Amateur Radio (ham) install

[securityguy]

Just curious...those of you with a HAM radio...who are you talking to when you're driving?

 

[Dr. Jim]

Area 51

 

[Dusty1948]

Just curious...those of you with a HAM radio...who are you talking to when you're driving?

Other amateur (Ham) radio operators. If using high frequency equipment, ham operators are possible in other states or countries. If VHF or UHF, usually local operators on ground wave, or more distant through repeaters.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Silver Billet Laramie, Quad Cab, 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, 18 inch wheels. Build date: 17 April 2018. Now at 018966 miles.

 

[Sarge]

Other amateur (Ham) radio operators. If using high frequency equipment, ham operators are possible in other states or countries. If VHF or UHF, usually local operators on ground wave, or more distant through repeaters.

Regards,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Silver Billet Laramie, Quad Cab, 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, 18 inch wheels. Build date: 17 April 2018. Now at 018966 miles.

And if you have a digital capable radio, D-Star or DMR, then you can talk around the world.
Sarge

 

[Sarge]

You don't say which interior you have (bucket seats vs. bench seat), but I imagine with the bucket seats the choices are pretty limited. My '19 5th gen has the bench seat and by removing the lower storage drawer I could mount my FT-3200 making a custom bracket.

As much as I'd like to have a 2m mobile again I'm having a very hard time destroying the appearance of the beautiful Laramie interior.

Keep us informed and when you finish, if you can, sent us some pics.

73s,
Dusty
2019 Ram 1500 Silver Billet Laramie, Quad Cab, 2WD, 5.7 Hemi, 8HP75, 3.21 axle, 33 gallon fuel tank, 18 inch wheels. Build date: 17 April 2018. Now at 018966 miles.

Pictures now attached. It has a bench seat. No storage drawer under mine.
Sarge

 

[Darkata]

Pictures now attached. It has a bench seat. No storage drawer under mine.
Sarge

Sarge, thanks for the breakdown, I'm installing my FT-891 this weekend and essentially came up with pretty much your set up (except the antennas will be HF mono hamstick whips until I get a screwdriver). I have Ram 2018 Quad and was going to use the MFJ corner bracket as well, seems pretty clean without a bed cover (good to hear it's worth it). The question I have is, can you clarify how you ran from the cab to the bed? Did you drill up through the rear driver's passengers floor, or were you able to locate a grommet behind the back seat? I have these bench seats in the back and the sat raises up, but doesn't seem to fold down. Thanks

 

[Sarge]

Darkata, there is a "plug" on the front wall of the bed, went through that it is hard plastic and had to cut through it, or next time I'll drill through, to get the antenna connector through. Under the rear of the cab is another plug, also hard plastic that I recommend either cutting or drilling a hole large enough for the connector to pass through - won't explain how I screwed this up - no damage - but would do it like I explained! Feed the coax through this hole after gently moving the carpet out of the way. You'll see a pair of hole once you move the carpet. Again feed your coax through and either use a bent coat hanger to grasp it or if you can get your fingers in the hole pull the coax through. Remember to leave a little slack under the vehicle - not much just don't make it tight! Once you have your coax inside the cab route it however you need to refasten the carpet and your on your way!
Once this is done you should reseal the plugs with silicone seal or some such to maintain water resistance.
Hope this helped!
Sarge

 

[SirLavidor]

Thanks for all the pictures. This will help me with my planned install. No Ham radio for me. I'm just doing a GMRS install since more people have these radios and my old CB's, well it's like listening to myself talk.

 

[wr5o]

Here is my setup. Used the existing bolt hole with an older mount I had lying around.

View attachment 21050

View attachment 21051 View attachment 21052 View attachment 21053

View attachment 21050 View attachment 21051 View attachment 21052 View attachment 21053

How did you get those cables into the console compartment? did you just drill? I am concerned there is AC venting there.

 

[Alpha6Tango]

TBK... can you give us an update on the antenna performance?

 

[Camr]

Okay, I decided on doing a trunk mount just to test it out. Not 100% sold, seems like it's very low on the truck. I'm either going to need a taller antenna, or move this one back to where I was originally planning.

View attachment 20453

The faceplate of the FTM-400XDR is so light, I just ended up using velcro to put it in position. I can also take it off whenever I want and store it away. It allows for the center console to easily slide fully forward, but it does block the bottom buttons. Leaves plenty of space for me to use the right side of the compartment for my phone when I want to use it for CarPlay and plug it in. For now I'm just letting the hand mic sit in the side store compartment, I think that will be good enough.

View attachment 20454

As for where I put the radio, I ended up making a custom mount under the driver seat to secure it. So much electronic stuff down there with the motors, heaters, amps, that it was hard to fit it in.

I do think I'm going to move the antenna to the rear of the truck. Maybe I will spend the cash on the folding antenna bracket.

May I ask where you sourced the fender antenna mount bracket? I have used Comet mounts in the past, but I do not see one available for the new RAMs.

 

[PhilBilly]

Anybody found a good switched power point under the hood? Needing on only for ACC and Run not on all the time.

 

[DennisY]

Anybody found a good switched power point under the hood? Needing on only for ACC and Run not on all the time.

Not sure what year RAM you have but this may help. There is a picture in this thread showing where to go for switched power. Note that this is only a 10 amp fuse so depending on what you are trying to do, this may or may not be the place to tap into. This location worked great on my 2019 Limited for switched power sensing for my subwoofer amp (not the main power, but the sensor). https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/hard-wire-dash-cam-install.550/

 

[PhilBilly]

Not sure what year RAM you have but this may help. There is a picture in this thread showing where to go for switched power. Note that this is only a 10 amp fuse so depending on what you are trying to do, this may or may not be the place to tap into. This location worked great on my 2019 Limited for switched power sensing for my subwoofer amp (not the main power, but the sensor). https://5thgenrams.com/community/threads/hard-wire-dash-cam-install.550/

Mine is a All New 2019 Bighorn RAM and thanks for the info I think it will help.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Tred's]

I'll be installing my FT-400XDR in my Ram, soon. Thanks for posting all the install pics, here. It causes me to really think about where the head unit will mount. I still don't want to drill holes in my truck. Also, using a Breedlove stake pocket mount, will have to trim the mounting rail (RetraxONE tonneau cover) on the driver's side rear, to get it to work though. I use "drive through" car washes during the winter, and don't want any of the mount to get caught in the brushes.

Thanks for posting this thread!

 

[Raydar]

Always interesting to see peoples' 2-way installs, as well as how much the tech has advanced, over the years.
I never bothered with a HAM ticket. I worked for Motorola for ten years, doing commercial and public safety radio, and then went to work for the power company, also doing radio and telecom. By the time I got home at night, I didn't even want to look at a radio.

I'll share this...
One of my favorite war stories was a guy who came in, and said he "had a bad speaker". Unsquelched his radio and turned up the volume. Lots of good old fashioned white noise. Took out the drawer unit (an old Motrac) and went through an entire receiver alignment. It was already quite good. Just took a tiny "tweak" to make it perfect. Cranked up a tone and blasted it through the radio. Of course, everything was fine.
I stuck the drawer unit back in his vehicle, and told him that if I couldn't make it break, it was going to be very difficult to fix it.
It was then that he picked up his microphone and waved it at me. "Noooo.... My speaker!"

 

[PhilBilly]

Always interesting to see peoples' 2-way installs, as well as how much the tech has advanced, over the years.
I never bothered with a HAM ticket. I worked for Motorola for ten years, doing commercial and public safety radio, and then went to work for the power company, also doing radio and telecom. By the time I got home at night, I didn't even want to look at a radio.

I'll share this...
One of my favorite war stories was a guy who came in, and said he "had a bad speaker". Unsquelched his radio and turned up the volume. Lots of good old fashioned white noise. Took out the drawer unit (an old Motrac) and went through an entire receiver alignment. It was already quite good. Just took a tiny "tweak" to make it perfect. Cranked up a tone and blasted it through the radio. Of course, everything was fine.
I stuck the drawer unit back in his vehicle, and told him that if I couldn't make it break, it was going to be very difficult to fix it.
It was then that he picked up his microphone and waved it at me. "Noooo.... My speaker!"

Been there brother, I worked in commercial 2 way for several years before I got tired of climbing towers in the dead of winter that were damaged by an ice storm. I recently got my General class amateur license and started as a storm spotter. I will try to share pictures of my install.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[TBK]

May I ask where you sourced the fender antenna mount bracket? I have used Comet mounts in the past, but I do not see one available for the new RAMs.

Got it on EBay. Actually ended up not using it if you want it. Sorry for the late reply I’ve been away from the forum for a while.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TBK]

TBK... can you give us an update on the antenna performance?

Sorry for the late reply. I’ve had the antenna now in two trucks and it works great for me. Don’t have anything else to benchmark it against but it hits all the repeaters nearby that I want to pick up and seems to be flexible on the frequencies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AE0MT]

May I ask where you sourced the fender antenna mount bracket? I have used Comet mounts in the past, but I do not see one available for the new RAMs.

AntennaFarm has an antenna bracket for the 19 Ram.

https://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/2019-ram-1500-drivers-side-8905