Kenwood TM-D710GA Install

[SmoothLC]

Since I've been doing some troubleshooting on the radio in my rig recently and had posted photos of the install in other forums, thought I'd post the photos here on Mud since I hadn't previously. Consider this is a follow-up to the first radio I installed in the Cheap Ham Install thread almost 6 years ago.

After doing a lot of research I chose the Kenwood TM-D710GA, primarily b/c I do a fair amount of off-road trips by myself and, depending on the area, its APRS functionality. I got it installed about 3 years ago by a guy recommended to me by the local Wasatch Cruisers club. Below are some of the photos of the partly finished and finished install.

I then chose a Kenwood KES-3S speaker and thought it might fit right in the space in front of the sunroof. Other than a few head bumps when getting into the rig, the mount is solid and this was a good place to put it since it can easily be heard throughout the vehicle.

After considering all the other options on where to place the control unit, I chose one of @BenCC's 3D printed RAM mounts and got a 3D print of the Kenwood TM-D710 Ram Mount to attach it. I can easily move the faceplate around when by myself or with others who might sit in the passenger seat. I also chose this location b/c I can easily see and change settings (which you should obviously ignore since this was right after installation and I hadn't figured out APRS yet!).

 

[SmoothLC]

The transceiver was placed just above the right PS wheel well, held in place by a few screws and a metal strap. After a few off-road trips, the mount started to make noise and had come a little loose. I had to remove the side panel and tighten things up again. Other than that, and since then, this appears to have been a pretty good location and - knock on wood - hasn't experienced any overheating issues. It was also a good location since it was a straight shot to run the coax cable to the front PS NMO fender mount (shown in the Cheap Ham Install). IIRC I ran a slightly different coax (Comet?) that had a smaller diameter 17 inch section that was a better fit between the hood and fender vs. regular RG8X. The power cables were run under the second row seat and up the DS electrical wire conduit and through the firewall to a Blue Sea fuse box.

 

[SmoothLC]

Last, I had the mic line run up the PS side electrical conduit and then under the front PS seat to the center console. Although not shown in the photo, I ended up using a Nite Ize Steelie magnetic mount to hold the mic right under the control unit. It's held up pretty well over the years and many off-road trips - including a week on Death Valley's infamous denture-rattling roads. So far, everything has worked really well, even after adding one of @BenCC's tablet mounts in the pocket change location.