Ham Radio Installation 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

[Kirk T]

Good morning All,

How many installations can I find out there? Pictures would be great - Under the hood and in the Cab. Lessons learned will be helpful! I will be starting mine soon, I will be installing a FTM-400XDR/DR. Picture is of my antenna install that I am running my Yaesu FT-60 on right now; only 5 watts, going to 50 watts with my new install.

Thanks,
Kirk

 

[JohnKeller]

Following. I am in the process of putting a HAM transceiver in my rig. I have also selected the Yaesu 400. Looking at antenna mounts and antennas. Check out Last line of Defense on YouTube. He has a series of videos and the installation.

 

[JohnKeller]

I use a Yaesu FT 1D now and get nice coverage with repeaters. A better antenna and a mount like you have would be sweet. Any issues with the location? My first inclination was to mount it on the hood.

 

[Graeman]

I just installed my FTM400XDR. The base is mounted on my Overland box behind the front seats. The head unit is up on the center storage area with velcro currently. Just installed it last week. I will have to get some pictures of everything tomorrow.

 

[Prerunner1982]

Behind the knee panel under the steering column seems to be a nice place to tuck the body of the radio up and out of the way. Easy run for the power wires and coax.

 

[Rjsnodgrass]

I’m loving my FTM400. I put the base under the passenger seat and the head is above the rear view mirror. Very clean and out of the way.

 

[JohnKeller]

Outstanding. Clever placement out of the way. I recall the space as I ran the cable for the HiKit through there. Gives easy access to the SPod under the hood for power and the antenna cable.

 

[JohnKeller]

Your radio mount is right where my SPOD switch panel is. I’ll have to mount it elsewhere.

 

[Rjsnodgrass]

Outstanding. Clever placement out of the way. I recall the space as I ran the cable for the HiKit through there. Gives easy access to the SPod under the hood for power and the antenna cable.

Yes. Install was pretty easy. I ended up getting a cable extension for the mic so it wasn’t so limited. Very happy with it.

 

[Kirk T]

Following. I am in the process of putting a HAM transceiver in my rig. I have also selected the Yaesu 400. Looking at antenna mounts and antennas. Check out Last line of Defense on YouTube. He has a series of videos and the installation.

What year make and model do you have? My Jeep comes pre wired with 4 switches, but I might take everything all the way to the battery. Undecided at this point.

 

[Kirk T]

I use a Yaesu FT 1D now and get nice coverage with repeaters. A better antenna and a mount like you have would be sweet. Any issues with the location? My first inclination was to mount it on the hood.

I have had no issues. I really like my Diamond a teens and how it folds over if need be. I am only putting 5 watts through it now with my handheld. I might move it further away from my head when I start putting 50 watts through it. Haha.

 

[Kirk T]

I just installed my FTM400XDR. The base is mounted on my Overland box behind the front seats. The head unit is up on the center storage area with velcro currently. Just installed it last week. I will have to get some pictures of everything tomorrow.

I look forward to the pictures

 

[Kirk T]

Behind the knee panel under the steering column seems to be a nice place to tuck the body of the radio up and out of the way. Easy run for the power wires and coax.
View attachment 150964

That is a great idea!

 

[JohnKeller]

Me also!

 

[Kirk T]

I’m loving my FTM400. I put the base under the passenger seat and the head is above the rear view mirror. Very clean and out of the way.

How did you get your head unit to stay in that location?

 

[Matt_S]

What year make and model do you have? My Jeep comes pre wired with 4 switches, but I might take everything all the way to the battery. Undecided at this point.

I have the tow package with the 4 switches as well in my 2018 JLUR. I used the interior wiring loom and have power running off of 1 as I read it's rated for 40A. I've had a Kenwood TM-D710G installed since last September and have had no issues with it. Attached a couple of pictures to show where I installed the head for the radio and the antenna.

I never had to drill or modify anything to run the cable from the radio to the antenna. The radio body is located to the left of where the clutch would be. If I had to do the install again I think I would have placed the body in a different location. I had to do some crazy contortions to get everything installed and feel like I made it more difficult than it needed to be. For the antenna mount I fed the cable up through the gap between the Jeep body and fender, probably similar to what you did. Used a Ram Mount X-Grip attached to a Carolina Metal Masters Grab Bar Ball Mount. May not have been the cheapest solution but it was the quickest I had found before going on a trip.

 

[Rjsnodgrass]

How did you get your head unit to stay in that location?

I used the included bracket and sheet metal screws into the plastic trim.

 

[Graeman]

Easy installation inside this Jeep.

 

[Graeman]

Reamed out one of the light holes for an nmo install.

 

[Kirk T]

I use a Yaesu FT 1D now and get nice coverage with repeaters. A better antenna and a mount like you have would be sweet. Any issues with the location? My first inclination was to mount it on the hood.

I would mount on my roof but not practical and not metal. I am pretty sure I will be moving mine like I see that my brothers and sisters in Australia do. I am nervous about pumping out 50 watts that close to my head.