People have been asking what happened to the suction cups. One Look North mount is still on the window. He moved it, put a hamstick on it, and left the hamstick up for weeks. He stopped counting days. Today the job is the ATAS.
The mount on the bench is a second one he bought. The one on the glass stays there. He had been planning a spacer off the bolt so the antenna would clear the lip at the top of the window. Then he remembered the head tilts. An angle is enough. It will not stand perfectly vertical. He will show the lip in a minute.
The plate in his hand came off the window mount. The NMO plates are still not here. Amazon, and the holiday, and he is angry about it. He ordered the first one before Thanksgiving. Today is about the 19th or the 20th of December. It had not shipped. A delivery window of sometime before January 1 was the status. Today is Saturday. A couple of days ago was Thursday. He ordered a second plate Wednesday night. Thursday it shipped and he had tracking. The first order still had nothing. Once the new tracking moved, he canceled the stalled order. After fighting adapters he decided he needs two plates after all, so he ordered another. The one already moving should arrive Tuesday. The new one says December 31, or January. A couple of days with no tracking and he will cancel and buy from the manufacturer. He does not think this product is special. Everything that used to be next day or two days is a week or more. Christmas orders.
The mount is a 3/8-24 stud. He had an SO-239 that is really a connector threaded on both ends. A stud from another mirror mount went on top, so both ends are SO-239. ATAS on one, coax on the other. He set the tilt. It failed. He digs out a flat window cable so the comparison is visible. A lanyard is the first thing his hand finds. The flat cable is the kind that closes in a window. It does not pass what the ATAS needs. The ATAS does nothing on the end of one. This stack did the same thing. Something in the middle is not what the antenna is looking for.
He still wants time on the FT-710. It is new here, and new to them. They have a 7300. If the antenna is an ATAS, he wants the radio that will tune it. The ATAS in the test is the one from the truck. He is not spending $350 on a second one until this works.
A lip mount had been on the back of the truck. He took it off, put it on the bracket, and put the ATAS on that. The 710 moves it up and down. The ground is the failure. He pulled the ground lead and ran it to a pin pushed partway into the dirt. Not enough. The moment the radio transmits, the computer link dies. Ferrites on the USB cables, both ends, and it still does not like the RF. He quits for the day. The 710 and the ATAS go back to the truck. He will operate this weekend from there.
Outside it is 4:30 and already dark. A light over the window is the only reason the shot works. The lip mount is on the suction bracket. The ATAS sticks out at an angle. It runs up, it clears the building, and that is the lip he means. He does not know the stick-out. Five inches, or about half the depth of the block. The ground strap goes to the pin. The pin is sitting there, not driven. Tuesday, if the plate shows up, he puts the ATAS on the way he wanted and drives the stake in. The second mount goes on the other window, or higher, with the 2-meter and 70-centimeter antenna.
The lip mount’s coax is thin. He had been looking at RG-213 for a run that would let the window close. This cable is about that size. The window is closed and locked. The cable is in the gap. It does not pinch and it does not bind.
The cup held the ATAS for most of the day. It is not going anywhere. The window shakes and the mount stays. For glass, he says, this Look North mount is the one he would pick.
Transcript
People want the suction-cup update. One mount is still on the window. He moved it, put a hamstick on it, and left it for weeks. He lost count. Today he wants the ATAS on it. The mount on the bench is a second one he bought. He had planned a spacer off the bolt to clear the window lip, then remembered the head tilts. An angle is enough. It will not be perfectly vertical.
The plate in his hand is from the window mount. NMO plates are late. Amazon, holidays. The first order was before Thanksgiving. Today is about December 19 or 20. It had not shipped. Delivery sometime before January 1. Today is Saturday. He ordered another Wednesday night. Thursday it shipped, with tracking. The first still had none. He canceled it once the new one moved, then realized he needs a second plate and ordered again. The moving one should be Tuesday. The other says December 31 or January. No tracking in a couple of days and he buys direct from the manufacturer. Everything is slow, not just this. Next-day is a week.
The mount is 3/8-24. He uses a double-ended threaded connector and a stud from another mirror mount so both ends are SO-239. ATAS one side, coax the other. Tilted. Fail. A flat window cable does the same thing. The ATAS does nothing. This stack is not passing what the ATAS wants. He wants to test the FT-710, which is new. They have a 7300. The ATAS should be on a radio that tunes it. This ATAS is the truck’s. He is not spending $350 on another yet.
A lip mount from the back of the truck goes on the bracket. The 710 runs the ATAS up and down. The ground lead to a pin barely in the dirt is not enough. Transmit kills the computer connection. Ferrites on both ends of the USB cables do not fix the RF. He quits. The 710 and the ATAS go back to the truck for the weekend.
Outside, 4:30, dark, a light over the window. The lip mount and the ATAS at an angle. It clears the building. The lip is about five inches, or half the depth of the block. The pin is hand-set. Tuesday for the right plate, then drive the stake. The second mount goes on the other window or higher, with the 2-meter and 70-centimeter antenna. The lip-mount coax is thin. He had looked at RG-213 so a window could close on the cable. This one is about that size. The window is locked shut and the cable is not pinched. The cup held the ATAS most of the day. The window shakes. The mount stays. For glass, he picks the Look North mount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the first adapter fail?
The mount is 3/8-24, a stud. He put another stud from a mirror mount on top so he had an SO-239 on both ends, the ATAS on one and the coax on the other, and he tilted the head to clear the window lip. The ATAS did not move. He has the same result with the flat cable that is meant to sneak through a closed window. Those do not pass the power and the signal the ATAS expects. Something in this stack was doing the same thing.
What worked, and what did not?
A lip mount that had been on the back of the truck, attached to the bracket, with the ATAS coming out of that. The FT-710 moved the antenna up and down. The ground was a cable to a pin set in the ground by hand. Not enough. Keying killed the computer connection. Ferrite beads on both ends of the USB cables did not stop it. He put the 710 and the ATAS back toward the truck for the weekend. The right NMO plate, he hoped Tuesday, then a deeper stake, is the next try.
Did the cup hold the antenna?
Yes. Most of the day, at an angle so it cleared the building and the lip over the window. He does not have an exact stick-out. He says five inches or so, or about half the depth of the block. The window shook and the mount stayed. The second mount will go on the other window or higher, for the 2-meter and 70-centimeter antenna. The lip mount's coax is thin. A closed, locked window did not pinch it. He had been thinking RG-213 would do the same job. He calls the Look North mount the one he would pick for glass.