Have Any of You Put a 2M Ham Radio in Your Car?

[ThisIsTrue]

I've pretty much always had a ham radio in my car -- makes travel really fun, and it's a good way to communicate with the wife. Since I don't have a car yet, I'm unclear on a couple of things....

Since I don't want to drill a hole in the body for the antenna, I'm thinking of a Larsen through-the-glass antenna (much like the cell antennas of old). But is the back window metal-coated like the windshield, which would make this challenging?

And where did you mount the radio? Any issues with RFI from the car's electronics getting into the radio -- or vice versa?

With how nerdy Tesla owners are, I figure there HAS to be some hams here!

I know I'm putting the cart before the horse since I don't have a car yet, but it's one thing I can plan....

 

[Barry]

We're here! Personally, when I bought my MS, I sold my 2m radio and antenna. There's just so little activity in the Denver area, it wasn't worth hassling with.

Here's an old thread:
Solution for amateur radio operators? Impossible to use magmount antennas in a Tesla


BTW, wonder if we know each other. GMCC and MHDXA member here.
.-- ..--- ..- .--.

 

[ThisIsTrue]

Thanks. That one also linked to another thread of interest:
Anyone have a VHF/UHF transceiver in their car? If so, any RFI problems?

Still interested in other up-to-date ideas.

 

[VerityZooms]

ThisIsTrue, I'm keeping the one you just linked to up-to-date with my adventures — if you need any specific answers that I happen to have, feel free to directly message me or post in that thread. (=

 

[ThisIsTrue]

BTW, wonder if we know each other. GMCC and MHDXA member here.

Oh! Just noticed this -- sorry I didn't reply to this part before.

Your call isn't familiar. I used to live in Boulder, and was a member of the Boulder ARC. I'm not all THAT active, but I'm putting a 2M repeater into Ouray County for the back-country jeepers, and it's good to have that on in the car when I'm around and about.

73 de K0RCC

 

[Barry]

Your call doesn't ring a bell, either. I've lived here since 2009. Prior to that, the Phila area.

 

[ThisIsTrue]

Ah: I left for the Western Slope in 2003, so we didn't overlap.

 

[green1]

Although I have no permanent ham radio mounted, I did put one in this weekend for an event.

I used an FT8900 and put it in the cubby below the 17" screen. Power was from a dedicated 12v 20A circuit that I wired to that location a while back directly from the battery.
For antenna I routed it to the rear hatch, and then to a custom mount that I made to screw in to the rear right roof rack mount.

Worked great.

73 de VE6RAH

 

[evp]

I wonder if you could plop an antenna down on the sunroof, then put a few really strong magnets underneath it (with appropriate scratch-proofing: felt pads on both sides? Something like these.

 

[tga]

I wonder if you could plop an antenna down on the sunroof, then put a few really strong magnets underneath it (with appropriate scratch-proofing: felt pads on both sides? Something like these.

No ground plane. Although you could wrap the top of the sunroof with Al foil...

 

[BigTonyTones]

I was wondering the same thing. I have a nice icom 5100 radio that I pulled out of my just sold jeep. I have to sell it since I dont see a clean way to install an antenna on this car.

For now I am using an icom 51a handheld.

Dstar is pretty interesting and there are always people talking on the popular reflectors.

 

[andrewket]

I finished installing my radio gear in my new S just a few days ago.

Motorola XBR5550e UHF for DMR
Larsen on-glass antenna
Shark openspot
Mofi with LTE modem with an external antenna

The Larsen had been sitting in the shipping box from AES in my basement since 1998. The alcohol wipes and adhesive prep were still good. I couldn't believe it. The top few lines on the rear hatch are actually antennas, so you don't want to mount there. The distance between the defroster wires is insufficient. I ended up using the small rear passenger window.

I'll take some pics on Sunday if you wish. We should get a Tesla DMR net/round table up.

Edit: I've also used a NMO clip-mount on the tailgate. You have the bend it a bit to fit, and the antenna ends up a slight angle, but it works.

 

[BigTonyTones]

I finished installing my radio gear in my new S just a few days ago.

Motorola XBR5550e UHF for DMR
Larsen on-glass antenna
Shark openspot
Mofi with LTE modem with an external antenna

The Larsen had been sitting in the shipping box from AES in my basement since 1998. The alcohol wipes and adhesive prep were still good. I couldn't believe it. The top few lines on the rear hatch are actually antennas, so you don't want to go mount there. The distance between the defroster wires is insufficient. I ended up using the small rear passenger window.

I'll take some pics on Sunday if you wish. We should get a Tesla DMR net/round table up.

Cant wait for your pics

 

[BigTonyTones]

I finished installing my radio gear in my new S just a few days ago.

Motorola XBR5550e UHF for DMR
Larsen on-glass antenna
Shark openspot
Mofi with LTE modem with an external antenna

The Larsen had been sitting in the shipping box from AES in my basement since 1998. The alcohol wipes and adhesive prep were still good. I couldn't believe it. The top few lines on the rear hatch are actually antennas, so you don't want to mount there. The distance between the defroster wires is insufficient. I ended up using the small rear passenger window.

I'll take some pics on Sunday if you wish. We should get a Tesla DMR net/round table up.

Edit: I've also used a NMO clip-mount on the tailgate. You have the bend it a bit to fit, and the antenna ends up a slight angle, but it works.

Does that Shark openspot allow you to create a dstar gateway in your home?

 

[Xenoilphobe]

get the hitch and mount the antenna there.. Torklift Central | Tesla - Find Your EcoHitch - RVing and Towing

HF or VHF Antenna Hitch Mount for Ham Radio Yaesu & Icom rigs | eBay

 

[ThisIsTrue]

I'll take some pics on Sunday if you wish.

Yes, please! Including your radio mounting spot. (And this goes for everyone else who has something installed!)

 

[andrewket]

 

[DaveNC]

Hi All

I've just completed a Icom IC 7100 Radio installation in my Model X and documented on YouTube. It went well and am operating on VHF and UHF without birdies that I can find. I'll add HF later on.

Here is the YouTube link.

Enjoy

 

[VerityZooms]

Hi All

I've just completed a Icom IC 7100 Radio installation in my Model X and documented on YouTube. It went well and am operating on VHF and UHF without birdies that I can find. I'll add HF later on.

I've got my 7100 control-unit in exactly the same place! :rofl:

I'm planning on 3D-printing or laser-cutting a piece to permanently mount it there, more securely — probably another half-inch or inch towards the rear of the car, giving a little easier access to the front compartment.

The rest of my setup is substantially different though; my transceiver and all of my wiring are in the frunk, and all of my antennas are on the hood (to give them a large ballast ‘ground’, and to keep the height of the antennas down a bit so I can deal with Chicago's tunnels, rail-bridges, and most importantly, parking-garages.)

 

[iwannam3]

Do the police consider holding a mike the same as a using a cell phone?