IC-7000 Install

[D_Web]

Much easier to use photos

My 7000 sits in the dash (well it does when I go away, it doesn't live in the car).

Sits under the radio. Obviously I've replaced the factory Toyota unit with the JVC

And without the head.

The other radio is my Simoco SRM9000 series commercial kit. This lives in the car and is what I use for 2m/70cm and listening in to various other things. I find the front end in these much better than the Icom mobile gear, which tends to get intermod when listening to stuff outside of the amateur bands. More info on the radio here --> TMC Radio

The two Simoco transceivers - one is a 136-174Mhz split and the other 400-480Mhz. Certainly not as wide band as my amateur stuff but it serves the purpose. Mounted to my cargo barrier which is in the forward position (only two seats in the 80).

The three speakers - one for each SRM9000 and one for the 7000.

The 7000 mounted down the back.

Power for my radios, outlets & other misc stuff.

And a common ground.

The Codan 9350 mounted down the back.

Uses the existing holes for the rear bracket thingy + one extra I tapped in to the body.

Have to make sure everything is sealed. The ground strap is bolted to the chassis & a wire runs from this point back to the ground on the radio.

Wires go down, held on with adhesive mounts and cable ties. The one that continues running up is a mount on the fold up bit. The 7000 has 2/70 so why not use it...

Tight fit but nothing is sitting hard against anything else.

Trying to give some perspective with the whip on, sorry it was the best photo I could find.

 

[1911]

Codan antenna is an interesting set-up. How do you like it? Does it do moderately well on all bands, or does it work much better on some than others? It looks more sturdy than some other mobile HF antennas.

 

[DarioCarrera]

Congratulations on an excellent job and an excellent set up. I have been looking into the Codan Antennas but I have only a couple of dealers on this side of the pond. IM told they are very good antennas. Doing a little more research I'm going to swap my ATAS 120 for a 5/80 MC-3H HI Q Antenna.

The ATAS is a good little antenna. Well grounded it does the job.

 

[D_Web]

Codan antenna is an interesting set-up. How do you like it? Does it do moderately well on all bands, or does it work much better on some than others? It looks more sturdy than some other mobile HF antennas.

To be honest don't have any measurements to base this on but I find it consistent across all bands. The only thing I don't like is that it won't do 6m, I believe the internal tuning coil is physically too long for 6m operation. Tune time is excellent, usually only a few seconds. They are built like a brick outhouse, get thrashed and apart from some small problems in the early models they are extremely reliable.

Congratulations on an excellent job and an excellent set up. I have been looking into the Codan Antennas but I have only a couple of dealers on this side of the pond. IM told they are very good antennas. Doing a little more research I'm going to swap my ATAS 120 for a 5/80 MC-3H HI Q Antenna.

The ATAS is a good little antenna. Well grounded it does the job.

I've heard very good things about the Hi-Q gear, no doubt it is excellent stuff. I got my 9350 for a good price and the interface to use it with the 7000 is trivial so I didn't really look for anything else. I wouldn't mind trying out the Hi-Q gear but it's a bit hard to justify the cost.

 

[D_Web]

After a trip away with the setup detailed earlier in the thread, I decided the mount was inadequate. I went with something that was heavier duty and got the antenna out of the way.

I also changed the Simocos out for the Kenwood TM-D710a, it is an excellent radio, I will try and grab a photo of where it is mounted sometime.

 

[george_tlc]

Yeah, that looks much better. I was wondering how that big antenna was going to survive on a few sheet metal attachment points when you threw in a bunch of miles of nicely corrugated roads and few hits from low hanging branches etc.

I mounted my tarheel on the inside of the spare tyre (between tyre & vehicle). I welded a new bracket assembly to utilise the kaymar light pole base on the spare swing away. I also have the top most part of the tarheel where the whip screws in just at roof level (with the tarheel fully retracted), so a branch that scrubs over the top of the roofline doesn't take out the antenna base.

I'm guessing with your new mount point the top of the codan base assembly should now be lower versus your original mounting point so that it is a lot less likely to take a low branch hit.

Nice job on the new mount!

cheers,
george.

 

[D_Web]

Yeah, that looks much better. I was wondering how that big antenna was going to survive on a few sheet metal attachment points when you threw in a bunch of miles of nicely corrugated roads and few hits from low hanging branches etc.

I mounted my tarheel on the inside of the spare tyre (between tyre & vehicle). I welded a new bracket assembly to utilise the kaymar light pole base on the spare swing away. I also have the top most part of the tarheel where the whip screws in just at roof level (with the tarheel fully retracted), so a branch that scrubs over the top of the roofline doesn't take out the antenna base.

I'm guessing with your new mount point the top of the codan base assembly should now be lower versus your original mounting point so that it is a lot less likely to take a low branch hit.

Nice job on the new mount!

cheers,
george.

Where yours is was my first choice, but for some reason there is not enough room between the tyre and back of the car - not sure why, maybe it's the wrong swing arm.

What type of radio do you use with the Tarheel? I have a friend here who uses a TS-480 with his and it works very well. I only wish the 9350 would do 6m.

The top of the tuner now sits nicely just above the roof line, and with the Rhino bars on it is under.

 

[george_tlc]

Where yours is was my first choice, but for some reason there is not enough room between the tyre and back of the car - not sure why, maybe it's the wrong swing arm.

What type of radio do you use with the Tarheel? I have a friend here who uses a TS-480 with his and it works very well. I only wish the 9350 would do 6m.

The top of the tuner now sits nicely just above the roof line, and with the Rhino bars on it is under.

I have a Yaesu FT857D installed in my 80. The radio lives inside the right rear cubby hole. Drilled a bunch of holes (hole saw) to allow air to circulate in the cubby.

Mines the "little" tarheel, so the body is short enough that it sits essentially just below the top of the spare between the tailgate & the spare. I'll get a picture or two up.

cheers,
george.