Yaesu - FT-8800 remote head install....with a twist

[alia176]

It was time to relocate the remote head to the great spot, above the rear view mirror that others are using. However, instead of using the RAM mount system, I went with a different route - rear view mirror out of a Cherokee.

The process is quite simple really.

- grab the complete mirror out of the Cherokee (grab the metal puck that's stuck on the glass too just in case)
- break the glass (So far I'm at 28 years of bad luck )
- separate the glass backing plastic from the swivel mount
- trim the swivel mount plastic using a box cutter
- drill two holes in the swivel mount. Not a lot of surface area for velcro.
- drill two holes in your radio remote mount holder
- use two short 8/32"pan head machine screws and nylock nuts to connect the two together. 1/2" length screws works well.

The Cherokee dual swivel mount fits nicely inside the Toyota oem rear view mirror mount. Just drill two holes into the Cherokee swivel mount, get longer metric screws, grind a little off the side of the swivel mount and voila, you're done. If you wanna get all finicky, grind a little off the top of the swivel mount so that your metric screws (non pan head) sits flat. Oh yeah, a little black touch up paint will do ya.

This entire process will take about 1/2 hour. It'll take longer for you to route the wires up the A pillar, over the head liner to your remote head.

Ok, on to the pics.

 

[alia176]

More pics...

 

[alia176]

more pics.

 

[alia176]

I thought about running the wires through the A pillar and then through the roof structure but that thought went away very quickly. It's too much work so I cheesed out and did it the easy way. Remove the A pillar trim piece, remove the visor, overhead console, visor support on the right side and lower the headliners just enough to do the work.

This method is very effective at supporting the remote head as the weight is similar to the rear view mirror weight of a Cherokee. The Yaesu head is easy to move around as needed and the driver side visor can be swung to the left side w/o any hassle. If you don't want to swing the visor under the remote head, you can simply move the head out of the way as needed. The friction of the Jeep two ball swivel is excellent at supporting the remote head.

If your radio has a GIANT remote head like the Kenwood TM-D710, you may want to see what John did in this thread: https://forum.ih8mud.com/electronic-toys/452554-kenwood-tm-d710-install-my-80-a.html

We looked at several vehicles but only the Jeep had the two ball swivel mounts.

No love on the following rear view mirrors:
- Subarus
- Trooper
- Mercedes
- Mitsubishi
- Toyotas (cars and SUVs)

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks.

 

[sl33p3]

me likey, but i'm biased....

 

[sl33p3]

We looked at several vehicles but only the Jeep had the two ball swivel mounts.

No love on the following rear view mirrors:
- Subarus
- Trooper
- Mercedes
- Mitsubishi
- Toyotas (cars and SUVs)

for what its worth a lot of the newer subis and toys have double ball ends, but quite a few of them use a spring-loaded mount to the windshield puck, which lets things rattle. i think if you are going the windshield remount route, the center jack screw for positive lockdown on the 90's cherokee style we found would be preferred. jsut my .0002$

 

[pappy]

Nice job Ash. Gives me an idea for the 4Runner.

 

[locrwln1]

Great piece of work. After talking with you on the phone, I was expecting something much, much more rednecky, looks good to me (of course that is coming from a hillbilly).

Jack

 

[rusty_tlc]

That is slick, slick.

I could see using the same mount in other locations for a GPS or many other bits of electronic gadgetry.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[spressomon]

Great idea and execution Ali! Do you think it will be off-road solid?

 

[alia176]

Great idea and execution Ali! Do you think it will be off-road solid?

Only time will tell I guess. I should've measured the weight of the glass mirror and the remote head. I'll do that when I get a chance to see if the weight is similar. If similar weight then it stands to reason that the unit will handle just about anything we throw at it.

 

[TrickyT]

Both your and John's setups look great! And since you're reusing old parts, it's even "green."

 

[alia176]

Great idea and execution Ali! Do you think it will be off-road solid?

Had a chance to drive on some wash boards last saturday and I'm pleased to report that the head unit didn't vibrate or move what so ever. John drove the same washboards too and I don't think his Kenwood remote head unit moved either. Hopefully, he'll chime in with his feedback.

 

[alia176]

Both your and John's setups look great! And since you're reusing old parts, it's even "green."

Guess I have a hybrid vehicle? Jeep mirror mount and a land rover arm rest

 

[sl33p3]

Nope, no movement on that trip for sure. i am super happy with the location. i also recently changed my attachment to the head, and it is working out well as well. i ditched the temporary velcro attachment and modded the factory head mount to screw straight into the end of the swivel end.

speaking of hybrids, i'm soon to have a hybrid trooper 80 cherokee once i get my armrest installed now it just needs corvette power...

-john

 

[rusty_tlc]

I'm considering this radio for the FJ40
FTM-350
If I pull the trigger I'll most likely do a similar mount, off the dash spreader on my roll cage.

 

[FirstToy]

Ali,
very slick! nice work man
maybe you can mount a scangauge right to the radio mounting bracket.

I wired it the same way!

 

[nomembername]

I'm considering this radio for the FJ40
FTM-350
If I pull the trigger I'll most likely do a similar mount, off the dash spreader on my roll cage.

Great radio. The included mount is a little cheesy and lightweight. Joe @ Slee bent me a bracket that works with the suction cup and has worked in a bunch of different vehicles without an issue. The ISRV mirror mount is pretty ingenius, though. With the fairly light weight of the 350's remote head (heavier than the 8800 but not as heavy as the Kenwood), it should work fine as well. The 350 has a center mount point for the suction cup, so any mirror reuse mount would need to take into account a single central mount point, or a creative spreader system.

Also, the typical GPS package (FGPS-1) for the 350 is a small unit that mounts on the top of the back side of the remote head. It works best with a clear view of the sky, but will still work up near the roof line provided it can get some view out the glass (even if it's the moonroof in an LX470). There's also a remote GPS antenna (FGPS-2, along with CT-133 and CT-136 cable and adapter) that would be able to move the GPS antenna to somewhere like the dash at the base of the windshield while tucking the head unit up to the headliner.

 

[sl33p3]

Great radio. The included mount is a little cheesy and lightweight. Joe @ Slee bent me a bracket that works with the suction cup and has worked in a bunch of different vehicles without an issue. The ISRV mirror mount is pretty ingenius, though. With the fairly light weight of the 350's remote head (heavier than the 8800 but not as heavy as the Kenwood), it should work fine as well. The 350 has a center mount point for the suction cup, so any mirror reuse mount would need to take into account a single central mount point, or a creative spreader system.

Also, the typical GPS package (FGPS-1) for the 350 is a small unit that mounts on the top of the back side of the remote head. It works best with a clear view of the sky, but will still work up near the roof line provided it can get some view out the glass (even if it's the moonroof in an LX470). There's also a remote GPS antenna (FGPS-2, along with CT-133 and CT-136 cable and adapter) that would be able to move the GPS antenna to somewhere like the dash at the base of the windshield while tucking the head unit up to the headliner.

FWIW, i haven't seen my kenwood move yet, but i think it could be largely dependent on the condition of the junkyard mount since i've had good and bad rearview mirrors in cars. the greenlight labs unit for kewood sounds similar to the yaesu gps. tucked on the back of the head, but i haven't seen either in person for a comparison.

good or bad i think both radios would be fantastic, it will boil down to subjective preferences. you can't go wrong with either.

 

[nomembername]

the greenlight labs unit for kewood sounds similar to the yaesu gps. tucked on the back of the head, but i haven't seen either in person for a comparison.

If I have a chance (and remember) this week, I'll get a pic or two of the FGPS-1 and the simple bent steel piece on my 350.

good or bad i think both radios would be fantastic, it will boil down to subjective preferences. you can't go wrong with either.

I'll wholeheartedly agree. The Kenwood 310 was the radio I went into HRO to buy, the Yaesu 350 is the one I left with. The Yaesu does more built in, but doesn't play nice with other GPSes. The Kendwood is much better at interfacing with external GPSes but doesn't have as much built in. It's really a coin flip.