HF, VHF/UHF antenna (for HAM radio) install on my Cybertruck, works really well! 📶

[Leemanpa]

Any chance you could send me a closeup of the Comet/Mount on the Drivers side? I am considering a v/u setup for my CT when I get it this month, but do NOT want to drill ANYWHERE or damage the lip. (Maybe a Connect Systems CS800 using the remote head, or an under-back-seat AT578 with the BT01 control mic)
Also, antenna coax routing? Did you just go through the window/door?

Thx in advance!

WA5LEE, Houston TX

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[tmeyer3]

Any chance you could send me a closeup of the Comet/Mount on the Drivers side? I am considering a v/u setup for my CT when I get it this month, but do NOT want to drill ANYWHERE or damage the lip. (Maybe a Connect Systems CS800 using the remote head, or an under-back-seat AT578 with the BT01 control mic)
Also, antenna coax routing? Did you just go through the window/door?

Thx in advance!

WA5LEE, Houston TX

2m/70cm dual band is way simpler than the behemoth adjustable he has mounted.

Here are a few antenna recommendations I can give you depending your frequency needs, I live on 144, so....
Here's what I'm using on a VR-N7500 transceiver with very good results!
Tram 1191 2m/70cm glass mount through the rear ceiling glass.
Other options are intellitron ma 1901 and a few others that are way too expensive for glass mount imo

If the loss from glass mount has you down, you may need an adjustable mount to make up for there being no level surfaces on the roof. Or maybe one of those level roof racks to mount to.

I also refused to mount/tap to the stainless. I am very happy with the performance of the tram through glass mount and can hit all of my repeaters within sight with no quality issues at 50W transmit.

Interested to see what you come up with!! Please share

KM6SFX, SoCal

 

[Woodrick]

I may give that a try for now and just turn the power down to 50w or lower. Where did you see that the USBC connections can output 65w?

You'll be going a lot lower than 50W to stay under 65W draw, the basic IC-7300 isn't a thrifty radio.


But the bigger thing is that while you may get 65W out of A USB, it doesn't provide the 13.8V that radios like. It does provide 12V, but most radios will cut off or perform anemically at that voltage. Yes, I know 12V what we all say it is, but it isn't.

I've got a Bienno 24A that I'm going to use, it has the current requirements for higher power radios. And I'm looking to trickle charge it from the USB connectors.
You do have to also realize that the USB connectors turn off with the vehicle.

 

[PeterOT]

You'll be going a lot lower than 50W to stay under 65W draw, the basic IC-7300 isn't a thrifty radio.


But the bigger thing is that while you may get 65W out of A USB, it doesn't provide the 13.8V that radios like. It does provide 12V, but most radios will cut off or perform anemically at that voltage. Yes, I know 12V what we all say it is, but it isn't.

I've got a Bienno 24A that I'm going to use, it has the current requirements for higher power radios. And I'm looking to trickle charge it from the USB connectors.
You do have to also realize that the USB connectors turn off with the vehicle.

During my original tests last week I was using a Bioenno 9Ah battery which works great, but ultimately I really want a 110v standard power supply for the radio. I don't feel comfortable leaving a Bioenno battery in the truck when temps are well over 100 degrees when parked on the side of the road.

 

[wb9vxy]

Anyone have any insight on putting radio(s) in Frunk and control heads on the center console?

Lots of 48V to 12V converters on Ebay etc so power doesn't look like it's a problem

Considering trunk lip mounts on Frunk for antennas.

Would love insights from folks that have gotten vehicles. I am still waiting...
Tesla says this quarter....

WB9VXY

 

[tmeyer3]

Anyone have any insight on putting radio(s) in Frunk and control heads on the center console?

Lots of 48V to 12V converters on Ebay etc so power doesn't look like it's a problem

Considering trunk lip mounts on Frunk for antennas.

Would love insights from folks that have gotten vehicles. I am still waiting...
Tesla says this quarter....

WB9VXY

Hey! It depends on your needs. If you have a general license and real want HF on your mobile rig, it gets a lot more complicated. If you're ok with VHF/UHF mobile, then the mounting points get a LOT easier.

Here's my rig:
Antenna:
Tram 1191 through-glass dual band antenna. I mounted it through the rear glass ceiling with extremely good swr results. I was skeptical with it being my first through-glass mount, but I'm a fan now.
Transceiver:
VR-N7500 - headless can go in frunk
I'm using a 50/40W transmitter. I live in a mountainous region, so I really didn't get much more range from 100W transmit on VHF/UHF. I used to have transmit much higher on my mobile rigs, but from experience I've learned 50W is more than enough where I live. Of course this doesn't apply if you want HF... More on that later

Power:
I started off using the 48vdc system from the frunk but didn't like it. I had to manually turn it on every time I entered the vehicle.
The 120vac in the center console worked great because there's a setting to have it turn on automatically when you enter the vehicle. So I did that for a while.
Then I realized that the 5vdc USB-C can support up to 65W! So I rigged up a yet another voltage converter to support up to 60W at 12vdc from the 65W 5v USB-C... Anyway, it's been an adventure, but I ultimately went back to the 120vac plug on the back of the center console instead of using the 48vdc from the frunk because I liked the way the radio powered on/off when I entered/excited the truck. The USB option worked too, but it would stay on for quite a while after I left and power on as soon as the vehicle woke up instead of when I got in. The downside is that I do waste some energy on the inverter, but I can easily add a much higher powered HF rig later to the same 120vac->12vdc rectifier setup without worrying about overloading it, which I plan to do at 200W once I find a good HF antenna mounting option.
Hope that helps,
73!
KM6SFX

 

[Paul Scott]

Additional note: The KS-400 lipmount is kinda expensive ($89), if you want an IDENTICAL heavy huty mount in stanless steel (has much better chassis ohmic resistance), buy this one, it includes a VHF/UHF high gain antenna ($35 for both!)

Which one is the other you recommended and how do you connect the antennas to the radio or do you swap the antennas when you change bands?

 

[Paul Scott]

I was thinking for the radio mounting about having a shelf fabricated to put under the display to hold the IC-705.

 

[Jager]

The roomy space in the Cybertruck affords quite a bit of flexibility in how one can mount radios and similar gear.

 

[Paul Scott]

Th OP was using a Icom IC-705 which has an internal battery. He indicated that he did have it plugged into the Cybertruck via USB-C. This IC-705 does have a USB charging connection.
On internal battery the IC-705 does up to 5W, using external power via the barrel connector it will go to 10W.

I came up with a plan to use 12v from the OBD port with an adapter that outputs 2USB power. Then to a USB to PowerPole adapter so I can connect the barrel connector in the truck. The only thing I have yet to figure out is the best way to mount the radio. I want to put it under the screen. There has to be some way mount it so it fits against the bottom of the truck display like this.

 

[Paul Scott]

The roomy space in the Cybertruck affords quite a bit of flexibility in how one can mount radios and similar gear.

How did you mount that? That is almost exactly what I am looking to do.

 

[whothisbe]

I came up with a plan to use 12v from the OBD port with an adapter that outputs 2USB power. Then to a USB to PowerPole adapter so I can connect the barrel connector in the truck. The only thing I have yet to figure out is the best way to mount the radio. I want to put it under the screen. There has to be some way mount it so it fits against the bottom of the truck display like this.

someone needs to 3d print a mount for that. even a dual mount side-by-side for two units would be slick right in that spot.

 

[Jager]

How did you mount that? That is almost exactly what I am looking to do.

I used a Lido suction cup mount, Paul.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG2L8FX6?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

I could have as easily used Icom's own mount (the radio is an Icom ID-5100a) but I like the Lido mount just a little bit more.

 

[Paul Scott]

I used a Lido suction cup mount, Paul.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG2L8FX6?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

I could have as easily used Icom's own mount (the radio is an Icom ID-5100a) but I like the Lido mount just a little bit more.

I tried the Lido mount. It doesn't quite work for the IC-705. It is too heavy and clip is too shallow.

 

[Paul Scott]

I did figure out the antenna cable routing I used a spudger to remove the left side rail trim. Clamped the trunk lid mount to the back and ran the cable to the front then tucked it behind the windshield seal all the way down to the frunk. Then used a fish tape to pull it back from the frunk into the door jamb where there is a grommet you can pop out to run the cable inside the dashboard. My next step is to pull the lower dash and run the antenna cable to the center under the touch screen where the radio will be mounted. For power I used the OBD port to power the radio and tucked the cables into the lower dash and ran to the center screen. On the end of the OBD power cable I attached Anderson Power Poles so I could use the regular barrel connector and keep the USB port on the radio free.

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