I know that all antennas are best on the roof. We all know that, but some of us like to park in the garage and don't have a 20ft garage opening!
So I looked for solutions. I found the awesome Diamond® Antenna ~ K9000LRMO Motorized Luggage Rack Mount diamond motorized roof mount.
A very detailed review of the item:
https://www.expeditionexchange.com/diamondantenna/
(About 3/4 of the way down)
It moves the antennas 90 degrees up and down at the push of a button.
The good things:
I can fit in the garage.
I only pop up the antenna when I need it.
There is a special mechanism inside to prevent the antennas that hit items to still move when in the locked up position.
Great when going through low brush with the antennas up, I can now lower them down!
They hold up well and fine at any speed of the vehicle.
Diamond is a great company to help with things.
Looks REALLY kewl when moving up and down!
Fell like I have 'The Falcon' with all of my mods!
The bad:
Motorized (more moving parts, more that can go wrong)
Not only do I have an antenna cable now, I have a power cable running from the roof.
Expensive ($104 per!)
The unknown:
Will the button control last?
How long with the motor mechanism last?
When and if the motor part goes, I will have to re-run the power wires OR splice into the existing power wires.
From what I have read these can last anywhere from 6 months to 5 years. So durability is unknown.
The major issue I have is how to get these wires INTO the cabin area to be routed appropriately.
I am going to combine the power for the switches. They run on 12v and only pull .4 amps when running. It takes approx 4-6 seconds to go up or down.
The switches will be mounted to the right of the steering wheel where there are two empty slots.
Here is a thread where someone describes replacing the original switch with a dpdt center off switch:
Outdoor Adventure USA, LLC • View topic - Dual Diamond K9000 Mount Installation
I am not going to do that just yet as my switches are new. Why mess with something that is not broken. Plus he has them wired so that both of his antennas go up and down together. I don't need both being up and down at the same time just yet.
Anyway, enjoy this mod!
Drivers side Ham Antenna Mount:
Passenger Wilson Cell Repeater Antenna:
About the Wilson Cell Repeater, here is a link to describe that:
Cell Phone Antennas and Cell Phone Boosters at Wilson Electronics
I have the model: 801201
I just did a run from Southern California to Vegas the back way through the desert. Usually there is a large stretch where I get NO service. With this working I only had (2) 1/4 mile parts where I got no service. This item is GREAT for only $250!!
I have the amplifier under the passenger seat. Power is going to be hardwired into the rigrunner when I have some time.
For wire routing I currently have them running to the rear hatch and under the seal into the rear then under the inside panels. I am think I am going to make a few small slits in the metal under the rear hatch rubber seal and slide the wires in there so they are not bent. That should still allow the seal to fit over the trim of the hatch metal and not compromise the water sealing.
That seems easier then drilling a hole I need to fill up with silicon to seal. Also would make it a heck of alot easier if I need to replace any of the wires if needed.
Thoughts?
So I looked for solutions. I found the awesome Diamond® Antenna ~ K9000LRMO Motorized Luggage Rack Mount diamond motorized roof mount.
A very detailed review of the item:
https://www.expeditionexchange.com/diamondantenna/
(About 3/4 of the way down)
It moves the antennas 90 degrees up and down at the push of a button.
The good things:
I can fit in the garage.
I only pop up the antenna when I need it.
There is a special mechanism inside to prevent the antennas that hit items to still move when in the locked up position.
Great when going through low brush with the antennas up, I can now lower them down!
They hold up well and fine at any speed of the vehicle.
Diamond is a great company to help with things.
Looks REALLY kewl when moving up and down!
Fell like I have 'The Falcon' with all of my mods!
The bad:
Motorized (more moving parts, more that can go wrong)
Not only do I have an antenna cable now, I have a power cable running from the roof.
Expensive ($104 per!)
The unknown:
Will the button control last?
How long with the motor mechanism last?
When and if the motor part goes, I will have to re-run the power wires OR splice into the existing power wires.
From what I have read these can last anywhere from 6 months to 5 years. So durability is unknown.
The major issue I have is how to get these wires INTO the cabin area to be routed appropriately.
I am going to combine the power for the switches. They run on 12v and only pull .4 amps when running. It takes approx 4-6 seconds to go up or down.
The switches will be mounted to the right of the steering wheel where there are two empty slots.
Here is a thread where someone describes replacing the original switch with a dpdt center off switch:
Outdoor Adventure USA, LLC • View topic - Dual Diamond K9000 Mount Installation
I am not going to do that just yet as my switches are new. Why mess with something that is not broken. Plus he has them wired so that both of his antennas go up and down together. I don't need both being up and down at the same time just yet.
Anyway, enjoy this mod!
Drivers side Ham Antenna Mount:
Passenger Wilson Cell Repeater Antenna:
About the Wilson Cell Repeater, here is a link to describe that:
Cell Phone Antennas and Cell Phone Boosters at Wilson Electronics
I have the model: 801201
I just did a run from Southern California to Vegas the back way through the desert. Usually there is a large stretch where I get NO service. With this working I only had (2) 1/4 mile parts where I got no service. This item is GREAT for only $250!!
I have the amplifier under the passenger seat. Power is going to be hardwired into the rigrunner when I have some time.
For wire routing I currently have them running to the rear hatch and under the seal into the rear then under the inside panels. I am think I am going to make a few small slits in the metal under the rear hatch rubber seal and slide the wires in there so they are not bent. That should still allow the seal to fit over the trim of the hatch metal and not compromise the water sealing.
That seems easier then drilling a hole I need to fill up with silicon to seal. Also would make it a heck of alot easier if I need to replace any of the wires if needed.
Thoughts?