Dual Band (VHF/UHF) HAM Radio Install
05-09-2016, 08:39 AM
#1
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Dual Band (VHF/UHF) HAM Radio Install
Well I finally got around to mounting my Dual Band (VHF/UHF) radio and antenna.
Equipment:
- Radio: ICOM IC-2730A 144/440 Dual Band Amateur Ham Mobile Transceiver
- Antenna: Sirio SDB 270 2m/70cm Dual Band Mobile Antenna
- Speaker Selector: SpeakerCraft SL-One Speaker Level A/B Switch
First I wanted a non-intrusive installation for both the radio and antenna and I also wanted the ability to monitor multiple channels at once. The ICOM 2730A allows for remote faceplate mounting keeping the bulk of the radio out of sight. With a couple of angle brackets I was able to mount the faceplate bracket discreetly behind the gear shift out of the way under the heater controls. I mounted the radio base under the passenger seat as my stereo amp and lock box are mounted under the drivers.
I also looked high and low for an antenna that kept the OEM look of the rig. I wanted it to mount opposite the FM radio antenna on the drivers fender in place of the Trail Rated badge. The Sirio SDB 270 antenna is a unity gain (0dB) fairly short antenna and the mount sticks out a bit farther than I was hoping (I wanted to put the OEM FM radio cap over the VHF mount to get the OEM look) but it accomplished the fender mount I wanted. I may look for a longer antenna whip later (+3dB/+6dB) to bring it to the approximate height of the stock FM antenna.
The slickest part of the installation was the external speaker routing! With the radio base mounted under the passenger’s seat it was a bit hard to hear transmissions, especially over the radio and wind noise of the rig. The SpeakerCraft SL-One A/B switch is an automatic stereo speaker selector which I wired into the rear roll-bar speakers to leverage the overhead speakers for the radio output. The selector’s default configuration is to route the amplifier stereo output to the speakers as normal. As soon as output is sensed from the HAM radio the selector automatically mutes the stereo output and routes the HAM radio outputs to both the left and right rear overhead speakers. When transmission on the HAM radio completes after a delay timeout the SL-One automatically reroutes the stereo back to the speakers. The slickest part of all is as the ICOM is a ‘dual band’ & ‘dual output’ radio and will output incoming transmissions on both channels simultaneously I was able to route the left radio display channel to the rear-left speaker and the right radio display channel to the rear-right speaker. That way in use by hearing which speaker you hear output on you know which channel band to respond to based on its corresponding location on the radio.
Equipment:
- Radio: ICOM IC-2730A 144/440 Dual Band Amateur Ham Mobile Transceiver
- Antenna: Sirio SDB 270 2m/70cm Dual Band Mobile Antenna
- Speaker Selector: SpeakerCraft SL-One Speaker Level A/B Switch
First I wanted a non-intrusive installation for both the radio and antenna and I also wanted the ability to monitor multiple channels at once. The ICOM 2730A allows for remote faceplate mounting keeping the bulk of the radio out of sight. With a couple of angle brackets I was able to mount the faceplate bracket discreetly behind the gear shift out of the way under the heater controls. I mounted the radio base under the passenger seat as my stereo amp and lock box are mounted under the drivers.
I also looked high and low for an antenna that kept the OEM look of the rig. I wanted it to mount opposite the FM radio antenna on the drivers fender in place of the Trail Rated badge. The Sirio SDB 270 antenna is a unity gain (0dB) fairly short antenna and the mount sticks out a bit farther than I was hoping (I wanted to put the OEM FM radio cap over the VHF mount to get the OEM look) but it accomplished the fender mount I wanted. I may look for a longer antenna whip later (+3dB/+6dB) to bring it to the approximate height of the stock FM antenna.
The slickest part of the installation was the external speaker routing! With the radio base mounted under the passenger’s seat it was a bit hard to hear transmissions, especially over the radio and wind noise of the rig. The SpeakerCraft SL-One A/B switch is an automatic stereo speaker selector which I wired into the rear roll-bar speakers to leverage the overhead speakers for the radio output. The selector’s default configuration is to route the amplifier stereo output to the speakers as normal. As soon as output is sensed from the HAM radio the selector automatically mutes the stereo output and routes the HAM radio outputs to both the left and right rear overhead speakers. When transmission on the HAM radio completes after a delay timeout the SL-One automatically reroutes the stereo back to the speakers. The slickest part of all is as the ICOM is a ‘dual band’ & ‘dual output’ radio and will output incoming transmissions on both channels simultaneously I was able to route the left radio display channel to the rear-left speaker and the right radio display channel to the rear-right speaker. That way in use by hearing which speaker you hear output on you know which channel band to respond to based on its corresponding location on the radio.
02-23-2017, 10:08 AM
#3
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Join Date: Feb 2017
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Well I finally got around to mounting my Dual Band (VHF/UHF) radio and antenna.
Equipment:
- Radio: ICOM IC-2730A 144/440 Dual Band Amateur Ham Mobile Transceiver
- Antenna: Sirio SDB 270 2m/70cm Dual Band Mobile Antenna
- Speaker Selector: SpeakerCraft SL-One Speaker Level A/B Switch
First I wanted a non-intrusive installation for both the radio and antenna and I also wanted the ability to monitor multiple channels at once. The ICOM 2730A allows for remote faceplate mounting keeping the bulk of the radio out of sight. With a couple of angle brackets I was able to mount the faceplate bracket discreetly behind the gear shift out of the way under the heater controls. I mounted the radio base under the passenger seat as my stereo amp and lock box are mounted under the drivers.
I also looked high and low for an antenna that kept the OEM look of the rig. I wanted it to mount opposite the FM radio antenna on the drivers fender in place of the Trail Rated badge. The Sirio SDB 270 antenna is a unity gain (0dB) fairly short antenna and the mount sticks out a bit farther than I was hoping (I wanted to put the OEM FM radio cap over the VHF mount to get the OEM look) but it accomplished the fender mount I wanted. I may look for a longer antenna whip later (+3dB/+6dB) to bring it to the approximate height of the stock FM antenna.
The slickest part of the installation was the external speaker routing! With the radio base mounted under the passenger’s seat it was a bit hard to hear transmissions, especially over the radio and wind noise of the rig. The SpeakerCraft SL-One A/B switch is an automatic stereo speaker selector which I wired into the rear roll-bar speakers to leverage the overhead speakers for the radio output. The selector’s default configuration is to route the amplifier stereo output to the speakers as normal. As soon as output is sensed from the HAM radio the selector automatically mutes the stereo output and routes the HAM radio outputs to both the left and right rear overhead speakers. When transmission on the HAM radio completes after a delay timeout the SL-One automatically reroutes the stereo back to the speakers. The slickest part of all is as the ICOM is a ‘dual band’ & ‘dual output’ radio and will output incoming transmissions on both channels simultaneously I was able to route the left radio display channel to the rear-left speaker and the right radio display channel to the rear-right speaker. That way in use by hearing which speaker you hear output on you know which channel band to respond to based on its corresponding location on the radio.
Equipment:
- Radio: ICOM IC-2730A 144/440 Dual Band Amateur Ham Mobile Transceiver
- Antenna: Sirio SDB 270 2m/70cm Dual Band Mobile Antenna
- Speaker Selector: SpeakerCraft SL-One Speaker Level A/B Switch
First I wanted a non-intrusive installation for both the radio and antenna and I also wanted the ability to monitor multiple channels at once. The ICOM 2730A allows for remote faceplate mounting keeping the bulk of the radio out of sight. With a couple of angle brackets I was able to mount the faceplate bracket discreetly behind the gear shift out of the way under the heater controls. I mounted the radio base under the passenger seat as my stereo amp and lock box are mounted under the drivers.
I also looked high and low for an antenna that kept the OEM look of the rig. I wanted it to mount opposite the FM radio antenna on the drivers fender in place of the Trail Rated badge. The Sirio SDB 270 antenna is a unity gain (0dB) fairly short antenna and the mount sticks out a bit farther than I was hoping (I wanted to put the OEM FM radio cap over the VHF mount to get the OEM look) but it accomplished the fender mount I wanted. I may look for a longer antenna whip later (+3dB/+6dB) to bring it to the approximate height of the stock FM antenna.
The slickest part of the installation was the external speaker routing! With the radio base mounted under the passenger’s seat it was a bit hard to hear transmissions, especially over the radio and wind noise of the rig. The SpeakerCraft SL-One A/B switch is an automatic stereo speaker selector which I wired into the rear roll-bar speakers to leverage the overhead speakers for the radio output. The selector’s default configuration is to route the amplifier stereo output to the speakers as normal. As soon as output is sensed from the HAM radio the selector automatically mutes the stereo output and routes the HAM radio outputs to both the left and right rear overhead speakers. When transmission on the HAM radio completes after a delay timeout the SL-One automatically reroutes the stereo back to the speakers. The slickest part of all is as the ICOM is a ‘dual band’ & ‘dual output’ radio and will output incoming transmissions on both channels simultaneously I was able to route the left radio display channel to the rear-left speaker and the right radio display channel to the rear-right speaker. That way in use by hearing which speaker you hear output on you know which channel band to respond to based on its corresponding location on the radio.
02-26-2017, 05:51 PM
#5
Seems there are quite a few members in one of the jeep clubs I'm in that are trying out the Rugged Radios. The range and clearity are awesome. I ordered the RM-25r 25 watt model. I'll still keep my CB but these UHF/ VHF Radios seem to be the future.
02-27-2017, 10:29 AM
#6
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Join Date: Feb 2017
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[QUOTE=JK-SAR;4279384]
So you opened up the case, removed the power adapter receptor, and hard wired in?
Also, did you measure the amps and add a resistor to ceiling at roughly the 100mah, or did you notice built-in overload protection?
Thanks for your time to share your experience.
Also, did you measure the amps and add a resistor to ceiling at roughly the 100mah, or did you notice built-in overload protection?
Thanks for your time to share your experience.
03-01-2017, 01:59 PM
#7
JK Enthusiast
You do know that this radio requires an Amateur Radio license to be able to transmit. Correct?
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03-03-2017, 09:46 PM
#8
JK Enthusiast
Not to cause too much thread drift...............
Until now I had not heard of Rugged Ridge radios before so I was curious if they actually use ham freqs. I noticed on their website that they password protect the frequencies used (that presumably they pre-program for their customers). In their "blog" they don't answer various related questions as to the channel usage; for example the 25 watt radio systems do not conform to GMRS/FRS or MURS requirements. It is sure a big question mark for a company that is expanding. Incidentally, that RM25 sure looks like a rebranded and highly over priced SainSonic Gt-890 Chinese radio (e.g. $140 vs. $80 or so).
Go figure.
Until now I had not heard of Rugged Ridge radios before so I was curious if they actually use ham freqs. I noticed on their website that they password protect the frequencies used (that presumably they pre-program for their customers). In their "blog" they don't answer various related questions as to the channel usage; for example the 25 watt radio systems do not conform to GMRS/FRS or MURS requirements. It is sure a big question mark for a company that is expanding. Incidentally, that RM25 sure looks like a rebranded and highly over priced SainSonic Gt-890 Chinese radio (e.g. $140 vs. $80 or so).
Go figure.
Last edited by ShawnInPaso; 03-03-2017 at 11:39 PM.
03-05-2017, 06:00 AM
#9
Not to cause too much thread drift............... Until now I had not heard of Rugged Ridge radios before so I was curious if they actually use ham freqs. I noticed on their website that they password protect the frequencies used (that presumably they pre-program for their customers). In their "blog" they don't answer various related questions as to the channel usage; for example the 25 watt radio systems do not conform to GMRS/FRS or MURS requirements. It is sure a big question mark for a company that is expanding. Incidentally, that RM25 sure looks like a rebranded and highly over priced SainSonic Gt-890 Chinese radio (e.g. $140 vs. $80 or so). Go figure.
