Thread: HF ground plane on 110 / Defender.

I'm looking to mount my Codan 9350 autotune on the rear DS of my 110 Perentie hardtop. I'd like to know if the ground plane provided by the roof will be sufficient with the fibreglass tropical roof fitted, or am I in a 'suck it and see' situation?

TIA.

G'day Brian,

Think you meant 'page 5'. Hmmm Sen Commander ... nice. (read ... very very nice!). If we're going to be legal for Tas (you'd nave to look for the Qld specs) then, page 140 has the specs for 'long range antennae'.

"http://www.transport.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/85213/Light_Vehicle_Inspection_Manual.pdf"

From what I've read on forums, (grain of salt time) bullbar high mounted 9350's aren't frowned upon in WA and NT and not sure about SA. Frowned upon in Qld and Tas. Outright banned in NSW and Vic, as is anything static (fixed) protruding above the bonnet line. If you read the article above, Tas can low mount the 9350, which on the perentie will leave the tuner top around 350mm above the bonnet line, which is around the Codan recommended distance for the 9350 tuner above ground plane. This takes into account that the 350mm of tuner also radiates on Xmit, so you get max radiation.

I don't know if I'm just creating my own problem here, but a low bulbar mounting of the 9350 for the perentie looks to be a nightmare in the bracketry trickery area, but then again, so is anywhere else on a 110 if you want a good ground plane. The reason I had selected the rear mount, was that I could bracket the tuner using stainless bolts in the existing pop-rivet holes.

Do you think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill regarding the regulations?