Antenna Mount on a Car Hood

This should work on any vehicle, but this install is for a 2001 Durango.

I discovered that a trunk lip-mount antenna can also mount on the hood of a vehicle and not look out of place. Generally the FM radio antenna is mounted on passenger side, mounting this on the drivers side will look decent and doesn't draw the attention of two antennas mounted side-by-side (also reducing the interference issues you will get with that). You get some benefit of the hood acting as a ground-plane too.

I chose a short dual-band (VHF/UHF) antenna as I need to fit inside a garage.

You need a NMO lip-mount antenna base. Usually you can get these with cables cut to length with the connector you need already attached. I went with a mount that had a 12' coax cable and UHF (PL259) connector on the end. The antenna you attach can be any type that is built to attach to an NMO base.

This pairs up with another instructable I published on making a handheld radio mount for your car:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Handheld-Transceiver-HT-Car-Mount

If you too are doing a similar setup, you will likely need a SO-259 to SMA adapter (pictured) to connect the coax to your HT. Double check that antenna connector your HT uses though, if it's a commercial radio you may need a different adapter.

The only other thing you may need is an allen key for the lip-mount set screws, it will likely come with this.

Mount the antenna mount over the rear edge of the hood. Verify it does not negatively affect your view from the drivers seat. Also, carefully verify that the hood can still open without any clearance issues from the antenna.

Use zip ties to secure the cable in place under the hood. Make sure that any place the cable connects to will not chafe or stretch the cable when the hood moves.

Route the cable back throught he door. For the most part, the cable will be completely out of sight. Once you get the coax into the vehicles interior, begin placing it behind available plastic panels. Under the dash there is usually plenty of space and locations to connect the cable with more zip ties. Route the cable to its final destination, your radio.