[Miescha]

When I initially checked the SWR, I had 8-9 on all channels (whoa - really bad!). I had already checked for ground shorts and continuity from the center pin to the outer ring and mount, so I knew I didn't have shorts. I also checked for a good ground between the mount and the vehicle chasis and I knew I was good there. In the end, I forgot to tighten down the stud to the mount and it apparently makes a big difference. As a side note, I also did all my tuning/measuring with the rear hatch open. As you can see from the pics below, this greatly affects the ground-plane of the antenna and as a result I had to re-tune the antenna when I finally closed the rear hatch and checked the SWR only to find it had changed drastically.

In the end, I was able to get 2.1 on both ch1 and ch40 with 1.3 on ch20. I know this isn't great, but I was willing to sacrifice for the beneift of mount location preference.

HOWEVER, if I were to do it again (and I might take it all apart and redo it anyway), I would put the mount above the rear light assembly. The firering coax is very clean and would not stand out or block the lights (as I feared), and the additional height would do a LOT for SWR tuning and also highway range. Moreover, as I won't have the antenna on most of the time, the additional height really isn't as big an issue as I first thought. Not to mention that if I use our Sears Xcargo car top carrier (the thing is massive) I will really need the extra height to get the radio tuned.

In the end, our short 3 hour trip (one way) this weekend yielded relatively poor range from my setup. Range was poor, reception quality was poor, and I was overall unhappy with my wasted time on the antenna install. I'll play with the tuning some more before I give up and start over, but my advice to others would be to go with the highest mounting location you can and make sure you check SWR and tune the antenna with all the vehicle doors closed.