Nice work on the 3D printed bracket.

What antenna is that? How is your reception with it mounted where it is? I tried mounting a 1/2 wave Browning on the right rear bed lip and found it not great. I run a mag mount on the roof but that is not ideal as tree branches like to knock it off.

 

Thanks.

That's a Tram 1181. For everyday use in the Tahoe Basin it works fine. But it's not a good test here. Inside the basin anything works since you're basically in a bowl and the repeaters are on peaks around the edge. Over the next few weeks I'm going to try to hit some repeaters further away to see what it will do.

I also carry a Comet 2x4SAR antenna in the truck. It's a 5/8 wave wide band if I need more reception. I may actually get a mag mount so I can set it on the roof if I really need to. But roof mount doesn't work for daily use - garage doors and all.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

I've come to the feeling that there is no ideal Antenna / antenna location. I get great reception with the Tram mag mount on the roof, but tree branches regularly grab hold of it and, as you mentioned, garage doors.

 

Heh, this is the thread that got me to register for the forum.

I've got a Tech class license. Been looking at that little cubby underneath the HVAC controls to the right of the 4x4 controls, wondering if there's a small enough 2m or 2m/70cm dual bander that would fit in there and not overheat in the process, even if requiring removing the cubby itself from the inside of the center stack. All I have at the moment is a 5W HT and it would be nice to have something a little more permanent. Might even consider if I want the audio output hooked to the truck's stereo.

On the topic of the antenna, how about a mount that one pulls out the tail light and screws the bracket to the bed, then puts the tail light back in? Or a mount that bolts to the end of the rear bumper? Could even pull it forward and tie it to the front bumper like operators used to do with their CJs...

 

My truck doesn't have the cubby you're talking about, so can't say if something would fit in there. But it's probably too small for most radios. You might look at some of the Chinese radios on eBay like the TYT TH9000D. They are pretty small. Or get a radio with a remote face plate so space isn't as much of an issue.

On the antenna, best location (center of the roof) versus practical issues (not hitting the garage door) is a constant trade-off. If you never use a garage, a NMO mount through the roof is the best. Anything else is a compromise and there's no right answer. Where mine is has bad (being right next to the cab is weakening any signal that is coming from the front of the truck) and good (the aluminum hard tonneau cover provides some ground plane effect like the roof does).

One comment, worry about the antenna before the radio. Remember, for reception the radio doesn't really matter, the antenna does. The radio only matters for sound quality and transmission (wattage dependent). You can get pretty far on a handheld with a good external antenna. You can upgrade from the handheld to a mobile radio later -- or you may find you don't need one at all depending on your usage and the terrain where you are.

 

I have a Kenwood790 in my Frontier and a Kenwood281a in my Dodge.
Everybody uses vhf radios in desert racing.
Totally illegal here without a ham license.
I doubt many have them. I don’t.
Of course, I use mine strictly in Mexico.
SCORE assigns you a frequency.
I run through roof antennaes on both.
Works ok but most run the 100+ watt radios.
Mine is 65 watt.
The radio is hooked into my helmet via a intercom system.
Just to add, I have no clue about radios. Our friend does all our radio work.
He worked for CBS all over the world doing satellite down link stuff. Whatever that is.
He is retired but still does work for CBS.
He just did this van for them.

 

Don't worry, you're legal. SCORE's rules say: "No radio equipment in any race vehicle or support vehicle is permitted to transmit on any frequency allotted to the amateur radio band, public service band, marine band, aircraft band, and any frequency that the FCC considers illegal." Looking at Mag 7 Race's info, all of the frequencies listed are outside the amateur band, so they are using frequencies that are licensed to them or someone who has given SCORE permission to use them (some are government frequencies such as the standard SAR frequency). They can permit anyone to use those frequencies. Businesses do this all the time -- they get a license for a frequency and permit employees to use radios on that frequency. No need for the users to be licensed.

Roof antenna is the best -- the roof acts as a ground plane so your antenna that is probably a 1/2 (or really 5/8) wave antenna acts like a full wave antenna with the ground plane reflection (really, really simplified). They just aren't really friendly with garage door heights.

Would love to have some exposure to the Baja race world, some envy for what you get to do/see (except for the ending up upside down part).

 

Thanks for the info.
I really am pretty ignorant of radio stuff. One reason the 790 is in the race truck. A lot simpler than the 281. I kept hitting buttons I should not have and got completely confused. I am a radio idiot.
I used Mag7 in 2014. They handled my pit services.
Besides our frequency, we had Mag7, “weatherman”, and a few others.
The Frontier antennae pretty much stays on.
The Dodge I have to remove because it interferes with some electrical wires where it sits in the backyard.

 

Been struggling with placement / attachment for the mic on my radio. I don't like the mic hangers as they are a pain to use when driving without accidentally keying the mic. And where I like the mic -- down next to the seat -- it is sideways, so can't hang it anyway. Finally settled on a $3 magnetic phone mount off eBay. Works well, can grab and replace the mic while driving without having to look down, and seems very secure. The back of the mic has a slight curve so the metal disk is a little tough to stick to the back of the mic, but works okay.

 

Looking at your setup and thinking about the ergonomics of my own truck, have you looked at the Pathfinder parking brake? It's a foot-operated brake on the left of the footwell, and would free-up center console space, so the handmic could go where the current handbrake lever sits.

Granted it's a lot of work to re-engineer the parking brake for a handmic, but at least it would be off-the-shelf parts.

 

Hum, interesting. Never looked at a Pathfinder. Would be nice, but probably more work than I'd want to do for the benefit. I actually prefer the foot operated parking brake -- not like I'm going to be using the hand brake to power slide my truck -- so I'd rather have the useful real estate.

 

Just the thread I am looking for (and the one that brought me here in the first place.) Going to be installing a Kenwood TM-D700.

Looking at a different way of mounting antennas. I am thinking some sort of brush guard and using the light tabs for antenna mounts.

 

That appears to be what the Australians do with their Navaras, usually on their passenger front corner.

 

I am going to be using a Comet SBB-15 antenna (6m/2m/70cm) and it is over 5 feet tall so while I like JamesInTahoe mount on the bed, I don't think it will be substantial enough for this antenna and roof mounting is out for now.

Now to find which forum is right for asking about brush guards.

 

Do you have prior experience with folding antennas? I ask because the only experience I've had with them was a buddy's that would fold-over while he was driving. He had it installed on a base that attached to the leading edge of the trunk of his sedan. He originally bought it so that it could be folded prior to opening the trunk lid but didn't expect it to spontaneously fold while driving.

Admittedly my sample-size is literally one unit, for what that's worth.

 

Had some of the same issues trying to find a place to mount my amateur radio equipment. The Pro4X doesn't leave a lot of options to mount additional equipment, so I needed to get creative.

I use APRS for weather spotting, so having the displays "in the field of vision" was a necessity. I opted to build a bracket in the tray above the radio.

I wanted a decent antenna, but needed to lower it for parking garages (and the McDonald's drive thru). Diamond makes a motorized mount that can be mounted to the roof rack.

Power is supplied through a custom distribution block mounted on top of the fuse box (under the hood). 4 ga wire to the battery, a dual fuse box, and splits to two 8 ga wires. One provided battery power inside the cab. The other is relay switched to provide power when the ignition is on.

 

Power is supplied through a custom distribution block mounted on top of the fuse box (under the hood). 4 ga wire to the battery, a dual fuse box, and splits to two 8 ga wires. One provided battery power inside the cab. The other is relay switched to provide power when the ignition is on.

I like that setup and I may copy it in some way. My plan is to have the radio (maybe one more) powered by the battery and the GPS (for APRS) and a couple of other pieces of equipment powered by the battery but turned on with the ignition circuit.

My plan at present is an aftermarket from bumper, then run dual antenna one for 2/70 and one for 6m once I get my general license. The 6m antenna I looked at is almost 5' tall, but using a tab on the front bumper would all it clear things, and fold over if needed. Currently I have my handheld with a mag mount antenna, it works, but not the ideal setup. I do like that motorized mount idea though.

You already, as a Tech, have privileges on 6m. ::wink::

I've been wondering what can be made of that blank-panel that our later model trucks have above the radio, arrow in green:

My SV has a cavity next to the stability control switch, down next to the 4x4 select knob. It's been a long time since I shopped for mobile radios but I thought Alinco or Yaesu had a small radio that would fit there, or alternatively a small CB might fit there. Also knocked around the idea of the trailer brake controller going in there but I'm hesitant to put that so close to the passenger since we have a baby that some day is going to be an inquisitive little girl that might want to play with the switches.

I've also been thinking about the roof console, both if the sunglasses holder could be replaced with a radio remote head unit or if the mic-pickup panel could. I guess it depends on if I do anything fancy with the differentials or not, and if I do, where those controls go. It would almost make more sense to put those controls on the panel with the hazard flasher switch since they'd be close to the 4x4 selector and away from anyone else's hands. Then again that might make for a good place to hang a handmic.

I don't have that cavity. I have switches for the rear sonar and butt warmers. ::grin::

I did see someone mount their detachable head of their radio in that sunglasses holder pocket.

 

My plan at present is an aftermarket from bumper, then run dual antenna one for 2/70 and one for 6m once I get my general license. The 6m antenna I looked at is almost 5' tall, but using a tab on the front bumper would all it clear things, and fold over if needed. Currently I have my handheld with a mag mount antenna, it works, but not the ideal setup. I do like that motorized mount idea though.

 

I've been wondering what can be made of that blank-panel that our later model trucks have above the radio, arrow in green:

There's some ears behind it but it almost looks big enough for a swing-out screen like some of those fancier aftermarket DVD players have. If nothing else it looks like a way to mount a remote head for the radio where it's less in the line of sight.

My SV has a cavity next to the stability control switch, down next to the 4x4 select knob. It's been a long time since I shopped for mobile radios but I thought Alinco or Yaesu had a small radio that would fit there, or alternatively a small CB might fit there. Also knocked around the idea of the trailer brake controller going in there but I'm hesitant to put that so close to the passenger since we have a baby that some day is going to be an inquisitive little girl that might want to play with the switches.

I've also been thinking about the roof console, both if the sunglasses holder could be replaced with a radio remote head unit or if the mic-pickup panel could. I guess it depends on if I do anything fancy with the differentials or not, and if I do, where those controls go. It would almost make more sense to put those controls on the panel with the hazard flasher switch since they'd be close to the 4x4 selector and away from anyone else's hands. Then again that might make for a good place to hang a handmic.

Have you considered using the aux on your factory radio as an input for the reception from your ham radio, to use the vehicle's own speakers for output?

 

I've been wondering what can be made of that blank-panel that our later model trucks have above the radio ...

Have you considered using the aux on your factory radio as an input for the reception from your ham radio, to use the vehicle's own speakers for output?

Don't think there's a lot of room behind the panel you point to with the green arrow to actually put something without chopping a lot of plastic that is supporting your center console.

The issue with running the HAM to the AUX on the radio is then you either listen to the HAM or the Radio but not both at the same time. Might be okay depending on use case, but I don't want to have to choose. Someone on the site -- just can't remember who to give the credit -- did a really nice speaker install for the mobile on the side of the center console kind of where my mic is. I may do that eventually, just haven't gotten to the point yet of getting myself to cut into the plastic on the truck.

 

The antenna runs through the rear cab vent, along the rear door sill and under the driver's seat to the radio body.

I just bought my 2015 Frontier. Love your write-up! What exactly is the "rear cab vent"?

 

I'd you look between the can and bed you'll see a rectangular plastic vent with little flappes on it - you want see the flappers. They are intended to release pressure in the cab - when you **** the door but I think also if the airbags deploy. You access it by removing the panel behind the rear seats. It's pretty easy to access.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

I finally got my radio pretty much installed. I have a General License for HAM (W6THO) and I do Search and Rescue. The radio will get used a lot more on SAR than HAM. Criteria for a radio for those interested: (1) dual band VHF, UHF; (2) 2 channel monitoring; (3) potential for cross-banding for relay work; (4) a small footprint; and (5) a good quality radio. The radio I installed is an ICom IC-2730A. This fits all of the criteria above.

Prior to doing the install I did the MARS mod on the radio to allow transmission on the full VHF / UHF range. This is necessary for Search and Rescue, which relies on commercial band frequencies.

Figured since as I read-up on radios and installs I'm getting more itchy to get my wife to get a tech license and to put radios in both the Nissan and the Jeep, might as well ask some questions about the ICom versus other options.

At the moment the only functional radio I have is a 5W Alinco HT. Bought it when Radio Shack's Tech America stores were closing down and got it for a song. For awhile I had bought-off a friend a Yaesu FT817, which had a lot of features that my tech license doesn't allow me to use. Had it ghetto-installed in my Chrysler but that car never really left town so it didn't do a lot of good. He eventually bought it back. At that time (we're getting close to a decade ago now) I had considered one of the quad-band radios, specifically the Yaesu FT8900, but just never pulled the trigger on it.

Now I look at the market and I still find the Yaesu, plus a Chinese clone TYT TH-9800 with basically all of the same features. People have modded the TYT for wideband TX too (usually to attempt CB frequencies, only to find that transmitting FM on an AM band isn't terribly effective) so it seems to have a lot of capabilities, and while the 10M and 6M frequencies are not especially useful for in-town or caravaning, might be more useful if one gets stuck out in the middle of nowhere on a backcountry trip. Throw in a CB as well and I think I would be covered for communications. I'm also contemplating frequencies, these radios can use a four-band antenna, could CB also use the same antenna if I use the right equipment to isolate so that the 10M wideband receiver on the ham radio doesn't have issues with the 11M CB frequencies.

All this is speculation on my part at this time, the baby is only six months old so I have at least a year before going out on these kinds of driving trips is an option, but figured I should start asking questions now.

 

Really depends on your use case as to whether a quad band is worth it. Mine is primarily for Search and Rescue, so VHF/UHF is what I use -- with the MARS mod to cover transmit on the non-amateur ranges.

On the antenna question, tuning an antenna to the frequencies use is a big factor on (1) whether you are actually getting any gain, and (2) SWR levels. So trying to run 11M on an antenna tuned to 10M will work (it will transmit and receive) but probably not very efficiently and if it causes the SWR to be too high you are risking damaging the radio. If you start getting serious I would try to get hooked up with a local HAM club and ask for more guidance. You'll find someone more than happy to give you lots of guidance. Or just get on one of the local repeater channels and reach out.

 

Here is the direction I am going. Goose neck mounted to the seat rail.

 

Might take a little bit to track down all the photos related to the amateur radio installation:

First up the antenna installation. For best coverage, I wanted the highest possible mounting point so having the roof rack was actually a factor in the purchasing decision (which trim level to buy). Diamond makes a motorized mount (K9000LRMO) that allows the antenna to be upright for normal operation, but lowered (as pictured in down position) when you need to get through the fast food drive-thru or a parking garage. The motor is normally controlled by an included two pushbutton wired remote. I designed a simpler on/off circuit that runs the antenna either up or down.

I drilled a hole in the roof and routed the antenna and motor control wires under the front drivers pad for the roof rack and ran the wire inside the roof rack tubing to hide as much as possible. The orange wire is for a lightbar to come later... Inside, it runs down the A-pillar, under the drivers side dash to the center console.

 

Next up power distribution. Most of this is under the hood.

4 gauge wire connected directly from the positive battery terminal to a dual fuse holder (splits to two 8 gauge wires).

One goes directly through the firewall to a distribution block under the drivers seat. The other goes through a relay to only provide power when the ignition is on. The output from the relay passes through the firewall to a second distribution block, also under the drivers seat.

 

The radio install sits on top of the dash. I fabricated a bracket to hold the radio (Kenwood TM-710D, GeoSat 6 GPS/APRS, and a couple monitor speakers. All the wires run through the top tray down to the center console. The main electronics for the radio sit perfectly in the tray of the console under the dash. The microphone is mounted on the dash right above the hazard lights switch. I will post pictures of the radio unit and microphone install in the morning (when I can take some in the daylight).

 

The switch for the antenna motor is mounted in the center console behind the parking brake handle. The front switch (left) kills power to a radar detector mounted above the rear-view mirror. The push button in the middle mutes the radar detector (Escort X50). The back switch (right) raises and lowers the ham radio antenna, Very quick access and mostly out of direct view.

 

The switch for the antenna motor is mounted in the center console behind the parking brake handle. The front switch (left) kills power to a radar detector mounted above the rear-view mirror. The push button in the middle mutes the radar detector (Escort X50). The back switch (right) raises and lowers the ham radio antenna, Very quick access and mostly out of direct view.

View attachment 315994

I'd like to know more about your switch setup, for the escort and the antenna, I saw part of the write.

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk

 

Picture with the antenna extended (and sporting the Club Frontier decals) ...

 

(KN6FOY) Southern CA. Mine is fairly simple. I just wanted something small, I think they are made for Razers and Quads, but still VHF/UHF 25W. It hits all the repeaters in my area and sounds fine. I have a bigger antenna but have not needed it yet, this smaller one seems to work fine so far.

 

Thanks for the replys guys!! I will be doing my install soon and wanted some ideas!

 

 

I hope you are not powering that radio via the cig lighter? It really needs a dedicated power source, when you take your tests, there are questions on the general side, and i think on the tech side about that specifically.

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk

 

 

That's a temporary power connection, I have a BlueSea fuse block to mount in the cabin that is switched off my main fuse / relay centre that I custom built and mounted under the hood. See my YouTube channel next Friday for the video detailing the fuse / relay centre build if interested. YouTube Channel Frontier Geek.

 

I'm also curious to see what your antenna setup looks like for this

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk