2016 F150 - Midland 3dB gain Ghost Antenna, Larson Electronics No-Drill Mounting Bracket

[WRVX790]

Not yet wired, but have M&P Hyperflex 5, an M&P PL259 ready to go to attach to the Dave's Hobby Shop NMO mount just installed in that Larson 3rd brake light sandwich mounting bracket. Just warming up to the idea of having to pull the vehicle's headliner... run the cable forward and down the passenger-side A-pillar to wherever I decide to mount the Wouxun KG-XS20G Plus that arrives tomorrow. 

Thanks for looking. 

 

[WRVX790]

The antenna shown above, from what I understand, has been ridiculed as being little better than an antenna dummy load. 

A fair test is performed here ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E9c2Jlndmg <--- by the Greatest Living GMRS YouTo0b Hobo, NotaRubicon Productions. Yea, though I drive through the slums of southern California*, I fear no evil for N.A.R. is with me. His videos and antennas, they comfort me. 

*a necessary evil this lowlander must suffer to ascend to the Glory of the High Desert

 

[tcp2525]

4 hours ago, WhiskeyRomeo790 said:

The antenna shown above, from what I understand, has been ridiculed as being little better than an antenna dummy load. 

A fair test is performed here ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E9c2Jlndmg <--- by the Greatest Living GMRS YouTo0b Hobo, NotaRubicon Productions. Yea, though I drive through the slums of southern California*, I fear no evil for N.A.R. is with me. His videos and antennas, they comfort me. 

*a necessary evil this lowlander must suffer to ascend to the Glory of the High Desert

 

As the old saying goes, there's no replacement for displacement. Gotta  get more metal in the air if ya wanna get out and be heard.

[wayoverthere]

Clean install, and looks like it provides an okay ground plane and clear 360 degree view of the sky unlike some of the jeep installs.

On the antenna, I say you've got it, run it. If it isn't performing like you want, then investigate other options. A basic 1/4 wave is only 6" tall, and shouldn't be any more of a height issue than the ghost, or laird has some 1/2 waves for 450-470mhz that check in around 12"

[back4more70]

10 hours ago, WhiskeyRomeo790 said:

The antenna shown above, from what I understand, has been ridiculed as being little better than an antenna dummy load. 

A fair test is performed here ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E9c2Jlndmg <--- by the Greatest Living GMRS YouTo0b Hobo, NotaRubicon Productions. Yea, though I drive through the slums of southern California*, I fear no evil for N.A.R. is with me. His videos and antennas, they comfort me. 

*a necessary evil this lowlander must suffer to ascend to the Glory of the High Desert

 

I just installed one of these, and it sounds great.  I replaced a Nagoya UT-72G, and the Midland Ghost provides greater clarity.

[tcp2525]

10 hours ago, wayoverthere said:

Clean install, and looks like it provides an okay ground plane and clear 360 degree view of the sky unlike some of the jeep installs.

On the antenna, I say you've got it, run it. If it isn't performing like you want, then investigate other options. A basic 1/4 wave is only 6" tall, and shouldn't be any more of a height issue than the ghost, or laird has some 1/2 waves for 450-470mhz that check in around 12"

Agree! I'm kind of disappointed that he didn't, intentionally or not, include the basic 1/4 wave in that video as it's unity gain and a baseline for measurement. I'm sure there would be a negligible difference electrically between all the antennas tested and the 1/4 wave would be the perfect choice for most installs, especially for rough service. I would hate to have a ghost antenna drilled into the center of my roof and have a low hanging tree branch catch it as there's no play like a stainless steel whip. Just bend the whip back to vertical and  move on.

[tcp2525]

On a different note, did anyone every crack one of these antennas open to see what's inside? I would be curious to see what they did to get that "3dB" gain they claim.

[gortex2]

Not a midland but have opened up the LAIRD UHF and its just a circuit board with copper plating. Some of the other RF related forums have had guys post pictures. I'd be more than happy to break one apart for testing if someone ships me one. 

[gortex2]

Found some pics in this forum - 

https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/low-profile-phantom-antennas.380379/

[WRVX790]

16 hours ago, tcp2525 said:

As the old saying goes, there's no replacement for displacement. Gotta  get more metal in the air if ya wanna get out and be heard.

 

In NotaRubicon's video, the performance of this Midland "ghost" antenna falls almost directly between the MTXA26 and the vaunted Nagoya UT72G... I wanted to try this ghost antenna first, and have already ordered the antenna with the more normal/traditional appearance/configuration, the MTX26 (which I prefer, anyway). 

The ghost antenna could be thought of for urban stealth... or for low-overhead clearance wherever, although at that point with the 2" lift of the truck I'm not going into many parking structures. Even then, I'd first have to remove any roof-height-mounted antenna. 

I would think anyone serious about mobile rx/tx range would start at the highest point of their vehicle... but that's not always easy. 

 

Thanks for your replies. I'm going to fix the first image; I accidentally deleted it when I deleted an IMGUR post I had not intended. 

[marcspaz]

 

That's a good looking setup, for sure.  I have been thinking about something like that for my Ram 1500.  I don't want to drill any holes, and I have seen a few styles like this floating around.

 

Looking forward to seeing the final results.

[gortex2]

We use UHF for a multi county trunking system. I have used both the laird and a 1/4 wave. In the end both my UHF only antenna's on my F150 are 1/4 wave laird black. They are not much taller than the laird and have been almost bent flat in a car wash and parking garage. I doubt the Larid would have faired that well. On car to car comms my 1/4 wave always out performs the Laird. Being all fireground stuff is simplex I stuck with the 1/4 wave. Oh and it cost $12

[tcp2525]

4 hours ago, gortex2 said:

Found some pics in this forum - 

https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/low-profile-phantom-antennas.380379/

Now that is some pretty cool looking innards. Electrically I would guess this is equivalent to a rubber duck with about as much gain. I'll stick with the 1/4 wave.

[WRVX790]

Change of plans, here. 

After learning a bit more about what matters and what doesn't, I'm going to go through the roof of my truck, using the NMO pictured, soldered to 15' of Messi & Paoloni Hyperflex 5 .212" coaxial, with an M&P PL-259 on the radio end. 

I will have to dismantle the passenger side of the truck's interior to lower the headliner enough to work after creating the 3/4" bore through the roof, using a Laird X-Act hole saw. 

This will place the antenna in a better position to have a good ground plane and after the installation is finished it should look almost like a professional install... if I don't do a hack job, that is, and for the life of me I cannot set out to do that deliberately. I have standards!

Trouble is, my skills do not often measure up to those standards... 

 

 

[SteveShannon]

1 hour ago, WhiskeyRomeo790 said:

Change of plans, here. 

After learning a bit more about what matters and what doesn't, I'm going to go through the roof of my truck, using the NMO pictured, soldered to 15' of Messi & Paoloni Hyperflex 5 .212" coaxial, with an M&P PL-259 on the radio end. 

I will have to dismantle the passenger side of the truck's interior to lower the headliner enough to work after creating the 3/4" bore through the roof, using a Laird X-Act hole saw. 

This will place the antenna in a better position to have a good ground plane and after the installation is finished it should look almost like a professional install... if I don't do a hack job, that is, and for the life of me I cannot set out to do that deliberately. I have standards!

Trouble is, my skills do not often measure up to those standards... 

 

 

You’ll do great!

[tcp2525]

10 hours ago, WhiskeyRomeo790 said:

Change of plans, here. 

After learning a bit more about what matters and what doesn't, I'm going to go through the roof of my truck, using the NMO pictured, soldered to 15' of Messi & Paoloni Hyperflex 5 .212" coaxial, with an M&P PL-259 on the radio end. 

I will have to dismantle the passenger side of the truck's interior to lower the headliner enough to work after creating the 3/4" bore through the roof, using a Laird X-Act hole saw. 

This will place the antenna in a better position to have a good ground plane and after the installation is finished it should look almost like a professional install... if I don't do a hack job, that is, and for the life of me I cannot set out to do that deliberately. I have standards!

Trouble is, my skills do not often measure up to those standards... 

 

 

Best way to go! A couple things to keep in mind before you start. Do you have a power moonroof? My 2013 Limited has one and putting it in the center of the roof wasn't an option due to the tracks for the glass panel to slide on, so I opted to do the third brake light area. I put the hole in there and added extra reinforcement by putting a thin fender washer on the inside to distribute and force that might impact the antenna. As for electrical performance, it has been great on both UHF and VHF. Even though my goal of putting it center roof wasn't met, I feel the performance would be close to  equal.

If you can put it center roof, hopefully you have a flat support brace so you can go through two sheets of aluminum. If not, definitely add the fender washer for added strength so you can use larger antenna antenna without worry.

Here's what my ham install looks like.

 

FTM-400XDR control head installed in sunglass holder for stealth. Folds up when not in use and looks totally stock with  no radio in vehicle.

 

Microphone plugged into jack installed in console.

[gortex2]

Just use a quality mount and you'll be fine. I have 6 NMO in the roof of my work truck with no issues.

[tcp2525]

4 minutes ago, gortex2 said:

Just use a quality mount and you'll be fine. I have 6 NMO in the roof of my work truck with no issues.

NICE!!! I love it!!!

[gortex2]

I can't find pictures of my 2018 F150 but I ran dual antennas on that truck also. One Larsen NMO27 and one VHF 3db gain whip antenna. Traded in truck for my JT in 2020 and roof had no distortion or anything. Just popped 2 NMO Black caps on and dropped it at the dealer. 

 

[tcp2525]

10 minutes ago, gortex2 said:

I can't find pictures of my 2018 F150 but I ran dual antennas on that truck also. One Larsen NMO27 and one VHF 3db gain whip antenna. Traded in truck for my JT in 2020 and roof had no distortion or anything. Just popped 2 NMO Black caps on and dropped it at the dealer. 

 

Yep, nothing beats a great well thought out install. I  won't tell you how many whips I went through on the F150 due to low indoor parking, even took out a few fluorescent tubes as well and  no  sheetmetal  distortion! 

A bit off topic, but here's what I did  for the two motorcycles I have.

The red 2018 Goldwing has Larsen NMO2/70B and NMO27 on a custom antenna mount that I fabricated. The blue 2014 Goldwing Valkyrie just has a Larsen NMO2/70B on a custom mount. Both  bikes have a Kenwood V71a running full output with good SWR.

 

Here's what one of the mounts I made looks like prior to installation. Coax for both antennas is RG400 with N connectors.

 

And the V71a head mounted in custom mount that allows me to slide the head in and out when I'm away from the bike.

[WRVX790]

4 hours ago, tcp2525 said:

Best way to go! A couple things to keep in mind before you start. Do you have a power moonroof? 

If you can put it center roof, hopefully you have a flat support brace so you can go through two sheets of aluminum. If not, definitely add the fender washer for added strength so you can use larger antenna antenna without worry.

 

 

Superb advice, thank you. No moonroof. It's an XLT SuperCrew, very lightly optioned, but with the 5.0 twin-cam four-valve Coyote V8. I bought the truck for the engine alone. Hard to find, Certified PreOwned, at the time. I looked through 110 trucks before I found it, then raced to the stealership with a large down. Love this thing. 

I don't know what the lateral B-pillar to B-pillar bracing looks like but I know it's there from another install found online. Because of that bracing I had thought to place the antenna centered in all directions between the B- and C-pillars. That would give some forward-facing bias in any radiation pattern, such as your install, and which was what I had hoped to achieve if I had used that Larson third brake light plate shown in the OP. Anyhoo...

 

Yours is a great installation! I really like your mic connection! in the console nook. That's very cool. I had thought of the flip-down sunglass compartment, but my KG-XS20G-Plus does not have a removable faceplate (like your HAM or the KG-1000G or any other decent radio) but the XS20-G is almost small enough to fit up there with some work. Maybe. 

I am thinking on top of the dash using BuiltRight Industries' mount, but because there's sunlight exposure there, to make an insulated shade for the radio for when I do not remove it from prying eyes (which would be often) when parked. We'll see. Pondering it all, currently. 

Your motorcycle rigs are outstanding! Thanks for all of the photos. It is appreciated, as is the support. 

[WRVX790]

4 hours ago, gortex2 said:

Just use a quality mount and you'll be fine. I have 6 NMO in the roof of my work truck with no issues.

 

Thanks! 

To describe my reaction to your photo, I have to ask: Ever try to breathe a sigh of relief while laughing happily with astonishment all at the same time? It went something like that. 

That's really something. That's the mark of a true radio enthusiast! and I find myself genuflecting in your general direction. 

From where I sit, your roof array, the work it took and what it all implies is fantastic. Thanks for the photo! and I'd love to see any interior arrangement of the radios involved. It's amazing, really. 

[SteveShannon]

It might not hurt to ask a dealer if there’s a document like a TSB that specifies guidance for roof antenna mount location. 

[WRVX790]

Thanks, Steve.

I found a Ford pdf for my generation ('15 through '19) F150 and at the very bottom (although plenty of good info in between), there's a roof "brace" diagram. Earlier I mentioned an antenna placement halfway between that brace (above the B-pillar) and the rearmost edge of the roof, but I may just place the antenna directly aft of the rear edge of the crossbrace. Depending on the configuration of the brace itself, I could go right through the center of it although the total bore plane thickness would exceed this particular saw's design and intention. I suppose I could finish the bore depth once cut through the exterior surface (where a clean cut is more important) with a conventional, bi-metal 3/4" holesaw. 

Again, I won't know which way I'll go until this coming week when I can get things taken apart. 

 

[gortex2]

Funny story that no one normally sees. The front left puck is actually a GPS antenna for my APX mobile (one of 4 on the truck) but I mounted it exactly the same as the one on the right that's the sirus xm antenna. When this was installed the front 2 "pepper shakers" were 800 mhz but have since been changed to UHF 1/4 wave black antenex whips. The rear mounts still run a laird LTE on the passenger and a Larsen NMO27 for CB on driver side. All mounts are labled next to the NMO and match the labels inside. Wifi and other GPS are all glass mount in rear window and center of windshield. 

 

[gortex2]

I went just behind the brace that goes from B pilalr to B pillar for one pair of mounts. I would stay just behind or just in front and not thru the brace. You really dont need to go thru the brace and deal with the extra hassle of getting it mounted. This is a 2019 and I have no dimples or metal distortion and travel a lot (178K on it so far) so they get wind.