[Icom] Temporary radio installations

Sun, 18 Apr 2004 09:56:14 -0400

The power point might work for temporary.

I have an '01 F-250 diesel with a 706 in it. I ran the power through the
grommet that the parking brake cable runs through. It may not be ideal, but
it works and is reasonably direct to the battery. There are grommets in the
floor under the seat that could be used. They would have been my alternate
if I could not find something in the fire wall area.

You may find that the diesel motor wrecks 40m. It does on mine and I've
talked to another who has the same problem. I figure it is injector noise.
20m and up are pretty much ok.

I mounted the control head to the dash by storage pocket with the radio
under the passenger seat and the AH-4 tuner under the jump seat in the back.
Works pretty well. For stationary operation, I have a telescoping mast and
attach a long wire to the antenna for better operation.

Chuck, KE4OAR

----- Original Message -----
From: "D C Macdonald" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]>;
<[email protected]>; <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2004 9:20 PM
Subject: [Icom] Temporary radio installations

> I recently bought a new Ford F-250 Diesel pickup.
> A trip has come up and I did not have time to do
> the "proper" installation with hole in roof for the
> antenna and power run directly from the battery.
> At least on the Ford "Super Duty" trucks, the
> "power point" is fused at 20A.  This is a totally
> different circuit from that of the cigar lighter.
>
> I was aware of the limited current carrying ability
> of your normal cigar lighter power plug.  The big
> problem is the small wire used for the spring that
> maintains tension and contact with the fuse.  I
> tried the local Auto Zone and they had nothing
> that looked any better than what we have seen
> in the past.
>
> On a wild hair, I went accros the stree to the
> Radio Shack.  Their selection was surprising, to
> say the least.  They had two of the "usual"
> plugs, one rated at 7.5A and the other at 8A.
> BUT, they are now stocking a much more robust
> plug rated at 10A.  The spring is quite short and
> made of  MUCH  larger diameter spring wire than
> I have ever seen before on a lighter plug.  It has
> combined binding post/banana jack output that
> would accept wire up to 10 or maybe even 8 guage.
>
> It looked promising so I bought one and made up
> a cable to run my IC-2400A duoband rig that states
> a maximum transmit current draw of 10.5A for the
> 2-meter side.  After hooking up my 2400A to the
> power point using this Radio Shack plug (270-1521)
> I keyed up the rig on high power.  Not a bit of
> dimming from the panel illumination and reports
> are good.
>
> Although it might be a stretch to run a 706 from
> this point, it would appear that the truck wiring
> may be very well capable of handling the job.
>
> There may be a heavier duty lighter plug available
> through West Marine, Boaters World, or other marine
> suppliers.
>
> Anyway, this might be of use to folks who wish
> to not make a permanent mobile installation, such
> as in a rental vehicle.
>
>
> 73  ---  Mac, K2GKK/5
> Oklahoma City, OK
>
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