Ham Radio gear help

[Roach011]

Hey y'all,

I tried reaching out to a few ham radio companies but they couldn't understand what I was asking I guess. I figured the B6G braintrust could get me set in the right direction.

I am far from an expert so if you could just prescribe a few parts and pieces to get me setup, I'd appreciate it. Tech license.

I'm mounting my Yeasu FTM 400 to my vehicle and need the following parts;

1) Looking for a tailgate/spare tire mounted antenna. Something long enough to work well but not scrape the ceilings everywhere we go. I'm really only communicating on the trail and bouncing the occasional repeater.

2) appropriate mount (NMO?) and coax to run back to the radio (15' should suffice). Will be mounting to a 3/16 thick steel bracket

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[JediMcMuffin]

Hey there,

I have the same radio, I did a hood/lip mount as I was a rather early delivery (Oct 21) and at the same though I would have preferred it be on the tailgate there weren't any brackets available to do just install. Some folks were buying Jeep brackets and re-drilling or cutting them up to fit. I'm happy with what I did but I too kinda wish the antenna was behind me, I'm just not willing to put in the time to relocate it.

This M2M solution is nice, but requires buying their tailgate reinforcement which would nicely let you mount a jerry can or a few other bits so maybe despite the cost thats one way to go.

https://mountains2metal.com/tailgate-reinforcement-antenna-mount-bronco-2021/

THIS is probably your cheapest option!: https://www.jcroffroad.com/product/BR6-CB.html

From their FAQ they say this:

I think ideally you would want the tip of the antenna to be a few inches over your roofline. I want to say my antenna is close to 40" long and nicely reminds me of that every time I go into a parking garage. This is what I'm using: https://www.diamondantenna.net/nr770hbnmo.html

I have that antenna because thats what the condescending guy at Ham Radio outlet told me to buy. I also have a compactenna that I leave on the majority of the time because its not as obnoxious looking. So you'd probably want something shorter? Looks like Diamond makes a couple others with reductions in gain as you go shorter:

13.8" : https://www.diamondantenna.net/nr72bnmo.html
33.5" : https://www.diamondantenna.net/nr73bnmo.html

Hope that helps?

Currently I put my 400 on a JCR molle panel off the passenger side of the center console, with a remote speaker in the center of the dash mounted to a 67D device rail, and the radio control panel off of an mounting arm coming off the same device rail over the left most AC vent. I intend to relocate the radio itself to underneath the steering wheel, move the antenna to a mount near the a-pillar (and out of my field of view entirely), and the control panel to above the driver's sun-visor to clear up my dash. As for my remote speaker, I love that damn thing despite the eye-sore. I can hear everyone nice and clear.

Also: If you can get the MARS mod done to your 400, you should. Being able to also transmit on GMRS is NICE. One radio to rule them all!

You can see most of my setup in this one photo:

 

[Roach011]

Hey there,

I have the same radio, I did a hood/lip mount as I was a rather early delivery (Oct 21) and at the same though I would have preferred it be on the tailgate there weren't any brackets available to do just install. Some folks were buying Jeep brackets and re-drilling or cutting them up to fit. I'm happy with what I did but I too kinda wish the antenna was behind me, I'm just not willing to put in the time to relocate it.

This M2M solution is nice, but requires buying their tailgate reinforcement which would nicely let you mount a jerry can or a few other bits so maybe despite the cost thats one way to go.

https://mountains2metal.com/tailgate-reinforcement-antenna-mount-bronco-2021/

THIS is probably your cheapest option!: https://www.jcroffroad.com/product/BR6-CB.html

From their FAQ they say this:

I think ideally you would want the tip of the antenna to be a few inches over your roofline. I want to say my antenna is close to 40" long and nicely reminds me of that every time I go into a parking garage. This is what I'm using: https://www.diamondantenna.net/nr770hbnmo.html

I have that antenna because thats what the condescending guy at Ham Radio outlet told me to buy. I also have a compactenna that I leave on the majority of the time because its not as obnoxious looking. So you'd probably want something shorter? Looks like Diamond makes a couple others with reductions in gain as you go shorter:

13.8" : https://www.diamondantenna.net/nr72bnmo.html
33.5" : https://www.diamondantenna.net/nr73bnmo.html

Hope that helps?

Currently I put my 400 on a JCR molle panel off the passenger side of the center console, with a remote speaker in the center of the dash mounted to a 67D device rail, and the radio control panel off of an mounting arm coming off the same device rail over the left most AC vent. I intend to relocate the radio itself to underneath the steering wheel, move the antenna to a mount near the a-pillar (and out of my field of view entirely), and the control panel to above the driver's sun-visor to clear up my dash. As for my remote speaker, I love that damn thing despite the eye-sore. I can hear everyone nice and clear.

Also: If you can get the MARS mod done to your 400, you should. Being able to also transmit on GMRS is NICE. One radio to rule them all!

You can see most of my setup in this one photo:

This is awesome. Thank you very much for the extensive information and picture of your setup. I sincerely appreciate you taking the time.

 

[Johnny Rebel]

Not exactly the same antenna location you're asking about, but here's a post of my FTM-400 mounted in our 2 Door. Have the same setup in our 4 Door and they both work great.

Radios both have the MARS mod and @JediMcMuffin is exactly right - a single dual-band radio is the ticket!

Midland MXT575 GMRS 2-Way Radio Install & Photos *SWR Report* #134

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