Installed my HAM radio

[FunJunkie]

Its a Yaesu FT-8800R
It's neat because the face is removable and can be mounted pretty much anywhere. I mounted the unit under the drivers seat then mounted the face under the drivers side vent.


installing the main unit.

and how it looks with the seat back in place.


here's how I installed the face bracket, the original design had the cord coming out the side but I wanted to hide it so I drilled a hole in the bracket, through the silver thing and in the background you can see I drilled through the plastic there too where the silver thing clips on.


the face installed.



the antenna is a Diamond NR-770


and the antenna mount. I had to drill another port in the roof for my GPS antenna and this one but I forgot to take pics of that.

[gon2srf]

Nice write up Mike, thanks for sharing that. I have a concern for your floor mounted unit. I know we don't ford many deep rivers around here but aren't you a bit concerned about moisture damaging your floorboard installed unit? I've had enough water moving around the cabin from leaving cooler drain open to fry anything that was on the floor. If there is enough flexibility in the cabling could you could suspend it from the bottom of the seat?

[Frogeye]

Great Instal Mike. That is exactly how I installed my 8800.

G2Srf, I've got my head unit under my driver seat and it's fine. I don't do to many river crossings. I hate mud too.

[sdnative]

Why is the screen discolored? That may be an indication of excessive heat.. Cant really tell, maybe just a shadow? Looks nice.

[DaveK]

Very clean head unit install. Eye level, easy to reach and not in the way of anything. Very nice!

[FunJunkie]

Why is the screen discolored? That may be an indication of excessive heat.. Cant really tell, maybe just a shadow?

It doesn't really look like that, Just a camera flash effect I think.

[FunJunkie]

Nice write up Mike, thanks for sharing that. I have a concern for your floor mounted unit. I know we don't ford many deep rivers around here but aren't you a bit concerned about moisture damaging your floorboard installed unit? I've had enough water moving around the cabin from leaving cooler drain open to fry anything that was on the floor. If there is enough flexibility in the cabling could you could suspend it from the bottom of the seat?

I guess it would be possible and I wish I thought of that yesterday. Well Like Frog said, he has had no probs with his so I hope I'm the same. The cooler thing is scary though. I had that experience before, now I use an electric fridge.

[gon2srf]

Nice write up Mike, thanks for sharing that. I have a concern for your floor mounted unit. I know we don't ford many deep rivers around here but aren't you a bit concerned about moisture damaging your floorboard installed unit? I've had enough water moving around the cabin from leaving cooler drain open to fry anything that was on the floor. If there is enough flexibility in the cabling could you could suspend it from the bottom of the seat?

I guess it would be possible and I wish I thought of that yesterday. Well Like Frog said, he has had no probs with his so I hope I'm the same. The cooler thing is scary though. I had that experience before, now I use an electric fridge.

Some day I'll own an Engle, until then it's ice for me. I'm sure it'll be fine Mike and it does look raised off the floor enough to avoid a little water . I like where you put the face plate. Where is the mic going to hang?

Enjoy!

[FunJunkie]

Where is the mic going to hang?

Not sure, Chris has his on the door which looks nice but I dunno. Mabey on top of the dash... totally undecided, thats why it's still in the box. hahahah

[cruiserlarry]

Nice write up Mike, thanks for sharing that. I have a concern for your floor mounted unit. I know we don't ford many deep rivers around here but aren't you a bit concerned about moisture damaging your floorboard installed unit? I've had enough water moving around the cabin from leaving cooler drain open to fry anything that was on the floor. If there is enough flexibility in the cabling could you could suspend it from the bottom of the seat?

I wouldn't recommend suspending it from the seat, or anything that flexes. The electronics will be subjected to a lot more vibration, which could cause internal failure over time. In addition, the wiring for the seat air bags runs under the seat, and the direct heat from the transmitter could damage the wiring.

The radio brackets allow the radio to sit about 1/2" or so above the floor, so incidental moisture should be no problem. Of course, a good dunking might be tragic, but you'll likely be concerned about more than the radio if that happens.
Just make sure you use sealant on the screws that penetrate the floor, to avoid "wicking" the moisture onto the bracket and "humidifying" your radio over time.