Any Mobile Amateur Radio (or CB) Operators Out There?
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Any Mobile Amateur Radio (or CB) Operators Out There?
I just bought a brand new 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 but want to install a mobile amateur radio. The specific radio is the ICOM 208H and is about the size of a car stereo. I am having a hard time finding a place to put this thing. Has anyone installed one of these things in the gen 3 truck? If so, where did you put it. The radio comes with a detachable faceplate, so I could install the unit in on location and stick the faceplate elsewhere.
Joined: Feb 2007
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RE: Any Mobile Amateur Radio (or CB) Operators Out There?
Hi there!
I'm not currently running a radio in my truck but I did in my '95 Ram Club Cab.I didn't want to drill holes so I got a piece of black 1/4" thick Lexanas wide as the center console and long enough to be bent up at an angle and have thefront edge meet thetop of the front edge of the console. I bent it with a heat gun and used some non-skid to keep it from moving. You could substitute aluminum or other metal, I just happened to have a suitable size sheet of Lexan handy. I attached the radio and stuffed the long end of the lexan under the center console. That put everything right at my fingertips with no holes drilled and made it very easy to remove when I sold the truck.
I had the antennas mounted to the bolts that held the bed rails to the stake pockets. I know you're only running a dual bander but make sure you have a good antenna ground. Not as critical on VHF & UHF as on HF but still very important. I ran several different radios over the yearswith this mount and it worked great.
Good luck & 73!
Don, AE5DW
I'm not currently running a radio in my truck but I did in my '95 Ram Club Cab.I didn't want to drill holes so I got a piece of black 1/4" thick Lexanas wide as the center console and long enough to be bent up at an angle and have thefront edge meet thetop of the front edge of the console. I bent it with a heat gun and used some non-skid to keep it from moving. You could substitute aluminum or other metal, I just happened to have a suitable size sheet of Lexan handy. I attached the radio and stuffed the long end of the lexan under the center console. That put everything right at my fingertips with no holes drilled and made it very easy to remove when I sold the truck.
I had the antennas mounted to the bolts that held the bed rails to the stake pockets. I know you're only running a dual bander but make sure you have a good antenna ground. Not as critical on VHF & UHF as on HF but still very important. I ran several different radios over the yearswith this mount and it worked great.
Good luck & 73!
Don, AE5DW
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RE: Any Mobile Amateur Radio (or CB) Operators Out There?
I had a Galaxy in my old truck and drilled holes in the dash. However, a few of my friends made up a brackets that mounted to the bolts of the seats. Be careful though. I wasn't comfortable loosening those bolts up. Something about the fact that it's the only thing holding my but in the truck. Have a good antenna Wilson 1000 or 5000 are great antennas. Also try to find an RF meter. Your antenna operates best in a certain range. It will say where that range is in the owners manual of the antenna. You can adjust by sliding the antenna up or down inside the shaft it's bolted into. I'm prety sure you could find them at radio shack or any amatuer radio store