pic: Virginia's DREAM top view

[lukevanoort]

It can be mounted however you want, but it should be mounted vertically for optimal reception. The antenna on the outside of the radio isn't the only one, there is one on the inside too, so just sticking the external antenna up isn't as effective a mounting the whole thing vertically. We mounted our radio horizontally last year and it was identified by IFI as a radio that might have some "issues" that the software upgrade didn't fix, but we had no issues. I would recommend mounting it vertically though; we mounted our like we did because we didn't have many options--our only options were to mount it horizontally, on our turret, very close to our drive chain, or right next to our main power distribution.

Instead of trusting a team member's information (which can be wrong) or info from post on CD (which can also be wrong, but someone usually corrects incorrect answers), you should read the manual yourself. Reading the relevant sections only takes about an hour to a couple of hours; the amount of time it takes depends on reading speed and what sections are relevant--a build team person probably doesn't need to read the criteria for the website award, for example (although it is probably a good idea to do so anyway). Even if it takes 4hrs, it will be the most useful 4hrs you spend all build season.