Amateur Radio in a Prius

The mount is several years old. Got it out of the junk box in the shop. I think it is a Ram Mount and I purchased it at Bass Pro Shop. There is a round metal mounting plate stuck to the dash and the cup sticks to the plate. Be sure to wet the cup before mounting it. The control Hesse has been in place for two months and it has not come yet. Good luck.

 

There are several methods...is this a permanent mount?... use a spot of glue, rubber cement, or something like that.
Remember the stock 12v battery in the prius is insufficient to power the radio without killing the battery. I would get an Optima or Odessey 12v battery and make sure it is fully charged when you install it (it takes a few charge cycles to get it to full charge I think...)

 

Thanks for the response. I've been testing Yaesu's suction cup mount on my desk. Flat, clean, should be perfect surface and the suction cup won't hold the control head; after 20 ti 30 minutes, it loosing suction and falls over.

 

Thanks. I've been looking at several options: rectified power directly off the traction battery, putting in a second battery with DC to DC converter modules, and tapping the existing 12V battery so long as the radio is only used when the car is "on".

 

Boys, your overthinking this one. If your running 50 watts or less, the OEM battery will work fine. I have been using my FT-8800 this way for several years now. I do my talking while driving and between the battery and the charge voltage from the car, there is more than enough omph to drive the rig. Just make sure you run the power, both + & - to the battery. Stay from cig outlets.
I recenty upgraded to an Optima battery. It works fine! If you feel the need to spend some money, you can't go wrong with Optima!

 

That's what I was thinking, less power than a healthy headlight and it's only that much when you are talking. So unless their mic is stuck on transmit for a long time without the engine running....

I do know people who's mics are stuck on transmit all the time, but that has nothing to do with radio.

 

I'll bet the traction pack would be a WAY better source for feeding a 1,500 watt amp, than those goofy dual altenators that some mobile hf folks do. My screwdriver IS rated for 1,500 watts so who knows ... maybe some day . . . .

 

I knew a guy who ran 2k on CB in a Volkswagon.... his engine would cut out everytime he keyed the mic!

He would do this at Freeway speed....makes for an interesting commute!

 

I have mostly completed my installation; after doing my research, I did install by connecting both leads directly to the 12V battery with both leads fused. I went to a meeting yesterday that was a 200 mile round trip. Radio and battery seem to do just fine. I would like to run a SWR check and I'm still looking at where I will hang the Mic, so I'm looking for an extension cable. But I did not hear any transmit or receive issues, and I didn't see any battery or heating problems.

 

Good! That's the way it should be. Lets see some pics! Please post the SWR test results, I am curious as to what you get!

 

With the Prius there's a good chance that you would lose not just the engine, but the brakes and steering. However that might be a good solution for those who like to talk and not listen, since HF radio reception won't be great with the electrical noise produced by the hybrid system...

 

Got most of this done, I ran the separation line from the radio in the back to the head mounted on the mirror. Now need to run the mic from the head down to the center consul. How did you get that wire run? Thanks,

 

Just installed my 706MkIIG in my 2005. Still working on bonding getting rid of noise on HF/10m/6m, but uhf/vhf working great- nice and quiet. Radio mounted in lower trunk along with the AH-4 tuner.

 

These pictures have been a while coming because it took a while to find a 6P6C cable and connector for the mic, then I had a family emergency.

I installed a Yaesu FTM350; this radio is in two parts, control head and body, that cannot be physically attached to each other. I installed the body in the Driver side rear storage space. All the cables are run in the race on the Driver's side floor.

Picture 1 is where I drilled the hole to run the antenna cable into the car. It is a bit hard to see but the cable is in a grommet, held in place by tape, the sealed with RTV.
Picture 2 shows the C-MET antenna mount, which I chose because the mount adjusts on three planes so I could get a vertical antenna.
Picture 3 is a closeup of the mount.
Picture 4 shows my connection to the cars 12VDC battery. With this connection I am careful to only turn the radio on when the car is running.
Picture 5 shows the radio body installed with the cargo tray in the car.
Picture 6 shows the radio body installed without the cargo tray in the car.
Picture 7 shows the external speaker cable between the lower door jam race and going under the drivers seat.
Picture 8 shows the external speaker mounted under the center console and bridge.
Picture 9 shows the mic mounted on the left side of the steering column & steering wheel.
Picture 10 shows the radio control head on the dash board.

I have a MFJ-842 SWR meter that shows no reflected voltage on the transceiver Low and Medium power settings. On the High power setting, I show less than 2volts reflected.

 

You PASS!!! That is a very nice install. The good ones are usually a P.I.A, It is well worth the efforts which result in low VSWR and neat appearance. Wired right to the battery, smart!
+1

 

Nice install. I am still use my Kenwood 700-A as it is shown in the install pictures. It has been working well for me. We have a great repeater in Mesquite, Texas that is 500 feet up on a communication tower and about at 50 mile radius coverage. Most of the time I use low power.
73
Gadget 1004
KC5TOO

 

Slightly off topic, but anybody with a Prius using a HF/144/440, what antenna are you running?

 

We needed a quick (and probably temporary) 2-meter installation in our 2010 Prius. I used a piece of 1.5" x 1.5" x .125 aluminum angle about 14" long. I attached it with a 3/8" bolt and washers to the tow loop under the left rear of the vehicle. I notched, bent, and welded the joint to angle the antenna away from the back of the car so it wouldn't whip the body.



I was able to run the coax between the plastic panels under the vehicle and through the grommet in the spare tire well. I powered the radio from the + terminal on the battery and the screw that secures the bottom of the battery tie-down. Each wire of the power feed cable is fused. The radio sits in the center tray under the console. Not pretty... but it works.
N1VE

 

Excellent write up!! :rockon: One quick question, where you drilled the hole for the coax, what diameter did you make the hole? Just large enough for the coax itself? Any problems with leaking yet? Thanks for any tips!!

Greg

 

I used a rubber grommet that fit the coax snugly. Then I liberally applied silicone rubber over the entire grommet and cable. It doesn't leak. It's in the rain gutter of the hatch, and I used black silicone rubber, so it looks fine. I have used a dual band Larson antenna and am currently using a Sinclabs coil, spring, and a thin whip. It's a VHF coil, but the antenna has low SWR on UHF as well. I like the Sinclabs coil and spring as they have a nice taper and low SWR. Nothing like looking good and working well in combination!