Transceiver Installation thread (Ham, CB, GMRS). Radio unit and antenna installation on Bronco Sport

[DirtyLuke]

I was going to run the power leads to a 6 gang relay box I installed (in blue) but instead have the Pos. and Neg. going directly to the battery (yellow)....

I am planning to install a GMRS radio and want to also add some additional exterior lights, therefore a relay/fuse box and a cabin switch panel would be great. Why didn't you wire your radio to the relay box and instead directly to the battery? Was it for signal quality reasons? And if so, does anyone suspect a GMRS radio would suffer from going this route? (I'm not really trying to stretch out to longer ranges)

 

[jnot2]

For those that use the A pillar bracket to mount antennae is the hood able to open fully with the antennae mounted.

 

[JamesT]

For those that use the A pillar bracket to mount antennae is the hood able to open fully with the antennae mounted.

Depends on the antenna. With my setup, it opens just fine. and if the antenna is tall, it is easy to remove while still keeping the antenna in place. I am super pleased with how it went together.

 

[thesavo]

So I gather the closest way to a fender mount is to re purpose a ditch light mount, that attaches to the hood brackets.
This is for chickens like me; those not willing to cut a hole in the roof for an nmo, don't like the idea of a hatch mount, and hate the idea of mag mount.
JamesT, this is a nice find and a great write up.

 

[SapphireCat]

In the spirit of keeping this info on a single thread, I'm going to post what I did here but if it needs to be moved, I'm happy to do so.

Thanks to everyone who's posted already - it was really helpful when I started mine.

I was gifted a Midland MXT275 radio and I went with the 3dB Ghost Antenna because I figured it was better than the magnetic mount and would still let me go into parking garages. I got my GMRS license, but I'm coming from the old handheld walkies so this is quite an upgrade for me and I'm a newbie on this system. We pretty much use these radios when we're traveling on group camping trips, but I wanted this more or less permanently mounted in the car.

I opted to use a roll bar/mirror mount from Midland for my Ghost Antenna.

So, there is some rubber trim that goes along side the roof rail. I fed the cable into that channel and pushed it down inside. To get the trim to lie flat again where the cable comes out up towards the antenna, I did make a small slit in the trim. As I fed the antenna wiring in the channel towards the windshield, where the roof bends down to the windshield I found this small plastic tab that I saw no particular purpose for - perhaps as a spacer or to support the trim as it goes over the bend, although my trim was pretty tight already - but that tab was big enough to prevent me from pushing the wire down in the channel. I went back and forth on this, but finally I trimmed off the edge of that so I could push the antenna cable down in the channel. That let the trim lie flat again. It seems to be working okay - trim lies flat and is meeting the other side of the channel. Once I reached the windshield, I fed the antenna cable along the windshield edge to go into the engine bay.

From there, I fed the cable in towards the driver's door. I debated about going through the engine bay grommet behind the battery, but I couldn't clearly see how the antenna cable would come in by the brake pedal (I feel like one needs to be a contortionist to see under the dash in this vehicle - my only gripe about this car so far haha) so that made me a little nervous. Thus - the door route won.

NVSport mentioned on a firewall penetration thread a grommet on the driver's side door that could be used as an access point into the cabin. So I was able to pop that grommet out, and I used a long zip tie to come up from the driver's footwell up through the hole where that grommet is. I couldn't get a picture under the dash of that - I basically kind of carefully stuck my hand up along the inside until I felt an opening on the metal frame there. Here's a picture of the zip tie coming out of the hole (sorry, my car was not spotless when I did this).

From there, I basically cut a hole in the grommet and fed the antenna cable through so I could reinstall the grommet (first picture below is the wire in the grommet, second is what it looks like reinstalled). Taped the antenna cable to the zip tie with masking tape, and pulled the wiring through into the driver's footwell.

I sealed around the hole with some RTV silicone to keep water from entering the hole. I kept the sealant just on the grommet so if I ever need to pull that cable (or add anything) I can just get a new grommet from the parts counter and replace it.

I then fed the antenna cable behind the brake/gas pedals and behind the climate control module over to the passenger side - I secured the antenna cable with zip ties so it shouldn't interfere with anything - and then routed it behind and into the glove box which is where I plan to put my receiver. I haven't installed that yet because I am planning to use a fuse tap to power the radio (the fuse box is conveniently located on the passenger side footwell) and I want to solder the wires rather than rely on crimping. I have a cat5 extender and I'm going to feed that from the glove box to below the climate control panel and just use mounting tape to affix it there to plug the radio in. I'll add pictures of that when I finish that up (hopefully this week).

Hopefully this is helpful to someone like the other posts were helpful for me!

 

[JamesT]

I sealed around the hole with some RTV silicone to keep water from entering the hole. I kept the sealant just on the grommet so if I ever need to pull that cable (or add anything) I can just get a new grommet from the parts counter and replace it.

I then fed the antenna cable behind the brake/gas pedals and behind the climate control module over to the passenger side - I secured the antenna cable with zip ties so it shouldn't interfere with anything - and then routed it behind and into the glove box which is where I plan to put my receiver. I haven't installed that yet because I am planning to use a fuse tap to power the radio (the fuse box is conveniently located on the passenger side footwell) and I want to solder the wires rather than rely on crimping. I have a cat5 extender and I'm going to feed that from the glove box to below the climate control panel and just use mounting tape to affix it there to plug the radio in. I'll add pictures of that when I finish that up (hopefully this week).

Hopefully this is helpful to someone like the other posts were helpful for me!

Going through the grommet is a great technique. I am glad you shared that. I will be interested to hear your experience with the fuse box. It seems like it is hard to get to.

 

[LazyDirtFarmer]

I took the afternoon off to install my BTECH GMRS-20V2 today. I chose to wire it to the inside fuse box on the passenger side. I don't like working upside down in that small area, so I made it easy on myself and made a small wiring harness. It is wired to Spare Fuse #3 (ignition on) and #24 (always on). This way, I only have to fiddle with the fuse taps once, and I can add other circuits easily to either tap using the spade or SAE connectors. Important Note: The taps on Fuse #3 and #24 go in opposite directions... The 12V hot is on the bottom for #3, the 12V hot is on the top for #24. If the Taps are installed incorrectly, there will be no fuse protection!

I will probably get my Technician Ticket someday, after I memorize all those damn FCC rules; When I do, installing a new or second radio should be easy.

 

[SapphireCat]

I took the afternoon off to install my BTECH GMRS-20V2 today. I chose to wire it to the inside fuse box on the passenger side. I don't like working upside down in that small area, so I made it easy on myself and made a small wiring harness. It is wired to Spare Fuse #3 (ignition on) and #24 (always on). This way, I only have to fiddle with the fuse taps once, and I can add other circuits easily to either tap using the spade or SAE connectors. Important Note: The taps on Fuse #3 and #24 go in opposite directions... The 12V hot is on the bottom for #3, the 12V hot is on the top for #24. If the Taps are installed incorrectly, there will be no fuse protection!

Can I ask which Micro2 fuse taps you used? I tried to use Fuse 24 but mine would not fit over the Micro3 fuse to the left (Fuse 18/19). These are what I had ordered from Amazon:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZV4LY54/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[LazyDirtFarmer]

Can I ask which Micro2 fuse taps you used? I tried to use Fuse 24 but mine would not fit over the Micro3 fuse to the left (Fuse 18/19). These are what I had ordered from Amazon:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZV4LY54/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got these at a local auto parts store:
https://www.autozone.com/starting-charging-and-miscellaneous-electrical/fuse-power-tap/p/bussmann-circuit-fuse-tap/547344_0_0
It looks like they may be opposite (wire orientation) than the ones in your link.

Hope this helps...

 

[Robert Flavor]

Pardon my ignorance but serious question: why not just keep a Baofeng or something similar in your glove box instead?

 

[SapphireCat]

Pardon my ignorance but serious question: why not just keep a Baofeng or something similar in your glove box instead?

Well, for my part, I was gifted the Midland so my choice was somewhat made for me ha. But I think that the technical answer may be that a wired radio has a better range (and also less likely to lose it somewhere). I know my friend that gifted me my radio likes the improved performance of the wired unit over the handheld which is why he switched over from the handheld.

 

[Mark S.]

Pardon my ignorance but serious question: why not just keep a Baofeng or something similar in your glove box instead?

Looking at Baofeng's website, the highest power handheld outputs 7 watts. The highest power mobile outputs 50 watts. Add to that the enormous advantages a large, car-mounted antenna provides over the little rubber duck antenna you get with a handheld.

 

[SapphireCat]

In the spirit of keeping this info on a single thread, I'm going to post what I did here but if it needs to be moved, I'm happy to do so.

Thanks to everyone who's posted already - it was really helpful when I started mine.

I was gifted a Midland MXT275 radio and I went with the 3dB Ghost Antenna because I figured it was better than the magnetic mount and would still let me go into parking garages. I got my GMRS license, but I'm coming from the old handheld walkies so this is quite an upgrade for me and I'm a newbie on this system. We pretty much use these radios when we're traveling on group camping trips, but I wanted this more or less permanently mounted in the car.

I opted to use a roll bar/mirror mount from Midland for my Ghost Antenna.

So, there is some rubber trim that goes along side the roof rail. I fed the cable into that channel and pushed it down inside. To get the trim to lie flat again where the cable comes out up towards the antenna, I did make a small slit in the trim. As I fed the antenna wiring in the channel towards the windshield, where the roof bends down to the windshield I found this small plastic tab that I saw no particular purpose for - perhaps as a spacer or to support the trim as it goes over the bend, although my trim was pretty tight already - but that tab was big enough to prevent me from pushing the wire down in the channel. I went back and forth on this, but finally I trimmed off the edge of that so I could push the antenna cable down in the channel. That let the trim lie flat again. It seems to be working okay - trim lies flat and is meeting the other side of the channel. Once I reached the windshield, I fed the antenna cable along the windshield edge to go into the engine bay.

From there, I fed the cable in towards the driver's door. I debated about going through the engine bay grommet behind the battery, but I couldn't clearly see how the antenna cable would come in by the brake pedal (I feel like one needs to be a contortionist to see under the dash in this vehicle - my only gripe about this car so far haha) so that made me a little nervous. Thus - the door route won.

NVSport mentioned on a firewall penetration thread a grommet on the driver's side door that could be used as an access point into the cabin. So I was able to pop that grommet out, and I used a long zip tie to come up from the driver's footwell up through the hole where that grommet is. I couldn't get a picture under the dash of that - I basically kind of carefully stuck my hand up along the inside until I felt an opening on the metal frame there. Here's a picture of the zip tie coming out of the hole (sorry, my car was not spotless when I did this).

From there, I basically cut a hole in the grommet and fed the antenna cable through so I could reinstall the grommet (first picture below is the wire in the grommet, second is what it looks like reinstalled). Taped the antenna cable to the zip tie with masking tape, and pulled the wiring through into the driver's footwell.

I sealed around the hole with some RTV silicone to keep water from entering the hole. I kept the sealant just on the grommet so if I ever need to pull that cable (or add anything) I can just get a new grommet from the parts counter and replace it.

I then fed the antenna cable behind the brake/gas pedals and behind the climate control module over to the passenger side - I secured the antenna cable with zip ties so it shouldn't interfere with anything - and then routed it behind and into the glove box which is where I plan to put my receiver. I haven't installed that yet because I am planning to use a fuse tap to power the radio (the fuse box is conveniently located on the passenger side footwell) and I want to solder the wires rather than rely on crimping. I have a cat5 extender and I'm going to feed that from the glove box to below the climate control panel and just use mounting tape to affix it there to plug the radio in. I'll add pictures of that when I finish that up (hopefully this week).

Hopefully this is helpful to someone like the other posts were helpful for me!

Well, October was super busy at work and I had some trips planned, so I didn't get back to this as soon as I thought I would.

My Big Bend is missing the under dash panel that covers the fuse area, so I can't speak to getting that panel off, but popping the cover of the fuse box off isn't too bad if you start in the upper right and pull towards you firmly, then in the middle, and then in the upper left (just watch your hand; there is something up there that I've hit almost everytime I've opened the fuse box and have now given myself a scar...). Here are pics of what it looks like and then I circled the three areas where the clips to hold that cover go in (just make sure all your wires are clear so they don't get pinched when you put it back on).

I did a full analysis of the spare/not used Micro 2 fuses and posted it separately. From that info, I mapped out where my dashcam and my radio would be wired. Thanks to @LazyDirtFarmer for posting his write up, I got a tap to fit where I wanted it!

My dashcam has two fuse taps (yellow fuses shown in the taps in photo below) for switched and always on (parking monitoring) and they are in fuses 3 (switched) and 20 (always on; yes I am aware this tap is reversed - because it is a spare circuit I am okay with the fuses being in series and not parallel as the other two are... but it is important to know there is a potential issue with this orientation generally if you're reading this). My radio is on a fuse tap (blue fuse shown in tap in photo below) on fuse 24 (always on).

I have both the dash cam and the radio grounded to the bolt right below the fuse panel (you can see the bolt in the center bottom of the pic above).

I installed the radio in the glove box. I ran a Cat5 extender from the radio over to the center console and that's where I plug in the mic.

I like that if I unplug the mic, it's hard to tell anything is installed inside the car. Plus the USB-C port on the radio is still accessible for charging in the glove box.

If I add any other accessories, I'm going to do an aux fuse box in the engine bay.

 

[Robert Flavor]

Looking at Baofeng's website, the highest power handheld outputs 7 watts. The highest power mobile outputs 50 watts. Add to that the enormous advantages a large, car-mounted antenna provides over the little rubber duck antenna you get with a handheld.

I get that a bigger antenna and a better system give you more range/options, but I'm just curious what you actually are doing with your HAM system. I've used handheld radios for camping and road trips before, and even in the mountains and several miles apart I've gotten signal out to friends without issue using cheap equipment.

If it's more for peace of mind as an emergency communication method, it's really not a great option, especially compared to something like a sat phone where you don't need to know local frequencies and can get a signal anywhere you can see the sky (on top of being less expensive and requiring zero modification to your car).

Not throwing any shade, I'm just genuinely curious about what everyone is using these systems for, besides making their Bronco look like a cool RC car.

 

[Major Kong]

I get that a bigger antenna and a better system give you more range/options, but I'm just curious what you actually are doing with your HAM system. I've used handheld radios for camping and road trips before, and even in the mountains and several miles apart I've gotten signal out to friends without issue using cheap equipment.

If it's more for peace of mind as an emergency communication method, it's really not a great option, especially compared to something like a sat phone where you don't need to know local frequencies and can get a signal anywhere you can see the sky (on top of being less expensive and requiring zero modification to your car).

Not throwing any shade, I'm just genuinely curious about what everyone is using these systems for, besides making their Bronco look like a cool RC car.

Just checking in on the neighbors
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