Mobile Ham radio in your car?

Thanks to Mlgez, I now have an awesome Ham radio rig installed in my car (I helped by handing him tools and worrying as he removed trim pieces). I got my Ham ticket last month so that I could use it for volunteering at rallies and in case of a Public Health Emergencies.

So, who else has their Ham ticket and/or mobile rig?

Amy (KC0YSA)

 

Amy's Radio Install

Well we forgot to take pictures with the car all torn apart. I was bummed that I forgot but here are the finished photos. We installed a new battery terminal that had extra accessory connections on it (she has further electrical add-ons coming soon that will need more connections). The electrical wiring was routed under the brake booster and into the passenger area at that location. The antenna did not show up well in the photo so I edited the levels around the antenna so it could be seen better (her car is now 9'6"). The radio is mounted under the passengers seat but needs screws to mount in the bracket we made (radio did not come with any). The control head is right above the rear view mirror for easy access and visibility.

LOL... I am kinda pissed cause her install is better than the one I did in my car a few months ago, oh well. Good reason to take the interior of my car out again.

So do we have any other Hams in the group?
Matt (KC0RCN previously N8QQF)

 

Nice install.

Nice radio too. Thought about that one, but it's $pendy. The display and controls are about 10x better than my Yaesu though.

Did you go with the Diamond rack mount for the antenna? Picture is a little blurry, but it looks like you mounted it to the driver's side, which is smart. The tree branches are lower on the passenger side in the woods...

Lemme see...

In the car:



5 seconds work and the head is out of the car:


Yes, my car is dirty. It's always dirty.

KC0SUW

 

^^^ that is the rig I have in the car but the head is up like Amy's and the radio is in the trunk. I need to rework some of it though.

 

Did you fab upo the bracket for the head unit? If so, what's it made out of?

I like that install a lot, and I may have to rework mine now that I see it.

 

Amy showed up with the head bracket. It was stainless that I think her and her mechanic friend worked out. I may be changing my bracket to one like it also. I am using a the Yaesu bracket and don't care for it.

 

The bracket is made out of a thin piece of stainless steel from my friend's shop. I traced the back of the head unit to start with then made the area smaller to reflect the flat contact areas. Then I drew a rounded triangle at the top and had my buddy cut it out on the band saw and smooth it out on the bench sander. Bent the angle and voila'. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. We pushed the plastic pin that holds the front of the headliner through a hole in the bracket to hold it as well. The face is attached to the bracket with velcro.

The roof rack mount is the diamond K515S SUV Rail Mount, it a perfect fit for the wagon side rail. It's currently on the passenger side. You make a good point about road side trees being close, we'll see how this goes.

 

There's a different bracket for a different model Yaesu that is supposed to be a lot slimmer and works better.

Lemme see...

Ahh, it's actually the replacement part for the plastic bezel where the head mounts to the base unit.

Yaesu part # RA040480A

I've attached a picture of it (back side). Apparantly people get it and dremel off the protrusions on the back and it makes for a much slimmer mount than the YSK. Apparantly you have to call Yaseu directly and order it as a replacement part. It's $1.90.

 

Hmm. I may borrow this idea, but I think mine will have to be laid out differently, as I have the auto-dimming compass mirror, which has a plastic cover over wires running up there. Probably di it in Aluminum too, since it's easier to work with woodworking tools (wish I had a machine shop).

 

Wow... yea I need to get one of those Yaesu brackets. My bracket is huge and bounces all over the place on bumpy roads.

 

not a ham guy yet but i love having the extra radio in the car to listen to the chatter...
View attachment 2140
unidon cb with a wilson antenna

car clearance 9'00" (depends on which fast food place you go to )

 

Well, as a rally competitor and organizer, I am sort of "required" to have my ham license. I am very impressed with the installs pictured here. One word of caution, I have broken a back window due to an antenna that was just long enough to slap the glass when I encountered a low hanging branch. One option I have seen is to tether the end of the antenna to the roof and untie it only when your need the extra signal pull.

Take it for what it's worth, just my experience.

Mark Utecht
KC0ETP

 

my antenna is a trunk lip mount, works great, just cant open the trunk all the way with out it hitting the roof, but there is no way for it to slap any of the glass
View attachment 2141

 

Great solution for a sedan but I am concerned about Amy's situation.

 

The only way that antenna is going to slap glass is if it breaks off. It is VERY stiff.

 

Amy has the exact same mount I have, but my antenna is a whip. You know mine's been through the woods more than a couple of times, and no problems.

I have a hard time picturing it whipping back far enough to hit the rear window on a WRX wagon though, especially with the spoiler there.

Sut with Amy's not being a whip, but ridgid, I'd definately move it over to the driver's side. I manage to hit tree branches with my 1/2 wave even on the driver's side.

 

Just realize that I didn't think it was possible for my antenna to get to the back window of the Mustang but I broke the rear window at my second event with the car.

 

OK, I had to go out in the cold rain and check. It is possible to just barely make contact with the glass the way I have mine mounted. Looking at the force vectors that it would require to get there, I still think the wing would keep it from actually hitting. If I move the mount 1/2 forward, it would be completely impossible. So I'm not going to sweat it

 

I'll have to see if there is enough antenna wire left over in the headliner to move the mount to the drivers side, to get it further away from roadside trees. Folding it when driving in heavy tree cover and using some sort of tether to keep the front part from bouncing around is a good idea. That would also make folding it a bit quicker task by not having to walk around the car, until I pony up for the motorized folding unit.

Mark, when your's broke out the mustangs window, were you racing on a stage? That is some serious force. As stiff as the SBB-7 is, I would think it would snap first but that doesn't mean the parts couldn't still break the window if they whipped around the roof spoiler.

 

cool ideas

mark h-
where did you get that multi lighter plug in thingy on the right side of your console, looks nice!

i'm new here, just bought an 04 wrx... gotta figure out how i'm going to install/mount all my stuff! ham radio, scanner, radar d, ect... ect...
so thanks, there are some cool ideas here!

dave

 

Welcome Dave, what is your call?

 

Not 100% sure, but it's nothing special. Likely picked it up at a Wal-Mart. It's converted to connect with Anderson powerpoles rather than plug into the cigarette lighter, and it's got HD Velcro on the backl and sticks to the tunnel carpet with that.

I ran two sets of 10ga. wire to the battery when I did the radio install, terminated both with powerpoles, one back behind the console at the bottom, where I can pull it out to the footwells (the one used for the 3xlighter adapter), and the other one under the driver's seat, where the radio head unit lives.

The one that runs to the console also powers my rally odometer. The 3x adapter often runs my cell phone charger, laptop adapter, and an MP3 FM transmitter. Since it's straight to the battery, it's not switched, which is great for the laptop and cell phone charger, and for keeping the memory on the rally odo.

 

mark h- thanks for the info on the set up. i figured it was probably wired in. most likely i'll do something similar... theres always something to be plugged in!

mlgez- thanks for the welcome, i'm N0LOJ.