Has anyone installed or investigated installing ham or CB radios in their new Colorado or Canyon yet? I just got my truck last week and it coincides with me getting into amateur radio. I'm not really ready to install a radio yet but I'm curious as to mounting positions and getting power through the firewall as well as an antenna connection out to the bed, plus antenna mounting in the bed.
CB/Ham/2-way radio installs?
mixudptransistor
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I was actually waiting for the comments lol...Baofengs have become a bane of HAM ops in many places. But having the comm capability in my glove box is enough for now, until I buy a real radio and do a proper install.
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Wow - I never saw this or that any replies got posted...
I'd have to check it out - if there's a lip under the front and rear edges, then it should work. I know I was looking for a mount to stick out from the tonneau. I'll take a look and some measurements tomorrow.
Got the big part of my install done today. I was going to mount the control head in the cubby using the included mount but it doesn't work upside down, I ended up mounting it to my dash. No permanent mounting of any parts, no drilling. Only mods were making a hole in the existing firewall harness grommet for the power feed to the battery and making some hidden notches in a couple of areas for the control head cable to run without being pinched.
Antenna should hopefully be here by next weekend.
Hard to tell from the pics, but the mic cord doesn't hit or swing to touch my legs at all and the mic is vertical, just hard to tell that with the other angles going on.
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Antenna should hopefully be here by next weekend.
Hard to tell from the pics, but the mic cord doesn't hit or swing to touch my legs at all and the mic is vertical, just hard to tell that with the other angles going on.
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So, the rear stake pocket isn't square at the top - the rear edge is angled. So, a lip-mount wouldn't work. The front pocket is covered by that plastic cap, and I couldn't find a truck that didn't have it covered (was at the dealer getting tires changed over and had a bunch to look at). I seem to remember it's square, though, but it looks like the pockets are about 3" long. You have to pull that plastic cap off (it's just clipped in place) to verify that.
They might make one that's a wedge-type except square, not with the mount over the side. You'd have to look.
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Thanks for the info! Still haven’t found a mount yet. I had contacted Breedlove and they responded that their mounts won’t work in the rear stake pocket. Also looked at geo tool but never received a response. Will probably look at making something for the pocket.
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Well... The wedge mounts work fine in the rear pocket. I know that because mine is in there
They hold fine towards the bottom, just don't have much bite at the top rear.
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Why the heck did I not think of this!!??
Ended up ordering a mount that goes on the bumper bolt... duh!!
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Ended up ordering a mount that goes on the bumper bolt... duh!!
Sure. It is a half wave. Doesn't need a ground plane.
Got my antenna installed over the weekend so my setup is complete! This is the antenna and mount I used...
SWR was 1.1 on 2m and 1.8 on 70cm, radio set to high power (50w max).
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SWR was 1.1 on 2m and 1.8 on 70cm, radio set to high power (50w max).
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I did a permanent NMO mount right thru the roof. I used a STICO dual band (800/VHF) antenna. I stuck the duplexer up in the headliner, and just ran the wiring down the rear of the truck.. The radios are mounted under the back seat, and i used a remote head on the radio. The Mic is wired to come off the back of the head, to make the wiring a little cleaner.
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How involved was dropping the rear headliner for the antenna install? I have to do that soon for another non-radio related project. Though I may just prewire coax so I only have to do it once.
The headliner was a piece of cake! I removed the drivers side rear grab handle (2 8mm bolts) and the trim work on the rear “C” post (there is a 7 mm screw under the tab) along with the rubber door gasket. That allowed me to drop the headliner done plenty far. I use a pick to pop the covers on the grab handle covers. When I put the 7mm screw back on the trim, I wrap it with a single layer of electrical tape on the socket, so I don’t loose it in the panel. The trim hardware is about identical on all chevys (Tahoe’s, Silverado’s, etc)
I use a 3/4” antenna bit, so I don’t blast through the headliner when I drill.
I ran the cable down the C post under the rear seat where the radio is. All in all, about 30 minutes. I did everything on the drivers side
you can always run the mount and put a weatherproof NMO cap on it, until you use it.
I use a 3/4” antenna bit, so I don’t blast through the headliner when I drill.
I ran the cable down the C post under the rear seat where the radio is. All in all, about 30 minutes. I did everything on the drivers side
you can always run the mount and put a weatherproof NMO cap on it, until you use it.
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