Welcome to the Stark County Amateur Radio Emergency Service Website
|
Welcome to the Stark County Amateur Radio Emergency Service Website |
| Stark County ARES Special Projects Page |
 |
 |
|
|
Click on the button for current Stark County Weather !
|
|
A Simple ARES Portable Antenna Mount
A hand held however maybe your only option. Depending on the nature of the event, you may be asked to ride along in some "official" vehicle. This could take the form of a Red Cross ERV, Emergency Services Ambulance or Rescue Squad, or even a Transit Bus. Most of the vehicles have nice metal roofs that work great using simple magnetic mount antennas. This greatly increases your range when using only a low power HT radio. What if the vehicle doesn't have a metal roof ? Several vehicles now sport aluminum or fiberglass bodies making it impossible to use magnet mount antenna's. It was with this in mind that I began looking for alternative antenna mounts that could be used in these situations. The first was easy and already available. This aluminum clamp mount came complete with a simple screw clamp that will work fine with the large side mirrors commonly found on large trucks and Rescue Squads. I found it at a well stocked antenna supplier at a local hamfest. The mount came complete with a SO 239 connector and a 3/8" stud mount whip antenna and cost less than $ 10.00. A quarter wave whip antenna sized to fit the stud mount cost another $ 5.00. Figure 1 shows the complete mount.
The Simple Clamp Mount Quarter Wave Antenna Mount
The next mount has been around for a while and is based on a simple heavy duty suction cup that is commonly used to pull out minor dents in auto bodies or to carry plate glass. I found the suction cup at a Harbor Freight Tool store for only $ 4.00 on sale for a 4 1/2" size. It's constructed around a 4 1/2" pliable rubber cup that creates enough suction to pull an 80 pound object. This should be more than enough to hold on to an autobody or a smooth plate window of an ambulance or transit bus. A plastic handle folds to create the suction. The antenna mount for this is a simple two piece aluminum clamp also found at the same well stocked antenna supplier at a cost of about $ 5.00. I replaced the hardware with two 1/4" hex head bolts and easy to tighten wing nuts that clamp around the suction cup handle to form a solid mount that will easily hold the 1/4 wave 3/8" stud mount whip antenna. A short length of feedline with a BNC connector for the handheld and you are ready to go. This completed mount is shown in figure 2.
Figure 2
The Mount Clamped To A Car Window
Both antenna mounts cost about $ 10.00 each and are capable of being used on just about any type of personal or commercial vehicle in use today. I wish we would have had a few of these during the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA). They would have worked great on the two Rescue Squads that roamed the course. These will make a great addition to your ARES Go-Kit and will allow us to provide effective communications in almost any situation or vehicle using just your 5 watt hand held radio. Time to get to work !
This site is best viewed at 800 x 600 resolution using Internet Explorer
|
|
|
| last reviewed/updated on 01/15/06 |
|
ARES Info |
| | Calendar | | | Current News | | | Net Info. | | | Public Service | | | Skywarn | | | Training |
(Jan 15, 2006) -- Public Service communications takes on many forms.
Everything from participating in annual parades to marathons and charity walks
for civic organizations are but a few of the many events we assist with each
year. Here in Stark County we are fortunate to have several high profile two
meter repeaters at our disposal to use during these events. While they have very
good range, they were never intended to support using only hand held radio's
using only short rubber duck antenna's.
