Lets see your radio

[goldwater58]

Yaesu FTM-400XDR. I wanted an easily visible spot for it that also didn't advertise its location (dash/near windshield options). Despite the pic appearance, the radio location doesn't eat into passenger leg/seating area either which was important. Works well for me.

 

[daneo]

FYI: Midland is going to put out some new antennas soon. Looks like Aussie-style spring loaded batons. In typical Midland fashion, the link in the email was broken, so just keep an eye out.

 

[mcgaskins]

Any issues with the adhesive surviving hot parking situations? Or does it not move/slime because there isn't the weight of the radio on it most of the time?

Zero movement in 3+ years, and to be honest I think I only removed the radio one time just to move the passenger seat all the way forward to carry some oversized items in the back. The radio body is quite light so there isn't a lot of force on the velcro. I did the same setup in my previous 2016 and 2014 200s, and here is a pic from the 2016 with the radio removed. I used less velcro this time and it still hasn't been an issue.

 

[bloc]

Zero movement in 3+ years, and to be honest I think I only removed the radio one time just to move the passenger seat all the way forward to carry some oversized items in the back. The radio body is quite light so there isn't a lot of force on the velcro. I did the same setup in my previous 2016 and 2014 200s, and here is a pic from the 2016 with the radio removed. I used less velcro this time and it still hasn't been an issue.

Good to know. Any idea what brand Velcro? I’ve had issues with what I assume was cheap stuff in the past.

 

[kcjaz]

I run mine directly to the aux battery so it can stay on full time. If you don’t have an aux batt, I’d try tapping into one of the under-hood ACC-powered fuse slots. Or in a real pinch, the “wipers” fuse in the drivers kick panel (the 15w of the MXT275 should be a rounding error for the 360w that circuit is designed to).

I’d hate to forget leaving the radio on and killing the battery.

If you go with a ACC-switched circuit, Midland sells an upgraded mic that has a knob on the top for volume that will automatically turn on when the unit gets power. That alleviates forgetting to turn the radio back on when you hop in the car.

FWIW I run a midland ghost antenna on a hood hinge ditch light mount.

I have a single battery and was worried about leaving the radio on and draining it. I was advised here that the radio doesn’t draw that much when not actually transmitting and that being able to have the radio on without the vehicle running or ignition on is handy. So I direct connected it and a glad I did. It’s nice to have radio coms when stopped on a trail with the truck off. My Yaesu can be on over night and it’s fine. I also carry a NOCO jump pack though…

 

[dubyahard]

Does anyone have their radio head unit mounted in the sunglass holder? Mine (Yaesu 8900) is currently mounted in my ashtray area but I can't read it easily so I'm looking for alternatives.

 

[joltman]

After looking at all the setups here, I think I went overboard. I've got 2/0 coming off a group 31 battery to a Safety Hub 150 under the hood.

I then ran 6 gauge wire to the back of my drawer system where I mounted a DC-DC charger, distribution panel and fuse block for my radios.

Next, I ran the low-voltage control/speaker wires up the driver side sill plates and up to the center console. I have a Gamiviti wedge dashboard mount to which I mounted the heads and speakers. This isn't completed as I was in a rush to get this in before a trail run that happened last weekend.

The antennas lines run inside the passenger cargo area plastic shroud, up the D pillar, above the headliner, through the dust boot to the rear hatch, and out the hatch via 2 plastic plugs on either side of the hatch to mounts on either side of the roof rack. You can see one of the plugs that was removed and a Ford grommet part put in it's place that fits perfectly. The other colored wires you see are for rear hatch lights that I haven't put in yet.

The antenna base is a Diamond C213SMA (13.5' line) on a Diamond Super Gainer K540 mount. The antennas are both 2m/70cm Diamond HR770HB.

I'm running the Kenwood TM-D710G and the Wouxun KG-1000G. I know I could use the Kenwood for GMRS comms, but I wanted to keep within FCC regs. Plus, this setup is really what I was looking for, because I can have 2m trail comms on A SIDE of Kenwood, APRS beaconing on B SIDE of Kenwood, GMRS trail comms on A SIDE of Wouxun, and weather alerts/one-on-one comms on B SIDE of Wouxun.

The antennas fared well on the trail. They did bend but didn't break and I was able to bend them back. If I can ever get front and rear bumpers, I'll probably move them to those locations.

Next steps are cleaning up the wiring mess that is the center dash mount. I need to make wirepassthrough cleaner for all that you see. Then, I need to figure out the issue with the Kenwood mic. It's a known issue that when you extend the Kenwood mic line, you can introduce a 10Hz clock signal on your transmits. I have tried crimping my own CAT8 cable to isolate all mics within a foiled pair of wires, but I can't figure out a way to ground that correctly to eliminate the ticking. I'll get there eventually.

 

[customcruiser]

The antennas lines run inside the passenger cargo area plastic shroud, up the D pillar, above the headliner, through the dust boot to the rear hatch, and out the hatch via 2 plastic plugs on either side of the hatch to mounts on either side of the roof rack. You can see one of the plugs that was removed and a Ford grommet part put in it's place that fits perfectly. The other colored wires you see are for rear hatch lights that I haven't put in yet.

View attachment 3361104

@joltman -- can you post a pic of where your antennas exit the rear hatch?

 

[joltman]

@joltman -- can you post a pic of where your antennas exit the rear hatch?

Here are a couple photos.

The part number for that Ford grommet is 6E5Z-14603-J. There's one on each side of the hatch. I got this idea from Eric Sargeant.

 

[customcruiser]

Thanks @joltman -- I like this much betrer than how I ran my Weboost antenna, I just went over the weatherseal

I shoved my Midland MXT275 in the PS kick panel.
Antenna through the firewall to a Kaon DS mount.
Need to extend the mic, will a regular CAT5 cable work for this? Also have this, just need to pull the dash apart to add. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B094Y2NGF8?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

 

[radman]

I’ve been happy with the Midland MXT275. All the controls are on the mic, so you can place the control box anywhere. I zip tied it against the firewall kind of above the gas pedal. Get an Ethernet plug adaptor and place it at your position of choice.

for those that have installed the MXT275 out of sight - can you configure it to use the handheld as the speaker or do deal with muffled sound from the unit itself?

 

[customcruiser]

The mic has a speaker

 

[varun bhargava]

Thanks @joltman -- I like this much betrer than how I ran my Weboost antenna, I just went over the weatherseal

I shoved my Midland MXT275 in the PS kick panel.
Antenna through the firewall to a Kaon DS mount.
Need to extend the mic, will a regular CAT5 cable work for this? Also have this, just need to pull the dash apart to add. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B094Y2NGF8?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

View attachment 3361751View attachment 3361752View attachment 3361753

Looks great. Can you share a picture of where the mic plug was setup. Thanks.

 

[customcruiser]

Looks great. Can you share a picture of where the mic plug was setup. Thanks.

 

[Nothinghead]

Thanks @joltman -- I like this much betrer than how I ran my Weboost antenna, I just went over the weatherseal

I shoved my Midland MXT275 in the PS kick panel.
Antenna through the firewall to a Kaon DS mount.
Need to extend the mic, will a regular CAT5 cable work for this? Also have this, just need to pull the dash apart to add. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B094Y2NGF8?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

View attachment 3361751View attachment 3361752View attachment 3361753

How did you route your cable into the engine bay and which grommet through the firewall?

 

[customcruiser]

I used the big main grommet on the PS -- used a coat hanger to fish it through.