HAM Radio Intalled

[t4thfavor]

For those who asked about my antenna, I’m using a magnet mount with a diamond 7500a.

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[Pepper]

A few folks here need to spend some time on my web site (www.k0bg.com).

<snip>

The biggest issue any one on HF is going to have, is RFI from the ignition system. You can't cure it, period! Bond the hood and tail pipe is about all you can do. The birdies from the B-CAN systems is another no-fixable issue, so don't waste your time trying.

Everything else you need is on the site—for free!

Great site. So talking of HF. Where on the Ranger do you suggest mounting a Little Tarheel 2?
I have a softcap on the bed, so something like the breedlove front bed mount won't work. Is there a mount like the breedlove, but exits at the side of the bedtop instead....

 

[Apples]

Not that I am aware of. I have the rollup tonneau cover on mine. Although I haven't tried it, it appears the Breedlove will work. This said, mounting so close to the cab isn't such a good idea either. As soon as I get the brush guard I'm having custom made with a antenna mount built as part of it, I'll post a photo.

My issue with the K400 is simply the fact the sheet metal get bent over time, due to the flexing of the mount. That happens, even if you don't hit a limb with it.

 

[kc7zie]

I do. Had it going for months now. All good. Some of my installation photos are in the post.

Thanks Jon! This is my first TruckI have owned, I am coming from am Ford Taurus SHO where I ran my 5100 and D710...

I am just looking to see how you want the control head cable to the top of the dash.

 

[kc7zie]

For those who asked about my antenna, I’m using a magnet mount with a diamond 7500a.

sorry if I missed this but where did you place you mag?

 

[t4thfavor]

sorry if I missed this but where did you place you mag?

Center of roof. It folds over to go in the garage. Never had trouble.

 

[JonB]

I am just looking to see how you want the control head cable to the top of the dash.

The body of the radio is under the passenger seat. The cable to the radio head is run under the center console plastic. The radio head is on a mount that clips to the vent, stabilized with some double-sided tape on its left side. I like this better than mounting the head up on the dash tray. That location can get pretty hot on sunny days, and is an open invitation to thieves that there is something valuable inside.

 

[DrPerez007]

Lots of great ideas here. Just started mounting radios and lights this week and looking for a place to mount a (somewhat) heavy Motorola microphone. Might try that vent mount.

It seems that a lot of folks are adverse to drilling antenna holes into their vehicle. Generally, I get that. Not sure about why as to the roof of the Ranger, though. You get your best antenna location there, a good ground plane (well, let’s say, as good as you’re probably going to get on a pickup), solid mount, and less likely to be tampered with. Granted, there may be some garage door issues or low hanging branches depending on your individual circumstances.

As for resale, a good friend of mine who runs a popular used car lot says antenna holes on the roof of a pickup truck properly plugged after cable/mount removal will not change the value of the truck. Ironically, he said that interior damage from mounts and dash scratches will deduct value faster than a couple of roof holes unless someone made a mess on the roof like serious scratches or damage or removed a half-dozen antennas. The holes are difficult to see and even then they don’t look out of place on a truck roof like they would on a car roof or trunk.

Drilled and mounted three 3/4” NMO cables this week on the roof of my ‘19 Lariat. VHF (2m & Public Safety) stick, UHF (70cm) can, and an 800 MHz can (also, Public Safety). No complaints. Can’t tell from the pics, but the front VHF is lined up directly in line with the factory antenna.

Also, replaced the factory antenna stick with a 4” (CravenSpeed from Amazon) antenna. Might lose a little AM, but don’t listen to it anyways.

 

[ClamCakes]

Lots of great ideas here. Just started mounting radios and lights this week and looking for a place to mount a (somewhat) heavy Motorola microphone. Might try that vent mount.

It seems that a lot of folks are adverse to drilling antenna holes into their vehicle. Generally, I get that. Not sure about why as to the roof of the Ranger, though. You get your best antenna location there, a good ground plane (well, let’s say, as good as you’re probably going to get on a pickup), solid mount, and less likely to be tampered with. Granted, there may be some garage door issues or low hanging branches depending on your individual circumstances.

As for resale, a good friend of mine who runs a popular used car lot says antenna holes on the roof of a pickup truck properly plugged after cable/mount removal will not change the value of the truck. Ironically, he said that interior damage from mounts and dash scratches will deduct value faster than a couple of roof holes unless someone made a mess on the roof like serious scratches or damage or removed a half-dozen antennas. The holes are difficult to see and even then they don’t look out of place on a truck roof like they would on a car roof or trunk.

Drilled and mounted three 3/4” NMO cables this week on the roof of my ‘19 Lariat. VHF (2m & Public Safety) stick, UHF (70cm) can, and an 800 MHz can (also, Public Safety). No complaints. Can’t tell from the pics, but the front VHF is lined up directly in line with the factory antenna.

Also, replaced the factory antenna stick with a 4” (CravenSpeed from Amazon) antenna. Might lose a little AM, but don’t listen to it anyways.

That looks like a great setup! any idea how much it would cost to have a company do it for me?

 

[DrPerez007]

That looks like a great setup! any idea how much it would cost to have a company do it for me?

In my area, there are two radio shops. One is Motorola and the other an independent, but they both charge about $85 per hour shop time. Any reputable shop should be able to do this in two hours or less. Plus the cost of cables and antennas (unless you supply, which I would recommend).

 

[ClamCakes]

In my area, there are two radio shops. One is Motorola and the other an independent, but they both charge about $85 per hour shop time. Any reputable shop should be able to do this in two hours or less. Plus the cost of cables and antennas (unless you supply, which I would recommend).

Thanks! I would do it myself, but knowing me, I would screw it up big time!

 

[Hiddleston]

[QUOTE = "JonB, bài đăng: 94638, thành viên: 3512"]
Không quá xa nhưng nó chỉ mới hoạt động được một ngày. Tôi sẽ đăng bất kỳ vấn đề.
[/TRÍCH DẪN]
[QUOTE = "Fjsteven, bài đăng: 42488, thành viên: 1247"]
Cuối cùng đã cài đặt đài. Chạy dây là một nỗi đau lớn. Kết thúc việc chạy họ xuống phía bên trái về phía sau xe tải. Có vẻ như bất kể nó đã thử đi con đường nào, tôi vẫn tiếp tục gặp phải một loại rào cản nào đó. Sau khi dây xuống bằng bàn đạp ga, tôi buộc tất cả chúng vào grommet nơi chốt nhả mui xe xuyên qua bức tường lửa. Đi dây qua cái grommet đó cũng khó. Rất vui vì tôi đã quyết định không gắn từ xa phần thân của đài.

Nếu ai đó biết cách sớm hơn để định tuyến dây thông qua dấu gạch ngang có thể người tiếp theo có thể hưởng lợi.

[/TRÍCH DẪN]

Finally got the radio installed. Running the wires was a major pain. Ended up running them down the left side towards the back of the truck. It seems no matter what route it tried I kept running into some sort of barrier. Once the wires came down by the gas pedal, I zip tied them all over to the grommet where the hood release latch passes through the fire wall. Getting the wires through that grommet was difficult as well. Glad I decided to not remote mount the body of the radio.

If anyone knows of an earlier way to route wires through the dash maybe the next person can benefit.

I mounted the control head on a 6” ball joint clip mount, the Clip N’ Clamp Mini. [Note, Feb 2016: It is unclear if the mini version of Clip N’ Clamp is still available. Alt link.] These ball joint mounting arms are rugged, with stiff friction resistance to support loads, and an incredibly strong but small clip to latch on at a convenient location. I clamped mine onto the left side of a console tray in the cabin, arcing the ball joint arm up and to the right so that the control head resides above the center of the console just in front of my gear shift handle and below the environmental controls of the dash board. The Clip N’ Clamp comes with a variety of snap on connector options, and I used a little MacGyvering to fabricate a mount for the control head that would easily attach to one of the snap-on connectors with its supplied friction nut.

 

[BHunted]

Best thing since pizza... Took me 5 mins.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073WZCL8Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[wikolipr]

Got mine installed finally. Antenna wire comes in through the weird vent behind the rear seat, fished wires up to the dash tray for the faceplate.

The power is currently cigarette lighter(ew), but will be running power from the fuse panel as soon as I can figure out where the positive lug is, and how to access it.

EDIT: As soon as I wrote the cigarette lighter thing, I felt bad and ran the power through the hood release grommet.

Can you help me orient myself as to where is the “weird vent”? Is it on the bulkhead side or on the floor? Is it accessible to pass the coax with the connector? Sorry for the many questions. I was just looking around for a place to get the antenna coax in the cab. I’m good with power but no clue how to get the coax inside. Thanks in advanced.

 

[t4thfavor]

Can you help me orient myself as to where is the “weird vent”? Is it on the bulkhead side or on the floor? Is it accessible to pass the coax with the connector? Sorry for the many questions. I was just looking around for a place to get the antenna coax in the cab. I’m good with power but no clue how to get the coax inside. Thanks in advanced.

It's between the bed and back of the cab, there's one on both sides.

My antenna has a "removeable" pl-259 where the center unscrews (diamond does this). A regular sized PL-259 will not fit through the vent.

Start by removing all the plastic and carpet from the wall behind your back seat, then you will see it.
Next contract someone with small hands to do the actual coax fishing as you will most likely not be able to reach in there yourself.
After fishing, start putting all the carpet and plastic back.

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