Ham Radio Mount for Third Gen

[barkerdl]

Who's mounted a HAM radio in their truck without messing up the interior or blocking the cup holders? Any pictures of how you did it would be appreciated.



Dennis

KD7ZAL

 

[RJOL]

Okay, Dennis... I'll give this a shot.



I installed a Kenwood Dual Band TM-G707A in my rig, about three years ago.



Here is what the radio looks like:



http://www.kenwood.net/indexKenwood.cfm?do=ProductDetails&ProdID=5012&Group=5



I don't have pictures of this installation so I'll try to describe it to you.



The Kenwood has a removable face (you have to buy some extra accessories) and the main radio box can be located away from the face. I installed mine under the drivers seat, on a piece of aluminum plate installed to the seat rails.



Then I installed one of those flexible arms used to mount a cell phone. The flexible arm is about 18" long and I bolted it to the right front corner of the drivers seat (removed a mounting bolt that was already there and mounted the arm).



You have to do a little modification to the flexible arm to mount the piece that holds the face plat, but it ain't rocket science.



I mounted the Mic to the side of the arm, on a mic hook.



This set up has worked great for me. The control face is next to my right leg and is easy to see and work.



By the way... I also mounted a cb the same way. Cobra sells a unit that has all the controls in the mic and so I mounted the power box down by the Ham radio box, under the seat, and the mic hangs on the same cell phone arm along with the Kenwood.



Another bonus to this installation is that I can remove the Kenwood control face, and the CB mic when I have to leave my truck parked somewhere that isn't secure.



I hope this makes sense... Have fun...

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

I haven't looked closely at the '03's to check similarities, but here's what I did with the Icom 706 MKIIG I mounted in my '02:



#ad




A bracket for the Icom detachable faceplate was secured to the under-lip of the upper dash surround with silicon cement - it is very secure, yet can eventualy be removed if desired with no permanent marks.



Additional pics are in the pointer attached to my sig below...

 

[Whiskey]

Welcome back Gary. Haven't heard you on the bands latley. .







George N2BIR

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"Welcome back Gary. Haven't heard you on the bands latley. . "



Was thru your area a week ago - we have a 20 meter sked with a small group on 14. 182 daily at 3 p. m. west coast time - band conditions permitting...

 

[barkerdl]

Gary,



That's a nice shot of your '02 install. 600 watts - bet you fry the electronic ignition in all the gassers you pass!



Nice home pictures as well. Almost envious here--almost.



Thanks for the ideas so far. I would really like to see how someone put one in a 2003. They are slightly different.



Any opinions of side hood mount versus stake pocket for antenna?



Thanks!



Dennis

KD7ZAL

 

[AGrubbs]

Gary,



Cool setup! I was thinking about installing my FT-100D in my '03, with the radio and RT-11 tuner under the back seat, and remoteing the head on a home made floor mounted stalk like something shown on this web page Mounting hardware



I have not gotten this done yet, due to cold weather setting in and my low tolerance for the cold... but I hope to get it installed early spring.



Last October one of my bike riding buddys and I went out to Buffalo WY to ride over the pass between Buffalo and Tensleep on mountain bikes. As he's a big county hunter, we quickly put his '706, RT-11 and mag mount hamstick on my truck.

We powered it from the 25 amp power outlet in the center seat since we were in a hurry.



First thing we noticed was that there was a LOT of electrical noise coming from my truck with the key "on" even with the engine not running. :{ It showed up as s-5 to s-9 depending on freq.



I'd like to know what (other than the picture of the toroid on the aux fuel pump) modifications you have made to keep the noise down, or do you just use the HF when you are stopped. ?



I was thinking about putting some filtering on the pusher pump, but other than that, I don't really know where to go from there... Any ideas or suggestions on things to try would be a big help!



Thanks!



AG - KA0NCR

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

"First thing we noticed was that there was a LOT of electrical noise coming from my truck with the key "on" even with the engine not running. It showed up as s-5 to s-9 depending on freq.



I'd like to know what (other than the picture of the toroid on the aux fuel pump) modifications you have made to keep the noise down, or do you just use the HF when you are stopped. ?"



My '02 - and the '02 of a ham friend we also installed a 706 into are completely dead quiet on all bands - absolutely NO vehicle generated noise difference observable with engine on or off!



The filter I installed on my pusher was to eliminate brush hash it generated - the stock Carter LP already has one built in inside it.



It's a real joy to use such a quiet setup out on the road - I can virtually work anything I hear - and ususlly get as good a sig report as the base stations do! The Clear Speach speaker is also a VERY valuable addition to greatly reduce ambient atmospheric noise, and reduce the ignition noise of Fords I am passing in traffic and in the hills...

 

[Jay]

I've got an FT-90R remote mounted... doesn't block anything. I'll do a picture later in the week (I'm planning on being off on Wedneday).



73's,

Jay

 

[bulabula]

I've got the faceplate of my Icom 2720 VHF/UHF velcro'd down on the top of the steering wheel stalk. Can see everything but the odo and 4x4 indicator without leaning forward. Radio is underneath the drivers seat.



Power cables run thru an unused factory rubber grommet on the firewall near the clutch (this plug is used for auto trucks - think there's a cable running through it).



Mic rides in the little hole under the radio. Simple, and better yet: works for me.

 

[dcscott]

I mounted an Icom IC706 and the antenna tuner under the back seat, aft of the cargo floor.

 

[dcscott]

I then cut a piece of plastic and sandwiched it between the cubby and the back side of the dash and mounted the control head for the IC706 to that. I put a remote speaker up under the dash.

 

[barkerdl]

Ham Mounts

Those are some slick ideas. I would be willing to give up the small cubby to mount a remote head there. Looks like plenty of good places to mount the main unit.



Any problem with running the antenna cable and the power cable next to each other thru the grommet on the firewall or under the carpet? Will be using VHF/UHF only for now and likely will not have over 50 watts output.



Thanks



Dennis

KD7ZAL

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Dennis - again, I may be blowing smoke here - but my '02 was IDEALLY setup for an install like mine! The main box for my 706 sits totally out of sight under the center console, and as can be seen in the photos provided in the pointer above my sig, the 600 watt solid state amp easily fits beneath the passenger seat. DC has provided a VERY generous channel beneath the door trim plate at the sill, and you can easily lie all necessary cabling there. I run the various antenna and power leads - including the #4 guage power lead for the amp under the carpet, to the sill, and thru drilled holes down under the cab thru grommets to protect against chafing and eventual shorts, There is NO wiring or cabling exposed unless you really look for it - all that shows there is a ham set installed, is the control face on the dash, and the antennas - and those are easily removed by use of quick-disconnects for when I might leave the truck in a "sensitive" area...

 

[AGrubbs]

After I posted my message in this thread, I found another location with some mounting brackets that look

more like what I am after.



Check out RAM ham radio mounts . I am thinking that I could mount the FT-100d control head and my

Garmin E-map w/external ant. on one of these a lot easyer than trying to fabricate my own.



I am toying with putting the RF gear under the passengers seat where the jack sits, and relocate the

jack to the toolbox in the back.





KA0NCR