Topic: Yaesu FT-8900R

[PainRoller]

Welp, we bit the bullet and bought a radio/antenna setup yesterday! 

Ended up getting the Yaesu Quad Band FT-8900R with a Comet Tri-Band Antenna.  Yee-Haw!!

Any helpful hammies want to help install? 


Looking at buying a handheld unit as well.  Considering going with a unit that has APRS. Any thoughts about this?  Do you have it? Love it? Hate it? Wish you had it? 

[Celt]

 That's a really nice radio you bought yourself there. Are you going to buy a programming CD or spend days in the Ooda loop of insanity programming it? I'm assuming it came with a wiring kit to assist you with the install. One of the tougher parts of the install is getting the wiring through the firewall depending on how you are going to do it. I'd be glad to tell you how I got mine put together with the help of Knightrider and Jayrat. One of the more important decisions will be the antenna mounting. I put mine up on the driver's side hood. Mainly because I need the clearance for getting in and out of the garage. I quickly found out it still hits the awning coming in and out.

I'm Considering putting it on the rear hatch so there will always be enough clearance but don't want to limit the antennas functioning. I know JFanaselle says he doesn't experience any impedance so it's an option. Along with that it's a PITA to run that antenna cable through the truck to keep it nice and clean because you will have to take a lot of panels off. The other route you can go is the roof mount which would be optimal, however you will have to drill through the metal on the top of the truck so make sure you have the right placement spot. The headliner would need to be removed to run the antenna cable. If you do that, you may want to consider setting it up for roof mounted lights so they could be connected in the future easily if that's something that's on the horizon. Congrats on the ticket and the radio!

[PainRoller]

Thanks!  Yeah, got the CD to cut down on some cussing... LOL
How do you decide which Repeaters to add to your memory?  There are so many. Do you just add all of them?

Thinking about running the antenna to the back hatch (Driver Side).  Can't install on the roof with the RTT. 
Any issues with running the cable right next to the CB cable? Interference or anything like that?

Antenna length not really too much of an issue, 'cuz the RTT already makes it impossible to park any where covered.... 

[Celt]

I use the Repeater Book App to see what's close to me as a start. I do some internet searches to find out repeaters for my local off roading haunts and pre-plot them prior to leaving. Check your local HAM radio club or a place like HRO nearby and those guys can give you a wealth of info on the repeater situation.

I would stay away from running the cable next to the CB cable unless it's very well insulated. The last Mojave Rd, I was getting a ton of static and I saw the CB antenna cable was laying across my HAM antenna cable. As soon as I moved it the problem went away. I know Duffman was having lots of similar commo issues and I mentioned that same thing to him. I'm not sure if that fixed it for him or not. In my vast (Read very little) HAM technical experiences I have learned that keeping everything as clean as possible will result in a much clearer radio and less aggrivation.

[chrishaynesusa]

Be careful with the interface cable to the base unit not all interface cable will work with the download app I just found this out the hard way.
Do a cursory search on the web regarding your cable find out if there are any small pieces of information you will need

[steve c]

That's a great radio!

Talk to Jordan about how he mounted his faceplate.  He's got a different radio, but his method would serve you guys well.

[knightrider]

nice radio, it sounds like you guys have bitten by the mod bug haha. as far as running the antenna cable, you shouldnt have any issue running along side the cb cable, but a little separation will be best.  your friend will be a fish tape or a straightened out coat hanger, it minimizes the number of panels that need to be removed and also helps with running cables through the firewall grommets.

as far as repeaters, i just installed pretty much all of them in Socal and check the area if im going further. its easier to scroll through and find the repeater by freq and not have to worry about inputting the squelch code.

APRS can be fun, i think only steve c, steeevo and myself run it IIRC. I have the Yaesu FTM-350AR, i have used it a few times to mark my campsite on busy weekends out at superstition and truckhaven, my radio can point me towards saved gps coordinates.   Once in big bear I got a random call on the frequency i was monitoring by someone who lives in fawnskin.  He was looking at www.aprs.fi and spotted my truck driving by his house so he figured he would call me up and see how the offroading was, that was kind of fun.  I dont always have APRS running, but when i do, people stalk me

oh yea, faceplate mounting.  i mounted my control head above the rear view mirror using a Blendmount made for a scanguage.  the main unit  is mounted under the passenger seat next to the RF amplifier.

[PainRoller]

Thanks for all the input, guys! 

I'm intrigued by your mount, KR.  Is this the one you used? http://www.amazon.com/BlendMount-Designed-for-ScanGauge-II/dp/B001EO0YZ2

Not sure we can go this route, 'cuz we have the backup camera monitor on the upper left side of the mirror.  Might have to relocate that....

APRS is expensive and I'm not sure we will actually use it at this point.  I hate to buy stuff more than once, but we might need to just buy a cheaper handheld for now and see what happens later later. (kinda tapped out with the RTT and new radio) And we aren't conspiracy nuts or anything, but gov't stalking is real yo!   

[knightrider]

yep, thats the mount i used, modded a bit to fit my radio.

[PainRoller]

Thinking about putting the "brains" in the arm rest area.  Thinking security (out of sight) and low dirt area.  But is air flow an issue for ham radios? Do I need to leave it in an open air type installation? 

[Alex]

I remember from a while back Paul had mounted his HAM below the passengers seat.
Here it is, the fourth reply: http://www.sccxterra.com/smf/index.php/topic,828.0.html
So inside the armrest should be fine, the most I can say without having a HAM radio myself.
Nevermind my guessing, Jordan explains in a later post.

[PainRoller]

Thanks, Alex!  Yeah, I saw where Paul mounted his.  But for the life of me, I can't figure out how he made that fit.  We looked under our passenger side and there is NO room???

Antenna
We wanted to mount the antenna on the rear hatch. But with the RTT up - we would do some serious damage if we lifted the hatch and forgot about the antenna.  So I guess it's going on the hood - we will glow like little aliens...

Faceplate
Can't mount the faceplate in a cool spot like knightrider, 'cuz we already are using that area for the backup camera.
Thinking about buying one of these for mounting the faceplate - http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0057QV81W/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=1S2PRWMNE6QY0&coliid=I17G9XYNLKKI28

Still not sure if it's safe to mount the body of the radio in the arm rest.  It does have a heat sink and fan, so......

Any input welcome at this point

[steve c]

I have my faceplate on one of those thingies.

Yaesu FT-8900R

It's really annoying to have it there TBH.
Granted, your faceplate is smaller than mine, so a $22 experiment to see if you guys like it isn't that big of a deal. 

My plan eventually is the use a ram ball and mont it on the tray above the radio stack. 
Something like this.  (and put the GPS next to it)

Yaesu FT-8900R

I just need to order some parts and drive to San Diego to install it with Jordan  

As for the body of the radio, if you take the seat out there's LOTS of room!  (easier to work, too)  I don't know how hard this is as Jordan just started doing it.

Yaesu FT-8900R

Yaesu FT-8900R

Yaesu FT-8900R

[Celt]

Food Truck mod night?

[chrishaynesusa]

my Ham shop and several others have commented that they think the powerful unit should go close to the antenna.
so I got Kudos for having it in the rear close to the rear bumper antenna mount.
face plate re-locator can put that unit in the front cockpit.