Writeup - Installing Yaesu FT-7800R Ham Radio in '02 4Runner

[GSGALLANT]

Well, I've got my new Yaesu FT-7800R radio installed in my 2002 4Runner (my Larsen NMO 2/70B antenna only arrives this friday, so that will not be installed until the weekend).

The FT-7800R is dual band (2m and 70cm) ham radio with a detachable head that can be remote mounted. Here's a bit of a writeup showing how I installed the radio.

I started off by test fitting the base of the radio to see where I wanted to mount it. Under the passenger seat seemed like the most logical choice, since the space under the driver seat is already taken up by my 1000W inverter.

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I then removed the passenger seat and drilled some holes in the floor to mount the radio bracket.

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Next, I installed the radio onto the mounting bracket...

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And re-installed the passenger seat. This is the final installation of the base of the radio.

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Next was the wiring. I don't have any pictures of the power wire and antenna wire routing. I ran both of these into the engine compartment through the grommet in the firewall that is just behind the blower fan. I got power directly from my aux battery (mounted above the front passenger wheelwell), and I ran the antenna wire to my front TJM T15 bumper, where I will mount the antenna when I receive it.

I removed a couple of headliner trim pieces on the passenger side. They are just held on with a few clips. I pushed a piece of coax cable above the headliner until I got it through this opening above the rearview mirror (see the short piece of black coax sticking out?) I used that to pull the flimsey extension wire (looks like telephone wire) for the radio's remote head unit through, which I will be mounting in this location.

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I ran the wire down behind the trim piece covering the passenger side B-pillar. In the passenger side B-pillar, I found this small cubby to be the perfect location to store the excess coiled up extension wire.

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Here's how it looked right before I put the trim piece back on.

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For the remote head unit, I made a bracket out of part of an L-bracket and some 22 gauge steel. I forgot to take a picture of the bracket prior to mounting everything on it, but this is a shot of the rear of the bracket after installation.

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And this picture shows the detail of how the bracket is mounted. It is held on with one bolt only, but is really solid. There was a shorter bolt here before that held the grey headliner trim piece on, but I just replaced it with a longer bolt to hold my bracket on.

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Finally, This is what the remote head unit and microphone look like after the installation. I used my dremel to notch out the plastic trim piece that covers the top part of the bracket so that I could re-insall it. The microphone can easily be removed if needed for normal driving when I don't need the radio.

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I haven't been able to try the radio out yet, because my antenna is not due in until the end of the week.

[Ric]

Nice job.

[4x4mike]

Have you already taken your Ham radio operators test? Do you have much experience with ham radio operation?

Just wondering because it's always been something I've been interested in. I don't personally know anyone who has their license so I'm not sure how much use I would get out of one. Having one for emergencies and knowing how to use it would be really nice.

[GSGALLANT]

Ric: Thanks.

4x4mike: I have passed the basic ham operator test and received my callsign a couple of weeks ago, so I'm very new to ham operation.

I have a few friends from my local offroading club that also have ham radios and their licence. We will be using these offroad, as they are much more reliable and have much longer range than CB. The autopatch feature is nice in that we'll be able to call home even when our cell phones don't have reception.

[4x4mike]

I've liked the idea of having extended range, especially if there is an emergency. What's auto patch?

[GSGALLANT]

Here's what wikipedia defines an autopatch as...

Autopatch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An autopatch, sometimes called a phone patch, is a feature of an amateur radio (or other type of two-way radio) repeater to access an outgoing telephone connection. Users with a transceiver capable of producing touch tones (DTMF signals) can make a telephone call, typically limited by settings in the autopatch module to be only to toll-free numbers, such as local calls or toll-free "800" numbers.

This feature is primarily used by radio amateurs to provide emergency telephone connectivity to places that have lost their telephone network access. An Amateur Radio Operator with a transceiver installed in their vehicle may provide telephone network access from dozens or hundreds of miles away, depending on the frequencies of the involved repeater, the power of the transceiver, and the gain of the antennas on both ends...

[expatoz]

Not a bad installation but it would drive me nuts constantly reaching up to adjust controls, especially when mobile. Still, if it works for you that's all it needs to be.

[GSGALLANT]

Expatoz: No reaching up required... the mic has programmable buttons to allow you to control all the most used functions... and it's really easy to select frequencies by keying them in on the keypad.

[expatoz]

I guess we use our radios differently. I don't find the mic buttons too helpful when mobile, especially searching for repeaters, adjusting squelch etc. Anyhow, as I said, if it works for you cool.

[GSGALLANT]

I'll give you that one... adjusting squelch requires reaching up. But I don't have to look up to do it, and once on channel talking to guys on the trail, there will be no need to adjust squelch continuously.