Routing Power for Ham Radio

[ChrisD]

Big photo dump here. I wanted to put the radio itself in the cargo compartment, especially considering there is so little space in the passenger compartment. My plan is, once I get longer control and mic cables, to put the faceplate on the accessory spot and put the mic on the dash. So, down to photos and the massacree (went pretty well, actually).

Ford put in a grommet to run cables through the firewall - I punched a hole in it and ran the cable through the hole:

Then I routed it behind the trim panel and into this nifty little wiring tray under the trim - the trim just pops right off, so it's super easy:

Same for the back seats (you 2 door people, no idea how that will work):

Fished the cable up into the cargo bay:

Then put all the trim back together:

Ford's provided accessory posts on the battery terminal. M6-1.0 nuts fit. The Bronco toolkit that comes with the Bronco has a socket that will fit, so you don't even need to open your toolbox.

I pretty much use Anderson Power Poles on everything:

Watertight through hull for marine applications - I drilled a hole through the trim and installed the through hull:

Connected the through hull to the cable going to the engine bay and clipped it so it won't come apart.

Installed:

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[ChrisD]

Next was cabling to the battery - my battery cable is fused on both positive and negative and I connect to the main wire I ran earlier and clip it so it won't come apart:

Got power:

I use a Rigrunner so ran a jumper from the Rigrunner to the power outlet installed earlier. Now, I have lots of places to plug things in:

I want to put the radio on the opposite side of the truck as the power outlet. It's mostly because I ran out of room... You can remove the floor in the back of the Bronco using a 10mm socket and once you do that, you can lift out the trim behind the back seats. That gives you a place to route the wire across the cargo compartment under the floor:

I used a fish to pull the wire up behind the trim. I'm too lazy to remove all the trim:

Zip tied the power cables to the wiring harness that runs behind the back seats:

Put the trim that goes behind the back seats back on:

Reinstalled the cargo floor (yes, my pull tab for it is broken due to an unrelated incident):

I'll have to do the rest with the radio later - I have control and mic cables on order, so once those arrive, I can finish the install. For now, the radio is working, it just still looks ugly!

 

[BlueOvalBandit]

The through hull is a nice touch and a great idea. If someone didn't know better, it looks like a factory port.

 

[ChrisD]

The through hull is a nice touch and a great idea. If someone didn't know better, it looks like a factory port.

Thanks! I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but I'm pretty pleased with it. I'm thinking about getting a couple more to clean up the cabling.

I actually like this vehicle so I'm trying to do as good a job as I can. I'm not 100% satisfied with everything yet, but it gives me a hobby.

 

[Scumby]

What radio and Antenna are you installing?

 

[The Bronze]

Looks great Chris, I will be doing something similar and will use your routing when I install my FTM400! Thanks for documenting.

 

[Krazed]

How are you installing the antenna?

 

[ChrisD]

What radio and Antenna are you installing?

Yaesu FTM-400. I pulled it out of my old pickup when I sold it and reutilized most of the stuff I already had out of the pickup. It has the integrated GPS and APRS, so I like it in the event of a problem, I can ping out and people can find me on google maps.

As far as the antenna, I'm using one that was in my garage for now, just a tailgate lip antenna mount. I had to mess around with the mount some since the tailgate on the Bronco swings inward on the mount side. I didn't want it banging into stuff if I opened the door all the way.

For now, I have the radio working, but it's just sort of velcro'ed in place and the wiring is all wonky since I need longer control cables.

 

[ChrisD]

How are you installing the antenna?

I'm not sure what the permanent situation will be, but for now, I am working with this a trunk lip mount. I'm leaning toward running the feedline through one of the grommets under the floor, then following the frame to the front and mounting to the hood for long-term.

I have a trip next week and I was tired of using a HT for mobile comms.

Also, I'm going to have to remove this when it goes into the body shop to fix the transit damage, so wanted something temporary.

 

[Krazed]

That doesn’t look bad. Have you thought of the trail sight attachment points on the hood?

 

[ChrisD]

Looks great Chris, I will be doing something similar and will use your routing when I install my FTM400! Thanks for documenting.

Haha, I wanted to be able to talk with you without trying to relearn how to operate my HT!

 

[ChrisD]

That doesn’t look bad. Have you thought of the trail sight attachment points on the hood?

I have, actually! I suspect someone will come up with a professional mount that goes there in time. It'll take some fabrication to get to, though...

There's not a lot of clearance between the inside of the trail sight and the hood when the hood is raised. Most of the luggage rack or mirror mounts that exist would prevent me opening the hood...

Something that hinges on the bottom, then screws in at the top on the outboard side with an NMO or UHF slot that would accept an antenna base would probably work. I'm not sure if I want the antenna that far out forward, though...

I'm really still thinking about it...

 

[Lab00Rat]

The only advice I can say is to add a drip loop with any wire that you feed through the firewall. If it gets wet under the hood, it will drip before going into your cabin.

I'll be moving mine from the Taco to the Bronco when I actually get said Bronco....

 

[ChrisD]

The only advice I can say is to add a drip loop with any wire that you feed through the firewall. If it gets wet under the hood, it will drip before going into your cabin.

I'll be moving mine from the Taco to the Bronco when I actually get said Bronco....

That's a really good idea. I was going to seal up the cut I put in the grommet with silicon since I'm not routing anything further through it, but that's a great idea!

 

[Krazed]

I'm not sure if I want the antenna that far out forward, though...

I’ve thought the same. Not sure I want to see it all the time either.

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