7 replies to this topic

[plane]

Where is the best place to install my radio box and the car harness? Also best way to rig the PTT button so as not to interfere with driving?

[Keith Andrews]

Where is the best place to install my radio box and the car harness? Also best way to rig the PTT button so as not to interfere with driving?

I'm not sure if it is the best place but I mounted mine on the passenger side of the tunnel. It is easy to reach, turn on and adjust the volume as necessary.

PTT switch is on the steering wheel horizontal spoke, like you see in most race cars, NASCAR, GT Cars, etc.

[Muda]

You can also mount the PTT button on the shifter with a velcro strap.

[Sampson Racing Radios]

All good suggestions.

Here are a few more-
Make sure to ZIP-Tie the coil cord on the wheel hub and at dash or below, so that any "pull" is on the coil cords and not on the PTT button or the harness connection point.
One other point is to keep the radio system on the opposite side from electronic sources when you can. Please feel free to ask any more questions or call the office.

Hope this helps, Shawn Sampson

[Ken Wilkinson]

Don't mount the antenna on the roof! Shawn helped me out at Nationals regarding a reception issue and suggested the antenna be mounted on the trunk deck. I haven't tested it yet but it has got to be better than on the roof with a 12" square ground plane.

[Johnny D]

Don't mount the antenna on the roof! Shawn helped me out at Nationals regarding a reception issue and suggested the antenna be mounted on the trunk deck. I haven't tested it yet but it has got to be better than on the roof with a 12" square ground plane.

I did the roof, Shawn told me about the plate/sheetmetal after the fact. I did 6 to 8" dia. Works fine but a little more work than the trunk or the orig hole. The signal has to bounce off/up metal to work, if you're wondering.
J~

[Sampson Racing Radios]

Thanks Johnny and Ken for the shout out-

Here is a link on a fiberglass set-up but like Ken said, I would rather see you mount it on the rear deck lid.


http://youtu.be/4NC1kD_4y1M

Cheers, Shawn

[Tom Hampton]

Don't mount the antenna on the roof! Shawn helped me out at Nationals regarding a reception issue and suggested the antenna be mounted on the trunk deck. I haven't tested it yet but it has got to be better than on the roof with a 12" square ground plane.

The key phrase is "ground plane". A ground plane is a sheet of metal that is connected to the GROUND reference of the radio (negative terminal of battery). A simple sheet of ungrounded metal might help a little (in so far as everything has SOME conductivity), but its not going to be the same as the body structure. If the sheet of metal were connected to the chassis, that would help a little more.

I did the roof, Shawn told me about the plate/sheetmetal after the fact. I did 6 to 8" dia. Works fine but a little more work than the trunk or the orig hole. The signal has to bounce off/up metal to work, if you're wondering.
J~

The signal doesn't "bounce", but rather is created BETWEEN the antenna and the ground plane. No ground plane, no signal. The bigger the ground plane and the better its connection to the battery, the more efficient the antenna (up to a point). You really want that sheet of metal to be several times wider than the antenna is tall, and have a nice fat connection to the battery. That's why the car body will always work better than a sheet of metal with a small guage wire connecting to the battery.

Imagine a cue ball on the end of a slinky and trying make the cue ball bounce up and down by pulling on the other end of the slinky. Your hand moves up and down alot, but the cue ball is barely moving. Now try it with string! Same idea:: Your hand is the antenna, the slinky/string is the ground plane, and the cue-ball is the radio wave in the "air".

The same theory holds true for GPS antennae (for data collectors). They don't transmit, but the efficiency works on the receive direction, too.