GMRS OR VHF RADIO INSTALL ON GLADIATOR

[David G]

Good points. I use the Diamond K400S in NMO mount.

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[kbechtel]

This is a closeup of my mount, rather simple. I took the wiring from a lip mount, and had a friend craft this piece.

 

[GI Grandpa]

How'd you guys run the power and antenna wires to the molle panel?

My antenna and power cables run along the molle panel to the sound bar and then the antenna cable to the driver's side B pillar and the power to the passenger side. The power cable is tucked behind the plastic molding and out the bottom. There is a hole under the B pillar that allow you to then run the cable to the battery. The antenna cable is zip tied to the rollbar back to the rear driver's side door and to the back of the cab and then up to the roof rack where the antenna is mounted.

 

[jav_eee]

For 2m amateur or MURS a 36" circle of sheet metal is great

Remember that 24” square I put on my bed rack to use as a ground plane for my dual band setup? Well I switched to a bigger piece for more ground plane and it ended up negatively affecting my SWR across the board. Switched back to the 24x24 and it was perfect (for all my TX requirement) again. Really strange.

 

[Radio Guy]

Remember that 24” square I put on my bed rack to use as a ground plane for my dual band setup? Well I switched to a bigger piece for more ground plane and it ended up negatively affecting my SWR across the board. Switched back to the 24x24 and it was perfect (for all my TX requirement) again. Really strange.

If the antenna was tuned on the smaller plate then it may be off a bit with more ground plane. Its hard to comment without seeing the setup.

 

[smlobx]

I have a Kenwood HAM radio with a detachable faceplate that is mounted above the rear view mirror. The main unit is mounted under the passenger seat. I have the GMRS channels programmed into it as well and with up to 50 watts it has been great.
Technically it’s not legal to have gmrs channels on a ham radio but I do have licenses for both so I’m not concerned.

 

[David G]

I too unlocked my radio to get both. It only makes sense.

 

[jav_eee]

If the antenna was tuned on the smaller plate then it may be off a bit with more ground plane. Its hard to comment without seeing the setup.

I’m using a 1/4 wave VHF for dual band purposes because I can get SWR at or below 1.6:1 for GMRS and UHF and less than that on VHF. I couldn’t tune it up that good with the larger ground plane.

 

[GlennBeck]

Midland – MXT275VP4-15 Watt GMRS with BULLETPOINT dash ball mount and arms.

 

[SoK66]

I went with GMRS since everyone else I wheel with use it. I mounted (just Velcro) the main unit under the passenger seat and routed an RJ45 extender to the side of the console, where the mic cable plugs in.

I did this same setup in my JK. Nice!

 

[m-l_johnny]

I have the main unit for the Ft400 and the Midland tucked on top of the molle panel, where they are out of the way. (They just barely fit being zip-tied down.) Ran the power up driver's side A pillar and antenna cables on passenger side A pillar. Since this pic was taken, I've added a low profile cb right in front of the box of tissues. The old school phone holster is the perfect size to hold the Bad Elf GPS.

 

[Blade1668]

Many trunk lip mounts will fit the hood and no holes needed, there are two setscrews on the underside of the hood lip that holds it on. This places the antenna on top of the hood with a good ground plane. I also removed the plastic side cowl piece that curves down and lined it with 3" wide aluminum tape for more ground plane around the mount. The tape grounds to the two screws on top of the cowl piece mount when its put back on.

I've tried lots of antenna locations on an JT and in my opinion the hood is one of the best and very easy. The drivers side has an access hole right below where the trunk lip mount sits to run the coax right through the firewall and under the dash. The passenger side is much more difficult.

This particular mount is a Laird TMB8U which is very high quality but pricy, I usually get them off eBay when the price drops to around $20. Here is a link to a new one. Some people have complained about the Tram brand lip mount so its good to get a high quality well known brand.

https://www.atlanticradiocorp.com/products/laird-tmb8u-trunk-lid-mount?currency=USD&variant=44486538002606&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Google Shopping&stkn=9fee02560796&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAn9a9BhBtEiwAbKg6ftVicvtnCvTx5Ke61uotihoVHmSOqgQbTqz7ui9Tdmpp6-o6tm7JuBoC15cQAvD_BwE

I have one of these mounts on each side of the hood plus a similar mount on the upper bed wall below the rear window and a super heavy duty mount on the inner side bed wall right behind a wheel well for large HF and other antennas. That's four permanent antenna mounts on my JT and its not enough!

Some key points to remember when mounting antennas is the base of the antenna should never be elevated above the ground plane, the antenna wants to be planted right on the sheet metal otherwise it introduces lots of loss and matching can be a problem. You want adequate ground plane and for UHF/GMRS its not much and a 12" dia circle is perfect. For 2m amateur or MURS a 36" circle of sheet metal is great and for CB much more, like the entire hood is borderline not enough. Upper bed rail edges only provide a minimal amount of ground plane, ok for GMRS but worse for lower frequencies. Placing a mount on the inner upper bed wall makes use of the entire vertical sheet metal on that side and the bed and works well for CB and HF.

When I had a CB in my Comanche I used a center load on the cab it was fairly good. Damn I've been out of the radio stuff to long. On my GMRS radio I have on side of S.S. topper. But not anyone else around on GMRS radios locally it seems.

 

[MikeNH]

Midland – MXT275VP4-15 Watt GMRS with BULLETPOINT dash ball mount and arms.

Details on this antenna mount please? Thanks!

 

[GlennBeck]

Details on this antenna mount please? Thanks!

Here is the mount. Super easy installation.

JL Antenna Mount Driver Side for Jeep Wrangler JL JLU / Jeep Gladiator JT & Wrangler Unlimited, 4xe, Willys, Sport, Rubicon 2018-2024

$16 is not bad and won’t alert the wife to “another mod.”

https://a.co/d/1sIA4bL

 

[David G]

After having this radio, I don't think I can ever go back to a regular mic without a display and controls. I really like it. I routed the cable through the firewall on the driver side with a flexible boot. I regularly pick up conversations from at least 10 miles away, with hills/valleys in the way. When wheeling, we're pretty close together (within a few miles) so it's hard to say what kind of range I can really get. I got this type of antenna mostly to avoid brush and branches from snagging.

Here is the boot/grommet I used.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004K2285E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I forgot to ask you… I’ll be buying the same grommet you used, but does that original firewall plug knock out or unscrew? I haven’t gotten around to installing just yet, but plan to do so in a week or so.

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