I loved putting my ftm300 in my outback. It actually installed beautifully

Completed my install today in my 2022 Outback Touring XT, your video helped a lot

Great job! Thanks for sharing. As a side note, I put my radio control head (icom 2730) on the seat bolt stalk and it's not in the way off the passenger or the shifter. However, it is farther off to the side so I have to turn my head more to see the radio. :)

the cockroach running up the doorpost @ 2:53 was a bonus. :)

Thank you for that video. I have the same car and same radio, I'll be installing it this summer.

This was great. And I'm not just saying that because I have a new 2024 Outback I need to do a mobile install in. You do a great job showing and explaining. And just as I was thinking about chokes, you took the antenna off and the noise disappeared. This is very, very helpful. Thanks!

I had the same problem with my honda. When it was mounted where you had it, i had to increase my squelch on my radio and it still bugged me. Moving the antenna to the rear of the hatch solved the problem. The antenna appeared to be picking up noise either from the dash or the engine bay. I had my FF friend check it out and he said fender mounts are the worst because its so close to all the electronics. He did mention a good point and said COPS/FF vehicles never used them for a reason. Its either mounted on the roof or the trunk. Which makes alot of sense

I'm a fan of running power and data on one side of the car and RF on the other. Try that with your antenna feedline before moving it altogether. A separated path may surprise you. I'm thinking a good path may be to run the feedline through the passenger side fender and then under the door trim. Next, I think I'd even go so far as to route the feedline beneath the rear seat cushion, across to the driver's side, and then back up to the driver's seat. It's a longer path, but may avoid some noisy components. A feedline with better shielding may help, too. These days, I have so much stuff in my car that it's difficult to maintain good separation between DC, data, and RF. But my foundation appears to be good. See my KE4WMF playlist for more ideas. Take Care! -Scott

Hey Rob, Nice install. I mounted the head of my FTM-500 the same as you, on the left of the steering wheel in my 2016 Honda CR-V. I was wondering if anybody else was doing it the same. Thanks for the video.

Nice instal! Can I recommend that you instal a short piece of split loom tubing on that positive lead that rolls around that short support near the battery as well as a larger diameter split loom on the lines that are curving around the fender and along the door. It will prevent chafing of the wire over time. I have been gathering parts and building a custom bezel for my instal. Picked up on an XTL5000 last summer and have been slowly gathering parts for my instal. We have used a pair of Anderson 50 amp disconnects inside of weatherproof boots designed for the connectors. Power lines run back to the trunk where the brick is mounted but I need to wait for a few more parts for the power distribution board that is co located in the trunk. I am utilizing a charge guard as well as a 100 amp latching solenoid for power control but still waiting for the fuse block for this system. The control head is to be mounted under the car radio in place of a small cubby holder, finally finished the mounting bezel for the head. Speaker was a problem, Motorolas is way too large so I went with a compact speaker mounted to the right of the steering wheel just under the dashboard divide on the hard plastic. I yet have to figure out where the microphone will live up front. It’s their "canbuss" microphone that has some remote features as well as DTMF. The antenna is the last issue, going with a trunk lip mount but I need to find some RG316 cable to use instead of the RG58. Body tolerances are very tight. When install is complete I will be posting a Power Point style video on my channel explaining the setup. BTW how does such a new vehicle qualify for Historical Plates in the Buckeye State? 73 from a Buckeye living in SV9 land!

i always put my wiring and wires on the passagerside if possible. just takes more wires from the battery to that side. but nice job.

Nice clean installation. 73

You may find that the hood is not galvanically bonded to the electrical earth (sometimes you will see an earth strap near the hood hinge). You can check it with a multimeter from the antenna base to an earth point. If it's open circuit, try bonding the antenna base to electrical earth. This will work like a capacitor to short the "noise" to ground.

Enjoyed this. I bought a 2024 just yesterday and did the install. For the most part my installation is the same. I routed the cable through the door than the grommet (which I may change). I used a suction cup mount for the head and it sits above the vent where your does (Icom 5100). Interested in the hf setup as I will be doing this next and will also play with the antenna location to see if I can replicate your noise. My antenna is on the side of the hood on the passenger about a foot down instead of passenger side to the top

My buddy has a new subaru and he has RF from his 891 get into the car sometimes when transmitting and it throws check engine, and gets all kinda confused. He unhooks the battery and lets it set for a minute then he is good to go. Just a heads up. On my 2015 chevy when I transmit on one particular frequency ( 2 meter ) the drivers side head light goes out when keyed down, but only on low beam. RF is weird, and unpredictable. On my 2011 chevy P/U when I work stationary mobile in a park my strobe lights on the headache rack flash with my voice peaks on SSB.

You have to get real creative in the newer vehicles and I think you did a great job. I'd probably leave that antenna where it is and just deal with the interference as long as it's not constantly breaking the squelch and it's not making your received transmissions sound strange. For the HF antenna you might try the Yaesu ATAS120 on a K400 lip mount on the rear hatch door. This will get you 6m and HF on the 891 without having to change the antenna. No extra wires needed as the power needed to tune the ATAS goes through the coax.

Nicely done. I wonder: 1. Why you didn't use the car stereo as the external "speaker." 2. How your 2024 Subie is a "Historic Vehicle." Thanks!

Please make sure you put split loom tubing over your positive wire...you are asking for a short , otherwise nice job.

Great video! Have you had any issues with the auto start/stop or the variable alternator charging the battery? What I mean is does the charging cycle where the alternator stops charging, the battery drains down and then it recharges once ~12.3 volts is reached interfere with the radio? I like your idea of using an Anderson distribution block! I have a 2020 Outback and I'm debating between going down the rabbit hole myself or have a "pro" install it. One more question...where did you find the battery terminal connector that you used? Thanks again for the video.

Good job. I looking for a way to run my speaker from the ham radio to the blue tooth on my stereo that way I won’t need and ext speaker that way my 2 meter recieve audio comes thrue my stereo. Have you found anything for that.

How does Apple CarPlay react when you transmit? My 2019 outback’s CarPlay goes in and out while I transmit.

Just out of curiosity, how is that Subaru considered 'historical'?