Prybry
Adventurer
I just wanted to share my installation of my new Kenwood dual band radio into my '05 Dodge Power Wagon...
I discovered a few things which may be helpful for others installing either Kenwood radios or radios into Dodge Ram pickups...
First for the radio,
The V71 is a dual band VHF/UHF radio which functions as two radios at once.
It has two "sides" to the display and either side can be setup to be either UHF or VHF or both. I'm not going into a lot of detail on the radio other than give you some tips to save some money during a similar install.
1. Don't buy the Kenwood extension kit... it's basicly a set of CAT5 cables and end to end connectors... I bought the cables and same connectors for the control head and mic at Lowes for around 12 bucks. The KW kit runs +$65
2. The remote head kit from Kenwood is a good idea since it includes the mount and an odd CAT5 cable which had a mini plug on one end and a full size plug on the other... if you want to be real cheap you can get by with a normal CAT5 cable and end to end connector connected to the factory face plate cable, and just use velcro on the back of the control head.
Now for the truck install...
I wanted the radio remotely installed under the drivers seat and the control head mounted above the mirror. I also had to come up with an antenna mount which wasn't on the roof or extended to tall to fit through my single garage door. Here are a few things I learned along the way...
1. When I was mounting the radio under the seat I had intended to run separate power leads out to the battery... but while digging around under the seat I came across the power seat wires. After doing some research I discovered that the power seat leads are huge and supported by a 50 amp fuse! Not only that, but they have power continuously which I wanted.
So I just cut those leads and spliced in with the power leads for the V71.
So far it has worked perfectly. I was worried about radio noise but have had no issues to speak of.
2. In trying to find a easy path to the antenna position I had selected on the hood, I came across a rubber plugged port I can only assume was for this exact purpose... just inside the door frame in the area of the kick panel is a hole sized perfectly for the end of a antenna feed cable with connector. You can even use the existing plug as a grommet with some careful trimming with a scissors.
3. The mount for the antenna was another adventure, since I didn't find a ready made bracket for my year Ram. I ended up making one out of SST sheet. I found a pair of factory bolts just inside the hood line which allowed me to make the bracket solidly mounted and prefectly grounded at the same time. See the picture for a better idea of how it works.
I'm sure there are a lot of details I'm leaving out, but these are the high lights...
Here are the pictures... they explain more than I ever could.
Enjoy!
Prybry
I discovered a few things which may be helpful for others installing either Kenwood radios or radios into Dodge Ram pickups...
First for the radio,
The V71 is a dual band VHF/UHF radio which functions as two radios at once.
It has two "sides" to the display and either side can be setup to be either UHF or VHF or both. I'm not going into a lot of detail on the radio other than give you some tips to save some money during a similar install.
1. Don't buy the Kenwood extension kit... it's basicly a set of CAT5 cables and end to end connectors... I bought the cables and same connectors for the control head and mic at Lowes for around 12 bucks. The KW kit runs +$65
2. The remote head kit from Kenwood is a good idea since it includes the mount and an odd CAT5 cable which had a mini plug on one end and a full size plug on the other... if you want to be real cheap you can get by with a normal CAT5 cable and end to end connector connected to the factory face plate cable, and just use velcro on the back of the control head.
Now for the truck install...
I wanted the radio remotely installed under the drivers seat and the control head mounted above the mirror. I also had to come up with an antenna mount which wasn't on the roof or extended to tall to fit through my single garage door. Here are a few things I learned along the way...
1. When I was mounting the radio under the seat I had intended to run separate power leads out to the battery... but while digging around under the seat I came across the power seat wires. After doing some research I discovered that the power seat leads are huge and supported by a 50 amp fuse! Not only that, but they have power continuously which I wanted.
So I just cut those leads and spliced in with the power leads for the V71.
So far it has worked perfectly. I was worried about radio noise but have had no issues to speak of.
2. In trying to find a easy path to the antenna position I had selected on the hood, I came across a rubber plugged port I can only assume was for this exact purpose... just inside the door frame in the area of the kick panel is a hole sized perfectly for the end of a antenna feed cable with connector. You can even use the existing plug as a grommet with some careful trimming with a scissors.
3. The mount for the antenna was another adventure, since I didn't find a ready made bracket for my year Ram. I ended up making one out of SST sheet. I found a pair of factory bolts just inside the hood line which allowed me to make the bracket solidly mounted and prefectly grounded at the same time. See the picture for a better idea of how it works.
I'm sure there are a lot of details I'm leaving out, but these are the high lights...
Here are the pictures... they explain more than I ever could.
Enjoy!
Prybry
