Storm Chaser & Ham Radio Operator wants a Lucid Air

[borski]

Leasing is so complicated

 

[fpmacko]

My (very simplified) rules of thumb for these are:

100kHz-10MHz - chopping frequencies for the current modulations and a few of their harmonics (base frequency can be lower than 100kHz or variable frequency, depending on topology and EMI/efficiency constraints)

10MHz-300MHz - FET drivers and the t-rise/t-fall times of the FETs themselves plus some harmonics (quick sampling of the Wolfspeed SiC FET catalog has their t-rise times of 28-67nS, t-fall times of 13-37nS)

These are my personal guidelines when looking at power supplies. Shielding, slew-rate controls and filtering will have a big impact on how much noise leaks out. YMMV.

Tnx. This is useful info. The antenna is due here tomorrow (04 sep). I should have time over the next 2-3 days to mount the antenna (if it fits) and then connect it right into my SpecA. I'll do some sniffing around the car if indicated.

 

[fpmacko]

UPDATE - Just received the antenna/mount kit and did a rough, trial installation w/o using the mount's adhesive pad. It fits with an inch to spare below the rubber coaming around the garage door trim. It turns out that when Diamond spec'd the antenna length as 40.2 inches they were including the added height of the mount. But the antenna element is only 38.25 inches long. So um good to go. And the RG316 coax fits perfectly at the corner of the trumk lid without pinching. I'm tied up the next 2-3 days so I won't be able to tackle it as quickly as I'd like. Standby for further.

 

[borski]

UPDATE - Just received the antenna/mount kit and did a rough, trial installation w/o using the mount's adhesive pad. It fits with an inch to spare below the rubber coaming around the garage door trim. It turns out that when Diamond spec'd the antenna length as 40.2 inches they were including the added height of the mount. But the antenna element is only 38.25 inches long. So um good to go. And the RG316 coax fits perfectly at the corner of the trumk lid without pinching. I'm tied up the next 2-3 days so I won't be able to tackle it as quickly as I'd like. Standby for further.

Pic?

 

[californiaboy935]

Pic?

Pics or it didn’t happen.

 

[fpmacko]

It hasn't happened yet. Pics planned when I install it in the next coupla days. There wasn’t anything to take a photo of because all I did was park the Air logo below my garage door opening and then hold the mount and antenna in place above the logo to verify that it cleared the overhead coaming.

The mounting plate will need a very subtle bending to be sure it conforms to the slight curvature of the C-pillar. It’s definitely gonna work. Even the coax fits snuggly under the trunk lip without being pinched.

 

[bassem]

I would be interested in this very much as all Ham Operators understand that with a good external Antenna that is tuned to the frequencies you are on, makes all the difference. My questions;

What is the ideal placement, and is the glass Canopy on my AT a showstopper ? Would a trunk Mounted Antenna deliver reasonable TX/RX performance ?

 

[Steve181]

I'm also a ham. I have a 2025 Air PURE. My IC - 208H works well sitting behind the screen, fed with 12V from the trunk. I solved the antenna problem by using a suction cup from an old HP GPS mount. Thin coax is fed through trunk lid seam. All works better than the 6 M Saturn 6 Halo on my 56 Merc. 73

Steve

 

[fpmacko]

I'm also a ham. I have a 2025 Air PURE. My IC - 208H works well sitting behind the screen, fed with 12V from the trunk. I solved the antenna problem by using a suction cup from an old HP GPS mount. Thin coax is fed through trunk lid seam. All works better than the 6 M Saturn 6 Halo on my 56 Merc. 73

Steve

Looks pretty much like my planned installation except for the antenna placement. I considered using a suction cup mount. Aren't you worried about it coming loose at high speed and scratching your finish?

 

[fisheral]

As a fellow storm chaser for the past 22 years, I would recommend not using an EV unless you plan to chase purely local.

 

[fpmacko]

I would be interested in this very much as all Ham Operators understand that with a good external Antenna that is tuned to the frequencies you are on, makes all the difference. My questions;

What is the ideal placement, and is the glass Canopy on my AT a showstopper ? Would a trunk Mounted Antenna deliver reasonable TX/RX performance ?

Glass canopy is only a show stopper if you want to mount your antenna on the roof with a mag mount or drill a hole thru it. Maybe a suction cup mount would work (at least for a while until it blows off) but I'm not sure if the metallic tint will provide a good ground plane. The Diamond antenna that I bought doesn't need a ground plane.

 

[fpmacko]

As a fellow storm chaser for the past 22 years, I would recommend not using an EV unless you plan to chase purely local.

I can see your point. (Needing to find a convenient place to charge when everybody else is heading to the CBs.) But I'm not a storm chaser so I guess um good to go. If I wanted to chase storms I'd use an old beater.

 

[bassem]

I can see your point. (Needing to find a convenient place to charge when everybody else is heading to the CBs.) But I'm not a storm chaser so I guess um good to go. If I wanted to chase storms I'd use an old beater.

once we cross the 500 mile threshold as an average range on most cars, would an ICE engine have any advantage ?

 

[fisheral]

once we cross the 500 mile threshold as an average range on most cars, would an ICE engine have any advantage ?

I've often done 500+ miles in a day and spent entire days nowhere near fast chargers. Once there are fast chargers in every town with enough spots to accommodate a horde of storm chasers (most towns have numerous gas stations, each with 4+ pumps) and charging can be brought down to 5 minutes, then it would be feasible.

 

[Steve181]

Looks pretty much like my planned installation except for the antenna placement. I considered using a suction cup mount. Aren't you worried about it coming loose at high speed and scratching your finish?

I use the kind of suction cup that has a lever to remove the air. Its fairly reliable and has only come loose once, when I brushed a bush in my driveway. The parts are coated metal or plastic and caused no damage.

 

[fpmacko]

I use the kind of suction cup that has a lever to remove the air. Its fairly reliable and has only come loose once, when I brushed a bush in my driveway. The parts are coated metal or plastic and caused no damage.

Good to know. Can you tell us the model nbr?

 

[DoctorZ]

Glass canopy is only a show stopper if you want to mount your antenna on the roof with a mag mount or drill a hole thru it. Maybe a suction cup mount would work (at least for a while until it blows off) but I'm not sure if the metallic tint will provide a good ground plane. The Diamond antenna that I bought doesn't need a ground plane.

I am only interested in the Air with the metal (aluminum) roof. I'd never own a glass roof vehicle as, like convertibles, they offer NO protection from lightning! They also are not safe in roll-overs and I have rolled my sports cars TWICE!

 

[DoctorZ]

I can see your point. (Needing to find a convenient place to charge when everybody else is heading to the CBs.) But I'm not a storm chaser so I guess um good to go. If I wanted to chase storms I'd use an old beater.

To chase storms you need a very reliable vehicle. It needs to handle 100+ MPH winds, torrential hail, 2+ feet of standing water (think snorkel) and be able to get you out of the tornado/hurricane/blizzard's path FAST, as well as dodge falling debris. FUN, FUN, FUN!!!! Yep, I chase major winter storms too to see how deep of snow I can drive thru. I do not chase during ice storms though.

 

[DoctorZ]

once we cross the 500 mile threshold as an average range on most cars, would an ICE engine have any advantage ?

My current storm chase vehicle has a range of 900 miles on a tank of fuel. My Current Storm Chase Vehicle.

 

[DoctorZ]

I've often done 500+ miles in a day and spent entire days nowhere near fast chargers. Once there are fast chargers in every town with enough spots to accommodate a horde of storm chasers (most towns have numerous gas stations, each with 4+ pumps) and charging can be brought down to 5 minutes, then it would be feasible.

Why couldn't you just throw a portable generator that outputs 220v in the trunk and charge on the fly?