The Complete Handbook of Antenna Mounts & Brackets

Chapter 1: Understanding Antenna Mounts & Brackets

Every antenna is only as good as the thing holding it up. That is the first and most important fact about antenna mounts and brackets, and it is a fact that is routinely forgotten by people who spend heavily on radios, transceivers, and cabling. A high-quality antenna mounted on a rusty, corroded, or improperly installed bracket will still perform badly, and in many cases, the failure of the mount will cost more than the antenna itself. This chapter lays out what antenna mounts and brackets actually are, why they are not just accessories, and what they do that affects your signal, your safety, and your long-term costs.

What a mount and bracket does

At the most basic level, an antenna mount is a mechanical interface that holds an antenna in a fixed position relative to a reference surface, which might be a vehicle roof, a wall, a mast, a tower, or a rail. The bracket is the structural piece that connects the mount to that surface. Together, they do three jobs that are usually invisible until they fail.

The first job is structural support. A mount must hold the antenna against gravity, against wind pressure, and against vibration and torsional forces, often for years at a time. Consider a typical VHF marine antenna mounted on the radar arch of a boat. That antenna might be 2.5 meters long and weigh 500 grams. The mount holds it in place at speeds of 30 knots,