Posted: 4/5/2013 12:30:44 PM EDT
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Hey guys,
I just ordered me a Kenwood TM-281 this afternoon from Universal Radio. That being said, I don't really know what the hell I am supposed to do when I go to mount this thing. I'm driving a 2001 Nissan Frontier 4 door crew cab, and there isn't a whole lot of space to mount a radio. I decided that I'm going to mount it on the passenger side of the transmission hump. That being said, I know the wires from the radio have to go through the firewall, and then connect to the battery. Pretty simple. However, I'm trying to read different things on the internet and I'm getting all kinds of conflicting information. Some say there needs to be fuses right next to the battery on your power feeds. Some say that you just need the fuses on the power feeds like they come from the factory. Do you have to ground the radio to your vehicle? If so, how do you do it? Sorry for all the questions, I'm trying to find a straight answer on how to do it, and it seems every ham has a different method. Thanks. -Joe KF5DLY |
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I was able to mount behind the rear seat in my Tacoma double cab. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/fotomonkey/radio/truck/IMG00139-20100417-1820.jpg Clean setup Jax! |
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Fuses are best at the battery. Think about it, what if the positive wire chafes and starts shorting at the firewall/engine? Grounding will be accomplished in two ways, first the negative power lead and second the antenna ground. How would you ground the antenna? I'm using a Browning/Tram mag mount if it helps. |
Mag mount is fine for the antenna "ground". Run both positive and negative cables to the battery. Fuse both leads as close to the battery as practical. Hooking both pos and neg to the battery will help eliminate noise and your rig will work even with the key off, meaning if you "misplace" the key in BFE you can still call for AAA. 
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Mag mount is fine for the antenna "ground". Run both positive and negative cables to the battery. Fuse both leads as close to the battery as practical. Hooking both pos and neg to the battery will help eliminate noise and your rig will work even with the key off, meaning if you "misplace" the key in BFE you can still call for AAA. Ok, I can do this! 
Thanks for all the replies guys, I'm really looking forward to using a mobile. I've been using a HT for the last year and a half, and my brother made me jealous with his 2 meter base rig. If anybody has experience with the Kenwood TM 281, I'd love to hear from you. |
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Tnx.
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I don't know much about ham but I have installed more car stereo systems then I can count. What if you just get the power from the cigarette lighter all the major wringing is done and the fuses are in place Most cigarette lighters can't provide the juice needed during transmit. |
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I don't know much about ham but I have installed more car stereo systems then I can count. What if you just get the power from the cigarette lighter all the major wringing is done and the fuses are in place Because Ham Radios draw considerably more power continuously than 99% of cigarette lighters were designed to support. If it does work, expect intermittent problems and greatly reduced transmit capability. Ham Radios need to be wired to a vehicle battery, the main battery if that's all you have, a second battery is ideal if you can swing it and the wiring involved. -ETA- Jax beat me to it by seconds! Sorry for the double-tap. |
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Run to your local auto parts store.
Get some eyelets that will fit the bolts on your battery terminals. get a fuse holder. I like having a 25-30 amp fuse close to the battery so if anything, like a minor fender-bender shuts your radio wires to ground ( truck fender etc) the fuse will pop...not your 650amp battery. secure the wiring from the battery, to the firewall with zip-ties. you can almost always get the wiring through the firewall by finding a existing rubber grommet and pushing the DC wires thru. ( images stolen from google image search ) Like this 
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or 
mount the TM-281 were it's solid and secure and were you can see it and get to the buttons. install the mic clip on the dash in a logical place. You want to be able to get to your radio and mic in an emergency you don't want to be fumbling around trying to find the dam mic in the dark when you're driving. The TM-281 is a GREAT radio. 
Amazon has really cheap programming cables and freeware CHIRP makes programming all you local freqs and names easy. |
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Well,
I haven't installed in a vehicle lately... But, I installed a 8500 potatoe head in my pickup a while back... Mounted radio under back seat...ran the coax out the rear tip out window... Ran remote head, mic, and power under the trim to under the dash... I had large power leads already there...factory plow kit in the truck... Ran the display cable over the headliner and took a small piece of melonite and put a Velcro pad on the headliner for display...stapled it in and bent them over...and put Velcro on the display...allows it to be put at any angle...so can e run by anyone easily... Bret |
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So, a police car came into the dealership where it was purchased with a transmission leak. The leak was found to have come from the top of the transmission but they couldn't see just where. They remove the transmission and found that when the radio installer drilled a mounting hole in the hump he had drilled through the top of the transmission, too.
Just sayin'... something to avoid. A cigarette lighter is not the place to connect ham gear for power. Might be OK for a CB, but that is only 5 w out. With a ham rig you will be drawing 10 x the power of a CB rig. You must run power all the way to the battery. There is a port through the firewall on every car I've looked at over on the driver side where other wiring comes through. There is a rubber grommet ususally with a rubber membrane to keep wind and water out. There is usually room to feed fuse holders through, or if going the other way, the radio's power plug to the inside. Make sure you ty-wrap the power wires up well so that they don't fall down on your feet and/or pedals. |
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I just installed one of these radios. It comes with fuses in the power supply wires on both the positive and negative. To get them through the firewall you'll need to cut it somewhere. I installed a TM-281 last year in my Tacoma, and as Bluelingun stated the radio comes with a power supply cable that already has fuses installed. The hardest part is finding or making a hole through the firewall. I solider on eyelets and connected the lead to the battery so my radio can be turned on with out the need for the ignition to be on. |
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I don't know about others, but I have a setting in my Yaesu that will turn the radio off after one hour so that if left on, it won't run down the battery. Not to derail, but is your radio an 857d? If so which menu is this feature, as I will be mounting mine in the truck soon. Sorry to get off topic, and thanks. Redman |
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I don't know about others, but I have a setting in my Yaesu that will turn the radio off after one hour so that if left on, it won't run down the battery. Not to derail, but is your radio an 857d? If so which menu is this feature, as I will be mounting mine in the truck soon. Sorry to get off topic, and thanks. Redman Menu 007, APO time, 1-6 hrs. |
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I don't know about others, but I have a setting in my Yaesu that will turn the radio off after one hour so that if left on, it won't run down the battery. Not to derail, but is your radio an 857d? If so which menu is this feature, as I will be mounting mine in the truck soon. Sorry to get off topic, and thanks. Redman Menu 007, APO time, 1-6 hrs. Thanks, brother! Redman |
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Some say there needs to be fuses right next to the battery on your power feeds. Yes, if you connect directly to the battery (or starter relay if available), you MUST fuse or breaker the power line, as close as possible to the battery. Put some split loom or something around the wire to protect it for the unfused portion at least, I tend to put split loom over all wire under the hood and zip tie it securely out of the way. I mentioned the starter relay, on vehicles (like most Fords) that have a starter relay/solenoid right next to the battery, the better solution is to just put a ring terminal on your wire, put it on the hot post from the battery, and add an additional nut to secure it... this keeps your wire away from the corrosion on the battery terminal. Some say that you just need the fuses on the power feeds like they come from the factory. Generally have to cut those off anyway to get the wire run through the firewall. Most factory power cords still use the relatively-uncommon nowadays glass fuses, I tend to get an ATC or Mini-ATC fuse holder to match whatever kind of fuses that vehicle uses. Do you have to ground the radio to your vehicle? If so, how do you do it? Your DC power ground is perfectly fine. Quoted:
How would you ground the antenna? Unnecessary. For a 50w or less FM radio you can usually get by with using fuse taps, particularly if you have full size ATC fuses under the dash instead of the more common mini size. And an amenable fuse box setup. Nothing wrong with going to the battery, its better performance, but not absolutely required. If you have a factory power point fused at 20A or more, you could redirect that also... IME, if it's factory fused for 20A it'll be ok with a 50W radio. If you have designs on future use of an HF radio or something like that, go ahead and run a wire to the battery. |
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IMHO, even with 2 meter I would do the bonding trip to provide the best ground plane possible for your antenna. It sure can't hurt. http://www.k0bg.com/bonding.html |