Gmrs radio

[ahtoxa11]

Ony custom thing i did was use parts from my sons erector set to mount the mic.

Poor kid, I can see the look on his face when you raided his set. :lol:

 

[cutty01]

For those of you running the hood antenna mount, are you running the coax through the passenger firewall grommet?

Also, I assume the mount is self-grounding through the set screws, is that right?

 

[Ripper238]

Poor kid, I can see the look on his face when you raided his set. :lol:

He's actually 29 now and i am a hoarder of potentially useful stuff. :lmao:

 

[bring_it_on]

For those of you running the hood antenna mount, are you running the coax through the passenger firewall grommet?

Also, I assume the mount is self-grounding through the set screws, is that right?

Yes and yes. The passenger side firewall grommet is going to be easiest way though if you are running a universal mount, the accompanying cable is long enough to bring it in through the opposite side of where the antenna is mounted.

 

[shoong]

i have the midland mxt 275 installed on my center console molle panel with the provided magnet mount on the roof for the time being. i am going to install it in the glovebox and run the antenna cable from the roof through the hatch, etc. I am having trouble finding the proper antenna mounting bracket for the 10-13 TE roof rack, so I am waiting to find what I need before installing permanently. also need to decide between the 3db ghost and the 6db whip...

I will basically be combining these two installs:

How to Clean Up Your Dash with this Custom GMRS Radio Installation

and

Hidden Midland Radio Step-By-Step Install for 5th Gen 4Runner

I plan to run the antenna cable on the passenger side bc of location of the glovebox. I think it should work out just fine.

I just installed mine yesterday. I used the ghost antenna and the antenna mount that it came with (bought the bundle). just fyi, if you run it from the passenger side rear, down the only available grommet in the hatch, it won't reach the glove compartment. I had to reroute it to the center console.

 

[PrettyGoodSam]

I just installed mine yesterday. I used the ghost antenna and the antenna mount that it came with (bought the bundle). just fyi, if you run it from the passenger side rear, down the only available grommet in the hatch, it won't reach the glove compartment. I had to reroute it to the center console.

ah crap that sucks. i really appreciate the heads up! i wonder how much loss i would incur if i attached a short coax jumper.

 

[CajunMikeR]

Use a low loss cable. I used a Diamond lip mount to put mine on the hatch and ran a 10ft low loss coax to get all the way up to behind the dash.

Amazon.com: 10 ft Low-Loss Coaxial Extension Cable (50 Ohm) SMA Male to SMA Female Connector, GEMEK Pure Copper Coax Cables - Antenna Lead Extender for 3G/4G/5G/LTE/ADS-B/Ham/GPS/WiFi/RF Radio Use (Not for TV): Electronics

 

[PrettyGoodSam]

Use a low loss cable. I used a Diamond lip mount to put mine on the hatch and ran a 10ft low loss coax to get all the way up to behind the dash.

do you have the part number for that specific diamond lip mount? that actually may solve my problem...i havent been able to find the right mount for the 5th gen trail rails and i wanted my antenna up high and not on the hood.

thanks for the link to the cable as well!

what antenna are you running?

 

[CajunMikeR]

Here's the lip mount...

Amazon.com: Diamond K400S-NMO Lip mount, 2-axis adjustable Antenna Vehicle Mount: Car Electronics

I've got both the Midland 3db ghost antenna (the shorty) and 6db whip antenna (previous pic).

 

[PrettyGoodSam]

right on, thank you!

 

[NorthPark]

Here's the lip mount...

Amazon.com: Diamond K400S-NMO Lip mount, 2-axis adjustable Antenna Vehicle Mount: Car Electronics

I've got both the Midland 3db ghost antenna (the shorty) and 6db whip antenna (previous pic).

Any opinion on the ghost antenna? I might add one soon using a ditch light bracket

 

[CajunMikeR]

Any opinion on the ghost antenna? I might add one soon using a ditch light bracket

If you're just using it for comms within a group offroad or on an open highway, it's plenty good.

I'm seeing about 60% of the distance capability of the longer whip antenna out of it. I have yet to try either on a repeater system yet.

Using it over mixed terrain, my wife and I could still communicate from 2-3mi straight line distance, me driving & using the MXT275 and her using a handheld Midland walkie from our yard. There were alot of trees and a few houses between us, but no more than a 20ft change in elevation (no real hills in S Louisiana). I was coming in clear for her, she was broken but able to understand her meaning.

 

[VanillaGorilla502]

Use a low loss cable. I used a Diamond lip mount to put mine on the hatch and ran a 10ft low loss coax to get all the way up to behind the dash.

Amazon.com: 10 ft Low-Loss Coaxial Extension Cable (50 Ohm) SMA Male to SMA Female Connector, GEMEK Pure Copper Coax Cables - Antenna Lead Extender for 3G/4G/5G/LTE/ADS-B/Ham/GPS/WiFi/RF Radio Use (Not for TV): Electronics

How did you get the bracket mounted in the cubby? Did you pull the center console and drill a hole in the back to runthe wires? Any links would be appreciated or pictures.

 

[CajunMikeR]

How did you get the bracket mounted in the cubby? Did you pull the center console and drill a hole in the back to runthe wires? Any links would be appreciated or pictures.

That's exactly what I did. While I had everything apart

-I ran the power to the cigarette lighter plug in the center console,
-routed the antenna wire down the passenger side then behind the kick panel to the back of the dash,
-drilled a hole in the back of the cubby and attached the quick release mount to the cubby top,
- hooked it up, slid the cubby back in place, then reassembled the rest of the console

Don't have pictures or a write up, I get busy doing and forget to document. [emoji1]