Antenna grounding question.

Try it without an additional ground wire first. It is likely to pick up all the ground it needs from the shield connecting to the mirror bracket through the connector.

 

Allways run a ground and if you can find it use the flat braided ground straps this way the antenna doesn't see at as part of the antenna

 

Well with that antenna you probably won't notice much difference either way, depending on what the rest of your setup.

 

Check for ground continuity between the bracket and a good well known ground with the coax unhooked. If no continuity then add a ground strap to the mirror bracket or the antenna bracket. If you have good continuity then there is no need for an extra ground strap.

As far as ground strap material. Many, many many people just use regular wire for this. I use 10 guage wire and it works great and I have no radio performance issues at all.

 

Using regular shielded wire for a ground strap CAN but not always will cause you problems because it will usually see it as an antenna. That is why flat braided wire is recommended for grounding.

 

Because that antenna cannot really be "fine tuned" like some. Now lets say you had a wilson 5000 or a predator 10K that has a tunable whip, the extra grounding would help you get the antenna a little better tuned.

 

Can you explain this so I can better understand the theory?

 

You can do as you wish but if you want your system over all to perform at its best and have the least amount of trouble always use the flat braided ground and always make sure the entire system is grounded to the frame, not the cab. Most truck cabs are mounted on rubber and are made out of aluminum and not steel there for they are less effective than steel when it comes to RF so a steel ground and every thing grounded to it makes for a better over all performing system and will give you less noise and less interference over all. Just the opinion of a one operator with a few years experience of mobile HF radio operations and many many DX contacts from a mobile operation including the south pole and the space shuttle and space station. Oh and yes i run a 300 watt amplifier but i am licensed for 1500 but have never run over 300 mobile since it causes all kinds of problems with these new computerized trucks