Electronics - Radios
For ham radios, I have an Icom 706 MKII and a Yaesu FT-350R. The Icom is setup with a 6m antenna, and I have a dual band antenna for the FT-350R. I specifically purchased the dual band radio to run APRS so my friends/family would not worry when I am out in the middle of no where.
Space is constrained behind the rear driver's seat. I did not have enough room to physically mount each radio to the seat backing. I mounted the 706 bracket to the seat backing, and zip-tied the FT-350R body to the 706. This solution has worked well.
I have still not completely settled on where I want to keep the remote heads. I have seen some people mount the head in the headliner, which is slick and custom, but moves the controls farther out of reach. What I did was used some industrial velcro and mounted the heads to the dash and center console. I use the FT-350R the most, and having the remote head on the center console allows me to adjust the volume or change channels without having to look away from the road while driving. I feel this is somewhat more secure from theft. I can easily disconnect the remote heads and stash the cabling so if someone was looking inside my truck, it might not be as much as a target for the smash and grab.
Now that I have my rear bumper installed, I will probably reconsider my antenna situation. I think I might add a screwdriver antenna for HF and mount it on the rear bumper.
This link will show my track from this weekend's shake down run. It should be good until 10/7/2010 (last 7 days).
http://aprs.fi/?call=KF6OAB-9&mt=roadmap&z=11&timerange=604800
For ham radios, I have an Icom 706 MKII and a Yaesu FT-350R. The Icom is setup with a 6m antenna, and I have a dual band antenna for the FT-350R. I specifically purchased the dual band radio to run APRS so my friends/family would not worry when I am out in the middle of no where.
Space is constrained behind the rear driver's seat. I did not have enough room to physically mount each radio to the seat backing. I mounted the 706 bracket to the seat backing, and zip-tied the FT-350R body to the 706. This solution has worked well.
I have still not completely settled on where I want to keep the remote heads. I have seen some people mount the head in the headliner, which is slick and custom, but moves the controls farther out of reach. What I did was used some industrial velcro and mounted the heads to the dash and center console. I use the FT-350R the most, and having the remote head on the center console allows me to adjust the volume or change channels without having to look away from the road while driving. I feel this is somewhat more secure from theft. I can easily disconnect the remote heads and stash the cabling so if someone was looking inside my truck, it might not be as much as a target for the smash and grab.
Now that I have my rear bumper installed, I will probably reconsider my antenna situation. I think I might add a screwdriver antenna for HF and mount it on the rear bumper.
This link will show my track from this weekend's shake down run. It should be good until 10/7/2010 (last 7 days).
http://aprs.fi/?call=KF6OAB-9&mt=roadmap&z=11&timerange=604800