Outdoor Adventure USA

I posted this in the FJ forum, but thought I'd post here as well:

Finally finished my 8800 install.

I mounted the body of the radio under the driver's seat. The face plate is mounted on the center console



I used a Diamond K9000 motorized mobile mount and a Diamond Antenna NR770HB Dualband VHF/UHF Mobile Antenna. I like the motorized mount because I can lower the antenna when I go under trees and because my FJ is my daily driver and I park in a structure with only 7' of clearance.


Antenna in up position


As you can see above, I ran the power for the mount and the coax down and under the passenger side pillar.


Antenna in down position


Here's the button to raise/lower the antenna

Because the body of the radio contains the speaker, and it was mounted under my seat, I decided to go with an external speaker. I used a speaker from a Land Rover Discovery II. I'd seen this done with John's Defender at Expedition Exhange and read about this speaker on Expedition Portal



I used a hole cutter to drill a 2 3/4" hole in the driver's side door panel. The speaker itself is maybe a 1/16" larger than the hole, so I sanded it to fit.









Here' is the speaker and panel installed




So far, I'm happy with the radio. It's a lot of radio (it's my first amateur radio), so I've got some room to grow. The only thing that I don't like about it is the lack of backlighting on the buttons. Makes the radio hard to use at night.

that is super sweet! how much was that electric ant device?? I really like that, I have to remove my antenna to fit in the garage, that thing would be awesome.

FunJunkie wrote:that is super sweet! whats the name of the electric antenna device and how much was it? I really like that, I have to remove my antenna to fit in the garage, that thing would be awesome.

It's the Diamond Antenna K9000 motorized mount. It plugs into a 12v socket. I hardwired it in. The mount is $110, but its well worth it if you park in a structure. Plus, the first time I went offroad with it, I had to go under a tree with low hanging branches. It was way cool to just hit a button and lower the antenna, then clear the obstacle and raise it up again.

Here's a link to where I got the mount.
https://www.expeditionexchange.com/diamondantenna/

Very nice install. I really like the LR speaker mounted in the DS door panel. Is that speaker designed for 2-way radios, or is it a speaker used in the LR stereo system ?

FYI, the Diamond mounts (and all antenna / 2-way radio equipment) are also available at Jun's Electronics, known on the web as www.hamcity.com.

cruiserlarry wrote:Very nice install. I really like the LR speaker mounted in the DS door panel. Is that speaker designed for 2-way radios, or is it a speaker used in the LR stereo system ?

FYI, the Diamond mounts (and all antenna / 2-way radio equipment) are also available at Jun's Electronics, known on the web as http://www.hamcity.com.

The speaker is not designed for 2-way radios. It is the mid speaker from their 7 speaker system. I understand that it is not a communications speaker but after testing it for a month prior to install, I found the sound/clarity to be good and accept the compromise in exchange for a clean install.

Hardluck wrote:The speaker is not designed for 2-way radios. It is the mid speaker from their 7 speaker system. I understand that it is not a communications speaker but after testing it for a month prior to install, I found the sound/clarity to be good and accept the compromise in exchange for a clean install.

A mid-range frequency speaker will work pretty well for 2-way communications. It's the additional bass (low frequency) most standard speakers "add" that distorts the sound of the voice in 2-way radio monitoring.

How much does that LR speaker cost, roughly ? Is it available on-line, or only from a LR dealer ?

cruiserlarry wrote:

Hardluck wrote:The speaker is not designed for 2-way radios. It is the mid speaker from their 7 speaker system. I understand that it is not a communications speaker but after testing it for a month prior to install, I found the sound/clarity to be good and accept the compromise in exchange for a clean install.

A mid-range frequency speaker will would pretty well for 2-way communications. It's the additional bass (low frequency) most standard speakers "add" that distorts the sound of the voice in 2-way radio monitoring.

How much does that LR speaker cost, roughly ? Is it available on-line, or only from a LR dealer ?

I got it off ebay. It was about $30. I don't know how much new but given land rover's prices, I would expect it to be hefty.

Great install! I'm starting to gather information on radios and installations and I like the cleanliness of yours. How did you run the antenna wires? Did you drill a hole in the roof or did you feed it through or around the door sill? It's hard to see in the picture. Thanks in advance for the information.

Voodoo Blue 57 wrote:Great install! I'm starting to gather information on radios and installations and I like the cleanliness of yours. How did you run the antenna wires? Did you drill a hole in the roof or did you feed it through or around the door sill? It's hard to see in the picture. Thanks in advance for the information.

It was raining the day I took pictures. I'll take some more this weekend to show you. I didn't drill a hole in the roof. Instead I removed the passenger pillar and ran the wires down the pillar.

Thanks!! I'll look forward to your post.