It is my hope this will save you a ton of time, stress and money so you can get running much faster than I did. Be patient with yourself, this is a learning experience and you'll learn a lot of wonderful things as you go on (namely that you can do it!).
Short version of installing a ham radio in your vehicle:
Mount the radio somewhere it won't get damaged - ceiling of the car, on the dash, under the seat (so long as it doesn't get crushed), on the floor, in the trunk, then run the red wire to the positive terminal of your battery, and the black wire to the negative terminal of your battery. Attach the antenna to the radio and mount it and that's it! Presto! (3-4 hours).
Longer version:
Do this for as inexpensive as possible. You'll acquire tools and parts over time but the idea is to get things up and running without going broke. Hopefully this list will simplify a lot that I had to learn the hard way. You also will notice that I am all about visibility with colored connectors, tape, tubing etc., this isn't mandatory but when it comes time to work on my systems, being able to find them easily and quickly is a huge benefit versus just looking at black electrical tape and black joints.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:
Check your radio's power requirements (in the specifications, usually at the front or back of the manual). Most radios run about ~13.8V +/- 15%, (so 11.73-15.87V). That allows you a bit of fluctuation in your electrical system. If you're putting this on a vehicle that has two batteries or a battery that has a much higher voltage, or a smaller and lower voltage system, you will need to make sure that your radio is receiving the right current. If you have a two battery system that are ~12V each for a 24V system in series, you can wire your radio to just one battery. If your system is smaller, you'll need to look around ham communities and forums for recommendations on your specific system for how-to's on installing your system correctly.
Transceiver placement: Your radio comes with a bracket to mount it. I've seen center console mounts in the middle near the armrest facing up vertically, down in the foot well, inside the glove box, under the seat, up on the dash, mounted from the the ceiling, back in the trunk with a detachable face-plate up front near the driver - you name it.
I've also seen magnetic gun mounts (magnets that have adhesive on them that you stick in your car and then a firearm can be attached them them magnetically) used for mounting the radio bracket, just stick the magnet, and then put the bracket on the magnet.
Here's how the wiring went through a slot under the hood lip and through the slot in the door, and across the dash to my radio.
For my Acura I put mine to the side of the center console on the driver's side mounted sideways (vertically) down where my right knee won't hit it and I never even feel it. The speaker is aimed towards me so I can hear it. You can mount it vertically (what I did) or even hanging under the dash. This also allows me to run the AC down by my feet to keep the radio cooler during a heavy duty cycle. It's where my leg doesn't touch it and it won't get crushed by anything. It's also where I can work on it easily and insert SD cards for memory expansion or easily detach antennas, power, etc.
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| FT-400 mount under the dash against the center console. |
I'm down to about 1.5 hours for an install now, it's actually pretty straight forward, just a bit to learn. The hardest part was feeding the power wire through the firewall of my vehicle through a grommet with other power wires going through it already so I didn't have to drill through my vehicle to run my wires through. I had to google where the grommet was and then look to find it (car stereo websites have some info on this if you're wondering for places to look). Once I did, I just ran a metal clothes hangar through the grommet without damaging other wires, had the children see when it came through, attached the wire to the coat hanger with a crook in it, and carefully pulled it back through. I had to do it twice, one for each wire so I could be careful not to damage anything.
Many radios come with a detachable face-plate, so you can mount the body one place, run a wire to the face-plate and have a more ergonomic presentation. I used a Lido Mount for my FT400 for this and ran the wire over the console to my face-plate. If you use a Lido Mount (there are others, that's just the one I found that worked for me) you'll have to purchase one that attaches to your particular radio and/or vehicle. My mount attaches to the bolts that hold the seat to the floor.
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| Not mine, but nearly just like it. |
I am all about simplicity with ham radio. There are some places I could mount my radio that would look really cool (like on the ceiling or inside the center console like some emergency vehicles). But if it's too much work and I have to take apart too many items to run the wires where I run the risk of this being a multi-day project it's a no-go for me. Some vehicles like a Jeep, for example, might have a really accessible ceiling - my Acura does not. You'll have to take a look for yourself.
As a part of your installation process, I'd strongly suggest setting some supplies aside as spare parts so that if something happens - fuse blows, wire breaks, etc. - you aren't completely down and out because the store is closed, you're too far from it, or they aren't open for whatever reason (middle of a disaster).
Also, get yourself a toolbox dedicated to ham equipment if you're going to be going farther with this.
With some basic electrical skills you should be up and running in no time with no worries. You may have a lot of these laying around the home already.
You'll need:
- Required - Wire Strippers - to cut and strip wire for connecting:
- Required - Electrical connectors:
- Butt splice crimp connectors (most common) - I buy an assorted pack in bulk so I have extra. There are other types (such as those in the video below), but these are the most common and most simple to get up and running.
Butt splice crimp connectors.
- Ring terminals - connect your power lines of the radio to your battery - 5/16" should work (may come with or without colored plastic sleeve on the end, red, blue, yellow).
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| Ring terminal. |
- Strongly Recommended - Electrical tape: to protect your wire connections from dust and dirt.
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| Colored tape allows me to mark my work more visibly. |
- Optional - Heat shrink tubing - optional substitute for electrical tape to protect your wiring connections. Requires a heat source like a heat-gun to use, more thorough than electrical tape, not absolutely critical.
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| Heat shrink tubing |
- Optional - Corrugated wire conduit - looks like a long corrugated hose/straw. Protects your wires from friction under the hood. My van has this keeping the wires from rubbing on the engine, but my Acura doesn't.
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| Corrugated wire conduit (I like colored tubing so I can see my project better) |
- Required - Spare fuses - if you blow a fuse you'll need replacements, every ham should have these. Look on your radio specs or look in the kit and check what kind of fuses it has. This will usually be at the back of the manual, or even on the components list of parts of your radio that came in the box. These should be able to be found at the auto shop or automotive section of a store, or you can order them online.
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| Usually radios come with glass fuses. |
- Necessary - zip-ties for electrical work. You don't want wires running all over and in some cases you'll want to tie them together. Zip tie them and trim them neatly. If you need to attach them to places in your vehicle to make them run where you want to, do that, and then trim off the excess end. Keep a spare set of these in your vehicle or with your ham gear. Get the smaller ones if you can (personal preference).
| White ones make your work more visible |
You can also put a rocker switch that turns off the power between your radio and the battery. I did not do this because it was an extra step and another thing that can go wrong - others may have a different opinion. I simply found the APO (automatic power off) feature on my radios and programmed them to turn off if they weren't used for 30 minutes so I didn't drain my battery.
When you go to run your feed line from your radio to your antenna, a few pointers:
If you run your feed line (the coaxial wire going from your radio to the antenna) over the battery, or near the alternator, or near your spark plugs or other electrical motors, expect to get a lot of noise (whine, static, etc.) coming over your radio. These items create radio frequency interference (RFI), and you will notice it when you turn your radio on and the vehicle is running - so will other people. You may have to experiment a bit on how to run the line. If you're running into problems, contact one of the more experienced hams, they may have a "sniffer" or RFI/EMF (electromagnetic field) detector (link goes to one I bought and have used) they can use to find out what's interfering with your signal, or help you with other solutions.
Older vehicles often emit more RFI. You will have to experiment. I found on my older van that having my ham antenna near where the vehicle's radio antenna eliminated nearly all of my interference (because they put the stereo antenna where it wouldn't receive interference). I just make sure not to have my stereo and ham radio on at the same time.
Coiling excess feed line or putting sharp bends in it also can affect performance (results may vary, if you can go with gentle curves and make a bit larger coils your antenna is likely to work better).
If you are having staticky sounds you can also put a "ferrite choke" or RFI choke on the antenna coax before just it goes into the radio or just before it goes into the antenna or both. A ferrite choke stops RFI current / static from running across the outside of the coax which causes a lot of poor sound or transmission - somteimes happens in some "noisy" RFI environments. If you're still getting a whine and static through your antenna I would troubleshoot everything else first (e.g., feed line placement, check for RFI before putting ferrite chokes on - those can be ordered online and you'll make sure they fit the coax for your antenna). You've seen these on a lot of your electrical components on the charge cords for audiovisual or audio systems - it's designed to prevent hum/static/interference from going through the system. If you run your power off other electrical systems - i.e., you want your radio to turn on and off with the vehicle - you may get interference from other electrical systems through your radio or your radio may not get the current it needs sharing it with other systems which is why most of us connect it directly to the battery.
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| Ferrite chokes |
Testimony:
Out of it I learned that 1 Nephi 3:7 truly rang true: that the Lord does not give a commandment except he provides a way for us to accomplish it, and weak things shall be made strong unto us. I felt like I was like Nephi who was not a ship-builder but had been commanded to do so with zero knowledge of how to do it at the beginning (I actually began referring to the first radio as "Nephi's Ship" while I was struggling with it in order to keep myself going). Nephi even built his own tools from scratch! Their story gave me the courage and inspiration to keep trying until I was successful. My first install took months of trial and error and ordering new parts as I had no help and did not know what I was doing, only that I had been told I had to learn this. Now I'm down to a couple hours for an install. You can and will be too if you keep at it. Remember, we're all amateurs, and the purpose of ham radio is to help us learn new skills, and we can also learn self-confidence and faith to learn new or hard things which you will need for the last days. Don't forget to pray!
There is much more to learn, but for now you have enough information for the basics to do a mobile radio install!
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