HamRadioConcepts You don't really want to depend upon a high amperage fusible link as your primary battery side protection. What you ideally want to install is a fuse slightly larger than your peak concurrent loads attached to that conductor (taking into consideration that you are highly unlikely to be simultaneously transmitting on more than one radio at a time, so the peak transmit load of your highest power radio plus the receive current of the others, plus a margin). Basically ask yourself this question, if you get into a serious accident that cuts into your power cable, and possibly not enough to actually blow the circuit quickly (and fusible links are very slow to blow compared to fuses), how long do you want power flowing into the cabin area where a fire can be started while you are trapped in the vehicle -- the lower the fuse rating the faster power will be cut and the safer you are?! That all said, #4 gauge copper (up to 150A for 105°C rated insulation) is a bit overkill to run amateur radios unless you are also installing a high power linear amplifier as well (or similar very high power load). 8 gauge copper can easily support up to 60-80A and would have been more than adequate for running multiple radios with considerable power to spare (one can easily run a number of amateur radios off a single 30A tap since only one transmits at a time). My other piece of advice, which I realize may not apply for your company vehicle, is that it is safer if the radio controls can be installed at around dash height such that even as you glance towards them you never fully take your eyes off the road. Anytime you have to look downward into the cabin area to check a display or manipulate a control you are no longer in a position to see the road. So if the option presents itself, a dash, or similar, install is safer provided such will not impinge upon the field of view. Panavise also makes some great mounts that are readily adaptable to amateur radio installs. Take care and thank you for taking the time to create the video! KW4EK

Thanks, actually, I don't look or operate the radio while driving. One thing I learned while I worked at AT&T is good driving habits.. "Eyes on the road", (Smith keys of driving) "Texting while driving.. It can wait" No need for me to be messing with the radio while driving. Set it and forget.

Ethan Poole. You are correcting him and yet he already said that he has the fuse in the DC cable going to the radio! So long as he has the proper fuses supplied by the radio manufacturer, one in the black lead and one in the red, he does not need anything else. Incidentally watch out for ICOM fuse holders! I have known some of them to get HOT and will drop the voltage. You will need to replace them with high current fuse holders, available on eBay if that happens.

Bry C I'm assuming you may not have viewed the video in its entirety or fully read the comments of that period, but in the video (see around 16:40) there is no fuse installed on the battery side until you reach the radio itself. That means that there is a very long run of #4 power cable that can, at least for a time, source up to several thousand amps running through the firewall and cabin area that, if it is ever damaged in an accident or worn through, can potentially start a cabin fire before we ever reach the first fuse. He does later mention (in the comments if I'm not mistaken) that the positive terminal he attached to has a fusible link in series with it, but fusible links are designed to blow very slowly and permit considerable overloading for an extended period before they fail open, so are not really a suitable substitute for a proper fuse. For safety in an accident (or any other source of damage to a power conductor) you want to have a fuse installed, the smaller the better (while still remaining adequate for attached loads), as close to the battery positive terminal/power point as practical (generally within the first 12 inches), not some ten feet later -- it's all about protecting the wiring itself along with the occupants, you can install an appropriate sized (smaller) fuse to protect the actual radio equipment wherever you wish after that if the radio, or other accessory loads, require lower amperage fuses to protect their electronics than what you selected to protect your power harness. Fusing the negative side is optional on negative chassis vehicles unless you are connecting the negative lead directly to the battery terminal, in which case you will want to fuse it as well, though for different reasons -- if you are connecting the negative lead directly to the chassis for ground power then no fuse is necessary. The reason you need a negative side fuse if connecting direct to the battery terminal is to protect the negative lead from overload should the bonding strap between the battery negative terminal and chassis ever fail open as in that failure mode all vehicle power would then try to pass through your negative lead attached to the battery, through your radio and/or accessory loads, and then through the shield side of your coax in an effort to complete the electrical path from positive back to negative and that would severely overload the accessory negative lead. That scenario can not play out if you are drawing negative side power directly from the chassis rather than direct to the battery. Of course, if one has a positive chassis ground vehicle then all that fusing advice gets reversed and it then becomes critical to shield/insulate radios, many accessory load devices, and the coax and antenna ground and shields from the chassis to prevent unwanted shorts since most vehicle electronics were designed with a negative chassis in mind (fortunately such vehicles are not especially common today). 73 KW4EK

Mr. Poole, great pieces of practical advise. You can add that if that positive is not fused properly, and a slow-fuse is not the answer, that positive wire, now cut or chafed, and you really have a "loose", and "hot", welding torch at the battery. And, more than likely, by the time this problem is noticed as to why your radio suddenly went "dead", you will have alot more than damage to the radio, maybe a fire --> under the hood and fastly traveling into the cabin! Oscar (KG5ULB)

I am going to show that in the HF mobile video. I havent had issues with VHF UHF but HF without that strap with a hatch or trunk mounted antenna is bad news.

Good advice. Also, that post I mounted the cable to, is not the battery but an accessible positive post on top of a fuseable link. Battery is way down under. So, I hope that is the first to blow.

I just have no air bags pro player move!

Or engine noise.

@@txpatriot7044 The fuse location will not affect noise

David KJ4CMY: your use of RG-174 cable might be your part of your problem. In the 2M band, this cable has a loss of 13 dB per 100 feet so your radiated signal is greatly attenuated. If unsure about cables check out Universalradio.com website for their coax cable attenuation chart. You might try RG-8X or similar but good luck with your hamming.

This video is years old, I didn't have it long in this configuration but it held up just fine. Normally yes, you do need ventilation if transmitting for a long time

Congrats on your new license, and welcome to the hobby. I'm newly licensed myself. Around 10:15 he said he got the Ram Mount from gigaparts.

Thanks for the info. It looks like I will be using a VGC VR-N7500 and connect through my car radio through bluetooth.

Bob814u With an aluminum body you will need to use some sort of a fixed antenna mount system, whether that be a lip mount (as demonstrated in this video) or an NMO style (through the roof) connector to secure your radio, then you can attach your antenna to that fixed mount.

generally, all vhf and dual band antennas come factory tuned. I havent tuned one of them in my career, they just work out of the box.

There was rubber grommets through the firewall, slice and insert

He was talking about ferrite cores. You can get them like a clam shell that snaps over your power leads close to the radio. They block high frequencies.

Samuel Spade have never heard that for a vehicle. I work for a HOA and the only vehicle issue with us is commercial vehicles. We do have restrictions on tower antennas at your home. I do know one fellow ham that has a nice antenna in the pine trees around his house. You would never know they are their if you were not told. In my opinion out of sight out of mind. I know he has addressed the tower issue with the board but no changes yet. Just know that not all HOA’s are as evil as you hear about.

prob illegal for a hoa to say that...

@echosixnoble HOAs are kind of the opposite of tyranny. No one has to live under an HOA. People freely choose to associate and live together in a community with strict HOA requirements. I would never live under a restrictive HOA. I would rather risk seeing my neighbor park his car on his lawn and his RV out front than suffer any HOA restrictions upon myself. These free choices are what liberty is all about.

​@echosixnoble You described HOA's free associations as tyrannical but you live in an actual tyrannical state, California. I am still trying to figure that one out. Maybe you are confused because you have been living under state tyranny for so long that you don't understand what liberty even means. My advice: MOVE! Flee that corrupt state as fast as you can. Escape before your property value plummets.

That is what I addressed in the previous video....

which one did you choose?, I'm new in this matter and looking for my first harm radio

Typically yes both use 50 ohm coaxial cable. Coaxial cable used in mobile applications is usually RG-58.

Ramrod fishing Outdoors the antenna is tune to 27 MHz, not the 80 meter band.

You could run the external speaker port into a aux on the stereo as long as the gains are turned down on the radio I would think.

RicoMnc The wire usually goes through a ferrite core it’s properties acting as a sort of filter ..you get something similar on PC screens that black nobbly thing in line with the cable. We used to install a noise capacitor connected to the chassis of the car. This filtered or should I say canceled , the noise from the alternator etc resulting in clean modulation rather than the whining or motorboating effect in the background.

www.analog.com/en/analog-dialogue/articles/ferrite-beads-demystified.html

I have used a company based in Connecticut, USA with great success. They will partner with you to create a custom tailored solution. repdesign.us/

Want !!!!

Sebastian Florida

its in a whole different vehicle now... but it worked well in there lid open