Ham radio install

[tjk]

Topsy products makes this mount which fits gladiator perfect. I plasti Dipped mine for protection and looks.

Also best to power direct from battery although I've heard of some using the Aux buttons with success.

Best of luck.

the Topsy mount is the one I went with, reasonably priced and seems simple enough. Did you have a recommendation for an NMO Cable specifically or did you roll your own? I was thinking of going with this one but wasn’t sure if better options were available (I should say, I’m a relatively new ham. Only got my ticket last year.)
Tram 1250 NMO 3/4" 17 feet RG58 Coax Cable Roof Mount Antenna Surface

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XCZMUQC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_opf-Fb3RY71HK

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[Elkaholic]

I use (and sell) this one ... https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/tram-1252ez-2321

The FME end makes routing it easier and the adapter that comes with it has minimal losses

 

[MrZappo]

the Topsy mount is the one I went with, reasonably priced and seems simple enough. Did you have a recommendation for an NMO Cable specifically or did you roll your own? I was thinking of going with this one but wasn’t sure if better options were available (I should say, I’m a relatively new ham. Only got my ticket last year.)
Tram 1250 NMO 3/4" 17 feet RG58 Coax Cable Roof Mount Antenna Surface

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XCZMUQC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_opf-Fb3RY71HK

I'm mostly a diamond and comet guy.

There are a couple of considerations I think are worth noting.

Jeeps are notoriously difficult to get a good ground plane due to plastic tops or aluminum hoods.

If you get a 1/2 wave antenna you need minimal if any ground plane. Makes for one less thing to worry about and an easier install. Both diamond and comet have models that are nearly identical and work great when installed like this.

Also, rg58 is way thicker than you need and a hassle to route.

Diamond makes a thin cable alternative the is pre terminated and very thin. Makes for simple routing from the engine bay to the radio location. It handles 200+ watts and is very effective for this type of install.

I used a diamond half wave antenna with no ground other than the topsy mount bolted to the truck.

I get a very low swr and the radio performance is great.

 

[tjk]

I'm mostly a diamond and comet guy.

There are a couple of considerations I think are worth noting.

Jeeps are notoriously difficult to get a good ground plane due to plastic tops or aluminum hoods.

If you get a 1/2 wave antenna you need minimal if any ground plane. Makes for one less thing to worry about and an easier install. Both diamond and comet have models that are nearly identical and work great when installed like this.

Also, rg58 is way thicker than you need and a hassle to route.

Diamond makes a thin cable alternative the is pre terminated and very thin. Makes for simple routing from the engine bay to the radio location. It handles 200+ watts and is very effective for this type of install.

I used a diamond half wave antenna with no ground other than the topsy mount bolted to the truck.

I get a very low swr and the radio performance is great.

I’ll look into the cable, but because Of my low garage height getting in and out with a half wave mounted to the hood would be a pain. I had a ¼ wave on my prior 2015 Cherokee and used a grounding strap from the mount to the body.

 

[MrZappo]

I’ll look into the cable, but because Of my low garage height getting in and out with a half wave mounted to the hood would be a pain. I had a ¼ wave on my prior 2015 Cherokee and used a grounding strap from the mount to the body.

https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-009384

Above is a link to the cable I used ... It worked great for me ... Best of luck !

 

[tjk]

Got the antenna wire routed today through the drivers side upper firewall. Drilled through the plastic piece and Installed in the center. Any tips for running power? I plan to directly wire to the battery using a relay, but didn’t see an easily accessible point in the firewall on the passenger side. If necessary, I’ll go through the firewall using the clutch plug below the previously mentioned firewall grommet, but I was admittedly hoping to keep the power and Antenna wires as distanced as possible as far as I could before they terminate at the radio behind the rear bench.

 

[smlobx]

Got the antenna wire routed today through the drivers side upper firewall. Drilled through the plastic piece and Installed in the center. Any tips for running power? I plan to directly wire to the battery using a relay, but didn’t see an easily accessible point in the firewall on the passenger side. If necessary, I’ll go through the firewall using the clutch plug below the previously mentioned firewall grommet, but I was admittedly hoping to keep the power and Antenna wires as distanced as possible as far as I could before they terminate at the radio behind the rear bench.

I ran the power for my Kenwood HAM radio through one of my factory switches. Works great!

 

[cwieland]

Just a couple more pics as an update. My radio is an ICOM 7000 which I absolutely love. Best detached display on any radio I've ever seen. I'm really going to be sad when that one quits working.

Inside front lid where I've mounted NMO (closest) and the HF at the farthest. That's a choke on the control wire for the screwdriver antenna to eliminate RF feedback down to the controller.

When I mounted the Diamondback tonneau cover, where the clamps are for the center piece I removed a patch of the linex to make a bare metal contact. This makes the center part of the tonneau well grounded to the bed. I added a couple ground straps from the front cover to the center piece to ensure solid RF grounding.

All the connectors to the antennas are coupled at the edge so if I need to remove the cover, I can just quickly disconnect everything. I ran an extra 12 AWG red/black zip wire to this location in case I might want to connect something to DC here. It wires back to a fuse box under the rear seat where all the radio chassis are located.

The head unit for the radio and the radar detector remote for my Valentine One are located on a bar bracket in the center console.

On a molle panel overhead, I have the mic/controller for the Motorla GMRS radio so all I need is the Mic here. The screwdriver antenna controller and two speakers, one for each of the radio. I plan on re-doing this and just use one speaker and a couple diodes to connect them both without feeding back one radio to another.

And finally, to reduce any clutter for having crap up in my windshield other than the Dashcam, I've mounted my V1 radar body on the center bar between the seats where it's not very visible or obvious. Seems to work without any issues here and seems to be every bit as sensitive as when it's in the windshield.

When the Diamondback lids are open, the antennas just flip back so it's not in any way impeding my use of the lids.

Older thread now but very curious what your all band unit is. I'm in the market for one and that looks like a clean head unit.

best
kn6nja

 

[KHam]

Older thread now but very curious what your all band unit is. I'm in the market for one and that looks like a clean head unit.

The radio is an ICOM IC-7000 which in my opinion was the best mobile radio they made. Detachable full color, full function faceplate. I wish I had bought 2 of them to have one as a spare. It's a discontinued model, and it been in the last 2 vehicles I've had. The body is under the passenger rear seat which is where all the antenna cables terminate. Makes for a really clean install. Good to see other hams on here! de k5kdd

 

[cwieland]

The radio is an ICOM IC-7000 which in my opinion was the best mobile radio they made. Detachable full color, full function faceplate. I wish I had bought 2 of them to have one as a spare. It's a discontinued model, and it been in the last 2 vehicles I've had. The body is under the passenger rear seat which is where all the antenna cables terminate. Makes for a really clean install. Good to see other hams on here! de k5kdd

That is exactly what I am up against is discontinued models. I am very new to this and recently got my general license. I have many more questions than answers. I have a Garmin InReach (basically an eperb) but am looking for a backup for that and inner group comms. I believe in having a backup for the backup as I overland solo a lot (and I know what folks say).

With that I was looking for a dual band, then a dual band with aprs (which now seems like a very good thing) I believe an allband with hf would be the ultimate but they don't seem to have aprs. It seems there are not that many that fit the bill and most are older models (some very old). Many of the new/current models don't seem to have the features of there predecessors. So I'm looking at an all band. I have an opportunity to buy a Yaesu ft-857 discontinued and no aprs. Then looking at a (also discontinued) Yaesu FTM-400DR/DE which has aprs but older. Another thought the Kenwood TM-D710ga looks really nice for dualband and aprs (also older and may be at end of life). Then maybe a standalone HF like Yaesu FT-891 but it doesn't have the hf range of the 857.

I would be very interested in the ideas of folks with more real world experience.

KN6NJA

 

[eaglerugby04]

That is exactly what I am up against is discontinued models. I am very new to this and recently got my general license. I have many more questions than answers. I have a Garmin InReach (basically an eperb) but am looking for a backup for that and inner group comms. I believe in having a backup for the backup as I overland solo a lot (and I know what folks say).

With that I was looking for a dual band, then a dual band with aprs (which now seems like a very good thing) I believe an allband with hf would be the ultimate but they don't seem to have aprs. It seems there are not that many that fit the bill and most are older models (some very old). Many of the new/current models don't seem to have the features of there predecessors. So I'm looking at an all band. I have an opportunity to buy a Yaesu ft-857 discontinued and no aprs. Then looking at a (also discontinued) Yaesu FTM-400DR/DE which has aprs but older. Another thought the Kenwood TM-D710ga looks really nice for dualband and aprs (also older and may be at end of life). Then maybe a standalone HF like Yaesu FT-891 but it doesn't have the hf range of the 857.

I would be very interested in the ideas of folks with more real world experience.

KN6NJA

And this is how everybody ends up with so many radios, there is no perfect radio. I think you might also be looking for a unicorn radio. My unicorn is just something waterproof on the VHF/UHF side of things, but is also quality

Having all band and APRS seems to be something that doesn't exist. I know it doesn't have as much power but the Icom 705 came to mind and even that do everything radio still doesn't have APRS built in really shocked since it has everything somebody could cram into a radio.

 

[Radio Guy]

VHF/UHF and HF with APRS is a problem and I ran an old Icom 706MKIIG and a Yaesu FTM-400 in my old truck to get all that. I'm in the process of migrating those radios to my new Mojave and am looking at mounting both control heads on a single RAM type mount.

The newer Icom 7100 is a great replacement for the 706 or 7000 series even though it doesn't have APRS but it does have D-Star and that has an APRS type location function in digital mode. The 7100 is quite the sleeper with very good performance and ergonomics for a great price. I use several of them as remote control base stations.

I've been looking over the Mojave for antenna mounting locations and so far the best I see is a pair of NMO trunk lid mounts on the rear of the hood on both sides where there are flat spots either side of the hood hinge just before the hood turns downward. I have a problem with the mounts that stick out below the plastic curved cowl pieces as its a really poor location for an antenna with virtually no ground plane and it puts part of the antenna below the metal hood. Any antenna will be much happier with a nice flat sheet of metal like a hood below it and I'll also line as much of the underside of the plastic cowl pieces as I can with conductive tape and bond that to the sheet metal to extend the ground plane and also bypass the hood hinges with conductive braid.

I use a lot of temporary HF and VHF antennas from huge HF screwdrivers to 7ft long gain type VHF and others. For that I have a military mount that will go right under the Trail Rails on the driver side bed wall about 2/3 back from the cab towards the tail gate. I wanted this mount to go centered on the front bed wall but the rolled up Tonneau cover interferes with that location. The military mount has replicable plates with NMO, 3/8-24 and a huge bayonet thing that fits my 5" dia coil Hi-Q 160-10m screwdriver antenna.

Back in the 70's and 80s I was a professional radio/car stereo installer and have done 1,000 or so installs. I don't enjoy it these days but at least I can still navigate wires through a modern vehicle when I have to. Once I have all the power wiring and distribution under the rear seats of the new truck it will be easier to upgrade some day if a single radio comes out with all the features I want.

That is exactly what I am up against is discontinued models. I am very new to this and recently got my general license. I have many more questions than answers. I have a Garmin InReach (basically an eperb) but am looking for a backup for that and inner group comms. I believe in having a backup for the backup as I overland solo a lot (and I know what folks say).

With that I was looking for a dual band, then a dual band with aprs (which now seems like a very good thing) I believe an allband with hf would be the ultimate but they don't seem to have aprs. It seems there are not that many that fit the bill and most are older models (some very old). Many of the new/current models don't seem to have the features of there predecessors. So I'm looking at an all band. I have an opportunity to buy a Yaesu ft-857 discontinued and no aprs. Then looking at a (also discontinued) Yaesu FTM-400DR/DE which has aprs but older. Another thought the Kenwood TM-D710ga looks really nice for dualband and aprs (also older and may be at end of life). Then maybe a standalone HF like Yaesu FT-891 but it doesn't have the hf range of the 857.

I would be very interested in the ideas of folks with more real world experience.

KN6NJA

 

[KHam]

That is exactly what I am up against is discontinued models. I am very new to this and recently got my general license. I have many more questions than answers. I have a Garmin InReach (basically an eperb) but am looking for a backup for that and inner group comms. I believe in having a backup for the backup as I overland solo a lot (and I know what folks say).

With that I was looking for a dual band, then a dual band with aprs (which now seems like a very good thing) I believe an allband with hf would be the ultimate but they don't seem to have aprs. It seems there are not that many that fit the bill and most are older models (some very old). Many of the new/current models don't seem to have the features of there predecessors. So I'm looking at an all band. I have an opportunity to buy a Yaesu ft-857 discontinued and no aprs. Then looking at a (also discontinued) Yaesu FTM-400DR/DE which has aprs but older. Another thought the Kenwood TM-D710ga looks really nice for dualband and aprs (also older and may be at end of life). Then maybe a standalone HF like Yaesu FT-891 but it doesn't have the hf range of the 857.

I would be very interested in the ideas of folks with more real world experience.

KN6NJA

With my setup I have 3 holes that I drilled in my Diamondback metal tonneau cover for antennas that I can use in any configuration. Regarding APRS, what I've done in the past is use a handheld on it's own antenna for APRS beaconing for events and stuff. I haven't used any APRS in awhile though. I currently have the HF screwdriver antenna on the passenger side, and dual band on the drivers, with a GMRS in the center. I can simply swap the antennas on that GMRS NMO mount and run APRS from that without busying my main radio up.

I do a lot of trips like what you're describing, like when I'm out doing photography where I'm usually alone. I've also done thousands of miles of mountain passes over the years. You need HF for that... you can ALWAYS get ahold of someone on HF. Most of those areas, especially in the mountains, have no UHF/VHF repeaters around and probably nobody monitoring simplex frequencies, and there's no cellular signal for miles. HF is awesome. My wife and I are both General class and a lot of the times she's on the radio chatting away while we're out in the middle of nowhere on the side of a mountain.

 

[Radio Guy]

I worked a bit on my truck today getting some high current wiring under the rear seats to power a few radios and a 500W HF amp. I didn't want to take out batteries and other stuff to get the power wiring through the firewall so I went down the front fender into the tubular frame then popped out of the frame under the back seat where there was an existing grommet in the floor. I enlarged that to 1" to pass a pair of 4ga wires and some coax. The entire run of 4ga wire is inside expanding loom and it has a length of thick hot glue heat shrink where it enters under the rear seat.

Here are pictures of the power cable from the battery to a 150A fuse on the cowl then the cables going in and out of the frame. Under the rear seat is a power distribution box (with the lid off) I pulled out of my old truck that has aircraft circuit breakers, three 20A and one 30A plus an ignition timer that will turn off the radios after 30 minutes or so after shutting the truck off. The distribution box also grounds to the body with some flexible braid. The distribution box has several short 10ga cables with Anderson Power Poles and one set of large binding posts.

I still have two radio control heads to mount, a Yaesu FTM-400 and Icom 706MKIIG. The best place I've found so far is on a 6" long RAM ball and socket mount attached to the lower front of the center console. With the twist of a knob the mount with control heads will come off and stash inside the center console out of sight. Then there is the antenna mount for a huge HF screwdriver that goes on the inside bed wall. That's going to be fun.

 

[Radio Guy]

I got my radio control heads mounted on a RAM swivel ball mount and wired to the radios under the rear seats. I can loosen the wing nut on the RAM mount and the radios and 6" extension come right off and will all store in the center console leaving only a little ball mount on the front of the console. I also mounted two small speakers on the sound bar either side of the drivers seat head rest. Only thing left on this install is a mount on the drivers side bed wall for HF and other type antennas.

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