Hi everyone. I searched the forums for an efficient way to install a ham radio in the renegade. Finally found and completed it yesterday. (The antenna mounting bracket is currently painted, I'm waiting for it to dry). The antenna is a comet SBB2, and will be attached to the roof rails via a custom bracket I made using scrap steel I had. I'll post a pic later, when it's installed.
First of all, I'm using a Yaesu FT8900, the quad-band radio but only for 2m, 70cm for now. (The antenna is short, my garage is 7ft in height at the door, the antenna will be at an angle).
Since my radio has a detachable head, I'll take advantage of that.
Since I decided to install the radio in the trunk near the spare tire, I need to feed it power, and I decided to feed it directly from the battery. The wire starts at the battery (obviously!) and enters the cabin through an existing grommet near the brake pedal (at the left of the pedal, easy to see, is probably the access hole for the clutch, but my Renegade is a trailhawk, so no manual option anyway).
Then, I removed the door jamb at the driver door, and routed the wires there. (3 wires in total, +12v, speaker and the remote control head wire).
Speaker is installed under the steering wheel. I don't know if it'll stay there or not depending on the final sound, but I like the idea of having it completely hidden.
Radio body is bolted to the trunk floor. The metal screws holding it also serve as my ground connection to the body of the vehicle.
Control head fits nicely under the climate controls, a little to the right to clear the "4wd wheel".
The +12v is big (8ga), but it'll serve to connect my ARB fridge and a solar panel mounted on the roof, so I'll take any voltage loss I can avoid.
Hope this helps someone, comments welcome for sure, and I'll post pics of the antenna when it's completed.
Pics here for the install : http://imgur.com/a/ZzPE8
First of all, I'm using a Yaesu FT8900, the quad-band radio but only for 2m, 70cm for now. (The antenna is short, my garage is 7ft in height at the door, the antenna will be at an angle).
Since my radio has a detachable head, I'll take advantage of that.
Since I decided to install the radio in the trunk near the spare tire, I need to feed it power, and I decided to feed it directly from the battery. The wire starts at the battery (obviously!) and enters the cabin through an existing grommet near the brake pedal (at the left of the pedal, easy to see, is probably the access hole for the clutch, but my Renegade is a trailhawk, so no manual option anyway).
Then, I removed the door jamb at the driver door, and routed the wires there. (3 wires in total, +12v, speaker and the remote control head wire).
Speaker is installed under the steering wheel. I don't know if it'll stay there or not depending on the final sound, but I like the idea of having it completely hidden.
Radio body is bolted to the trunk floor. The metal screws holding it also serve as my ground connection to the body of the vehicle.
Control head fits nicely under the climate controls, a little to the right to clear the "4wd wheel".
The +12v is big (8ga), but it'll serve to connect my ARB fridge and a solar panel mounted on the roof, so I'll take any voltage loss I can avoid.
Hope this helps someone, comments welcome for sure, and I'll post pics of the antenna when it's completed.
Pics here for the install : http://imgur.com/a/ZzPE8
