[Antennas] Glass Mount

Sat Apr 15 19:02:52 EDT 2006

> -----Original Message----- 
> Should the ability to stick tight to the glass still be ok ?

Maybe...but if it doesn't stick well, you can get a remount kit that will
reapply adhesive to the mount. (If you cannot get it locally, let me
know...I can get Larsen stuff through a distributor). The part # is
KGREINSTALL for the universal on-glass reinstall kit or KGREINSTALLDC which
has trimmed pads for the KG style antenna
> How far from in-the-glass defroster wires should I mount it ?

You don't want the in-glass wires under or in the field of the thru glass
system.
With the Larsen low Z mount, it doesn't hurt as much as the Avanti or other
on glass antennas (which are high Z) with the wires CLOSE to the antenna. As
long as the antenna is in a clear spot and the RF passes thru the glass with
no wires in the way, you're ok..
However, you have to check the glass itself and make sure there is no
metallic flakes or reflecting material in the glass....GM and Ford have
started to use this; GM has it on the side windows of a full size Tahoe and
only the front windshield is good for mounting..Not sure about the
VW...check with the dealer. 
You can also check using the antenna without mounting or sticking it to the
glass...hold the antenna and the coupler together outside and watch rcv
signal levels on a distant rptr or station; note the level of a good
reliable signal..Then have someone else hold the coupler inside and place
the antenna against the glass outside...see if there is any loss of signal
on the same source...if there is, you have metallic flakes in the glass.

> I read somewhere that the power limit of these type antennas 
> is low - should 50 Watts be ok?

Max rated power is 100watts.
> I don't see many installations of through the glass antennas 
> (might be more then I think) do they work well ?

Not bad...I have used some KG450s recently on Ford Escapes where I could not
easy drill and run the coax...They worked like a champ with the 100watt
ASTROs on UHF. VHF and UHF they are pretty good..My former company once
experimented with the Avanti Lowband models for our 48MHz system...what a
joke they were...the High Z feed didn't help any (one box fell off the glass
with 100watts of lowband RF...the GLASS was hot too!)...we did measurements
on an antenna range we made up at one site...found the Avantis were up to
20db LESS than a normal lowband base loaded whip on a poor gnd plane! Whew!
We ended up with about 500ドル worth of unused Avantis...(all because some jerk
in the company garage didn't want holes drilled in company vehicles...the
pattern results killed any further discussion from them :)
> The design of my car (VW Passat Wagon) will not allow for a 
> lip type/hatchback mount, and I do not want to drill any holes...

Don't forget the hood area...You can use a lip mount there on the inside lip
of the hood..I did that on my Chevy S10 Blazer for a NMO150 I use on 6FM..
Chris
WB5ITT