Amateur Radio (ham) install

[Davidbt]

View attachment 192901
This was convenient for me.

Thanks. I'll have to see how to get that panel off.

 

[kapinallinen2]

Thanks. I'll have to see how to get that panel off.

It`s easy, pull the weather seal straight out, then use a plastic trim tool to pop the cover off, start at the bottom and work your way up.

 

[Davidbt]

It`s easy, pull the weather seal straight out, then use a plastic trim tool to pop the cover off, start at the bottom and work your way up.View attachment 192912

Thanks so much. I seem to have the knack for screwing up the simplest project

 

[FREEDOM RAMer]

I'm preparing to mount an IC-7100 into my '22 1500 Laramie. Can anyone who has done an HF rig install speak to how the RAM does as far as noise in the radio and how bonding parts together helped? I know on a prior vehicle I had a Yaesu FT-857 installed, I even put braid over the spark plug wires to shield them. My RAM has eTorque and I'm wondering if that might be better or worse for noise as well. Just curious how anyone has found their HF setups to work and what bonding did to help that specifically.

I have the IC-7100 mounted in my 2022 RAM e-torque. I run a 10M larsen whip for HF and a Comet VHF/UHF. Radio is MARS/CAP full Tx Modded (as per ICOM instructions) I'm working on a new thread to detail install for those interested in nerding our on radio. The precautions I took are minimal. Independent braided grounds on each antenna mount and the radio (pretty common stuff). I too am interested in bonding the rest of the vehicle together and possibly shielding parts of the engine...so if you find anyone who has data on that please post it!

VHF/MURS/UHF/FRS/GMRS work stellar. HF side has been dissapointing. I've successfully made contacts with 10M, but it has not performed as well as it "should" considering the 100W output of the IC-7100 (even after accounting for line and antenna loss) and my high Idaho elevation. I can receive CB OK, but my Tx is pretty poor (because the antenna is tuned for 10M HF). I've successfully talked to some trucks in passing, but again- pretty lackluster performance.

I believe the issues are:
- Better bonding
- Reduce feed line loss by shortening the cable
- Install auto-tuner (honestly, that is my next step)

As far as HF noise- this is my only mobile install so I have nothign to compare it to. Not sure that really helps. I almost always have the NR (Noise Reduction) and NB (Noise Blank) filters on when running HF, which helps with picket fencing and high-pitched static whine. For reasons (of which I don't fully understand) the RIT Clarifyer seems to do next to nothing one way or the other. I'm guessing because I'm dealing with so much noise its small adjustments don't move the needle enough to notice.

I'll come back and update with a full write-up, but here are a couple of pics of my installation.
*note. the drivers side is the HF, passenger side is the VHF/UHF antenna, and the radio us mounted behind the rear passenger seat.