HF Autotune fixing to bull Bar
Submitted: Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:20
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Vince NSW
Had a trip on the weekend to the Back of Jenolan with the RFS. We do the water & control points for the Six Foot Track Mathron.
I had an uneventful trip into Little River with the CT in tow and set up for the arrival of another 4 4bys. When they did not arrive 4 hours after they should I went looking & found them LOST & stuck. To be fair they had almost got themselves out when I arrived but this ment that in a 24 hour period I had travailed over a 17 km section of track 4 times which found all the week spots in the new draw unit in the rear. All minor adjustments only.
BUT.T he Autotune keeps loose on the bull bar mount. Tried lock, locktite. nylex nuts & a lock nut, still comes loose.
Any ideas other than TAKING THE WELDER TO IT
Vince
Reply By: Member -Signman - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:28
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:28
Is it a Codan or Barrett Autotune??
AnswerID:
226913
Follow Up By: Vince NSW - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:32
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:32
Bit slow of me Signman, It's a Barrett.
You wern't the VKF
Adelaide operator on the 1900 sked on Sat were you ?
FollowupID:
487750
Follow Up By: Member -Signman - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 12:30
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 12:30
Hi Vince
That was probably Darian on Sat. sched- I am the Sunday sched. operator.
FollowupID:
487757
Reply By: Wayne (NSW) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:38
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:38
Vince,
Before you go and fix the auto tune aerial to the bull bar, I think that you will find that it is not allowed.
My understanding with aerials in front of the windscreen is that they can not be any bigger than 30mm in diameter. The UHF aerials are fine because they are small in diameter but the HF is a lot bigger especially the auto tune aerial.
VKS might be able to clarify if this is the case.
As for the aerial coming loose. Is
the nut bottoming out on the thread before it becomes tight on the bracket, or is the thread damaged and will not allow
the nut to tighten on the bracket. A thick washer or a spacer placed between
the nut and the bracket should solve the problem if it is
the nut not setting properly.
Wayne
AnswerID:
226915
Follow Up By: Footloose - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:43
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:43
It is not lawful in NSW and most other states, but the policing of the law varies between states and sometimes towns.
Why not try a locknut ?
FollowupID:
487753
Follow Up By: The Landy - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 13:19
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 13:19
Technically it isn't unlawful in NSW.
I went through an exercise a couple of years ago and had correspondence coming out my ears. Providing it is mounted in accordance with the RTA guidleines (not protruding forward of the bar) it is okay. However, you may still need to deal with the police if they feels it is obscuring vision. I wrote to them and the answer was ambiguous to some extent, but the general vibe was that it would be okay.
Victoria is a completely different story where it is clearly defined by Vic Roads - it is illegal.
Having said that, it is proably only a matter of time before all States are aligned.
FollowupID:
487763
Reply By: Member - Olcoolone (SA) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:49
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:49
Gaday Vince,
The biggest problem is alot of installer they think the best place to mount a HF antenna is on the bull bar and in most installs it is the easy option.
1) Nearly all bull bar antenna mount are not strong enought or designed for a large antenna.
2) If you run into bushes or a tree branch you may rip the antenna off or damage it..
3) If you run into something you may bend or snap the bull bar making the antenna more horizontal and bad for radio coms.
4) If you have a roll over the chances of righting off the antenna is higher.
5) It gets annoying at the front.
6) You get more vibrations at the front mainly due to bull bar mounting points.
You may all say Oh it wont happen but when it maybe a life or death situation and I would sooner have the cards in my favour.
We always try to fit the antenna at the back of the vehicle with the auto tune section not much higher then the roof line.
When we did our loctite training they said loctite and nylock nuts loosened quicker then loctite and standard nuts.
They said the ideal setup was Loctite 270/272 a flat washer and a standard nut.
Remember when using loctite make sure you earth the antenna out from the antenna earth point and the bracket or vehicle body, under some conditions Loctite can act as an insullator.
Regards Richard
AnswerID:
226918
Follow Up By: Member - Davoe (Nullagine) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 12:36
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 12:36
I agree. Bullbar mounts are fine for multi tap. however the weight of an auto tune along with corragations means you need a moddified bracket. certainly a stanard tab is not up to it. also it would only survive damage if you dont go bush
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Reply By: Member - Olcoolone (SA) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:55
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 11:55
And one other thing we try to do is .....when
the nut is tight drill a 3/16 hole 2/3rds the way through
the nut and the mounting bolt and fit a roll pin, this will stop
the nut comming loose and also people with a spanner trying to steal it.
Make sure the roll pin sticks out enough to be able to get side cutters or locking pliers on it to remove it.
Regards Richard
AnswerID:
226920
Reply By: Vince NSW - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 14:53
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 14:53
Thanks for the comments. I will try drilling the bolt and put a cross bolt in.
I was aware of the problem with the legal situation of having the autotune on the bull bar, but, it is bolted to a section behind & through a gusset so is very strong & not in front of the bar. As for the visibility situation. This was a worry until I read an article in the Sunday telly about a cop in the far west of NSW with a
pic of him standing in front of his Toyota with Autotune on bull bar. Carry the article in the glove box.
I will be picking up a Multi tap from William in July, so that part will be solved & in the process of putting together a Di-Pole for emergency use.
Thanks
Vince
AnswerID:
226944
Follow Up By: markeaust - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 15:09
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 15:09
Vince,
I wouldn't pull that one on them....you will find that most emergency
services have exemptions to many of these type of laws.....including (at least here in Vic) the mounting of larger antennas and the use of mobile phones/radio mics etc. whilst driving.
It would serve only to antagonize and possibly get yourself in even more trouble...has your car been checked THOROUGHLY for roadworthy lately???? ;-)
Cheers,
Mark
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487774
Follow Up By: The Landy - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 15:24
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 15:24
Emergency vehicles also have certain exemptions in NSW. However, it isn't illegal to mount on the bullbar of private vehicles in NSW providng it meets the RTA specs.
In contrast, it is illegal in Victoria.
FollowupID:
487777
Reply By: Member - Alastair D (NSW) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 16:01
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 16:01
Vince,
As said before:
'And one other thing we try to do is .....when
the nut is tight drill a 3/16 hole 2/3rds the way through
the nut and the mounting bolt and fit a roll pin, this will stop
the nut comming loose and also people with a spanner trying to steal it.'
I use a padlock rather than a bolt. Easier for you - harder for them.
alastair
AnswerID:
226956
Reply By: Member - Olcoolone (SA) - Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 18:19
Monday, Mar 12, 2007 at 18:19
The reason of putting a roll pin NOT A BOLT is to stop
the nut comming undone, not security, if you put a padlock through it
the nut will still looses and the size of the hole you have to drill will be alot larger then 3/16 and may weaken the mount stud.
Regards Richard
AnswerID:
226987