I need suggestions for a 2 meter Ham radio for my Tacoma.

Hi guys,

I hope this is the right section to put this thread under. If not, my apologies.

So I just passed my Ham radio Technician exam tonight and would like some input from some fellow Hams. I am looking for advice and suggestions on what kind of rig to put into my Tacoma.

Some of the criteria I am looking for is: Mobile unit, Remote head display (so I can mount the unit somewhere hidden and have the display in a convient spot), also the ability to take the head off when not in use so as to not entice thieves.

I am also looking for some suggestions on antennas. I only looking at magnet mounts because I do not want to drill into the roof of my truck. I am leaning towards a Wilson 2M 5/8 antenna because I use a lil wilson antenna for my CB rig and it works great! Does anyone have any experience with the Wilson 2M version?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Congrats on your license. I was using a handheld for a few years before I recently bought a dedicated mobile radio.

A removeable faceplate takes you up in price quite a bit since most 2m radios with a detachable faceplate will also cover 70cm (440MHz). I like Yaesu radios, but many people I know have Kenwoods and some Icoms. The entry level Yaesu for detachable faceplate is the FT-7900R http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-010079 For another $70 or so dollars, you can get a similar radio (FT-8800R) with two receivers http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-006755 I went with this option because I knew I would regret not having dual receiver capability. You can be monitoring a repeater on one side and scanning fire/police with the other. It really comes in handy.

I wanted the faceplate someplace where it was handy and I could see it easily. I mounted it just below my AM/FM radio (1st gen Tacoma), but used the mounting bracket that comes with the separation kit. That lets me pop it off if I am parking in a questionable area.

Now you see it:



Now you don't:


For an antenna, I recently switched to a Diamond NR-73BNMO mounted using a L-bracket in the back corner of my bed. Before that I was using a much cheaper MFJ mag mount that was stuck to my wheel well. I can't say I noticed much of a difference between the MFJ and Diamond. The Diamond does look sturdier, but the MFJ was on this truck for 3 years and my old truck for a few more years. I wasn't dead set against putting a hole in the roof, but I have very little clearance between my garage door and roof so even a fairly short antenna would have stuck up too much on the roof. I have heard good things about both Wilson and Larsen antennas.

 

Looks amazing. i did that too with my first gen truck. I hope to dosomething like that with my second gen truck. Hopefuly i can get a good setup when the adapters come out. Im runing an 8800 as well

 

Congrats dude. I bought the exam book and went to one local ham meeting but those folks were weird. Since I don't have friends into ham, I would just feel really odd trying to hang out with any of those Elmers trying to figure out all the ettiquete.

 

Thank you guys. Sorry for the late reply.

Polymerhead, I totally get that. I felt the same way too when I passed my test and they invited me to stay for their meeting. I am sure though that there are people out there that are Hams that you would find very cool and interesting to talk to.

Mtucker, a few questions for you.

Where did you hide the unit itself?
How exactly did you run the wiring for power and from the unit to the remote head?
Finally, how did you run the coax wire from the cab to the antenna? Is it just through your slider window when in use and taken out when not in use? Or did you do a more permanent fix?

Thanks again for your suggestion of the 8800. I am sticking with the 7900 because I like that the whole display lights up. So if I am using it at night it will be easy to use and it will really match the dash lights. Also, the 8800 is a bit out of my price range. I dont really need the cross-band repeat feature, and I don't think Ill miss out a lot on not being able to do dual receiving.

My plan currently for mounting is to put it in my 2nd gen, right under the Climate control knobs on the piece of trim above the AUX stereo connection and ATRAC buttons. I would like to avoid drilling into the dash so I am trying to figure out a way to put Velcro on the trim and on the back of the receiver head. In theory this should work, but I have been known to be wrong. Haha. So we shall see.

 

Here are two really nice 2nd gen installs that you might be able to pull some 2nd gen specific install info from. They are full blown "lets drill some holes" kinds of installs.
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/audio-video/75220-yaesu-ft-8800r-install-05-tacoma.html

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/au...ose-installs-ham-radio-nmo-antenna-mount.html

Also, if you just want to test the Ham mobile waters out without spending a bundle and don’t mind 2m only and no detacheable faceplate, check out the FT-2900R which is well under $200
http://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-010078

I put the main part of the unit behind my rear seat. A lot of people put them underneath the driver or passenger seats. I probably would have done that, but I have audio amps underneath both seats and was out of room there. Here is a picture of it mounted on the rear “wall”.

Since I already had decent gauge wires run from my battery to my audio amplifiers under my seats, I ran the power from the carrier block on one of the audio amps to the main part of the Ham radio. I removed my driver’s seat to make it easy to run the wires (power, the control head wire, and the audio output wire) under the carpet. I ran the audio output cable and faceplate cable to the center console where I tucked them underneath for the run to the dash.

The “separation kit” that is included with both the 7900 and 8800 right now includes three things.

1. cable for between the faceplate and main radio
2. audio output cable that plugs into the main radio and lets you put an external speaker (not included) somewhere where it is easy to hear.
3. mounting plate for the faceplate. The mounting plate firmly holds the faceplate, but lets loose easy if you firmly slide the faceplate to the left (then the faceplate comes straight out).

I found a large unused rubber grommet not too far from where I mounted the radio. I poked a hole in that grommet and ran the coax through it. The coax comes through the grommet, under the carpet, and then up to the main part of the radio. To get to the antenna in the bed of my truck, I brought the coax up between the back of the cab and front of the bed (that ½” or so space between the two) and then came under my bed liner. The coax makes its way back to the antenna in the space between the side of the bed and bedliner.

Velcro may work for you to mount the faceplate. The faceplate is light, although the microphone plugs into it so pulling on the microphone will pull on the faceplate. The best bet would be to velcro the faceplate holder to the dash since it is flat (the back of the faceplate isn't very flat). Whenever I stick stuff to plastic, I find wiping it down with denatured alcohol helps a lot to remove any oil/grease and lets the adhesive have a chance.
There are also products from Lido that offer no-hole mounting options using cup holders and seat bolts.
http://www.lidomounts.com/catalog/item/1478816/8940969.htm
http://www.lidomounts.com/catalog/item/1478816/4979410.htm

 

Sorry for the late response. Work has kept me insanely busy lately.

Mtucker, Thanks again man for all the advice. I was able to get the radio installed. It is currently hiding under my driver's seat. I put a heavy duty piece of velcro on the bottom of the metal bracket and put it on the radio. So far it seems to stay in place really well.

Running the power cables was tough. Just getting through the rubber grommet was a handful but I got through it. I ended up having to poke an 1 inch opening in it to get the wires through. Do I need to reseal that grommet with something now or can I leave it as is?

I did try the velcro on the back of the faceplate holder and put it on the dash. It fits really well however, the velcro on the dash is being pulled off because of the faceplate velcro. I am going to try and clean it with some alcohol like you said and see if that helps. If it doesn't then I will go back to the drawing board.

 

I would if you can. If you don't you will probably get engine noise and possible a foul smell of exhaust from other commutors. I had a small hole in mine and notice engine noise right away.

 

What exactly would I use to reseal the grommet? Just smear some kind of sealant over it?

 

G.E. Silicone II / bathroom caulk should work fine (something that stays flexible and is water proof).

 

Awesome! Thanks! I will put that on my to do list for tomorrow.

 

are you guys getting power from the fuse box, or running it from the battery? i am worried about signal interference...should i shield the power wires, and the co-ax? and will 10ga power a 300w sufficiently?

 

Congrats on your license. I have a FT-8800R in my taco. I do volunteer public service with the local Community Emergence Response Team and wanted the capability to listen to FD and PD while being able to talk on local repeaters or simplex. I ran 10 gauge - fused on both positive and negative very close to the battery- through the firewall along with the antenna wire. You could use 12 gauge if you wanted. You need to be careful but it is possible to route wires from the engine compartment into the cab. Others have posted detailed instructions on how to do it and how to remove trim to route wires. I have an access cab with the storage boxes and that's where the brains went. Not ideal and I'll be mounting the brains under the driver's seat in the future.

 

in my opinion running the power wire directly to the battery will give you the cleanest power to the radio. something else to keep in mind. when these radio are Tx on full power they use a lot of power.

here's where i installed my FT-2800m. i am also using a NMO roof mounted antenna with a Larsen 1/4 wave or 5/8 wave depending on type of terrain im wheeling on.

 

im thinking about putting a switch in the power wire running to the box, so i dont need to access it; just turn it on or off. and probably putting it the storage box under the back seat (access cab also) bad idea?

also, i use a uniden homepatrol scanner and glass mount 27in scanner antenna; powered off the cig lighter when needed, and have noticed i get worse reception when plugged in...should i run a dedicated power wire for it?

 

IMO, you want to run power directly off the battery. Yes, you can forget to shut off the radio and kill your battery, but if you buy a radio that automatically shuts off after a predetermined time that you can set, you should be okay. Can't stress enough to fuse *both* sides of the battery. Check the radio docs for fuse size. I think I run 25 amp fuses for my 8800 but I'd have to double check to be sure. As far as wiring, using 10g will be good for any location in your truck. Don't cheep out on wire. Get good stuff. There's a lot of junk wire out there and I don't think you want a fire. It's not shielded and I've never had a problem with noise. If you don't have yourself an Elmer (old time ham) locally, find one. Check ham clubs. ARRL has listings. Most are more than willing to help with advice and installs. One other thing, stay away from mag-mounts. They'll rust underneath if you don't take care. Again, just my .02 worth.

 

ground too? why?

 

If the vehicle grounding from the battery to the car frame/engine should fail, the radios' negative lead (ground) becomes the return path to the battery for the vehicle which can cause the wire to burn. $5.00 for a fuse holder is cheep insurance.

 

understood thank you

 

Here is my set up.



( ignore the mess. Middle of installing stuff )

Kenwood D-700 in lower cubby and yeasu ftm-350 on custom bracket same level as hvac controls. Nmo dual band in roof