Diamond K400SNMO Trunk/Hatchback Mount

[sdnative]

I am strongly considering this mount, but have some concerns. It uses RG316 coax, which is very high loss. And the price tag of $80



http://www.rfparts.com/diamond/k400snmo.html

Any one else using this? Is the loss significant? It is about 2-3x that of standard RG8X. The length is about 13.5 ft so it may not be a big deal.

Any input would be appreciated.

[Chazz Layne]

I can't speak to that mount specifically, but I have had mixed results with Diamond's mounts and their thin RG316 cables. In our Ranger, which has an amazingly low amount of engine electrical noise, it has been flawless and we've experienced excellent reception and output. In the Discovery, I'm having to replace the mount and the entire line due to poor reception and terrible output. The Disco seems to be generating more electrical interference than the city of Las Vegas, however...

[OLLIE]

I use it for my ATAS-120 on the rear hatch and it works well. I have had good luck with it. A lot of people make a mistake in the way they mount it.

[cruiserlarry]

I also use this mount with an ATAS-120A on my FJ Cruiser with flawless results.
No issues with reception, transmission, or interference...and I've installed dozens on customer vehicles without problems as well...

I think you're in for a challenge, Chazz - the LR has long been notorious for electrical issues, and spurious emissions could be related to that histoy....

[OLLIE]

To add to it, I run this mount into a duplexer so that I can run all bands off of my ATAS-120 instead of running a second dualband antenna for my FT-857. The RG316 coax converts to te larger, more shielded, coax fron the duplexer to the radio.

[sdnative]

Thanks for the feedback. I have read some rather negative reviews in addition to my concerns and think I will go with some permanent mounts in the roof with some nice low loss coax instead. I was apprehensive about drilling my roof, but I just can't find an another acceptable solution to mount antennas. My only concern now would be if I added a rack in the future.

[OLLIE]

Thanks for the feedback. I have read some rather negative reviews in addition to my concerns and think I will go with some permanent mounts in the roof with some nice low loss coax instead. I was apprehensive about drilling my roof, but I just can't find an another acceptable solution to mount antennas. My only concern now would be if I added a rack in the future.

You could always go with the big whip on the side of the rig.

[Chazz Layne]

My only concern now would be if I added a rack in the future.

Is there a way to use the stock factory rails to secure a temporary mount? We did this in semi-permanent fashion on a 4Runner with some aluminum angle, a few bolts, and about 10 minutes with a grinder.

[sdnative]

use the stock factory rails

It most likely will be removed. I had considered it though.

[cruiserlarry]

Thanks for the feedback. I have read some rather negative reviews in addition to my concerns and think I will go with some permanent mounts in the roof with some nice low loss coax instead. I was apprehensive about drilling my roof, but I just can't find an another acceptable solution to mount antennas. My only concern now would be if I added a rack in the future.

On my 80 I had 3 NMO permenant mounts that I installed into the roof at the rear of the vehicle. I like the NMO style because it is very low profile when the antenna is removed. It was far enough away from the Wilderness rack I installed, and allowed me to change radios / bands without having to add more antennae - just unscrewed one antenna, and put another on it's mount...worked great, and never had any issues with leakage or reception...