Ham and CB radio mounted

[Parksoffroad]

@Parksoffroad love the head unit mount! Wondering if you have any more details of the mounting itself.

How did you get into the overhead console? Does it just pull down from the headliner, or did you have to drop the whole headliner?

There are a few screws and it snaps down, did not have to pull the headliner. I was able to fish the cables through the area of the headliner from the overhead to the drivers pillar.

What is the controller hanging off of/mounted to? Is there significant structure in the overhead console?

That head unit is just a single screw mount in the center back. Just drilled a hole through the end of the overhead console and screwed it in. The small "sensors" on both sides of the overhead console are partial covered, they are supposed to have something to do with interior motion sensors I believe. I parked and locked the truck with the windows down and waved my arms around all over the place inside and got nothing before I did any changes, so not sure if they are just glass break or what. The truck supposedly can trigger the alarm if you do that or it someone hops in the bed, maybe mine is just not sensitive enough or something. Willing to sacrafice some sensitivity for the head unit being there.

I need to mount two faceplates and thinking I might do what you did, but have them to the left and right of each other.

Not sure you could fit two, me other option was to mount the head unit inside the sunglass holder. When not in use you just close the sunglass door and its out of sight. Maybe one of yours could go there?

Im installing another radio, and will most likely do the dash tray mount for it. Dont like it in sight there, but not sure where else I might hide it, still looking into options.

 

[ccw]

Thank you for the replies!

There are a few screws and it snaps down, did not have to pull the headliner. I was able to fish the cables through the area of the headliner from the overhead to the drivers pillar.

That's fantastic to hear. Sounds very doable. Wasn't looking forward to pulling down the headliner if that's what it required lol.

That head unit is just a single screw mount in the center back. Just drilled a hole through the end of the overhead console and screwed it in. The small "sensors" on both sides of the overhead console are partial covered, they are supposed to have something to do with interior motion sensors I believe. I parked and locked the truck with the windows down and waved my arms around all over the place inside and got nothing before I did any changes, so not sure if they are just glass break or what. The truck supposedly can trigger the alarm if you do that or it someone hops in the bed, maybe mine is just not sensitive enough or something. Willing to sacrafice some sensitivity for the head unit being there.

Very neat! Yep, those sensors are indeed supposed to b ea proximity sensor. Crazy that you couldn't trigger it, though.

Not sure you could fit two, me other option was to mount the head unit inside the sunglass holder. When not in use you just close the sunglass door and its out of sight. Maybe one of yours could go there?

Im installing another radio, and will most likely do the dash tray mount for it. Dont like it in sight there, but not sure where else I might hide it, still looking into options.

My thinking to fit two would be to have a spreader bar of some form. The spreader attaches to the console. Each faceplate attaches to opposite ends of the spreader. That way the faceplates can comfortably extend beyond the width of the console. Would likely require two screws to hold it to make sure it doesn't pivot if the faceplates aren't the same weight (unlikely).

I would prefer to not use up the sunglasses holder for two reasons:

1. The inconsistency irks me, having one radio hidden in there and the other accessible.
2. I actually keep my sunglasses in that holder, and would prefer to not have to find another home for them.

 

[Mongo]

There are a few screws and it snaps down, did not have to pull the headliner. I was able to fish the cables through the area of the headliner from the overhead to the drivers pillar.


That head unit is just a single screw mount in the center back. Just drilled a hole through the end of the overhead console and screwed it in. The small "sensors" on both sides of the overhead console are partial covered, they are supposed to have something to do with interior motion sensors I believe. I parked and locked the truck with the windows down and waved my arms around all over the place inside and got nothing before I did any changes, so not sure if they are just glass break or what. The truck supposedly can trigger the alarm if you do that or it someone hops in the bed, maybe mine is just not sensitive enough or something. Willing to sacrafice some sensitivity for the head unit being there.

Not sure you could fit two, me other option was to mount the head unit inside the sunglass holder. When not in use you just close the sunglass door and its out of sight. Maybe one of yours could go there?

Im installing another radio, and will most likely do the dash tray mount for it. Dont like it in sight there, but not sure where else I might hide it, still looking into options.

Did you buy longer cables? My 400D only has a ~6ft cord to go from the head unit to the radio. And the mic is only direct plug into the radio.

Is it just standard phone cable?

 

[Parksoffroad]

Did you buy longer cables? My 400D only has a ~6ft cord to go from the head unit to the radio. And the mic is only direct plug into the radio.

Is it just standard phone cable?

I believe its just a standard phone cable, although if the radio is accessible it would be easy to test. I had a extended cable I got from somewhere, and I used a mic extension cable that had a few different mic plug options that I used to put the jack in the side pocked by the drivers leg. I can post a picture later when I get home tonight.

 

[FT_Guest3342]

Yaesu sells an extension cable that is 20ft. Usually regular phone cable is not twisted pair wires, I am sure the Yaesu cable is. Twisted wires will make for a cable that is more resistant of EMI. Part # CT-162 Also many phone cables have the connections reversed on one end. Null modem style instead of straight thru.

 

[Parksoffroad]

Here is a picture of the mic extension and location.

 

[ccw]

Here is a picture of the mic extension and location.View attachment 41430

Oh I like that!

 

[Parksoffroad]

Oh I like that!

You can use a few different mics with that setup if you wanted to, I wanted the mic mounted out of the way but not on the side of the console where my knee might hit it. Was worried about the stick on for the mic holder, but its been over a year and its solid. The box for the mic extension is also just stuck there.

 

[Pompey]

This hopefully will give a better idea of how I mounted my CB.

 

[ccw]

This hopefully will give a better idea of how I mounted my CB.

Thanks for the video! That's a very slick spot. I'm getting jealous of you all that only have one handset to mount lol.

 

[Parksoffroad]

I just finished installing the radios and mounting them on the console. Although they look to be very tall, they don't obstruct the view at all because they are below the hood line looking through the window. Both units are attached to a 3D printed base that sits on top of a Built-Rite console mount. The base also holds a remote speaker for the ICOM. I will probably modify the base so that the radios lean back a bit and lower the stack a tad.

The Ham radio is an ICOM IC-7000 and the CB is a Stryker SR-94HPC.

The ICOM is setup in a remote mount with the main radio body under the rear seat next to the antenna tuner. HF and UHF cables go out through the floor next to the rear sill plate. I made a 1" hole in the cab floor and fed the cables through a rubber gromet to fill the hole. I am going to have the antennas mounted to the toolbox in the bed (antennas not yet installed).

The CB is mounted on the top of the stack. It doesn't offer a remote mount setup.

There will be 3 antennas on the back of the truck when finished. CB antenna will have a quick connect so you can switch between a 3' firestick or a 102" stainless steel whip. HF will also have a quick connect to switch between various antennas but will primarily be a 20 meter single band whip. VHF/UHF will be a multi band center loaded coil.



View attachment 23766

ICOM main unit and antenna tuner mounted where the tire tools used to be.

I have a question for you. I just got another radio that I plan on mounting to the same bracket setup in the dash tray, do you have any issues with vibrations or it moving around up there just mounted to the tray or does it stay put pretty well? Is it resting on the dash in front of the console tray?

 

[RedZilla]

FYI for those interested, although there's not much official information from Midland, I received an email from them today saying the new MXT500 50w GMRS mobile radio is to be released to the public next week. Here's a site with some early prototype information.

Midland Radio MicroMobile MXT500

Looking for the perfect comms gear for the trail, then take a look at the high powered Midland Radio MXT500

theadventureportal.com

I've also been told by Midland that the MXT575 is suppose to enter production around March of this year.

MXT575 50W MicroMobile GMRS Two-Way Radio

Shop the MXT575 — 50W GMRS MicroMobile radio with integrated control mic, weather alerts, and repeater channels. Maximum legal power for any terrain.

midlandusa.com

 

[Parksoffroad]

Just finished mounting the GMRS radio and also installed the NAV-TV module while I had everthing apart to run wires up through the dash. There is a slight rattle / ticking noise up on the radio somewhere that I may or may not track down depending on if it wears on me.

 

[Jericho]

View attachment 43442Just finished mounting the GMRS radio and also installed the NAV-TV module while I had everthing apart to run wires up through the dash. There is a slight rattle / ticking noise up on the radio somewhere that I may or may not track down depending on if it wears on me.

How is the 1000g working for you? I'm torn... According to like two channels on Youtube, it is the second coming, the best ever, super awesome fantastic, gmrs transceiver - but on forums it's got middling reviews due to serious quality control issues and variable performance. Also, I've read that the display cannot be dimmed and that the screen color cannot be changed; only the Led next to the knob.

Any information you can pass along would be appreciated because if this isn't the answer, I'll likely end up on Midland.

 

[Parksoffroad]

How is the 1000g working for you? I'm torn... According to like two channels on Youtube, it is the second coming, the best ever, super awesome fantastic, gmrs transceiver - but on forums it's got middling reviews due to serious quality control issues and variable performance. Also, I've read that the display cannot be dimmed and that the screen color cannot be changed; only the Led next to the knob.

Any information you can pass along would be appreciated because if this isn't the answer, I'll likely end up on Midland.

Its too new for me to judge. I ordered the RT systems software for programming, but I have not really used it yet. I will update as time goes on.

 

[Jericho]

Its too new for me to judge. I ordered the RT systems software for programming, but I have not really used it yet. I will update as time goes on.

To my understanding that RT Software/cable kit is as good as it gets.

 

[Parksoffroad]

To my understanding that RT Software/cable kit is as good as it gets.

I have their software for I think 5 or 6 other radios. Love it. For the most part I try to program all my radios the same, so I can copy from one radios programming and paste it into another ones. Channel 1 is the same on all radios etc., makes it easy. The biggest downside to their software is you need to activate it once its installed on your computer, and you can only do that by internet or phone. In an emergency if your trying to install it on a new computer to program something you might be out of luck, doing emergency communications its something I thought about.

 

[OKTremor]

Does anyone have any antenna mounting solutions for those of us that don't have something in the bed to attach the antenna to.....yet?

 

[Molinote]

Does anyone have any antenna mounting solutions for those of us that don't have something in the bed to attach the antenna to.....yet?

Do a Google search for "Super Duty brake light antenna" and you will have some options.

 

[Gus]

Photo update.
View attachment 23781

I have to ask what are these tool boxes it looks like they were made for the truck