The box with tricky equipment

I sometimes spend weeks in a hotel when on a consulting job at customer site. Therefor I have created a tricky box to take with me; that I can easily have an outside antenna, without leaving a window or balcony door open to get the antenna cable through. Further more I like to have the AT-D578UV in my i.e. hotel room instead of the handheld. I prefer real RF-communication to the next repeater, not using the hotspot. Took me some weeks to think about how to do it best. Finally I came up with (I believe) brilliant idea. What you need is:

A heavy duty sucktion grip
A power supply here a 13.8V 30A Version for the radio
Diamond MGC50 Through Window/Door Cable Set
Mount for the antenna socket, will be fixed with reuseable cable-binders instead of the metal clamps. I have two mounts in the box. The second one is used when there is a balcony railing, where I can fix the mount with some cable binders directly
Antenna socket for the mount above
Short cable between the MGC50 Through Window/Door Cable set to the antenna mounts on the outside
Cable for the inside of the MGC50 connector
reuseable cable binder

With these parts you can easily build a “Hotel Shack”. On the handle of the sucktion grip the antenna mount is fixed to it with the reuseable cable binder. The antenna socket is fixed to the antenna mount. Now you can fix the sucktion grip to a window or any flat/even surface which is good for sucktion grips. The short cable is between the antenna socket and the MGC50 (through Window/Door Cable Set). In the inside the longer cable is between the MGC50 to the radio. If I am in a sky-scraper where I can’t open the window, I can use this construction just from the inside sucked to the window.

Brilliant ?

This how the antenna mount with suction grip looks like:

Holds even on a door or any other even surface

sucktion grip with antenna mount and short cable

 

 

Antenna Mount for my Suzuki SUV

I want to be prepared for Emergency Communications, where the car becomes my QTH. As I do not like to drill through the roof to have an antenna mounted there and due to the fact that I want to use Shortwave (AM, SSB, CW) as well as VHF and UHF (FM, DMR, DStar) I had to lay back and think entirely through this. Luckely the car has the sparewheel mounted to the back door I had to create a construction to have two antennas mounted in a way that I can extend the antenna mount over the car’s height, when not driving.


When driving the antenna mount extension should not disturb my view through the internal mirror, therefor must be removable. Both the antenna mount base and extension should also be constructed in a way that I can use my chameleon hybrid mini antenna, dipole or HyEndFed Antenna together with the 2m/70cm Antenna.

At the end it was easy. An aluminum profile delivered to my specs and another profile as the extension, A ground connection from the profile to the door and from the door to the chassis of the car. Two holes for the RG58 cables. Neatly screwed to the Sparewheel housing and screws/threaded holes to connect the antenna mount extension to the antenna mount base. One day work and it was done, works like a charm. Worst case there is always “the claw” on board, which allows to fix the chameleon hybrid mini everywhere.

I can now have either two VHF/UHF Antennas mounted to the mount base or one VHF/UHF and a HF-Antenna (Chameleon, Dipol or HyEndFed) or two HF-Antennas. Exactly the same is possible when the antenna mount extension is fixed to the mount base. The only difference is that the antenna bases are the same height as the cars roof. Tricky eh !!

Here are some pictures:

Base Mount

Base Mount

Extension

Extension

Extension
 

 

 

 

 

 

Antenna Mount with Extension Chameleon Unun and Mil-Whip

 

Detailled View, Chameleon Unun on top level w. Mil-Whip

 

Detail View Chameleon Unun on top level

 

Detailled View, Chameleon Unun on lower level for use with a wire

 

As before, more detailled

My Projects

Over the years and due to experience as well as failures I think a project completely through. This avoids high costs and me being angry. So far I have created:

As I had an education (apprenticeship for 3.5 yrs.) as radio and television technician, I am good in electronics, antennas and also in mechanics. I professionally work with computers since 1980 which is another PLUS.