Anyone have a ham radio in their 4Runner? Pics? ...

If I'm able to pick up a 4Runner sometime I'd love to stick a 2m radio in it and a decent antenna.

 

I have the Yaesu 8900r, with the radio itself mounted under drivers seat, and the faceplate mounted on the dash using a proclip mount. The antenna I have mounted in back on a Rago antenna mount. Give me a few and I'll try to dig up some pictures.

 

I don't have the T9 headunit anymore... but it was a conveniently found picture that shows where I have the face mounted. In the second picture, you can see the antenna on the Rago antenna mount.

 

Icom 2730A in mine. Radio box is under a seat and the control head is in the open space below the infotainment unit. Using a Larsen NMO 2/70 antenna, but with a magnetic mount. The side curtain air bags make through the roof antenna cable routing tricky.

 

I've got a Midland DBR2500 dual-band and need to find a way to mount it my '20 ORP... it's small and no detachable face. Time to get creative.

My biggest concern is getting the coax from the inside to the outside. I like the Rago mount on the rear. Are there any drain plugs or existing holes y'all are threading the coax through when putting an antenna on the back?

 

Yes, there’s a drain plug in the rear cargo area under the carpet. I think Rago actually had a video or instructions that showed the location and recommended paths for running the cable.

 

im looking to find and mount a mobile unit as well...still gotta take my test but i have been studying.
suggestions on models?
also does anyone with a ham unit also run gmrs and/or cb? how crowded does it get? i may be getting a new job that would put me on the road a lot, so i kinda want to cover all my bases, but 3 radios seems...excessive haha

 

Prior to the 4Runner I had a President Bill CB mounted in my Jeep -- it's tiny and works beautifully. I used it mostly for the weather radio, listening to interstate chatter on road-trips, and listening for weather-related road reports. I also have a Midland DBR2500 dual-band 2m/70cm, but never installed it in a vehicle. It's basically an Anytone 778UV that's branded as a Midland, and it's pretty inexpensive. Right now it's my base radio, but I'm building an ammo can enclosure for it and a battery to make it portable.

As for mounting the radios, I found this online -- a bracket that mounts over the dash clock. That and a handful of RAM mounts might do the trick.
https://www.ics-fab.com/collections/dash-mounts/products/5th-gen-4runner-dash-mount

 

I'm a fan of Yaesu, but that's mostly because that's all I've ever owned for ham's. I'd recommend that 7900r; very easy to use radio, and it has a lot of memory channels that you can assign to buttons on the face for very easy access. I have the 8900r dual channel now, but wished I'd stuck with the 7900r; the ease of channel jumping outweighs the dual channel monitoring in my book (the 8900r has memory channels as well, their just not as quick/intuitive to use as pushing a button).

Both my previous 7900r and 8900r worked on both ham and GMRS... though not technically type certified for GMRS, it makes it hard to bring myself to add a second GMRS radio when it does the job of both already. Some will come working on both out of the box... others (most) has a jumper inside that blocks GMRS, but is easily removed. Aside from that, the small midland GMRS mobile units are great, and don't take up much space, or there are plenty of handheld options, like the popular baofeng handhelds that also work on both 2m/70cm and GMRS (but also not type certified for GMRS). Though the handhelds are really only useful for trail coms within a group; they don't have nearly as much reach as an exterior mounted antenna.

For CB... ditched it years ago. Most all in our local offroad group has as well. Don't get much chatter around my area on them, and more likely to just run into interference, or one of the infamous and supremely annoying perpetual skips. I even carry a few extra GMRS handheld/bubble pack radios to share for those in the group who still only have CB, or nothing at all.

 

That a nice looking mount! I'm studying for my test too, Sam...

 

I had a Yaesu FT-8800 (ham radio), an Anytone AT-6666 ("CB") and a scanner in my 01'. There was more room under the dash than in my 2018. I had GMRS frequencies in the Yaseu (for monitoring purposes only, of course).

By "crowded", do you mean space-wise or radio channel congestion?
Space-wise, there was adequate room in my 01. The Yaesu has a separate head and radio box. The radio head went on the console with a small external speaker and the radio box was mounted under a seat. The Anytone CB mounted under the dash, to the left of the console and the scanner, a handheld, mounted on the ash tray. There was adequate room for all three.

My 2018 has a different cabin configuration and things are too tight for three radios. I have just a ham radio (see my previous post) and a handheld scanner that mounts in a cupholder clamshell mount.

As for crowded band conditions, depends on where you are at and what you listen to.

 

I'm on the FT 8900r train as well. Not unhappy with it, but agree with @kbp810, channel jumping isn't the greatest. I have gotten good range on repeaters in Florida (15-30 miles) and simplex (10-15 miles) with a Comet SBB5 mounted on a CBI ditch light bracket, but broke it on a branch in the Mountains, so I have the Diamond equivalent now but can't remember the model. We'll see if I get the same coverage. Arizona was 40+ miles because of repeaters on the mountains. Pretty Cool.

Base unit is mounted on the back of the console, but hearing the speaker with mud tires isn't good. I have a cheap BT speaker with an 1/8" jack I'm trying out now, but will work on a better solution soon.

Since standard wiring won't work, I recommend flat braided ground straps (you can see it to the left of the Bracket) to bond your body parts for a ground plane. A necessity for CB antennas, but I did my 2m/70cm antenna as well. I did one from the antenna base to the hood hinge, then one from each hood hinge to each fender so the whole front of the truck is a ground plane. I also did the same on my rear hatch hinge to my roof rack for my CB antenna. It's getting out 6-7 miles. This hobby ain't cheap, but don't short cut, because your just throwing money away with frustration being your reward. Use dielectric grease on all connections and bonding points to keep the corrosion down as well.


Ground strap link

 

Don't listen to these amateurs. This is how you do it.

 

Thank you for the info!

i meant crowded space wise. i figure i can always grab a handheld cb and/or gmrs to keep along maybe. i have a handheld scanner but i usually dont bring that along. some ham radios have the ability to listen to emergency frequencies, correct? i feel a bit stuck between over doing it and under preparing haha.

 

I see room for one hanging off the mirror, smh wasted space bruh.

 

Just an old pic. I've filled that space since then

 

Some ham radios can receive on frequencies outside their transmit range. For instance, I can receive 136-174MHz but only transmit on 144-148MHz, and Rx 400-490 MHz and Tx 420-450MHz. Other radios can receive on a much larger range, and some are limited to receiving only the channels they can transmit. You'll need to check the specs to see what the radio can do. That said, my radio is a pretty slower scanner... very slow -- I wouldn't use it as a scanner for mission critical stuff.

I noticed on Android Auto that Scanner Radio Pro is supported. Granted that's not going to scan local terrestrial frequencies, but it will stream scanners people have put on-line. If you're in an area that has a local scanner listed on Broadcstify.com, you could listen to it through Android Auto.

I chose my radio because it was fairly inexpensive and I was new to the hobby. I'm not sure where I'd mount it in the 4Runner, though I've seen some brackets I could screw to the dash that would work. It's not the Yaesu FTM400DR I'd like, but it gets the job done. In the future I'll consider a nicer unit with a remote face, and that'll help with mounting.

 

I have an ICOM 2730A (dual band 2m/70cm) installed. I have the radio programmed with Ham & GMRS freqs (licensed for both) as well as public safety (30 years of emergency services worker). It's a minimalist set up. I have 3 antennas: 1) stealth for around town, 2) medium flex for when on the trails, 3) tall for long distance or cross-band repeat function at an event. The remote control-head is mounted on top of the small external speaker for max function and minimal real-estate in the cockpit. The base unit is mounted passenger side, rear cargo area. Worked out well. Have been running this set-up for about a month and no issues...super clean and works great for my needs.

 

YAESU 8900R. Main frame is in the back cargo area

 

Quad band antenna

 

Icom 2730 like several people above.

Guts are under the pass seat, velcro'd to the carpet. Speaker is on second row transmission hump, sandwiched to the all weather liner. Head is on a short / custom RAM mount. Antenna is a NMO trunk lip mount on the driver's side hood, 1/4 wave for around town and fitting in the garage and base load 5/8 wave for trips.









My wife's 17 SR5 is set up exactly the same except the head placement is better. I couldn't put the head in the same spot on my OR because of the throw of the T case lever.

 

Question for you, is this a trunk mount? I like the placement on the back door. Question 2, does this hit the body when you close the back door? Thank you N0XUE

 

a buddy of mine had a yaesu awhile back but i dont know if he has gotten something else in the meanwhile - not sure if he is still doing it. it was a side hobby of his that he came to enjoy. awesome to still see people into ham radio.

 

I’ve been a ham since I was 12. So this is 28 years this year for me. I’ve done a few events, the most recent was the 2019 Pikes Peak Hill Climb. It was a blast to help out and watch the racing, unfortunately I did see Ryan riding his Ducati up the mountain his last time. I took some (what I would call) professional photos of him. My wife and I do weddings on the side. I was lined up to help out for 2020 but never had any communication about helping out.

I commute a lot for work, so I talk to my Dad during the long drive. It’s kinda cool to talk hundreds of miles apart. Im afraid in today’s world that being a Ham might be one way to openly communicate without censorship. Who knows what’s going to happen.

We just had a newborn so I’m having trouble finding time to do much to my new 4Runner, working on gathering things for the install.

 

Hi, yes...this is a trunk mount and can be found here:

$40 Bingfu Vehicle Ham Radio Mobile Radio Antenna VHF UHF 136-174MHz 400-470MHz Car Truck Amateur Radio Two Way Radio Antenna with Lip Mount Fixed Bracket PL259 Male 5m 16.5 feet RG58 Cable

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PT44LSZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It does not hit the body when opened slowly, and not at all with the mid-flex or the mini-stealth antennas.

Has been a quality set-up for both receiving and transmitting. I switch from stealth to mid-flex for highway and trail travel. Have not used the long-range yet, but hopefully soon.

Cheers & 73's.

 

What mid flex antenna are you using? How did you pass the coax into the vehicle? was it through a rubber seal/gasket? did you leave the PL-259 head on or cut it off and solder on a new one?

I just got my lip mount and am trying to figure out the best solutions. I have a Comet SBB-1 (16 inch - flexy) and a Comet SBB-5 (38 inch). I'm thinking I could ditch both for an 18 (SBB-2) or 24 inch flexy antenna (I just haven't found one yet).