Mobile setup - Radio, or mount?

[K9CCH]

I'm installing my FT2800M today, and it will be connected to my 40" dual band antenna which is on the hood of my Jeep.

The antenna mount, a Diamond K400S, is on the drivers side of the hood, and has a 13.5' coaxial cable. I've ran the coax through the firewall on the drives side, and down through the dash. It comes out under the steering wheel.

I will not be needing all 13.5 feet of the coax, so I need to coil a little either at the radio side, or the antenna side. Which is better?

If I'm recalling my studying correctly, I should coil the extra near the antenna mount so that it acts like a balun preventing the waves from returning back to the radio... correct?

[NQ6U]

It really shouldn't matter much in this case. On my truck, the extra coax is just laying behind the seat in a random heap and it seems to work fine. If you do want to make it function as a choke balun, you'd need to wind it solenoid fashion—that is, in a helix.

[K9CCH]

In a what? LOL

[PA5COR]

Make a neat coil not overlapping to each other, use a small bottle to wind the windings next to each other.

[K7SGJ]

I have my control panel on the dash, and the radio under the rear seat. The excess coax is just kinda bundled up there, like Carl was saying. I've looked at the SWR with the cable stretched out, bundled, coiled, and I could se no difference on an analog meter. Maybe a digital would show some slight change, but it wouldn't be much. Besides, when you are tooling down the highway, the antenna is constantly moving around changing everything anyway. If you had a couple hundred feet of excess, that would be one thing, but a few feet? Pfffft. Just chuck it outta the way and have fun with the radio.

[NQ6U]

In a what? LOL

Kids these days, I'm tellin' ya...

http://www.midcoast.com/~w1gql/hxpage9.jpg

For illustration purposes only, ignore the text.

[K9CCH]

OOOHHHH..

Well I got it installed. I just don't know where I want to mount it yet, or how. I'm not a fan of drilling into my Jeep, and I want to keep things as clean as possible. Right now I'm leaning towards putting it on the passenger side of the console, next to the shift, but that requires that I drill holes in the plastic. And I need to figure out how to disguise those holes if I ever take it out.


http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo206/PouletsDeCajun/Mobile%20Uploads/20140713_143036_zps4szx4xwd.jpg (http://s376.photobucket.com/user/PouletsDeCajun/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20140713_143036_zps4szx4xwd.jpg.html)

[WØTKX]

That's like, helical, man. And no, it's not going to make any difference here. Just wrap it up and stuff it away under the dash.

Coax baluns are more useful for messing with antennas with a tuner, or other situations where you may get RF on the shield.

Typically on the lower frequency bands. And coax kinda sucks in those scenarios anyway, so ladder line is better.

[K9CCH]

Just fyi.... when soldering wires that are still connected to the battery, DO NOT allow soldering gun to touch both red and black at the same time. OOPS! Thank heavens for fuses!!!

But its working. I have simplex, and my two favorite repeaters programmed already. There's some fuzz in it, so I'm thinking I'm getting interference from somewhere. If I put the radio up on the dash, just above my DVD/Radio it's really staticky. If I put it down on the seat it gets a little quieter. This is where its going to sit for the time being until I a.) find a better place for it, b.) decide to drill holes in my Jeep, or c.)decide to actually clean up the installation.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m40x82obOw

[NQ6U]

That's like, helical, man.

Helical on wheels, man.

Chris, that noise you're hearing is, unfortunately, pretty common in modern cars with all their electronical gagetry. Didn't have that problem in my '52 Dodge. Didn't have ABS or airbags or disc brakes or independent suspension or even turn signals either but it was very quiet, electrically speaking. One thing that might help is running a separate ground wire from the case to the body of your Jeep.

[K9CCH]

One thing that might help is running a separate ground wire from the case to the body of your Jeep.


I thought about that. Right now its connected directly to the battery, both pos and neg. I wondered if I should have connected the negative to the body tub. But then I'd have to split the wire all they way down.

[NQ6U]

I thought about that. Right now its connected directly to the battery, both pos and neg. I wondered if I should have connected the negative to the body tub. But then I'd have to split the wire all they way down.

No, you did the right thing with the power wires, they should both be connected directly to the battery terminals. I was just thinking of an additional ground strap from the radio's case to the body of the vehicle. It might help, or it might not, but it's easy enough to do to make it worth trying.

[K9CCH]

Ah. Gotcha.

[K9CCH]

Is this Yaesu WIRES/WIRES ii thing their version of IRLP/Echolink/DStar???


ETA: Yup. Thats exactly what it looks like. Radio/Node/PC and poof, you're talking around the world.

Think about how amazing it would be if IRPLP/Echolink/DStar/WIRES would all interact seamlessly?!?

[NQ6U]

Use something with a low impedance at RF—one of those small, flat engine-to-chassis ground straps, for instance.

http://cdn.racerpartswholesale.com/images/uploads/3198_1366_large.jpg

[NQ6U]

Is this Yaesu WIRES/WIRES ii thing their version of IRLP/Echolink/DStar???

No. It's pretty much a proprietary Yaesu thing that lets you know when you've gone out of range of another (Yaesu) radio so equipped. I've never used it myself, nor has anyone else I know.

[K9CCH]

No. It's pretty much a proprietary Yaesu thing that lets you know when you've gone out of range of another (Yaesu) radio so equipped. I've never used it myself, nor has anyone else I know.


Are you sure? It looks like IRLP to me.

http://www.yaesu.com/jp/en/wiresinfo-en/index.html

[NQ6U]

You're right, I was thinking of something else. Still, I've never used it and know of no open repeaters around here which have it implemented.

[K9CCH]

You're right, I was thinking of something else. Still, I've never used it and know of no open repeaters around here which have it implemented.


Me either. There's a few Echolink repeaters, a few IRLP repeaters, and I think one or two with a phone patch on them.

[K9CCH]

I'm liking the looks of this! This is the loop at the top of the windshield, just above the rearview mirror in the Jeeps.




https://forums.hamisland.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=12683&stc=1

[K9CCH]

So here's my version... Coupla pipe clamps, some window insulation, coupla L brackets, and some screws.

http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo206/PouletsDeCajun/imagejpg2_zps2489a18d.jpg (http://s376.photobucket.com/user/PouletsDeCajun/media/imagejpg2_zps2489a18d.jpg.html)


http://i376.photobucket.com/albums/oo206/PouletsDeCajun/3c3d148c-7b23-40c9-a709-2b7726665ff3_zpsac7efb7d.jpg (http://s376.photobucket.com/user/PouletsDeCajun/media/3c3d148c-7b23-40c9-a709-2b7726665ff3_zpsac7efb7d.jpg.html)

[NQ6U]

Improvisation! Now that's the true ham spirit. I gotta ask, though: where are you going to hang the mic?

[K9CCH]

Improvisation! Now that's the true ham spirit. I gotta ask, though: where are you going to hang the mic?


I'mma get a mic clip and some 3M VHB automotive tape and stick it to the side of the radio.

[K7SGJ]

Nice job. That's what it's all about. Maybe that was the hokie pokie.

Hell, I'd just toss the mic in that underwear hanging from the mirror.

[K9CCH]

LOL... Thats a bandana to put on my head to keep my hair from tangling when the top is down.

And I didn't want to drill holes in my dash to mount this thing, so I researched it a little bit and found where others had done similar things. Cost me about $4 for some L Brackets and 1/2" pipe clamps.

[K9CCH]

Well this pipe clamp idea was theoretically a good idea, but in practice its a bit wonky.

The radio swings back and forth a little too much for my taste due to that awesome Jeep suspension.

Any ideas how to stop it?

[AE5CP]

Get pictures all around the radio, hard to visualize anything that you haven't shown us pictures of yet.

[K7SGJ]

Well this pipe clamp idea was theoretically a good idea, but in practice its a bit wonky.

The radio swings back and forth a little too much for my taste due to that awesome Jeep suspension.

Any ideas how to stop it?


Don't move the Jeep.

[NQ6U]

Well this pipe clamp idea was theoretically a good idea, but in practice its a bit wonky.

The radio swings back and forth a little too much for my taste due to that awesome Jeep suspension.

Any ideas how to stop it?


JB Weld.

[K9CCH]

Get pictures all around the radio, hard to visualize anything that you haven't shown us pictures of yet.

Look at the pictures of the mount above it. The pipe clamps are wrapped around the small orange metal loop (white on mine.)

[K9CCH]

So this is what it does going down the road. Not quite as violently but you get the idea...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_KK7uJ7HJM

[WX7P]

This video is private

[K7SGJ]

Yeah, all I got was a video of your privates, too.

[NQ6U]

Yeah, all I got was a video of your privates, too.

Did you have to go full screen to see them?

[K7SGJ]

Did you have to go full screen to see them?

And apply max zoom

[K9CCH]

Genetics were a bitch.... but I'm pretty sure they are at the very least visible.

[K9CCH]

Apparently others have had better success with these...

https://forums.hamisland.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=12708&stc=1

[K7SGJ]

I would think those would help dampen vibration somewhat. After all, real Jeeps aren't famous for smooth rides anyway, but they will climb a telephone pole.

ETA

After looking at the photo again, I'm wondering if the rubber part of the clamps might be more of a problem than a solution. If you consider an under dash mount, it is pretty solid and doesn't bounce around much. Picture putting a piece of rubber between the dash and the mount. At that point, I would think it would bounce around like a cork in a piss pot.

I think it's more of a matter of mounting surface area; the more you have to mount the bracket to, the more stable the radio will be.

[AE5CP]

Surely there's a ground screw on the back. Seems like a good place to get creative with the grounding using a short strap to stabilize it.
Hopefully there is a screw in the frame that goes around the windshield somewhere to attach it to.

A third point of mechanical connection should be enough to keep it from rocking.

[W7XF]

Well this pipe clamp idea was theoretically a good idea, but in practice its a bit wonky.

The radio swings back and forth a little too much for my taste due to that awesome Jeep suspension.

Any ideas how to stop it?

Duct tape xD

[K9CCH]

I think it's more of a matter of mounting surface area; the more you have to mount the bracket to, the more stable the radio will be.


Yeah I know, but Im trying to avoid drilling into the dash/console at all costs.... If I cant get this to work, its going to be mounted on the side of the center console on the passenger side.

[K7SGJ]

You can always run a lag bolt through the roof to anchor it. It would look okay from my house.......

[K9CCH]

You can always run a lag bolt through the roof to anchor it. It would look okay from my house.......


I'm pretty sure my soft top has the weight capacity for that.










and dont even think about cracking a joke about my soft top moobs either....

[W7XF]

Need moar duck tape!

I know.....

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