TJ and HAM rig

[ZL3OOC]

Hi all,
OK, let's see yer rigs in yer TJs!:p I got me a TJ and now what?

Oliver :cool:

[KA5IVR]

Now What? I think this is what you are asking...

Do you plan to run HF or just VHF/UHF?

Once you decide on that, you have to decide on Antenna & Rig mounting locations. I'm only running VHF/UHF in the Jeep, so here are a couple of photos of my setup:

Kenwood TM-700a hooked to the GPS to run APRS
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb183/KA5IVR/Misc/Overhead2m.jpg

Dual band antenna on a behind the tail light bracket
http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb183/KA5IVR/Misc/AntMount.jpg

[KJ4PTC]

What rig is this in the first picture?, how did you manage to mount it above the mirror? Any clearance problems for the top or other issues? In the second picture are these parts from Q-tec, the behind the tailight mount/lightguard? Did you have to use any longer screws to secure it all together? And lastly, what antenna/coax are ya usin' ? sorry for all of the questions, just been trying to figure out mounting options for my 2m rig in my 1995 YJ. I like the dual-bander setup you have, and my wife asked me what I wanted for fathers day...wink wink! Gotta take advantage of the situation at hand! 73's...from Robbie in western nc, kj4ptc and will be standing by.

[KA5IVR]

I made a little plate & u-bolt thing to mount the Remote Head's OEM bracket to the footman's loop. Both Tops clear well. The Radio is mounted behind the panel under the steering wheel and the Mic is down by the shifter. I can't remember if the TJ had one of those above the mirror or not.

For my '06 TJ, I used the OEM screws for the "Teraflex" antenna mount that were mounting the tail light. They were long enough. I ran the coax through the taillight's wiring hole and up into the tub along with Jeeps wiring through the rubber garmet and along the Jeep's wiring to the front. No Drilling involved.

I had an '88 YJ and I mounted my Dual Band radio vertical looking up just behind the center console. I learned the controls by hand and did not have to look down too often, just reach back and do what ever. The consoles on the YJ's are better for this style of mounting. I ran the wiring/coax under the carpet & below the console.

I used the angle part of a mirror mount bracket for the antenna mount. You might have to drill the 3/8" hole bigger, but depends on which antenna you use. I mounted it inside the tail gate/spare tire Stop Bracket on the back right side of the Jeep. I drilled a hole thru the tub with a garment to run the Coax in behind that bracket and ran the coax up into the cab to the radio. Get under your Jeep and you will see the wiring under a plastic piece just behind the rear wheel. The coax came down from the mount and had a little pig tail loop back up and through the hole for strain relief. Everything hides inside that stop bracket for a neat install.

Sorry, no old photos of this setup, but these are good spots for CB/antenna on a YJ's too.

[ZL3OOC]

HI all,
Thank you!! Looks like the answer. I will probably do VHF only in the TJ as all the repeaters in the 'sticks' are VHF. I have a FT7800 in my KJ Cherokee for the general and townie stuff. I will get one of those antenna mounts from Quadratec. I'm looking at an 1802 with removeable face kit for the TJ.

Thank you again

Oliver

[KC0NNT]

Kevin, AD5VG has a KJ and runs both VHF/UHF and HF. You might want to hit him up for ideas.

[ZL3OOC]

Hi again

"For my '06 TJ, I used the OEM screws for the "Teraflex" antenna mount that were mounting the tail light. They were long enough. I ran the coax through the taillight's wiring hole and up into the tub along with Jeeps wiring through the rubber garmet and along the Jeep's wiring to the front. No drilling reqired."

Hmm...was the coax 'squashed' when screwing the tail light back down or how did you get around that?

Thanks

Oliver

[K1UR]

Here's a cheap and simple overhead install. Nothing more than a piece of wood cut to length, held to the rollbar with u-bolts.

http://www.4x4ham.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=140&d=1276466485

http://www.4x4ham.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=141&d=1276466486

I've since removed the netting as it was too much in the way.

[KC0NNT]

Check out my install here http://www.4x4ham.com/showthread.php?92-Kenwood-D700-in-a-Jeep-Wrangler-TJ

[KA5IVR]

Hmm...was the coax 'squashed' when screwing the tail light back down or how did you get around that?

The Coax follows the back edge of the light around to the bottom and thru above the license plate holder. No squashing, it had just enough space.

[V51JP]

my equipment is a yaesu FT857d and the ATAS120A antenna. i decided on this setup because the radio is very compact and still delivers decent punch: 100w on HF, 50W on VHF and 25W on UHF!

http://up.picr.de/3454525.jpg
swiss army knife for reference:
http://up.picr.de/3454526.jpg

HF antenna mounting try no 1
DO NOT TRY THIS IT DOES NOT WORK!!

i decided that using an PL socket from an old radio chassis was the way to go:
PL soket installed
http://up.picr.de/3454527.jpg
one week later PL soket destroyed and nearly lost the ATAS120A
http://up.picr.de/3454528.jpg
the force on the base is too much and the installation is way to rigid for any off-road driving!!!

so on to try no 2
some research on the web yielded these results:

http://up.picr.de/3454534.jpg

http://up.picr.de/3454535.jpg

http://up.picr.de/3454585.jpg

so i got hold of a spring and drilled out the original innards
i taped the top hole with the same thread as the PL barrel conector
and the bottom i drilled the hole through the bolt and through the spring to
make way for the coax:
this is how it all looks after installation
from the botom, note the coax feeding through the bolt:

http://up.picr.de/3454533.jpg
and the top:
http://up.picr.de/3454584.jpg
i am very happy with this setup up to now!

now i still needed to install a VHF / UHF antenna. i used a dual band antenna:
http://up.picr.de/3454530.jpg

works well!!

[KC0NNT]

my equipment is a yaesu FT857d and the ATAS120A antenna.

Wow! Nice set up! Thanks for posting.

[V51JP]

i just noticed that i never posted any pics of the radio installation, only the antennas so here goes:
http://up.picr.de/5129045.jpg

http://s1.up.picr.de/5129046.jpg

http://s2.up.picr.de/5129048.jpg

[AC0VH]

V51JP, how long have you been using the ATAS-120? The spring idea is pretty clever but I would be afraid of it banging your radiator protection bar. Also wondering how well it tunes with the spring.

The guts have a pretty delicate control board and having taken mine apart once have decided that it is for smooth roads and parked locations only. If I have to use HF while actually moving on poor roads or trails, I use a cheap Hamstick or something else. I love the ATAS, but it is not a super rugged antenna.

[V51JP]

i have to agree with that, in the catalouge it looked much better than in real life. the spring mounting absorbs all vibration and off-road jolts very efective, i was amazed how well it works! i use HF a lot in these parts of the world and my biggest problem is that the ATAS cannot do 80 meters. the tuner works very well from 40 meter to 6 meter even with the spring installed. i never tune whilst moving, always come to a full stop and then do the tuning bit. i am looking at a tarheel or codan antenna setup that can do 80M as well. i have the ATAS on the TJ for a little over a year now without any issues.

[N1HX]

Just finished my install. I used Randy's (KC0NNT) install page as a template to install the Kenwood unit under the steering column, pulled out the stock AM/FM radio and replaced it with a single din AM/FM radio and scanner. The Kenwood head mounts below the climate controls and the GPS unit mounts on the dash. The biggest challenge was manufacturing the cable to split the GPS data to both the scanner and ham radio. After some digging online, I established the pin outs and soldered the serial connector for the scanner and presto, the GPS feeds data to both the D710A and the 996XT at the same time. Wicked cool! I use the GPS data for APRS with the D710A and for position data for the scanner to automatically scan for local stations. I also have a pic of my antenna install. Both mount on the gate. If you look at my van you will see the satellite antenna on the top of the van that is used to receive Directv in the car. Maybe I will post that install someday. N1HX

[NH7TU]

V51JP are using your 857 for ham and cb??

[V51JP]

only ham, i think it can do cb but cb is not very popular here, we all use VHF on trail rides, and the 857 can do our club fraquency

[AB3EO]

Little late, but here's the setup.

798799

[VE6TEQ]

Kenwood D710 for V/UHF and APRS, and an ICOM IC7000 with a Tarheel 300 for HF. Gotta love the RAM suction cup mounts to keep them safe and out of the way. Makes it real easy to pull them and lock thenm up when leaving the JEEP with the roof and doors off!


http://ist1-2.filesor.com/pimpandhost.com/2/8/8/3/28830/w/a/g/w/wagw/jeep.jpg (http://www.pimpandhost.com/image/7665960-original.html)

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[CoyoteIrons]

Here's mine, it's nothing special. Yaesu FT-7900R, Comet SBB5 on a Teraflex taillight mount, cheap Uniden speaker from RS.

The brains of the radio is zip tied to the bottom of the steering column, doesn't look very good but you cant see it when the dash is put back on.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/coyote_irons/Jeep/IMG_0655.jpg

Faceplate is behind the sun visor, kinda protects a little from the elements and hides it somewhat.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/coyote_irons/Jeep/IMG_0658.jpg

Antenna, not much to say here, it works.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/coyote_irons/Jeep/IMG_0656.jpg

External speaker from RS mounted on the roll bar behind me, it was cheap but it sounds great.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v254/coyote_irons/Jeep/IMG_0657.jpg

Any questions?