This forum is dedicated to helping people with questions about installing radio equipment in vehicles. This can include antenna installs, electrical wiring questions/problems, and mounting systems. Pictures of installs are welcome.
Note: Discussions regarding lighting, sirens, and other equipment now has its own forum in the 'off-topic' section below.
I really need to install my Spectra X9000 w/siren in my '97 burban ASAP. Can I bolt it directly to the floor under the left (long) pass seat? Should I pretend to be like Apco25 and engineer a 12 gauge steel mounting plate? I can really care less.
I am mainly concerned about moisture. I live in Michigan so i don't have to worry about any natural disasters except for the occasional downpour of rain or snow. I don't think there has ever been a true flood in Michigan ever. So is a direct floor mount a good place?
Anyone have any pointers with taking down the rear headliner? I currently reside in an apt and must use a carport. I figure I can mount a 1/4 wave VHF whip basically just behind the 3rd brake light so I can still park this beast in the carport without destroying antennas...rest of the antennas will have to be Phantoms since they will fit fine.
Nothing really wrong with mounting it directly to the floor. Besides the neatness of my install I really did it because the mounting tray offered me more room than if I had just stuck the radios between the existing seat brackets.
I had my two x9000 with a strobe power supply under the 1st row seat on the drivers side. Worked perfectly.
You CAN bolt it thru the floor, but just make sure you seal up the bolts to be weather/rust resistant as much as you can. I just used industrial strenght velco and the whole setup didn't move an inch, and I didn't have to worry about rust/rot/mositure.
If you figure out how to take the whole headliner down, I would be interested as I want to mount some of the antennas on the roof.
If you have the roof console, if you take out the one screw above the rearview mirror, you will have access to bare metal and drill a hole for an antenna right there. That's where my only roof antenna is right now. Takes about 10 mins top.
As an alternate location, the L antenna brackets on the hood lip works very well. I have had VHF-Lo, VHF-Hi, UHF and 800 on there and all worked very well. However, the truck did NOT like the X9000 UHF or VHF radios and would cause a temporary engine "slowdown" on keyup. The lowband radio caused no problems with the antenna mounted on the lip. I have since went to mid power spectra's and had no problem on xmit with the lip mount.
I don't think my lowband antenna hit the top of my garage, and I just swapped my VHF antenna with the UHF for better garage clearance. If you want, I'll measure my clearance.
Lowband radio. The original and non-complicated wide area interoperable communications system
BOLT it to the floor. Remember- in an accident, you can experience forces of up to 40G. Spectra weight X 40 = ???? flying forward.
If it's a high power radio, don't use the Phantom, since they are rated at only 60 watts.
If you pull the rear plastic above the doors, you can ply the liner down enough to reach in and do the antenna without having to remove the entire headliner.
Try to stay away from "lip" mount antennas all together. These are a real half-assed way to do an antenna unless you really have to. Besides, unless you have a PERFECT antenna/feedline, you'll have stray RF flying around in the engine bay from the coax shield radiating that can cause all kinds of problems...like bogging or stalling engines and ABS malfunctions. RG58 compounds this problem farther with its lack of good quality shielding.
I agree, you do need to secure the radios. even a simple truss accross from the seat bolts at the specified distances of the mounting trays would work well. Simplicity is sometimes best. You might not need to take the head liner down if you use a hole saw. That might be easier depending on what type of mounts you use.
