GSGALLANT
08-05-2008, 07:16 PM
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/2736334207_e266235c38.jpg
I then removed the passenger seat and drilled some holes in the floor to mount the radio bracket.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/2737167676_9afbb4614c.jpg
Next, I installed the radio onto the mounting bracket...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/2736335897_1ce99634ea.jpg
And re-installed the passenger seat. This is the final installation of the base of the radio.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2737172392_e4bc32ce64.jpg
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3250/2737169472_cf983cb981.jpg
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/2736336917_3de78cdd90.jpg
Here's how it looked right before I put the trim piece back on.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3074/2736337391_3d4a78406c.jpg
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3100/2736338791_d427de9767.jpg
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3258/2736338335_3a49bb84dc.jpg
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3148/2737170832_38520fb1c6.jpg
I haven't been able to try the radio out yet, because my antenna is not due in until the end of the week.
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/2736334207_e266235c38.jpg
I then removed the passenger seat and drilled some holes in the floor to mount the radio bracket.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/2737167676_9afbb4614c.jpg
Next, I installed the radio onto the mounting bracket...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/2736335897_1ce99634ea.jpg
And re-installed the passenger seat. This is the final installation of the base of the radio.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3193/2737172392_e4bc32ce64.jpg
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3250/2737169472_cf983cb981.jpg
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/2736336917_3de78cdd90.jpg
Here's how it looked right before I put the trim piece back on.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3074/2736337391_3d4a78406c.jpg
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3100/2736338791_d427de9767.jpg
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3258/2736338335_3a49bb84dc.jpg
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.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3148/2737170832_38520fb1c6.jpg
I haven't been able to try the radio out yet, because my antenna is not due in until the end of the week.