Very neat! I am actually fabricating up a mount for my police scanner in the same location. I will run a U tube from driver side seat mount to passenger side seat mount

My CB is mounted to the useless glove box.

 

My first thoughts were very similar: fabricating a bracket of sorts that used the front-facing seat-mounting bolts. UNTIL I read that removing, or even merely loosening, those bolts required subsequent recalibration of the OCM ("Occupant Classification Module") that controls the force with which the airbags are deployed, based on occupant weight, position sensors in the seat sliders, etc.

See: https://dodgeforum.com/forum/3rd-gen...2005-06-a.html

 

Well that is interesting... I guess I better think of something more clever lol

 

Most ham radios have separation kits now. I mounted the transceiver under the passenger seat and the face under the hvac controls.

 

Yeah, I've noticed that. But my old Yaesu radios just keep working, so I can't see any reason to replace them.

Hell, just this week I finally got rid of my 1990 F250 (350K miles) and a 1992 Dakota (165K miles). I'm keeping the 1971 International Harvester Scout, though. And I bought a new(er) 2005 Dakota.

Good stuff just lasts. ;-)

 

The more I drive it, the more I like this antenna location. I can't even tell it's there, as it's completely and perfectly hidden behind the A-pillar (from the driver's viewpoint).

I'm very pleased with the Comet SBB-25 antenna as well. It's far more efficient than the shorter dual-band antenna I'd been using previously on my old truck. I'm able to get into repeaters 40-50 miles distant on low and medium power output. Haven't even had to try high power yet.

If the K400-3/8C works as well, I can't imagine anyone NOT being delighted with this mount and location for CB use.

 

i got a HAM question for y'all

1: i know im supposed to be liscenced but im a pirate

2: ive been looking at mobil units for my truck and realized theres alot of options
i seem to like the older units which can be wideband uncapped not that im gonna transmit on my local police freq. but being able to listen is key (dont wanna hook up a scanner too)...and when the **** hits the fan its a nice option

also i want at least vhf&uhf in a single unit...do they have CB as an option (26-27.5mhz/12-10Meters)

maybe a "quadband" is what im looking for

ideally some type of all- freq radio would be perfect...maybe an old analog unit with no 'stops'...something made where they dont obey fcc regs


3: having vhf uhf in a single unit can they use the same antenna? i remember from my install days that short antennas were uhf long = vhf and verylong = lowband? is there a multi purpose antenna that will work for all bands?

4: computer programming would be a plus, computer controllable would be even better

also if HAM is the wrong type of radio would some form of police/fire radio work better? i think i could order one through my old boss.

thanks for reading this far

TLDR; WANT HAM RADIO WITH POLICE FREQ VHF/UHF ABILITIES AND CB

 

I got another question for you radio guru's, I just became asst chief in my local FD and got handed a bunch of radios to install in my 05 Dak. I'd like to mount the units under the rear seats and the remote heads by the center console. My question is this, where do i get power from without killing my battery while turned off? Basically, i need the power to the radios, siren and lights only when i have the ignition on. I'm hoping i can mount everything under the rear seats and run one line of power and ground to the rear location possibly using a power distribution block, so to speak. Any suggestions, advice, HELP?!! Thanks folks!!

 

1) I'm not an expert. I know what I need to know in order to meet *my* needs.

2) I'm unaware of any single "all frequency" radio; and even if I were, it would likely be illegal and I would therefore not be inclined to talk about it on a public bulletin board.

It wouldn't do to have someone blasting away with 50+ watts on an FRS channel (where the legal limit is as low as 0.5 watt) just because the frequencies are "close enough" for the equipment to share.

Many radios have the ability to tune/listen to freqs that they won't or can't transmit on. THAT is perfectly legal. Hacking these radios to "open up" their blocked transmission abilities is decidedly illegal.

3) There *are* multi-band radios. 2-meter/70cm is a popular combination. Multi-band antennas are never as efficient as antennas crafted just for a single purpose, however. As with any tool, I suppose, the more DIFFERENT tasks you expect it to perform, the less well/perfectly it performs any one of them.

Two-meter radios are close neighbors to many commercial VHF bands/frequencies. 70cm (UHF) is close to the bands/freqs used for FRS and GMRS. The closest neighbor to CB is the 10-meter HF amateur band.

4) Get legal. The costs for testing and licensing are trivial. I bought a "technician class" study guide from ARRL, studied one day, then aced my exam with a perfect score the very next day. No Morse code requirement any longer for the entry-level license class, and that gives you voice privileges on the most common bands.

 

In simplest terms, there's just no way to power radios, lights and/or a siren without drawing current from your battery.

Sounds like what you want is a separate, second battery from which to power these accessories -- along with an isolator. Isolators permit the aux battery to CHARGE when the engine is running, but keep it separate from the main engine battery when discharging.

The simplest isolation method is a continuous-duty solenoid -- one that's energized and closed whenever the engine is running (thereby placing the batteries in parallel for charging), but that remains open whenever the engine is off (thereby isolating them). Commonly used for winches, 12V lights in campers, etc.

There are, of course, fancier and more expensive solid-state isolators that do the same job with diodes & such.

Either way, you have to figure out where to stow a second battery and whatever isolation gear you choose. Visit an RV dealer for ideas.