VK Logger Ham Radio Forum Archive

Hi All,

I am about to pick up a new Nissan Patrol GU6 ST model and am going to install my FT-857d with the remote face kit and an FT-8800 as well. I have looked at the few roof and dashboard consoles that are commercially available but my main concerns with them are enclosing the radio and heat sink inside the console, don't quite know how close to the roof lining it would be yet and the dashboard model is sitting out there in the sun with the radio and heat sink enclosed. I will be restricted in mounting the main body of the transceivers due to the amount of stuff there may be carried in the rear of the vehicle after fitting storage drawers and fridge slide.

I would like to hear from operators who may have one of these consoles, or even if a friend uses one, particularly if they have been slightly modified. Without seeing one in person yet it doesn't appear to me that they have allowed for any type of ventilation ??

Thanks in advance, Ric.

Ric, have you considered mounting the radios under the driver's seat?

I have an FT-8100R "mounted" under the seat in my Toyota 4Runner, and it has been there for just on 10 years now.
With the remote head kit, the control head sits conveniently high in the centre control area.

I also had an FT-100 under the driver's seat too, and again, with the remote leads, the control head was in the centre console, just in front of the gear shift, facing upwards.

When I say "mounted", the radios were simply sitting under the seat on the carpet, and survived much 4WDing.
I'm sure you could even velcro them in place, if you felt the need to.
Being under the seat, there is no direct sunlight to the main RF deck of the radio, and I believe the ventilation is as good as anywhere else, considering the limited options available in modern vehicles these days.

Under seat mounting used to be a good option, and I have used it.

I note that my current car has electronics under the seat for the air bags... and you would hope that they got their EMC act together, but... the car needed recall for fitting additional earthing conductors to avoid false firing of the air bag from static caused when the occupant moved to or from the seat. I saw that Holden recalled more cars recently for the same issue.

I would think twice about underseat mounting in a recent Commodore for the above reasons. I don't have a radio fitted to this car, probably due to the evolution of VHF/UHF ham FM to CB like culture and behaviour.

It doesn't take much effort to screw the mounting bracket to the floor pan, and seal the screws to prevent water entry if you swim your 4WD. The radios should be restrained and the cables tied down to keep them out of the seat tracks etc.

Under drivers seat, facing forward is a great location for a speaker, it fills the footwell with sound that reaches the driver without deafening the passengers. Those little Motorola (and knockoff) speaker boxes with an oval speaker, about 70mm high, fit well under high seats.

Owen

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I have picked up the new car and searched under the seats to find some electronics, leads etc under the drivers seat but also under both are what appears to be heating vents facing backwards into the rear passenger area !! I have some challenges ahead but ones i look forward to.


Ric.

Hi there,

As for mounting radios in vehicles, there are a few rules, but the main ones would be ensuring that you use good quality coax for therun to your antenna, and ensure that you use good cable for power supply wiring, and try not to run your coax along with vehicle wiring that may come from or go to modules such as the BCM, PCM, or if your vehicle uses CAN-bus technology, keep coaxes away, especially if you're running more than 10W or so.

Ensuring that good power supply and antenna cabling is used will also result in lower pickup from anything that may radiate in the vehicle.

I drive a 2001 Holden VX Commodore and I have an FT-8900 installed, and a 20W APRS system also installed.
The radio transceiver and APRS system are installed on the underside of the parcel tray, in the boot, which is probably one of the easiest and coolest places to mount equipment into a vehicle such as this.
I have no problems with noise pickup, nor have I detected any problems with any of the vehicle's electronics from RF radiated by my transmitters, wvwn when running up to 50W.
My FT-8900 head is remote mounted in the pocket in front of the gear selector, and a speaker is mounted just behind.

In my experience working with radios in vehicles (8 1/2 years in my last job), I have never heard of a radio transceiver setting off things like airbags, or causing any malfunctions, and this is in a range of vehicles including many 4WD Toyotas, Nissan Patrols, VE and previous model Commodores.

The Holden recall was because it was found that the seatframes were not properly grounded to the body, and in the event of a static discharge arcing from the seat frame to the seatbelt pre-tensioners, the pre-tensioners may be set off. Holden fitted a spring to the front seats, which provided a better ground contact between the seat frame and the floorpan mounting.

One other comment, mounting radios to the floorpan is OK, but if you drill through the floorpan to bolta cradle down, be sure to check that where you're drilling is away from brake and fuel lines (don't laugh, it happens), and make sure that any holes drilled are treated to prevent corrision, and well sealed. This will avoid the possibility of any leaks, and corrosion, which will cause rust holes in no time at all, and possibly cause intermod and loud crashing sounds on your transmitted audio, as rust does not provide a good contact with the body of your vehicle. Drilling any holes in vehicles may cause other problems too, and you need to be aware of what you're doing, and if you're happy to do it, and it's done properly and safely, no problems.


Regards,

Tim VK4TIM. QG62MM

Hello RIc
I have an 857 D and a UHF CB in my Nissan Patrol. Both are mounted down low on the cargo barrier (and are not visible), well earthed with bolts provided by Nissan. I did not drill any holes. Both radios have remote heads. These are mounted on a wooden replacement for the ash tray (no holes drilled) I use heavy power cable, 75amp Anderson Power Poles and the antennas are mounted on an aluminium bull bar. The system works well. The only noise I get is when I switch on the air conditioner. Any clues on fixing that will be appreciated.

73 John
VK5BJE

in the2001 landcruiser ute i have a 857d with 80m whip on the roobar, 6/2/70 vert on the trayrack, plus a alinco dual bander on 2 and cb for firecomms with their whips. so far its been fine grounding the radio next to the main strap from the battery to the chassis. remote head on dash and 857d on the wall behind the passenger seat.
i dont have aircon , but the oil pressure sender on the toyotas makes noises, bypass with a .01uF. as a test get a small transistor am radio and move it around under the hood with aircon running to pinpoint the noise source.(find a spot on the band with no stations)
its my ute and i wil drill lots of holes.73's

Hi Guys,
I have just got a Subaru Forester 2004 model, and wish to install my FT-7800R. I don't want to install under the seat as it's not convenient for myself. So maybe somewhere in the dash under the stereo player, however I am concerned about the heatsink getting warm, and I would need to put a external speaker to it. It seems that just under the left side on the drivers side would be most suited.

It's an ex-power company vehicle which means it has had radios/phone cradles etc before, and there is a plugged hole in the roof where a base used to be. I want to reinstall the base, and not being familiar with mobile installations any help would be much appreciated.

Hayden

Hello Hayden .
Instillation is not a problem . The quickest way is to visit me .
Installing the aerial in the roof is very simple , all you have to do is remove the trim from the left hand side window pillar and slightly lower the roof lining . Using a standard RFI or similar aerial base pre fittted with about 3M coax feed this through the hole in the roof and fish the coax out the edge of the roof lining . The base is then inserted through the roof hole and assembled . Feed the coax down the window pillar and reinstall the trim . 5Minutes work.
I am not exactly sure as to what your car dash looks like but if it has a tray under the radio , remove this and install the radio in its place . Rather than hanging the radio under the dash on the passenger side you are better off mounting it vertically on the side of the console , this way the passenger does not hit his knees on the front of the radio .

Regards.

Joe

Hi Joe,
Thanks for advice!

Always used a magnetic base before, so wasn't sure on how it all fitted together, but seems simple now.

The dash is exactly the same as in this photo, only this is a left hand drive vehicle.



73
Hayden

Can you pull out the panels beneath the radio or under the AC controls? You might need to make a couple of brackets to hold the radio but there should be room.

Lou
VK3ALB

The panels you see are both spring loaded, the one under the car stereo would be the way to go, as the lower one is a coin/ashtray.

VK7HAY wrote:Hi Joe,
Thanks for advice!
The dash is exactly the same as in this photo, only this is a left hand drive vehicle.

I just finished installing my IC208H in my Forester 06 model - looks same as your picture. Since you have a hole in the roof you are well in front. I used a thru glass antenna mounted high on passenger side of front windscreen - as I gave up trying to figure out how to get a cable into the cabin without adding holes, I am sure it is possible but it was beyond me.
!! I mounted the radio in its cradle with speaker facing up, a 7ah sla battery, diode, fuse on a mdf board that is under the drivers side seat. The remote head is mounted on a cheap gps mount off the windscreen - it is very light. the microphone lead was long enough already. I found that i did not need a external speaker, the battery arrangement is a little unusual - a fused cigarette pluged into center console, to the SLA battery - charged thru diode , then 300mm fused lead to radio all on a mdf board. It saved me from trying to get thick leads to the battery and the battery is easily able to power the radio - I have no interference on rx/tx audio either. See you have some enthusiastic help to call on ...Good Luck
Paul vk4apn

Hi,
Thanks for the info. Just put the base back in the hole and ran the cable down to the drivers side. It was a little hard getting the cable down the side of the car, a bit of stiff wire fixed that.

All I did was remove the light in the centre and I could access the hole. Tested the cable, no shorts, and braid goes to car ground, centre to the centre of the base.

Thanks
All that is next now is to install the radio.

Hello again Hayden. The photo makes a difference . HI .

I am not sure how thick your radio is but I have installed several radios into this model and I found that a GME UHF will fit very nicely under the lid on top of the dash . This compartment is very easy to remove and if you intend to keep the car for a while there is no reason not to cut the back out of it for more access .
Getting into the center of the dash is a little more difficult , you just have to be a little brutal and pull the car apart they are only clipped together !.

With Al's VK7AN vehicle we mounted the radio as you suggested just in front of your left knee with four self tappers . Make sure it is not too low or you will catch your foot on the rear of the radio .

All the best with it ,I am sure you will have it operating just the way you want it to .

73
Joe.

G'day Hayden,

I will post some photos of my IC706 mounted in my current Forester to you over the weekend. I have the remote face mounted on the side of the centre console (passengers side) near the gear stick, the main body of the radio under the passengers seat and the mic mounted inside the centre console compartment.

I have ordered myself a 2009 model Forester which I pick up next week. I'll have to work out how and where I can mount a radio in this after I pick it up.

73's

Rob...

Hi Rob,
Good to hear from you. If you could either post those photos here or email them to me that would be most helpful.

Hope you have fun with your new Fozzie.

Hayden

Although not a Scoobie, I found a mobile phone mount worked a treat with the control head of the FT-857D in my Pajero.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Yarragib/FT ... 7445249074

G'day Hayden,

Will send them through soon.

Also see: http://www.holdmyphone.com.au for some mounts.

Regards,

Rob...

Thanks Rob,
Got the email, looks well done. Just a question about mounting the base in the centre of the roof.
I put it on the other day and tested it yesterday. Does the braid of the coax connect directly to the car's body or is this insulated using the rubber ring?

I am getting an SWR figure of 2:0:1, then using the same antenna but with a magnetic base I get near perfect. The magnetic part of the base is insulated from the car body using tape.

Hayden