Tarheel Antenna Mount

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The antenna mount I was using was just a stud through some angle iron I mounted to the bed of the truck. It worked well for a while, but I found I had to continually tighten it, and when I went to this last weekend it broke. It couldn’t stand up to the stress of supporting the Tarheel, and the 6′ whip I used to run probably exaggerated the issue.

I decided to decouple the connection from supporting the antenna, and finally bought the overpriced Tarheel MT1S mount at $114.  I considered fabricating something comparable in my garage, but don’t have all the right tools, which is something I hope to alleviate in the future. Once the part arrived I tried to used the built in holes with #10 self tapping screws to secure it to the angle iron. Those screws broke, and the drill bits I had broke as well when trying to drill them out. Instead of breaking more expensive bits, I found some #14 self tapping screws left over from another project, and used three of them to anchor it by creating new holes, in addition to the one successful #10 screw. I hope I never have to remove this antenna and bar, because the truck bed probably is a mess underneath from all the holes used to mount and ground these antennas.