Antenna placement

Hi Ken,

As high as possible and away from metal objects as they will affect transmit and receive performance.  RF will go through glass and plastic, but metal can greatly affect RF transmit & receive patterns.  The higher the antenna, the greater the "line-of sight" range (distance) will be.  Perhaps some others have some good suggestions.  Is this a FM or AM antenna?  What does it look like?  This might help others to be able to tell you the best mounting location.

- Jim  

Steve,

There's probably not much of a better place to mount it.  Ideally, an antenna for any device should be mounted at least 1/4 wavelength from an object.  Ideally, this would be above your car!  LOL.  Realistically, this is impractical and very obvious!  Metal will affect the pattern, but to what extent, depends upon the operating frequency of the system.  If you're not having any problems arming and disarming, then I would not worry about it.  Once thing you might try sometime is parking in an large open field or large empty parking lot and try arming and disarming the car from various distances in various directions.  See if there's one direction that drops out sooner then the rest.  My antenna looks like one of those antennas on a cordless phone.  Mine too is mounted on the glass behind the rear-view mirror and points downward.  You're right, the tint does help hide the antenna, and mine had a flat ribbon cable designed to be tucked away behind the headliner.

I wonder if they make decoy antennas...... something more obvious that a thief would pay more attention to.  Let him cut that cable and "think" he's beat you.

- Jim

I'm going to try different locations, including under the dashboard. All I really need is a guaranteed signal transmission from the truck to my bedroom. Nightime is when a break-in will probably occur and I'd like to be able to come out and greet the would be thief. I'm protecting my tools....to heck with an '88 truck.

Ken