Holes in Roof (1 Viewer)

[bluesquirrel]

How many of you have gone the way of drilling holes(s) in the roof for your antennas or power wires for lights and things?
I'm curious about your choice of grommets, bulkhead connectors, pass-through devices, etc. Technical reasons for your choice.

I'm at the stage in my rig build, that I will be making holes in the roof. I've got a dissent rack, with solar, lights and two antennas, GMRS and 144mhz. I plan on keeping my rig until it's dead, and I'm good with making clean work.

 

[BMThiker]

These ABS "ports" work great as long as you use a good adhesive.
Amazon product ASIN B07WL7D9V6

 

[bluesquirrel]

@BMThiker that's exactly what I'm going to be doing for my antennas. The solar wires may go through a big 22pin connector

 

[Skidoo]

Power, lights, etc go through the roof using this connector.
Amazon product ASIN B07D8T8NJD
For my antenna feed thru the roof I used this
RFT1213-X TNC Female Crimp Bulkhead Connector, RF Industries
The TNC is better than the PL-259 for a few reasons. Its more waterproof and uses a smaller hole. Less insertion loss as the PL-259 bandwidth is starting to roll off at 100MHz, while the TNC goes to at least 6GHz. While most ham rig use a PL-259 on the back panel, going thru multiple PL-259s is going to reduce performance.

 

[wapitimud]

I've drilled the roofs of many new vehicles for commercial and fire/ambulance/police installs.

Its essential that you have a proper " NMO hole saw ", it'll have a guide bit, and be the exact diameter you need.

On some vehicles, the interior dome light in the cab is in the exact center of the roof.

Temporarily removing that dome light on those models, allows a small pilot hole to be drilled upward to be expanded next by your hole saw.

I always measure many times first, and mark my drill area with a small X using a sharpie. I go so far as to place the assembled NMO antenna on that X, to gauge the finished result. Many roofs are sloped.

If you want it done well, you might pay a two-way radio shop in your area to do the job. They have all the experience and tools, and would take the liability for a screw up. It might cost you $50-$100 for the cable install, much cheaper than bodywork if your own work is done wrong.