Ham Radio Setup

I'm looking to install a HAM Radio in my rig and I'm wondering what other setups people are running and how they wired it up.

I picked up a TYT

$234 TH-9800D Quad Band 50W Cross-Band Mobile Radio, 10M/6M/2M/70CM Mobile Transceiver, A+B Dual Band Two Way Radio

TH-9800D for the time-being (I will most likely upgrade in the future but it'll work for a year or two lol) but it only came with about 6 feet of DC power cable. My plan was to mount the body of the unit under the passenger seat and then the face-plate elsewhere, but that amount of wire is just ridiculous and there's no way to run that straight to the battery while having the cables hidden.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to do the wiring? Is there a good passenger side access point to get through the firewall to run wires? If not, where is the best place in general to get through the firewall without potentially damaging the wiring harness directly behind the battery?

I know I'm going to have to add some length to this dc power cable they provided but is there anything I should be concerned with or look out for? I.e. gauge of wire / type of wire / fuse placement (mine provided fuses attached to the cable harness) / etc.

Thank you for all your expert advice!

 

We have several threads on radios, HAM etc. recommend searching for radios and HAM installs for the best results.

 

Thank you!

 

There's a rubber bung/plug/whatever you want to call it on the passenger side of the firewall (and one on the DS as well). The passenger side plug has two empty nipple shaped appendages, if you snip the tip off they are the perfect size to run antenna coax through. I run my ham antenna and GMRS antenna cables though these and the power wires through the driver side plug for a shorter run to the battery.

The big 3rd gen radio install thread is https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/clean-vhf-cb-radio-installs.415584/

Also the ham in ham radio isn't an acronym, and welcome to Taco World!

 

That’s the thread I was thinking but couldn’t remember than name.

 

Excellent! I was going through a bunch of the threads but hadn't come across this one. Thank you!

 

Here is where I mounted my Yaesu FTM300 control head. The radio is under the passenger side seat and the connection cable runs under the carpet. I don't use the phone charger so using that space is not an issue for me. It sits on a Nifty Accessories FTM300DR desk stand mount which fits perfectly in that charger space. I didn't get around to screwing down but it's been there close to 2 years and is secure enough unless maybe when heavy off roading which I don't do.



As to the power cable, I used one gauge up from what came with the radio (can't remember off hand what the sizes are) and put the inline fuse near the radio.

I didn't go directly to the battery which is what is suggested, but rather went to my Blue Sea fuse block which is very near the battery and has heavy duty cabling and also has a fuse. I also have a fuse at the battery terminal which feeds the fuse block.

I ran the power cable through the driver's side harness entry. There's plenty of room there and it comes out near the brake peddle. From there I ran it under the carpeting to the radio.

I mounted the antenna on the hood and ran it through the harness access hole on the passenger side. That was tight and if I were to do that again I'd drill a hole in the firewall and add a gourmet or maybe a pass through fitting.

 

I love this! Looks very clean.

I'm thinking of wiring straight to my battery at the moment but thats only because I haven't fully decided what I'd like to do as far as a set up for electrical. I'm waiting on some ditch lights and still haven't decided on the light bar I want for a Prinsu rack, but I'm looking into options for an S-pod. So I'm looking in to options and set ups before I run too many wires and end up with a mess.

 

I put in that 12 circuit fuse box before adding any electrical accessories figuring once in, unless I needed a relay, I'd be a step ahead on future wiring. I probably should have gone with a 6 circuit instead of the 12 as I can't imagine having that many accessories wired up and the extra space on the bracket could be used to mount relays should they be needed. I might change that at some point.

Here's a good option for a quick and easy set up at the battery. You can add a similar ground connector at the neg terminal.

$18 Blue Sea Systems ST-Blade Battery Terminal Mount Fuse Block, Beige (5023-BSS)

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Sea-Sys...la-435853439951&ref=&adgrpid=64958377347&th=1

 

Bro, you just sold me on that. I just bought the 6 circuit on Amazon and it should be here tomorrow. Brilliant! Thank you

 

What's that bracket/stand you have your fuse box on?

 

That's a Power Tray
https://www.powertrays.com/collecti...-current-tacoma-blue-sea-12-circuit-powertray

Pricy, but solid well made. Many others available. Check Overland.

 

Well... naturally I'm going to have to purchase that now... ty

 

10g wire, fuses at the battery

Feed wire through main wire grommet driver side firewall, which if you were sitting in the drivers seat would be about even with your left knee. There's a similar grommet on the passenger side firewall but I prefer to keep wiring inside for as long as possible.

Radio under seat using hook Velcro to hold it to the carpet, wiring under console, head under HVAC controls, nice tight install.

Probably need a speaker, too, if you mount the radio underseat.

 

Best to give them a call before ordering to make sure the other components will fit.

 

If I did what you did under the hood, would I be cutting or destroying any factory cables, or are is it connected along with the factory cabling?

 

you shouldn't have problems provided you use common sense when pulling the wires. The driver's side has lots of room, but the passenger's side if very tight if you go through existing entrance. As I mentioned, if I where doing it again, I'd drill a small hole in the firewall and add a rubber gourmet.

 

Thank you sir!

My question was more related to connecting the aux fuse panel to the battery though. Did you disrupt the "factory battery to stock fuse panel connection" to fit in the aux panel, or do you somehow just pop another terminal and cable onto the battery terminal and it's like a parallel thing?