep from underneath where the TRM would mount, and then grind the nubs on the diamond plate down on top to allow the actual antenna itself to screw down to. I was using the Larsen NMO K THK antenna mount kit, where the lower 3/8" threaded port IS only 1/2 in. in length. Before grinding the undeside, there was less than 1/32" of the threads left at the bottom to allow the nut to secure the mount.
To add to the atrocity of the install, the headliner rosebuds were that of the destroy only type, as they looked similar to a molly with a push pin in the middle. Taking a small screw driver and pushing the pin up inot the channel, then removing the rosebud, and then the headliner, the trick is now to get the push-pin outof the channel. Luckily I always take a strong vacuum cleaner, and had the success of retrieving the push pins.
Does any mfr. make a longer stud for special roofs like this?
Enjoying the new aerial truck as it has made history in this VFD.
Thanks.
Jimbo[/u][/b]

Make friends with your local E-One dealer and buy the plastic rivets. E-One uses a "special" color. They are pretty cheap, buy some and save yourself the time and frustration of reusing the old ones.

I use thick materials NMO mounts that I picked up from tessco that are manufactured by Maxrad. What I do for the aerial trucks with lots of diamond plate is to drill a pilot hole and then use a hole saw slightly larger than the diameter of the antenna base to carefully cut the layer of diamond plate and then lift the cut section out. Install your mount and antenna and ( I hate doing this but it works well) seal with silicone (the depression will hold water otherwise). As far as the plastic rivets go I have no experience with them we buy Sutphens and they use screws with snap heads on them.

I am pretty sure it is Antenex that makes the thick mount we use. They have 3 or 4 different ones to chose from. The one we use actually has a self-gripping nut on the underside so you can adjust it to the thickness you need.

http://www.antenex.com/

check them out, excellent products

Wes

Ive used what Wes is talking about. They work great and you only need a 3/4 hole instead of a 7/8. Ive seen where some manufactures spray on a coat of insulation on the aluminum . Make sure you get that off or your poor gound plane is gonna be worse....

Antenex makes a mount for roofs up to 1" thick. It is basically an NMO with a long female UHF or N connector on the bottom. Model VTPM for UHF, or VTPM800 for N. Both require a 5/8" hole as opposed to the standard 3/4". The downside of these mounts is that they can stick into the cab of a vehicle because they are very long.

I believe Wes was referring to the MABT line of mounts, which are good for roofs up to 1/4" thick, and do have a very nice "claw" nut on the bottom.

You can see the VTPM line at:

http://antenex.com/c_search.asp?txtFunc ... IVE+MOUNTS

Shamless plug: I am an Antenex dealer in case you are interested in these mounts or anything else. PM or email for more info.

Jeff Walsh - KC5IBY
[email protected]

Yes, The line I am talking about is the MAB8 Series

They cover thicknesses greater than 1/4" though. The MABT8is for approx. 1/4" thicknesses, but the MABVT8 is for thicknesses around 1" and dont have a great deal of "mount" sticking down on the inside of the cab.

All three of the MAB8 series mounts can be seen here.

http://antenex.com/c_search.asp?txtFunc ... plication=...

According to my Antenex rep, the MABVT8 is for panel thicknesses ranging from 0.032" to 0.500". It will work in 3/4" and 3/8" mounting holes.

Jeff Walsh - KC5IBY
[email protected]