Radio mounting

[JoeTomasone]

Radio Shack used to sell universal radio mounting kits and no longer does (since you don't use them with cell phones and digital cameras - don't get me started...).   Does anyone know where you can get them cheap?

Also, I would be interested to hear how people overcame radio and antenna mounting challenges - especially in vehicles that had no easily viable place to mount radios.

[w7sar]

Because of the high cost of the EFJ mobile I have, I opted to use a carrier made by tac-comm.com  -- and I liked the carrier so well, I ordered several others for my icom aviation radio, my public safety radio, etc.  The "tactical" carrier allows me to take the radios inside an EOC (for example) and stack them.  There are fotos on the web site so you can see how they work.  The EFJ mobile does fit inside the carrier but I have found some radios may not fit.  My motorola didn't fit with the standard moto bolts and I had to find some different ones to allow it to fit inside the carrier.  (The company is in Utah and I know the owner, but I have NO financial interest in the company.  It's just a very well-made product.)

Jerry, W7SAR
Utah Wing.

[Eclipse]

My solution (in a Ford Explorer Sport):



A (too dark) video of it in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPW9K54EPts

For portable radios, we have two EFJ's mounted in waterproof shell containers with gel-cel batteries.  I will post a pic of one tomorrow.

[arajca]

Radio Shack used to sell universal radio mounting kits and no longer does (since you don't use them with cell phones and digital cameras - don't get me started...).   Does anyone know where you can get them cheap?

Have you tried everyone's favorite place for the exotic, esoteric, or just plain weird? Ebay?

[JTodd]

   I couldn't find a suitable mount for our Suburban so I made my own. I removed the center front seat.   Top radio: Micom 2 HF, center: EF Johnson, bottom: Icom A110 Air Band. 
   

[♠SARKID♠]

I'm going to be having my radio mounted this coming Monday.  I plan on just having the thing bolted to the under dash.  The truck is as old as I am and the interior is crud anyways so I'm not too concerned about the holes.

Our squadron was (still is, AFAIK) looking at having the center of our bench seat in our Ford Expo cut out and turned into a radio mount, as there is no radio in the vehicle.  We have to have it done professionally though, as apparently cutting into that seat could trigger some sensors that would deploy the airbags.  I think a local police dept is donating the service though.

[BigMojo]

Eclipse...can you show a little closer shot of how you mounted the EFJ in the glove box? Did you connect an external speaker to it?

[Eclipse]

Eclipse...can you show a little closer shot of how you mounted the EFJ in the glove box? Did you connect an external speaker to it?

Looks like I forgot to post the pics of the gel-pack radios, too.  Its a little dark for pics right now.

Its about as steampunk as you're gonna find - the radio, by coincidence, exactly fits in the space left when you remove the plastic liner. 

I originally just basically sat it in there, which was fine, unless you wanted to changed the station.

It would also, on occasion, fall out on the knees of the passenger.   

The fix was a "hinge" I fashioned out of two pieces of duct tape on the lower inside, and the strap wrie you see in front, now it is plenty secure and hinges out to change the station, etc.  At some point I intend to use a piano-type hinge to replace the tape, but like good 'ol USA tape, its still holding strong.

The small piece of tape on the front side is just to keep it from getting scratched by the lock.

I'll post more daylight pics tomorrow, if I remember, but its no pretty, just functional.

[BigMojo]

That's cool...I kinda pseudo mounted mine on the transmission hump all the way up at the dash...the thing is just so big it takes away usable space, and blocks my 12v's...I may have to see if I can do something like yours. I have a GMC Canyon, so it's gotta be close in size.

Can you hear the audio when the box is closed?

[Eclipse]

Yes, sorry, forgot to mention that - I was going to run a remote speaker but found I didn't' need it.

If anything the closed space takes a bit of the edge off the tin-y speaker.  Mine is open on the bottom in the back which reflects most of the sound down and back into the truck.

[BigMojo]

Nice...thanks.

[IceNine]

I have a 2002 Silverado

I found that the panel under the ashtray/power center/cig lighter area comes off with 4 screws.

On the back side there were 2 wires that I zip tied out of the way and I ran the self drillers that come with the EFJ up into the dash.

When I go to sell the truck I'll just take out the radio and replace that fancy little cover, and there will be no evidence other than the antenna hole,  But, I got smart and ran a mic cable, and cell cable when I mounted the antenna so all I have to do is make those 2 connections (as simple as removing the dome light) and replace the antenna with a cell antenna and whalla.... functional for non-radio types.

I'll see if I can't get a picture or 2 later

[wuzafuzz]

I used to have a Jeep Liberty and mounted a radio inside the center console.  This allowed me to close the lid and completely hide the radio.  (Removing the mag mount left nothing to entice would be thieves.)  The console insert wasn't quite deep enough for the radio, so I cut a small hole in the bottom which allowed the radio and wiring to sneak out through the bottom of the console.  Lifting the lid to get to the radio was a bit of a bother, but not too bad.

[Eclipse]

So here's a better shot of my ugly, but extremely functional install of the EFJ in my truck:



As above, I was not excited about having a $2k invitation to break my windows in full sight, though admittedly the N-Mount antenna on the roof is a clue, hopefully they will see the old scanner and move on, and for those real "dodgey" areas, I can always stash the mic and the scanner.

Here's the portable:



As mentioned before, it is in a waterproof, very durable mil-spec shell carrier.   In the back you see the gel-cell battery which gives it about 2-hours use when fully charged.  The external connector allows for a standard power supply and/or cigarette lighter adapter, both stored in the case.

We have used this in mission bases (stacked on a second one), and in vehicles (its size makes it sit quite nicely on the passenger seat without moving around.  I take no credit for the idea or the implementation, both were done by the current wing DC.  Total cost for the mods (not including the carrier, which we had lying around, ~$25, including the batteries.

[floridacyclist]

I just got my truck and it isn't complete yet, so no pics....but one day soon....

On my old-school Pathfinder, I screwed a flat piece of metal down on the flat topside of the dash with a bracket for the external speaker to go on top of that and the head unit sticking out from the dash...it fits just above my AC outlet. the body of my TK730 is under the driver's seat. The head unit of my HF rig (SGC2000) is bolted to the dashboard immediately in front of the passenger and above the glove box with the radio itself mounted to a piece of plywood installed in the left rear quarter window (since I can't see out of it anyway) and an Itronics 266 Mhz laptop installed in the right rear quarter-window with a wireless hub below that. Although the laptop is slow, it is fast enough for an internet relay from my cellphone, is impact and vibration-resistant, and best of all runs on straight 12V thus eliminating the inverter.