Mobile HF with Yaesu ATAS-120a Actively Tuned Antenna

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April2022 update. The ATAS-120a is going strong one month in. Follow up on the last vfo error issue that was happening on 20m- turns out it was RFI that 8 snap on ferrite chokes cured.   I put them on the feed line near the KN-400 mount.  












I’ve  recently added mobile HF capabilities to my Jeep and I can vouch for the Yaesu ATAS-120a.   It’s a great little performer once I got it fully grounded and bonded to my truck frame.  

I tried several mounting locations before I remembered there is a convenient grounding bolt just under the hood on the passenger side of my 2018 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk.  The bolt is is used to jump start the vehicle and can easily be removed with a socket wrench so that you can bolt down a ground strap.

The antenna is mounted to the hood using a Diamond K400S mount and cable set.   An SMA to SO-239 adapter is included.  I ran the coax thru the Jeep’s fender wheel well and into a the vehicle thru an existing firewall grommet on the passenger side of the vehicle.  Remove the plastic molding from the passenger floor board, poke a hole thru the insulation with a screwdriver, tape the coax to the end and just pull it thru back thru.   Make sure there is clearance and nothing gets pinched.   From there I routed the coax under the passenger seat to the radio.

The antenna can be attached and removed in just a few seconds.  When the antenna is not in use there is a stainless steel water proof cap that is fine business.   The mount is strong enough to support the antenna during normal driving conditions, but I prefer to remove the antenna from the mount when not its in use - cheap theft deterrent like keeping the car doors locked and valuables out of site.  The XYL assessed the work I did and agreed, “now THAT is fine business!”

I made several good contacts on my first test run, using my Yaesu 991a at 100 watts on Saturday.  The noise level is significantly lower at the city park just a few blocks up the street than my home QTH.  The tuning process is very fast once the radio “finds” the antenna.  Reestablishing  communication can take a few minutes.   Was able to tune 20, 17, 15 and 10m easily.  

73,  Chris de WX7V










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