Antenna Grounding....will this work??

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MavrickMA
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Antenna Grounding....will this work??

#71443

Post by MavrickMA »

Hey guys, don't know if you remember my other post, but I'm the one with the static problem with the HIDs. Well, I've changed my mounting setup and I'm now using an external speaker. Once I installed that, I started hearing A LOT more noise, including engine noise (only when the truck is cold though. Very strange). So I went out and bought what is called a "Lightning Arrestor" to put on the antenna cable into the radio. Its this little adapter that you put in line with the antenna at the radio end and it has a screw that you attach a ground wire to. If I use this and ground it to a good ground, will this act like grounding the antenna and rid me of some of my noise coming from through my antenna?

Let me know. Thanks.
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T2W

#71479

Post by T2W »

no.. those lightning arrestors are for a base station install..

you can try grounding your radio case to the chassis..
using an inline noise filter on your radios power wires..
grounding the chassis of the vehicle to the frame better..
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MavrickMA
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#71485

Post by MavrickMA »

T2W wrote:no.. those lightning arrestors are for a base station install..

you can try grounding your radio case to the chassis..
using an inline noise filter on your radios power wires..
grounding the chassis of the vehicle to the frame better..
Hey, thanks for the info. I've tried inline noise filters in the past with horrible results. Is there one that you would recommend?
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#71520

Post by MavrickMA »

Also, is it better to run your positive direct to the battery itself, or is a custom installed distribution block in the rear of the truck ok? Dist block uses 8AWG wire and is fused at the battery.
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#74001

Post by countryboy »

i ran my power wires to fuse block and then ran it to batt. no noticeable difference. i did ground my side of radio, that did help a little. did you try rerouting you coax cable. try to keep it away from electric and any RF producing elements. like alt. radio, spark plug wires. etc... and make sure you antenna is grounded properly. if magnet mount it is good anyway.
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#74002

Post by MavrickMA »

countryboy wrote:i ran my power wires to fuse block and then ran it to batt. no noticeable difference. i did ground my side of radio, that did help a little. did you try rerouting you coax cable. try to keep it away from electric and any RF producing elements. like alt. radio, spark plug wires. etc... and make sure you antenna is grounded properly. if magnet mount it is good anyway.

It's a K40 Trunk Lip Mount. Should I grind down to bare metal where the bolts clamp to the lip? Or is there something else I should do to ground the antenna?
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#74003

Post by countryboy »

in my own opinion i do not like trunk lip mounts. but you might try running a ground from frame to a mount bolt. i would get a roof mount. make sure the radio chassie is grounded. it will ground the antennas coax outer shield.
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#74278

Post by MavrickMA »

countryboy wrote:in my own opinion i do not like trunk lip mounts. but you might try running a ground from frame to a mount bolt. i would get a roof mount. make sure the radio chassie is grounded. it will ground the antennas coax outer shield.
I can understand where you're coming from, but I don't feel like putting a hole in my roof (not yet at least) and the mag mount looked a lot uglier. The lip mount looks slick on my hatch.
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