- Thread starter
- #1
Trying to put transceiver/Antenna installation ideas in one location. Please move to appropriate place if needed.
Looking for location and wiring ideas/discussions/examples for both the radios and the antennas on our Bronco Sports.
Ford has some documentation on the subject that may be of use. Much of Fords info is based on the ARRL handbook concerning the routing of antennas and power leads.
Galvanic corrosion attachment will help anyone installing dissimilar metals to the body (antennas) to prevent corrosion if you start drilling the roof for your install.
UPDATE:
Trying to get this thread going so here is my install even if it may be temporary until I find a better solution.
Transceiver is a VGC VR-7500 Dual Band that you probably never heard of mounted in the depression under the drivers seat with velcro.
It's an unusual radio in that the only front end controls are an on/off switch. Volume and channel selection is though the mic I mounted on the center console.
The majority of the controls are by Bluetooth through a dedicated spare android phone that also monitors an OBD2 dongle. Still looking for a good spot to mount spare phone.
My antenna hasn't been delivered yet but the mount is a Diamond K9000LRM motorized mount I attached to the rear OEM luggage rack crossbar. Close to the Owners manual position 2 but not perfect. (NMO mount covered in silicon tape till UPS deliverers my antenna). Up/Down control for mount is next to microphone (see two pictures up). Power for antenna motor is though cigarette lighter power port for now but will be hard wired into fuse panel.
Power for the radio is directly wired to the battery by going through a grommet in the firewall directly behind the battery.
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). Use caution if you decide to attach the Neg. lead to the body grounding post (right of the yellow line). With all the current going through all the electrical systems even with ignition off, you will get sparks if you loosen the body ground nut. I got sparks, all the light came on and I thought I shorted something out. I usually disconnect the Pos. terminal during electrical work but after reading the manual it appears some systems will require you recalibrate some of the systems if power is disconnected. I skipped the disconnect and it worked fine. I used an Automatic Power Off (APO3) box from APRS World LLC that turns on the radio power by sensing when the vehicle starts. It shuts off ten minutes after the engine is shut down. Just in case I forget to shut the radio off.
For the antenna coax I used 3 meters of RG 316. The small coax made in easy to run in the seam along the luggage rack and then down along the liftgate entering into the BS at the bottom.
I used Goop to hold the coax in position so it wouldn't get caught/pinched in any liftgate mechanisms. After the coax entered the rear of the BS I was able to hide the coax almost completely under interior molding to under the drivers seat.
My biggest concern's are coax type, a few hard 90 degree turns and running the coax parallel to a power lead for a few feet. Once I receive my antenna I'll see how bad I did with the SWR meter.
I'm a new Tech. licensee who has a lot to learn and I know some of the things I've done in this install are not best practice.
I hope others will post their Bronco Sport installs so we can all learn something and actually get some results when we google "Bronco Sport Ham radio installs".
Looking for location and wiring ideas/discussions/examples for both the radios and the antennas on our Bronco Sports.
Ford has some documentation on the subject that may be of use. Much of Fords info is based on the ARRL handbook concerning the routing of antennas and power leads.
Galvanic corrosion attachment will help anyone installing dissimilar metals to the body (antennas) to prevent corrosion if you start drilling the roof for your install.
UPDATE:
Trying to get this thread going so here is my install even if it may be temporary until I find a better solution.
Transceiver is a VGC VR-7500 Dual Band that you probably never heard of mounted in the depression under the drivers seat with velcro.
It's an unusual radio in that the only front end controls are an on/off switch. Volume and channel selection is though the mic I mounted on the center console.
The majority of the controls are by Bluetooth through a dedicated spare android phone that also monitors an OBD2 dongle. Still looking for a good spot to mount spare phone.
My antenna hasn't been delivered yet but the mount is a Diamond K9000LRM motorized mount I attached to the rear OEM luggage rack crossbar. Close to the Owners manual position 2 but not perfect. (NMO mount covered in silicon tape till UPS deliverers my antenna). Up/Down control for mount is next to microphone (see two pictures up). Power for antenna motor is though cigarette lighter power port for now but will be hard wired into fuse panel.
Power for the radio is directly wired to the battery by going through a grommet in the firewall directly behind the battery.
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). Use caution if you decide to attach the Neg. lead to the body grounding post (right of the yellow line). With all the current going through all the electrical systems even with ignition off, you will get sparks if you loosen the body ground nut. I got sparks, all the light came on and I thought I shorted something out. I usually disconnect the Pos. terminal during electrical work but after reading the manual it appears some systems will require you recalibrate some of the systems if power is disconnected. I skipped the disconnect and it worked fine. I used an Automatic Power Off (APO3) box from APRS World LLC that turns on the radio power by sensing when the vehicle starts. It shuts off ten minutes after the engine is shut down. Just in case I forget to shut the radio off.
For the antenna coax I used 3 meters of RG 316. The small coax made in easy to run in the seam along the luggage rack and then down along the liftgate entering into the BS at the bottom.
I used Goop to hold the coax in position so it wouldn't get caught/pinched in any liftgate mechanisms. After the coax entered the rear of the BS I was able to hide the coax almost completely under interior molding to under the drivers seat.
My biggest concern's are coax type, a few hard 90 degree turns and running the coax parallel to a power lead for a few feet. Once I receive my antenna I'll see how bad I did with the SWR meter.
I'm a new Tech. licensee who has a lot to learn and I know some of the things I've done in this install are not best practice.
I hope others will post their Bronco Sport installs so we can all learn something and actually get some results when we google "Bronco Sport Ham radio installs".
Sponsored
Attachments
-
521.4 KB Views: 262
-
64.8 KB Views: 338
Last edited by a moderator: