After a lot of head scratching on mounting a FT8800R in my 2500HD Pickup, I finally made some decisions and got it done. I had the remote kit and thought about mounting the radio with my stereo amps behind the rear seat, mainly because I already had to 30amp feeds there. I ended up talking myself out of that as it makes the unit difficult to access and I may want to move it into my Jeep occasionally. A quick check under the dash and there was a perfect mounting spot just West of the ashtray.
The next head scratcher was the antenna mount. I wasn't big on punching a hole in the roof, plus the truck spends enough time in the woods that a roof mount would probably get gacked up pretty quickly. Stake pocket mounts were easy, but stuck out to the side, also asking for a bushwhacking. Any of the "lip mounts" that I saw in local shops were big and bulky. I finally found a under hood fender mount (Accessories Unlimited #AUGM2-L) online that looked like it was my best bet.
This was basically a CB antenna bracket with a 3/8" hole, but it simply bolted to the fender with no drilling and exited the hood right in front of the windshield cowl. Very clean, but I needed to re-drill the antenna hole to 5/8" to make it work with the Comet antenna I'd purchased. $15 for the mount and $20 for the drill bit, but I was much happier with the set-up than anything else I'd looked at.
The antenna is a Comet CA-2x4SRB Dual Band that came highly recommended.
I then added a Diamond C213-SMA mount with RG-316 coax.
The bracket attaches with a single screw to an existing hole in the top of the fender. The fender paint was sanded until I hit bare metal, but the area was difficult to reach, so I didn't get a very large contact area for the ground. The bracket had a tapped hole with a grounding screw (#8 Phillips screw in the first photo), which I also attached to the chassis ground with 14ga wire.
The instructions showed the screw going through the bracket and into the fender, with the nut behind the fender. There was VERY limited access for my fat fingers to hold that tiny nut behind the fender, so I opted to reverse the fastener, which would allow me to insert the screw by holding it with needle nose pliers from the back, lessening the chance of dropping the nut into the cavern of the inner fender. Looked good on paper, until I dropped the screw into the cavern. Par... 15 minute delay for a Hardware Store run...
The coax simply runs along the top of the fender, then under a small dust shield, then into the door jamb area.
As my stereo installer ran his satellite coax down the jamb and in through the kick panel, I followed his lead and simply zip tied my coax to the existing installation. The coax is well clear of any moving parts.
The coax runs into the kick panel through the rubber conduit between the door and the jamb.
Gaining access behind the kick panel is simply a matter of removing the rocker cover by gently pulling it upward to free the first two "push-in" fasteners.
Once the rocker cover is loose, the plastic kick panel can be pulled free of the jamb. This is also attached with two "push-in" fasteners.
The coax can now be pulled through into the cab
and zip-tied under the dash before replacing the kick panel and rocker cover.
Next was getting clean power into the cab. Again following my stereo installers lead, I tied in to the battery's "accessory" box.
The connection was made to the 3/8" stud with 12ga wire. Even though the alternator ties into the other side of this accessory box, there's zero RF noise from the alternator.
The hot lead and a chassis ground were then run through a firewall grommet, just under the the right side windshield wiper.
The coax and power wires were then zip tied under the dash in several spots before reaching the radio's location.
The bracket is mounted to the bottom lip of the dash using two #10X1/2" sheet metal screws and is plenty sturdy. I added powerpole connectors, tidied up the extra wire behind the radio and fired it up.
The entire process from drilling the antenna hole in the mount, to checking the SWR took only two hours. SWR was 1.5:1 or less without out any tuning, so I called it good.
Total cost of the install (less the radio) was $160.
Comet CA-2x4SRB Antenna $65
Diamond C213 mount with 13' of RG-316 Coax $50
Mounting Bracket $15
5/8" Drill bit $20
Powerpole connectors and wiring $10
The antenna works very well, doesn't hang off the side of the truck or stick up too high to get caught in trees or brush. It's even indoor parking garage friendly. The $15 mounting bracket was the perfect solution to a whole lot of possible headaches.
The next head scratcher was the antenna mount. I wasn't big on punching a hole in the roof, plus the truck spends enough time in the woods that a roof mount would probably get gacked up pretty quickly. Stake pocket mounts were easy, but stuck out to the side, also asking for a bushwhacking. Any of the "lip mounts" that I saw in local shops were big and bulky. I finally found a under hood fender mount (Accessories Unlimited #AUGM2-L) online that looked like it was my best bet.
This was basically a CB antenna bracket with a 3/8" hole, but it simply bolted to the fender with no drilling and exited the hood right in front of the windshield cowl. Very clean, but I needed to re-drill the antenna hole to 5/8" to make it work with the Comet antenna I'd purchased. $15 for the mount and $20 for the drill bit, but I was much happier with the set-up than anything else I'd looked at.
The antenna is a Comet CA-2x4SRB Dual Band that came highly recommended.
I then added a Diamond C213-SMA mount with RG-316 coax.
The bracket attaches with a single screw to an existing hole in the top of the fender. The fender paint was sanded until I hit bare metal, but the area was difficult to reach, so I didn't get a very large contact area for the ground. The bracket had a tapped hole with a grounding screw (#8 Phillips screw in the first photo), which I also attached to the chassis ground with 14ga wire.
The instructions showed the screw going through the bracket and into the fender, with the nut behind the fender. There was VERY limited access for my fat fingers to hold that tiny nut behind the fender, so I opted to reverse the fastener, which would allow me to insert the screw by holding it with needle nose pliers from the back, lessening the chance of dropping the nut into the cavern of the inner fender. Looked good on paper, until I dropped the screw into the cavern. Par... 15 minute delay for a Hardware Store run...
The coax simply runs along the top of the fender, then under a small dust shield, then into the door jamb area.
As my stereo installer ran his satellite coax down the jamb and in through the kick panel, I followed his lead and simply zip tied my coax to the existing installation. The coax is well clear of any moving parts.
The coax runs into the kick panel through the rubber conduit between the door and the jamb.
Gaining access behind the kick panel is simply a matter of removing the rocker cover by gently pulling it upward to free the first two "push-in" fasteners.
Once the rocker cover is loose, the plastic kick panel can be pulled free of the jamb. This is also attached with two "push-in" fasteners.
The coax can now be pulled through into the cab
and zip-tied under the dash before replacing the kick panel and rocker cover.
Next was getting clean power into the cab. Again following my stereo installers lead, I tied in to the battery's "accessory" box.
The connection was made to the 3/8" stud with 12ga wire. Even though the alternator ties into the other side of this accessory box, there's zero RF noise from the alternator.
The hot lead and a chassis ground were then run through a firewall grommet, just under the the right side windshield wiper.
The coax and power wires were then zip tied under the dash in several spots before reaching the radio's location.
The bracket is mounted to the bottom lip of the dash using two #10X1/2" sheet metal screws and is plenty sturdy. I added powerpole connectors, tidied up the extra wire behind the radio and fired it up.
The entire process from drilling the antenna hole in the mount, to checking the SWR took only two hours. SWR was 1.5:1 or less without out any tuning, so I called it good.
Total cost of the install (less the radio) was $160.
Comet CA-2x4SRB Antenna $65
Diamond C213 mount with 13' of RG-316 Coax $50
Mounting Bracket $15
5/8" Drill bit $20
Powerpole connectors and wiring $10
The antenna works very well, doesn't hang off the side of the truck or stick up too high to get caught in trees or brush. It's even indoor parking garage friendly. The $15 mounting bracket was the perfect solution to a whole lot of possible headaches.
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