Anyone installing CB/ Ham radio and/or NMO antenna mount on your new Ranger?

Al Gordon

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I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get a nice clean install of an ICOM ID-5100 into my new Ranger. Following this thread with great interest, and thinking about getting one of those sweet 3rd brakelight NMO mounts. My biggest concern with the brakelight mount setup, or anything else on the top of the vehicle, is clearance for indoor parking, etc. I'm thinking of reaching out to companies who make fender mounts to see if any of them have plans to make something 2019 Ranger specific (or, if they possibly have something for the international Rangers that might work). I'm assuming that I will get a better ground plane for the antenna if I am mounting on/near the roof, but less hassle/fiddling if I mount on the front driver-side fender.

Does anyone yet have an installation done who can share more details? Chance (t4thfavor), it looks like you might be further along on this than anyone else so far. Any possibility of documenting your install for the rest of us? :)

de K7AJG, 73 (dit-dit)
 

@Robby887

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I’m installing this Rugged radio system.

192542D7-52E0-4A57-9132-5099277807CE.jpeg
 

Al Gordon

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My ICOM ID-5100A is now installed, with the exception of the antenna, which is currently a Nagoya UT-72 magmount "installed" either sitting on the rear seat, or when I'm running in a more serious mode, stuck to the roof with the cable running through the rear sliding window. I'm still working on antenna mounting options, as I'm not sold on the 3rd brakelight mount for the 2017+ Raptor actually being a working replacement for the 2019 Ranger part, and even if so, I'm not sure that I want to mount the antenna there, since it might limit my ability to get in and out of parking structures, etc.

I've picked up a Comet CP-5NMO lip mount and I have a couple of differently sized antennas I can try on it once installed, and am considering mounting it on the lip of the hood, on the driver side. This way, even if I have a larger antenna installed, I can get one with a hinge or spring that I can manually reach out the window and pull down when going through garages or other low-clearance areas.

The main body of the ID-5100A is mounted under the driver's seat, with power running directly to the battery. I had this done by a pro audio installation shop, so honestly, I'm not sure exactly where or how they routed the cables, other than that I can't see them. The control cable between the body and head runs (also invisibly) from under the driver's seat, up through the console, to a small hole in the tray on the dashboard, where it connects to the head. That tray is not fully seating after having been removed, so I ordered another one (actually two) from Ford, which I'll drill a hole into and reinstall, possibly after seeing if I want to attach some other kind of mount to it. I ordered a rubber cell phone holder from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B079HFX5P7/ ) which the head unit rests against, loose inside the tray. This works ok for now, but I'd like something sturdier, especially before taking the truck off-road. I was hoping that the head unit would fit into that holder's "grips", but it's a little too fat for a thing that's designed to hold skinny phones.

I have also "installed" a tiny ZUMspot hotspot for mobile D-STAR, which works great with the truck's mobile hotspot feature. "Installed" means finding a short USB cable, and plugging it in. I might move this to under the seat as well, so I can clear up one of the front USB ports, and plug into one of the rear, power-only USB ports.

I'm attaching some pictures of my installation to-date. It's pretty clean, with the exception of the small annoyance of that dash tray not fully/properly seating anymore.

If anyone can confirm that the Raptor NMO mount actually works, please reply to this thread, as I'm still giving that a lot of consideration.

73, de K7AJG

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IMG_4811.jpg


IMG_4812.jpg
 


t4thfavor

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I’m installing this Rugged radio system.

192542D7-52E0-4A57-9132-5099277807CE.jpeg

Just be aware that they send their radios out with absolutely illegal frequencies(In the USA), and the radios themselves are not type accepted for use on GMRS/FRS/Business Band, or LMRS. You could end up interfering with public safety (police, fire, EMS) and not even know it.

I'd recommend you reprogram it for GMRS/FRS only (even though it's not legal) and get a GMRS license ($10/year)

As for the ID-5100, that's exactly what I'm going to do with my D710G. It looks great, now if I could just find a place to bring the antenna in.

Have you tried to see if the tray is just installed backwards? Also I wish the mic plugged into the faceplate too...
 

Al Gordon

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With the aid of another ham from a local club, I got my Comet CP-5NMO lip mount installed today. I think I still need to run a ground wire from the CP-5 mount to the frame, since the radio is not happy with transmitting at 50W, but did fine business at 5W and 15W transmit levels (~30 mile great sound quality QSO on 15W, scratchy but highly readable at 5W).

For antennas, I have a Comet SBB SBB-7NMO (pictured) and Comet SS-406SBNMO (significantly shorter, less gain but no potential for it hitting anything overhead , as it is lower than the roof of the truck). The 7NMO will be my workhorse for VHF/UHF contests, SOTA chasing, etc., and the 406SBNMO is my "daily driver".

We used an endoscopic camera to look around inside the engine compartment and find a path to run the coax. Ultimately, we followed the existing wiring which pokes through the firewall, coming into the cab near the fuse box, etc. near the driver's left leg. From inside the truck, we ran an unbent wire coat hanger up and through the firewall plug, tied the end of the coax (plug temporarily removed) to the coat hanger wire in the engine compartment side, then pulled it back through and ran it along the floor under the molding which holds down the carpet, and directed the end to under the driver's seat, where it connects to the radio.

IMG_4814.jpg
 

Al Gordon

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As for the ID-5100, that's exactly what I'm going to do with my D710G. It looks great, now if I could just find a place to bring the antenna in.

Have you tried to see if the tray is just installed backwards? Also I wish the mic plugged into the faceplate too...
See above for my antenna installation.

I'll check the tray's directionality when I install the new one. I know from experience that some dashboard components just never go back in quite right once they've been pulled out. I want to pull it fully out and see if I can find a more stable mounting solution for the head unit. I'm going to order one of those aftermarket faceplates soon, with the "UHF Radio" plug in it.
 

t4thfavor

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See above for my antenna installation.

I'll check the tray's directionality when I install the new one. I know from experience that some dashboard components just never go back in quite right once they've been pulled out. I want to pull it fully out and see if I can find a more stable mounting solution for the head unit. I'm going to order one of those aftermarket faceplates soon, with the "UHF Radio" plug in it.

The D710G comes with a wide "foot" style base, some 3M grey tape should fix it semi permanently. At least enough to not fly off while offroading, possibly even in an emergency or crash situation.
 

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Al Gordon

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I want to like this. However, in the short time I've had my antenna installed on this truck, I've realized that the lip mount was probably the better choice for me, as I am in a parking structure daily for work. The NMO lip mount on the driver side hood is convenient for swapping out my daily "shorty" 18" Comet SS-460SBNMO antenna and the taller SBB-5NMO or SBB-7NMO (all at http://www.cometantenna.com/amateur-radio/mobile-antennas/ma-dual-band/ ), which I can use on the weekends, or as needed, as long as I'm not going into any parking garages or other limited-height situations.

I think that a top-mounted NMO, even for an 18" antenna, is likely to be constantly making overhead contact with parking garage ceilings, and maybe other stuff as well. And the performance of the lip-mounted antennas, even the shorty, is better than I had expected.

Whichever antenna is not currently in use easily slides under the back seat without having to lift it, tip-first with the NMO mount portion preventing the antenna from sliding all the way under the seat. It's snug enough back there that it does not slide around while I drive. So, I can just "grab and go" whichever antenna I want to use. Even going to the car wash is simple, as I just remove the antenna completely for a few minutes, and put a cap over the NMO mount to keep it dry.

If I were in a more rural situation, I might reconsider all of this, and go for something like that replacement light bar.
 

t4thfavor

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I want to like this. However, in the short time I've had my antenna installed on this truck, I've realized that the lip mount was probably the better choice for me, as I am in a parking structure daily for work. The NMO lip mount on the driver side hood is convenient for swapping out my daily "shorty" 18" Comet SS-460SBNMO antenna and the taller SBB-5NMO or SBB-7NMO (all at http://www.cometantenna.com/amateur-radio/mobile-antennas/ma-dual-band/ ), which I can use on the weekends, or as needed, as long as I'm not going into any parking garages or other limited-height situations.

I think that a top-mounted NMO, even for an 18" antenna, is likely to be constantly making overhead contact with parking garage ceilings, and maybe other stuff as well. And the performance of the lip-mounted antennas, even the shorty, is better than I had expected.

Whichever antenna is not currently in use easily slides under the back seat without having to lift it, tip-first with the NMO mount portion preventing the antenna from sliding all the way under the seat. It's snug enough back there that it does not slide around while I drive. So, I can just "grab and go" whichever antenna I want to use. Even going to the car wash is simple, as I just remove the antenna completely for a few minutes, and put a cap over the NMO mount to keep it dry.

If I were in a more rural situation, I might reconsider all of this, and go for something like that replacement light bar.

My magnet hits stuff every now and then, but when it does, it simply falls over and stays there. I would rather have it do that than break a 350$ light mount or crease my hood/break the antenna. That's why I choose the magnet mount. If I need it to stop falling over, the Diamond 7500A that I use has a tilt over feature that rides fine on the roof at any speed.
 

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My magnet hits stuff every now and then, but when it does, it simply falls over and stays there. I would rather have it do that than break a 350$ light mount or crease my hood/break the antenna. That's why I choose the magnet mount. If I need it to stop falling over, the Diamond 7500A that I use has a tilt over feature that rides fine on the roof at any speed.
That and the $350 price tag:crazy:

I think I'm going to try Firestik Firering on my ditch light mount:
 

t4thfavor

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That and the $350 price tag:crazy:

I think I'm going to try Firestik Firering on my ditch light mount:

I know you're not pushing a lot of power on CB, but I wonder how the SWR fares with an odd looking connector like that. It might be neat to hook it to a decent meter and check the impedance.
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