Two-way radio

[ApuNJ]

Anyone install a mobile radio (ham, commercial, or public safety) in a Model Y? I see some old posts for a Model 3 and Model S but nothing for a Y. Curious as to where you mounted the radio, control head, and antenna and where you got power.

 

[WB4KTF-Glen]

ApuNJ
I too am a Ham and will pick up my Model Y tomorrow. How/where did you mount your VHF/UHF dual band antenna on your Y? How/where did you pull the 13.8 VDC power from?
WB4KTF, Glen, [email protected]

 

[WB4KTF-Glen]

I just installed my dual-band antenna on my new Model Y. After much investigation I found that I can mount the antenna in two locations on the liftgate, either at the bottom near the tail lights of at the top side. I selected the area near the tail light so that my antenna would not hit the garage door. It may still hit the garage door when the door is open, though. I used black stick on wire pads from Lowes, see photos. I place three along the side of the liftgate plastic trim and one on the trunk. I'll use a 27.5" Diamond AZ507RSP 2m/70cm antenna. The rig will be placed under the trunk floor pad that's closest to the rear seat as there is enough room there. I'll get power from the 12V accessory socket at the inside left rear of the trunk. I need to locate where to mount the faceplate of the Yaesu FTM-6000R, looking at under the Tesla display.

 

[skydve1]

I'm a licensed amateur radio operator too, but use cheap portables (Baofeng UV-5R).

If you're looking to mount the Yaesu faceplate and don't want to damage or stick something directly onto your screen, take a look at one of these: Amazon.com .

It attaches tightly around the screen, and you can mount the Yaesu faceplate (and other stuff) to this base, or one of its arms. I have two of these - one on top and one on the bottom of my screen that I use for my EZPASS and radar detector controls.

 

[Falcon73]

Thanks for the info. I haven't tried to mount anything yet, but my usual idea of mag mounts is not the best idea here I'm thinking. The large glass roof doesn't exactly make a great ground plane does it... Hi hi

The paint is so fragile as it is that I probably should look at the liftgate mount you have above.

I've been doing so many other modifications so far. I'm not going to get too serious about antennas until I figure out if I can make my back happy in the seat.

It's pretty clear that Tesla's aren't made for hams but that's what makes it more interesting to try and make something work.

73,

 

[coleman567]

Out of curiosity, what does one still utilize HAM for in this day and age?

 

[skydve1]

Out of curiosity, what does one still utilize HAM for in this day and age?

HAM's definitely seem to be an older crowd... I'm 48 , and I'm one of the youngest in my area.

I used to do a ton of off roading as part of a Land Rover group. Most of us had CB's to communicate on trails, but depending on the terrain, CB's have some major limitations. Plus, there are alot of places in the mountains , valleys and heavily wooded areas that don't have cell service.
HAM radio signals can travel 4x+ farther in most of these cases (several miles). A few of us got our amateur radio licenses so we could communicate with event base camps and other vehicles for safety reasons.

There's still a HAM community out there. One of my local groups has volunteers which can be 'activated' in case of communication outages and during emergencies, and members of the group will relay messages between local police, fire, etc.

 

[Falcon73]

Out of curiosity, what does one still utilize HAM for in this day and age?

Yes, at 48 I am one of the younger ones too. VHF/UHF is very useful for local events, such as foot races, bike races, car rallies, etc. Cell service is quite poor in many areas that we run these events and even if it was good, it wouldn't be as efficient as 2-way radio.

Even absent these events, it's very useful for on the air meetings, called "Nets" where we talk as larger groups and have Q&A sessions, etc.

My local club has over 240 members right now and I was previously the publications director for the club (for 8 years).

Then there's the HF fun, the long distance communications. I won't get into that here as I have not used HF in any vehicles of mine in 11+ years of being licensed.

Though I'm not in an EMCOMM group, I am motivated to keep it up for emergencies where the cell network goes down completely and/or the power goes out. I have lived thru two East Coast hurricanes where power can be out for days and the cell sites service may have 8 hours of backup power, if they have generators. Or where the Internet goes down.

Ham radio is really a limitless hobby/service group and it's much more than the perception of old anti-social hermits in dark shacks talking to people they will never meet in person.

Also, in the age of easy communications there's satisfaction and challenge in talking to people with just a disturbance in the ether you are making; whether if it's just a 2-way conversation from a handheld talking to people in the next few cities (or more with repeaters); or from an HF antenna talking to people in VK-land (Australia), South Africa, EU, etc.

 

[WB4KTF-Glen]

Anyone install a mobile radio (ham, commercial, or public safety) in a Model Y? I see some old posts for a Model 3 and Model S but nothing for a Y. Curious as to where you mounted the radio, control head, and antenna and where you got power.

To my Ham Radio friends. Power and Mounting Solution for Amateur Radio Dual Band VHF/UHF Rig
I found a simple and inexpensive way to get 12 VDC (Actually up to 14.4VDC) from the rear DC Power Socket area. I'd tried using a "power plug" in the existing socket behind the left tail-light, but every bump caused power to disconnect and then reconnect. So attached is an article that I prepared to give you a solution to the power problem. This power source is suitable for up to 12 AMPS CONTINUOUS load, according to the Tesla Owner's Manual.
I mounted my dual band antenna on the trunk lid using a Diamond K40 trunk lid mount and then routed the thin coax along the lid using black zip tie stick on wire holders. I place my dual band rig under the cover that is behind the rear seat, and then fed the control head, microphone and audio extension cables beside the left rear seat, under the carpet then over to the right side of the center console. I placed the small remote speaker in the center console and then mounted the Control Head to a Cup Holder style Cell phone holder. I attached the mic extension cable to the neck of the cell phone holder.
Glen, WB4KTF, Austin, TX

 

[3ngineer]

I just installed my dual-band antenna on my new Model Y. After much investigation I found that I can mount the antenna in two locations on the liftgate, either at the bottom near the tail lights of at the top side. I selected the area near the tail light so that my antenna would not hit the garage door. It may still hit the garage door when the door is open, though. I used black stick on wire pads from Lowes, see photos. I place three along the side of the liftgate plastic trim and one on the trunk. I'll use a 27.5" Diamond AZ507RSP 2m/70cm antenna. The rig will be placed under the trunk floor pad that's closest to the rear seat as there is enough room there. I'll get power from the 12V accessory socket at the inside left rear of the trunk. I need to locate where to mount the faceplate of the Yaesu FTM-6000R, looking at under the Tesla display.

How did you route through the moisture barrier? Is the cable just compressed by the rubber gasket?