I picked up a quad band Yaesu FT-8900 (10,6,2,70cm) over the weekend and started installation yesterday. There are 2 VFO's so you can listen to to two different bands at once. This make it great for full duplex cross band or satellite communications. It's a suprisingly small unit for the number of bands it covers, but its diminutive size doesn't make it any easier to find a mount location. Right away I realized that its nearly impossible to hang anything under the "dash", so I decided to separate the head and mount the radio under the seat and connect it to the head via the separation kit I had purchased in anticipation of this problem. I am using a seat bolt under the drivers seat to secure the radio, and plan to mount the head under the lip by the ash tray. There is also an excellent location under the center seat, but would require the fabrication of a bracket to span the mounting bolts across the front. I have antennas mounted on both sides of the hood using Firestik SS-18N hood brackets, a 6,2 and 70cm on the drivers side, and a Larsen 10m on the passenger side. I still have to route power and the coax thru the firewall before it's operational. I think 6 and 10 are dead at this phase of the cycle, but I'm hoping for some sporadic e this summer.

 

Hay Tom, <br><br>I've got an Icom 706MKIIG and a Kenwood TM-733A in mine. Don't have the screwdriver installed yet; have to come up with a mount. I've got a Comet Z780 in a stake hole mount (drivers side front). Seems to work good there and doesn’t interfere with the cap that is going on this week.<br><br>I've got the radios under the driver’s seat with the faceplates mounted to a wooden box on the tranny hump.<br><br>I'll try to post a couple of pictures of the cab tonight (if it stops raining).<br><br>73's, <br>

 

Butch, the guys at HRO tried to talk me into the 706. It was on sale and included the separation kit. I was really close to getting it. But I have a cap over the bed, so I thought attaching the HF/VHF/UHF antenna was going to be interesting. Can you point me to the mount you used? I'd like to see your pictures when you get a chance.<br><br>Tom

 

The stake-hole mount I use is just like the firestick SS-194 but from a different company (don't remember the name).

I'm still in the process of designing a mount for the screwdriver. Not sure how I want to mount it. I had a pipe that came out of the side of the hitch on my cheby but that won't work on the Dodge due to the hitch design. Looking at making a bracket that comes off the bumber mount.

It looks like the rain has slowed down some, I might be able to take a few pics when I get home.

 

I too would like to see some pics.<br><br>Tom, that 8900 is a lot of radio for the price! Do you have an antenna tuner for it somewhere? What dissuaded you from the 706MkIIG?

 

I have an old IC-207 that I installed in my truck. Took the head off and mounted it between the top of the LH vent outlet and the lip of the dash. Angled it so that I can easily see the face. It looks good. It was easy to mount as I removed the back of the head and screwed a metal sort of Vee shaped bracket to the back. Then slipped this bracket between the removable vent and the lip of the dash. A dab of transparent glue made it solid. No holes drilled. This way the head is out of direct sunlight and sun heat. The rest of the radio is under the drivers seat with nothing holding it down as it does not slide around. There are no wires visable. Mounted a small speaker just behind my left ear above the plastic cover over the seatbelt. Again. no holes drilled. I use a Larson Magmount as it is necessary for me to remove the antenna for parking underground at the one place I visit. The mic is hung up on a bracket near the 4WD selector.<br> For power I ran the wires thru a convenient grommet under the clutch pedal and straight to the LH battery. This is overkill but I installed a fuse on both the negative and positive wires right at the battery. Just hate the thought of unfused wires running thru the bulkhead.<br> Some day I hope to go back to having a HF radio in my truck. At the moment don't do enough long trip to warrent it.<br>Stan VE3AH/XE4

 

[quote author=bulabula link=board=10;threadid=13294;start=0#125152 date=1049738825]
I too would like to see some pics.

Tom, that 8900 is a lot of radio for the price! Do you have an antenna tuner for it somewhere? What dissuaded you from the 706MkIIG?
[/quote]

Because of the relatively small bandwidth allocated for FM operations on 10 and 6, a tuner isn't required. And that's what disuaded me from the '706. I was going to need an auto tuner, as well as the HF antenna, and I wasn't sure I wanted to add that much at this time. I really love 2 and 6 meter CW and SSB DXing, but a horizontal Squalo or loop is absolutely essential so I was looking at another 2 antennas. So in the short time I was there at the store, the budget and scope really started to expand beyond my original intention. I also like the idea of 2 VFO's at once with the 8900. This way , I can listen for my two favorite repeaters or calling frequencies at once. But my gears were grinding on that for a while, especially with my wife there giving me the green light for the HF rig.

Stan, I have a 207 installed in a Chevy Impala which is now my wife's car. That thing has seen a lot of use and it just keeps on running. Prior to that, it was in my 89 pickup for several years; a real testimony to its durability.

 

Yeah, it is because the 207 keeps on going that I am still using it. It was in my wifes Buick and then my old Dakota. Have a mount for it in my Infiniti if I want to use it here. So this is vehicle #4 for that radio.

 

OK, now for a couple of pics.<br><br>Anternna

 

Close up of antenna mount.<br>

 

Radios

 

Close up of radios.

 

And one of the radios and box. Hope that gives you folks some ideas.

 

Nice! Even got room for a little mobile CW. What's that black, yoke shaped object to the right of the radio's?

 

That's the drink holder. With the box in place, I can't use the factory one (did't like it much anyway). It will be replaced by the cup smoothy from Geno's as soon as they are available.<br><br>I'm still trying to figure out how to mount the screwdriver. Once I figure it out and get it mounted, I'll post some pics of that install.<br><br>I know how I did it on the cheby, now to do it again just better. BTW, the cheby is a 1990 C1500 with 271,000 on it and it still gets 17-18 MPG.<br><br>