Forum Discussion

k6ncx's avatar
k6ncx
Explorer
Sep 29, 2016

Ham radio installation

cross posted from Class A forum


I'm looking at a 2016 Thor ACE 30.1, so of course the more directly comparable your experience is the more eager I am to hear from you. But general tips and hints are certainly welcome as well. Where/how to mount radios, and antennas. Feed line and power routing. So many questions...

I want to be able to operate VHF/UHF FM while en route, preferable from driver or passenger seat. HF en route might be fun, but realistically I think when parked is enough.

Success, failure, or a little of both, I'd love to hear about it.


Neil, K6NCX

4 Replies

  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Additional In my case my wife wanted nothing to do with Ham Radio (No comment) and I do not care to operate HF from the pilot's seat, just VHF/UHF FM. (And CB) so I mounted a 2x4, finished and beveled, to the side wall (I do not have a driver's door) and mounted the radios to that, looks rather good. BUT.. when the window drips due to condensation.... Bad things happened to one radio.

    I now have a shield to keep the drips out of the radio. (Silicon sheet from the kitchen mounted behidn the radios, It only takes a few drips to ruin a radio)
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Many options.. one is the Police car option.. Companies such as Galls (www.galls.com) sell "Radio Trees"

    Not the one I'd recommend(worked well, just not the best for a motor home) I used it in a car though or one like it.

    This one might be better for a motor home,. Put a couple of studs in the dog house cover and set it on them, spin on nuts to hold and both pilot and co-pilot acn access.

    One of the Computer mounts might also work. This page shows the two above plus some others.
  • I use an Outbacker Stealth Plus for HF/VHF & IC7000 while moving...it won't tune UHF (very well). Antenna's mounted on one of the mirrors, same location as the over the road Freightliners. The biggest problem with HF and motorhomes is the height of the antenna or current getting into the electronics of the vehicle. The base (feed point) must be away or above the vehicle. Above and you don't have much clearance, Away and you're hitting side obstructions, you're too wide. Look at the photo in my profile altho I had not converted the CB mounts for ham use. Consider a mag mount HF antenna (but not too big) if you pull a toad.
    Parked...lots of possibilities, vertical or dipole.
  • I've just done a ton of research on this for my truck, so it's apples to oranges. But I'd go with a Tarheel 400 antenna with TurboTuner2 mounted on the rear, run your wiring in cable loom along the inside of the frame rails. Use a radio with a remote head like the Icom IC-7100 or Kenwood TS-480HX and install the base in a cabinet near the floor somewhere so you can easily get the cables up from under the unit. Run the cables to the head on the dash however convenient. Mount the head to your dash with Ram mounts. Kenwood requires two power harnesses for the TS-480HX and the longest ones they sell are 23' long. I'm also powering everything via the ignition and an aux switch via 30A relays for each leg and diodes to keep current from one trigger from being sent down the other.

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