right on and thanks for more info. you guys are on it! I woulda' never have thought about metallic paint caveat. or the dual dipole arrangement. bad ass.

not much progress tonight. I must have bungled soldering the PL on the mobile tonight because the SWRs went deep into the red. what did I do. so I will desolder, pull it off and look see. maybe recut the end and try again with a new connector. got to pay my dues again I guess.