ncalphadog
Jaws with Paws
- Messages
- 114
- Location
- Salisbury, NC
I am finally getting around to documenting my install of the communications gear in my '09 H3 CE.
I got my Technician ticket in June of this year, and upgraded to General in July.
The radio that I selected as my first, is the Yaesu FT-857D, which is an all-mode tranceiver that operates on HF, 6m, 2m, & 70cm. I chose to mount it utilizing the included remote mount kit, and the MH-59A8J remote microphone. The antennas that I chose were the Little Tarheel II HF Screwdriver which, with the included 32" whip, will tune from 3.5 MHz to 54 MHz. I also bought the 56" whip, which gives better HF performance at the cost of losing 6m. The LT II will not tune to 160m with either of the whips. I also chose the Turbo Tuner to automatically tune the LT II to resonance on any frequency within the antenna's range. The 2m / 70cm antenna that I chose was the Comet SBB7NMO.
The FT-857D base unit and the Turbo Tuner is mounted inside the storage compartment in the rear cargo area. The power & ground wires for the tranceiver are #12 stranded that are run through a hole in the compartment's back wall, behind the rear right trim panel, under the rear cargo door sill. Then they go behind the left rear trim panel, under the left rear & front door sills, behind the driver's side kick panel, and through the firewall grommet to the battery. There are 25A fuses on both the positive and negative leads at a point before they hook to the battery.
The removable door for the compartment has been ventilated to allow heat from the tranceiver to escape.
I wanted to mount both antennas mounted high on each of the truck's rear corners, just above the taillights. With the help of a friend, who has crazy fabrication skills, we fabricated mounts for both antennas out of 3/16" flat steel that bolt to the upper body behind the rear corner plastic trim pieces.
Both antennas are QD so that they can be removed, or replaced with shorter versions for wheeling, if necessary. The coax used for both antennas is RG-8X, and enters above each taillight, then goes through the taillight wiring grommet on their respective sides, and into the inside of the truck.
The 2m / 70cm antenna is on the left rear corner, and its coax, after passing into the truck, travels underneath the rear cargo door sill, then behind the right interior rear side trim panel. The HF antenna is mounted on the truck's right rear corner. The coax, along with the screwdriver's control cable, then passes through a small hole that was drilled into the rear wall of the storage compartment. The radio's remote head cable, the remote mic cable, and the remote speaker cable pass through a small hole that was drilled into the compartment's front wall. They travel behind the right rear side trim panel, under the right rear passenger door sill, under the right front side trim panel, to a point even with the front passenger seat. There they travel under the front passenger seat carpet, through the seat wiring harness hole in the carpet, then under the center console. The control head cable travels under the right side of the console to a point near the console's front cup holder. The control head is mounted on a shortened Lido cup holder mount.
The remote mic cable travels under the left side of the console, to a point near the front edge of the seat, where it is fastened to the side of the console. The mic is hung on the center stack, to the left of the Am/FM/XM radio.
Note that I have a Cobra 75 WXT CB mounted to the side of the console, at the driver's knee.
The junction box for this unit is under the driver's seat.
The remote speaker cable travels to the rear of the center console, where the speaker is mounted.
The FT-857D with these antennas is doing a great job. On 2m/70cm, I have been able to hit all the local repeaters as far as 40 mile away. On HF, I have made contacts that I would have never dreamed possible from a mobile unit. These contacts include stations in Texas, Arizona, N. Dakota, Louisiana, Missouri, Kansas, Germany, and Croatia, all on 20m, and a contact in Spain on 17m. I'm still a newb at all this, but from what the local hams are telling me, this is pretty good performance.
There is a RocDoc CB antenna mount on the spare tire mount bolt, with a QD antenna connector.
I use a Wilson Flex 5, with the coax and ground installed per F5's instructions.
I got my Technician ticket in June of this year, and upgraded to General in July.
The radio that I selected as my first, is the Yaesu FT-857D, which is an all-mode tranceiver that operates on HF, 6m, 2m, & 70cm. I chose to mount it utilizing the included remote mount kit, and the MH-59A8J remote microphone. The antennas that I chose were the Little Tarheel II HF Screwdriver which, with the included 32" whip, will tune from 3.5 MHz to 54 MHz. I also bought the 56" whip, which gives better HF performance at the cost of losing 6m. The LT II will not tune to 160m with either of the whips. I also chose the Turbo Tuner to automatically tune the LT II to resonance on any frequency within the antenna's range. The 2m / 70cm antenna that I chose was the Comet SBB7NMO.
The FT-857D base unit and the Turbo Tuner is mounted inside the storage compartment in the rear cargo area. The power & ground wires for the tranceiver are #12 stranded that are run through a hole in the compartment's back wall, behind the rear right trim panel, under the rear cargo door sill. Then they go behind the left rear trim panel, under the left rear & front door sills, behind the driver's side kick panel, and through the firewall grommet to the battery. There are 25A fuses on both the positive and negative leads at a point before they hook to the battery.
The removable door for the compartment has been ventilated to allow heat from the tranceiver to escape.
I wanted to mount both antennas mounted high on each of the truck's rear corners, just above the taillights. With the help of a friend, who has crazy fabrication skills, we fabricated mounts for both antennas out of 3/16" flat steel that bolt to the upper body behind the rear corner plastic trim pieces.
Both antennas are QD so that they can be removed, or replaced with shorter versions for wheeling, if necessary. The coax used for both antennas is RG-8X, and enters above each taillight, then goes through the taillight wiring grommet on their respective sides, and into the inside of the truck.
The 2m / 70cm antenna is on the left rear corner, and its coax, after passing into the truck, travels underneath the rear cargo door sill, then behind the right interior rear side trim panel. The HF antenna is mounted on the truck's right rear corner. The coax, along with the screwdriver's control cable, then passes through a small hole that was drilled into the rear wall of the storage compartment. The radio's remote head cable, the remote mic cable, and the remote speaker cable pass through a small hole that was drilled into the compartment's front wall. They travel behind the right rear side trim panel, under the right rear passenger door sill, under the right front side trim panel, to a point even with the front passenger seat. There they travel under the front passenger seat carpet, through the seat wiring harness hole in the carpet, then under the center console. The control head cable travels under the right side of the console to a point near the console's front cup holder. The control head is mounted on a shortened Lido cup holder mount.
The remote mic cable travels under the left side of the console, to a point near the front edge of the seat, where it is fastened to the side of the console. The mic is hung on the center stack, to the left of the Am/FM/XM radio.
Note that I have a Cobra 75 WXT CB mounted to the side of the console, at the driver's knee.
The junction box for this unit is under the driver's seat.
The remote speaker cable travels to the rear of the center console, where the speaker is mounted.
The FT-857D with these antennas is doing a great job. On 2m/70cm, I have been able to hit all the local repeaters as far as 40 mile away. On HF, I have made contacts that I would have never dreamed possible from a mobile unit. These contacts include stations in Texas, Arizona, N. Dakota, Louisiana, Missouri, Kansas, Germany, and Croatia, all on 20m, and a contact in Spain on 17m. I'm still a newb at all this, but from what the local hams are telling me, this is pretty good performance.
There is a RocDoc CB antenna mount on the spare tire mount bolt, with a QD antenna connector.
I use a Wilson Flex 5, with the coax and ground installed per F5's instructions.
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