Clean VHF/CB radio installs

I should have clarified. I have a stack of 2m/440s on my desk, including the Kenwood and the Yaesu. So that money already has been spent. HF is more of an afterthought. I have an FT-817 (QRP) or an 857D I could use for that.

Good to hear. I have been leaning that way. The plan is to chase the necessary wiring once rather than every time I add a contraption, and that's what the Switch-Pros devices and their competitors--whether solid state or relay-based--offer.

I'm going to be checking forward and reflected power to get the SWR as close to 1:1 as possible.

It would aesthetically be jammed into a safe spot up under the bed if I can find one, but, yes, I will be avoiding leaky ammo boxes and the like. The Byonics APRS unit is around 5"x1.5"x0.75", so a very small enclosure would do, with just enough room to wrap the unit in foam.

I'll check that out. It would need to work with snow/ice and window scraping.

 

The MTT4BT-40 is a 40W digipeater, so it services a significant area around the vehicle. I messaged that guy in Hawaii about an "APRS" label for the Switch-Pros panel.

 

Not to put too fine a point on it, the fuel pump RFI is brutal.

N4GI

 

You should really read this article, especially about the BMS on modern vehicles. I used to hook directly to the negative of the battery on older cars, but with the BMS on newer cars I go to the chassis ground point.

http://www.k0bg.com/wiring.html

Just something to consider.

 

Thanks. That was one of the first things I read. ARRL recommends using the chassis ground point, as it is used by the BMS, and avoiding any VQM in the path on the positive side.

 

Sadly it seems the ARRL doesn't do much actual new research or updating of many of their guides as technology changes, not the first guide I’ve seen that doesn’t follow modern practices.

 

Thanks for the article! Alan makes some very good points here and as such I'm now considering adding a fuse to the negative lead of my installation. I had to think about it because the information about grounding can be ambiguous if taken at first pass--at least for me. He states that the chassis should never be used for grounding due to galvanic corrosion but then goes on to state that for vehicles using a Battery Management System (BMS), the chassis ground for which the BMS is attached to should be used for grounding the transceiver. At first, the seems to be a logical contradiction. But, given the fact that energy always wants to take the path of least resistance, I suppose that the energy will travel from the transceiver to the BMS chassis ground, through the BMS, and to the battery. As such, if galvanic corrosion were to occur, it would only occur in this small area thus being relatively easy to repair.

I need to read through the service manual I have and inspect the cables to see if my truck has a BMS and where it might be located. From there, I'll give consideration to moving the negative lead.

 

Decided I need an external speaker for my 2way radio, the audio coming from under my passenger seat isn’t working.

Where is a good place for a hidden speaker that won’t show but has clear audio to drivers seat and how to mount it, don’t want to drill in firewall or anywhere that will show. Pictures appreciated.

 

Does "won't show" include having it on the ceiling?

 

Not 100% against it, but I’d like to avoid drilling holes where they would be seen when the speaker is removed for selling the truck so mounting method would be a big factor.

 

Nice excuse to get a Meso overhead hex rack. Well, if they’re ever in stock again.

 

what about stashing one behind the lower dash, on the right side of the steering column, where the little vent is for the hvac thermistor?

 

That’s an idea, didn’t realize there was free space back there.

 

it's an idea at least. i don't know how much free space there is...

 

There is also some room behind the head-unit depending on the speaker you get. I put an Icom SP-35 speaker back there and it's plenty loud to hear clearly. The nice thing about this location is that is sounds like its coming from right in front of you. Better than hearing it voices come from under your (or the passenger's) butt. The connecter on that speaker is just a standard 3.5mm jack so if your radio has that output then it will work fine.

https://www.gigaparts.com/icom-sp-35.html

 

The SP-35 is a great speaker. I have one for my Uniden SDS200 and the audio is good. I have it mounted at the top of the B pillar, which wouldn't work for Comm_Guy since he wants to avoid visible holes. The little cubby left of the steering wheel would probably work, though.

 

Sadly it’s a ‘22 which means no cubby there.

I have a good collection of speakers already, including a bunch of the little Radio Shack ones I snapped up when they went out of business, those things will fit almost anywhere. Gonna look at the area behind the stereo, I noticed it looked empty when I was hunting for a spot this afternoon.

I probably worry too much about holes and resell value but I tend to flip cars quicker then I probably should so I like to be able to bring them back to like new condition to get top dollar.

 

top of the b-pillar is slightly concerning for the side impact air bags that deploy from the headliner

 

Do you have a pic of this? Do you mean actually behind the head unit so you don't even see the speaker? Thanks!

 

I plugged my icom 7000 into the AUX jack....