Magnet Mount Antennas are for Temp Use only??

[Loudmouth]

Hi, I just read that magnet mount antennas should be considered for temporary use only, and that they will never work as well as a permanently mounted antenna.

Is this true?

Thanks,
LM

[BigBopper]

nope, they can be used as a perm setup, if you ran a lot of watts, I would remove it once in a while to check the paint on the car though,,,probably a good amount of forum members use mag mounts as a perm setup, as I do and have for years

[Duck Commander]

Hey Bopper why would you need to check under the magnets every so often?

[Shaft]

Hey Bopper why would you need to check under the magnets every so often?

OK, I'm not Bopper but here's why I do it. I have seen all sorts of stuff get under or attach to my mag mounts. Little flakes of metal are the worst. What will happen is they will stick to the magnet and will rust whenever they get wet. Pretty soon you'll have a large rust spot where the magnet is.

[Duck Commander]

Rawjo so if your not worried about the paint it should be no big deal?

Just wonderin my brother has a 79 K-5 Blazer and he had the whole outside of it sprayed with Linex and im thinking of doing mine this way if you think about it it is really a lifelong paintjob that looks perty cool to me will the magnets get ground worth a crap threw this stuff or will i have to do sumpn else with my antenna instead of a mag-mount?

[Loudmouth]

Thanks guys. There is so much conflicting information out there it's frustrating sometimes.

I think everyone would agree that the most ideal situation is hard mount the antenna right in the center of the truck/car roof. But if you don't wanna drill a hole through your roof, would it be better to go with a mag mount in the center of the roof, or hard mount the antenna somewhere else? Say on the tool box in the back of the truck bad?

[Bigpimp347 [UK]]

tell you what...

i had a magnet on my roof for time, when i removed it the paint underneith had blistered,

also check as said for water etc, my van has a nice rist ring on the roof where the base got wet..

[THUMPER]

it has to do with a lot of things

weather = a pain in the a$Z

dust =scraches

high wattage = blistered paint

and the mag itself pulls alot of crap into play

thats why is good to clean the roof and mag on a reg, basis

[BigBopper]

put a piece of wax paper under the mag or a piece of a womans nylon

[Hawkeye]

Does the mag mount keep the antenna from getting a good ground? Bopper says "they can be used as a perm setup, if you ran a lot of watts". Is this because a hard mount will perform better.
My Wilson 1000 got out very good with just a mag mount and barefoot.

[coondog]

Hawkeye,hard mounts are the best way to go because then your whole auto is one big ground and you can just forget about it up there when it comes to blistering,moisture build up,and so forth.with mag mounts just check it once in awhile like the good people here say and you can hook a ground wire to the mag mount then to your frame if your going to be running some nice power.

[BigBopper]

If you run big watts with a mag mount you might blister you paint, I mean big watts, I ran a 8 pill with a mag mount no problem,,,,,Magnet mount antennas actually get their ground through "capacitive coupling" with the metal of the vehicle. The capacitance that the magnet forms with the surface of the vehicle is what couples the RF circuit to the body of the car.

[rattlesnake]

I use a wilson 1000 mag mount it seems to do good for me..

['Doc]

Think about it. If you want a good solid electrical connection, how do you do it? A good mechanical connection (and electrical) seems like a very sound idea. Isn't that how it's mostly done? So, why would you want to use a magnet if there wasn't some very good reason? I can certainly understand why someone wouldn't be thrilled with drilling holes in a new car (I just got one!), but what do you want, performance or 'looks'?
Is there a huge difference in performance between the two types of antenna mounting? Not always, but there certainly can be.
- 'Doc

[Shaft]

Mine's about looks AND performance.

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[DanTaylor]

Just be careful with water getting underneath it. That can change your SWR's. Ive run mag mounts in the past and they work just fine. As to the asked question earlier about running a mag mount on top of Line X no it wont work you cant get it planted firmly down on top of basically rubber.

[Radio 75]

Think about it. If you want a good solid electrical connection, how do you do it? A good mechanical connection (and electrical) seems like a very sound idea. Isn't that how it's mostly done? So, why would you want to use a magnet if there wasn't some very good reason? I can certainly understand why someone wouldn't be thrilled with drilling holes in a new car (I just got one!), but what do you want, performance or 'looks'?
Is there a huge difference in performance between the two types of antenna mounting? Not always, but there certainly can be.
- 'Doc

My thoughts exactly. Why mess around with a mag mount that could damage your paint anyway? Put a on a permanent mount and be done with it.
Mag mounts may be RF grounded, but I highly doubt they are DC grounded.