COM GEAR WHAT YA GOT?

[Kiddmen57]

I would say in the middle of the roof. Best omni patteren for all around performance. The 8800R is a good little radio.

Soft top or hard top Jeep?

Hard top jeep, and yes, it comes off as often as possible.

 

[Frdmskr]

Hood may be one of the better places. One option could be right on the piece of bodywork in front of the windshield opposite from the AM/FM antenna. Should be able to keep it out of your main view otherwise you need to remove it and replace it every time you open the hood.

 

[Kiddmen57]

I know a lot of guys use a lip mount on the driver side. My issue is that I'm kind of a snob when it comes to hiding installs. I really don't want to see wires or connections out in the open like that. I may look onto drilling the cowl for the nmo, depending on what it does to my view. I also thought about mounting the base of the antenna on top of the fender and having the main mast protrude through the gap between the back of the hood and the cowl. I just don't know what that might do to radiation patterns and effectiveness. The base coil is only an impedance matching coil and not a radiating element. I've had great results with my mag mount cheapie antenna I use with a baofeng HT in the same setup (mag base inside the main body panels, mast sticking up through the gap). Got ~ 15-20 miles clear to a repeater near my house on my 5w HT.

I'll get the antenna and see how it goes.

Hard to see, but it's the flimsy little antenna sticking up on drivers side just to the front of the flag decal.

 

[Frdmskr]

Really you are dealing with second best solutions. Center of the roof free and clear is the ultimate spot. It's neither practical or possible here so on to plan B.

Drill above the Stars and Stripes as high as you can if you can gain access. Run the cable down to a grommet or boot and the coax and power cables can sneak on there.


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[Kiddmen57]

I started on the install today and will likely finish in about three weeks when I return home from vacation. After playing around with the antennas I ultimately bit the bullet and made a simple L bracket mount on the lip of the fender, like so many before me. The wires are exposed but ultimately this is the best location and has already been proven by others to work well. I routed 8ga power and ground from the battery area to under the passenger seat whee the unit will sit. I need to order a 100amp circuit breaker and blue sea fuse block to mount as well. I eventually plan on running my fridge and a couple other fused only accessories from this power center, hence the seemingly overkill circuit size. For the head, I re-purposed the split collar I used to mount my HT to mount the remote face back plate for the 8800. This way I can disconnect the head and remove it when not needed.

All that is left is to mount the unit and fuse block, terminate the wires and run the remote head cable up to the dash. I also need to pick up another external speaker and determine a location to mount it. My CB speaker is mounted in the roll bar padding but there isn't room on the same side for another speaker. I may end up moving the CB speaker to passenger side and mount the HAM speaker on driver side.

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[Frdmskr]

Nice clamp mount! Not sure on the antenna placement. Branches will grab that thing. Might consider, if you keep it there, rivet and weld so you have a super strong electrical bond and a mechanical back-up. I have an HF antenna mounted that way on the back of my vehicle.

 

[Borrego60]

I went with the new stuff for the VHF narrow band for one and the XTL5000 gives me like 850ch. I did like the spectra but with only 128ch I was limited. I also have a personal license in the bussines bands so my VHF has to be narrow band compliant.

 

[Crom]

Nice setup Borrego60. I have a TM-V71A dual band ham radio, with wide band receive. I use it for ham purposes, but a lot of monitoring as well, works great for USFS, CalFIRE, State Parks, Trolly, and many other business and government agencies that are still analog. I had a Uniden Bearcat BCD996XT scanner radio on loan for a while, and man that thing was incredible! I could monitor any agency on the San Diego County Imperial County Regional Communications System (RCS) that was not encrypted. It even worked for the new 700MHz CHP VRS frequencies. I have plans to acquire a 996XT in the future.

 

[Borrego60]

Thanks for the kind words, I also had the same scanner it did work great but the audio was kinda fuzzy so I sold it.

 

[Borrego60]

Unless you have a programming computer changing freqs in the Motorola gear is a must. I do
it for some ham in my area, If I travel I will program what I need before I go. If not then the 8900r takes over.

Borrego60...Curious about one thing. Why not stick with recycled motorola for your V/UHF ham gear? Its something I am pondering when time comes to buy a new truck and do a build.