....and doing it right turns out to be a major project..........lol

 

Thanks to all,, you guys rock! HAMS and Jeeper's are all really good people.
With that said, I have been doing alot of reading and thinking about what I want out of the HF radio in the Jeep. Although I'm not really that active I do want to be able to use HF in the Jeep. So I am ordering some ferrites from DX eng, and I'm going to a electronic surplus store soon to see if they have some brand for cheap. come Friday I have off till the 4th so between lots of miles on my bike and jeep'in and HF radio jeep stuff I should keep busy. I'll post as I finish and let you guys know how it went.
I think I'm more wanting to win the RFI war then use the radio,, if that makes any sense..
it's been about two yrs since I even got on HF....

thanks again...... say tuned.
73's

 

Of course some rigs are better at blanking out RF than others, but you'll probably have to win the war before you can use the radio (to it's fullest) anyway....

Good Luck.....

 

Here is an Update on My RFI problem.
I have worked on this slowly as time allows and not taking time away from other mods to the Jeep.
my radios are currently in the rear of the Jeep by the radio's speaker Right rear.
My antenna is on the rear tire mount.
I connected the Tail gate to the body using a 1" braid and ran it in parallel with the hinges. I then bonded the Body to the frame on the right side just under the tailgate hinge..
This allowed me to transmit 50-60W with no RFI on 20M.. (only working antenna, my 17M antenna has a good SWR via the meter but my 706 doesn't like it..)
I then grounded the engine to the frame.. no test
I ground the end of the exhaust to the frame... RFI at 100W no other test.
I then put the Mix 31 bead on the coax.. only was able to do 3-3.5 loops not enough to do 5 (which is what I think I recall reading .. do 5-6 loops...??)
RFI on 20M 100W is GONE.....
I attached a couple more.. not sure if they are worth leaving.. one at the 12V power block (power Mod) that is where I pull off added mods from the Battery... (Not on the Battery but fused). I put one on the Sway bar disconnect line since the Sway bar light was one of the one that always came on..
I might only need the one at the coax/antenna connection but untill I get more antennas for more of the bands this is it...

I also bought some RG8 coax to replace my RG58.. RG8 has 95% shield coverage... I haven't reworked that yet..

For now RFI is fixed...
thanks for those who helped....

 

The swaybar light is from the CAN communications being disrupted between the multiple ECU's.

If you only had 3 wraps of coax outside and another bead I have 3 or 4 beads on mine, I cant remember exactly.

Yes keeping the RFI out of the Jeep is a bit of a struggle but once done you sure have fun.

When I am able to get my SGC amp then I will find out how good of a job I really did.

 

So what is the recommended wrap of coax through one of these beads. 5-6 turns... I don't seem to recall where I read that.. I am going to install the RG8 in the next week or so so how many wraps should I plan.? like I said at least on 20M I can go to 100W.. that's the most I see transmitting as I have no plans for an amp..

And it looks like that is really the only ferrite bead I needed. the others I installed due to ..... well I don't know.. I need to do more research. I just figured It couldn't hurt and seeing how the one on the coax helped so much the other ones have to be a good thing.... thanks for your RFI post last year it helped me...

of course the other guys helped also...

 

Jeeze what a chore.......eh?

That's too bad about the Icom not liking 17m. That's my favorite band.......the "gentleman's band" for good reason. You can always get away there during contests. And people just seem to be more laid back.

What's the radio actually doing there that makes you say it doesn't like 17m...???

 

with my SWR meter MFJ 259, I get a SWR 1.5 avg.. when I do the SWR sweep with the 706 it's a full bar so actually I think that's higher than a 2-3..

And I agree I like 17M also.. I'm not into the contests but I will give out points now and then.
I still have work to do on my radio setups.. and I guess even though I get a really good SWR with a 20M hamstick w/o whip for 11M (CB) it doesn't transmit I do receive but receiving is always easier.... so I have to break down and get the CB antenna... no biggie. After listening to CB I'm not a big fan... for Jeepin it's fine but that's it.

 

Sure would like to see some pictures of that antenna install. Looks like Lil Tarheel. But what is the mount?

Bob

 

I just solved this very problem today after giving it a break for close to a year when I finally gave up and put the radio back in my Dually. The solution was to choke the coax cables to keep the common mode from entering the jeep. So, beads on both of my VHF antennas, on my little backup camera as well as the HF coax. I also removed an old CB coax (it's the gold cable the left most choke is zip tied too in the pic). I'm pretty sure the common mode current was running up the old CB coax. The backup camera cable may not have needed it but I had some spares.

Here's a pic of my Ferrite chokes. That's 3 turns on the left most and 5 turns around the center and right large snap beads. I'd have done 6 on all three but ran out of cable:



I can now transmit full power up and down the 20m band. Made contact with a HAM participating in the Virgina QSO party today at full power while driving. He had a hard time understanding my call sign but he got 80% of it. Not bad considering the band was just so so. I was just happy the dash didn't light up. More bonding to follow once my pre-made cables arrive.

Thanks go to Don goldtr8 we traded a couple PMs his previous work with this issue really did pave the road.

edit: BTW I may be able to get away with fewer beads or larger loops of 3in (or further apart if i had space) on the HF cable now that i've choked the others and removed the old CB Cable.