Honda Accord Install

[ERICMYERS]

Hey all. I finally got time to install my new Ham rig. Went with the Icom 2200H as it is the only 2 meter I could find small enough to fit the place I wanted to install. Antenna for the Ham is a Larsen NMO150B. It's running audio output on an external speaker.

Icom in the cubby was a challenge. I had to disassemble most of the interior to get the cubby out...easier than it sounds. Dremeled out the back of the cubby to give clearance for the radio so that I can actually shut the cubby door if I want to (have to remove the mic). Bracket is Icom supplied stock. In the picture you can see where I dremeled the back out due to the flash, but in real life, it's just a black hole.

The Pro 162 Scanner is in a universal cupholder mount (surprisingly solid), with the external Maxrad 150/450 antenna on a trunk lip mount. Audio runs to a 9v powered mini-amp and into an external speaker. This significantly increases battery life, and without it, sound is not loud enough or clean enough in a mobile environment anyway.

All coax runs through the console to the sill plates, under the rear seat, to the trunk. Scanner is powered by Sanyo 2700mah rechargeables. Icom is powered straight to the battery, had to drill a hole in the firewall, as this car is loaded and there were no free grommets.

The car itself has GPS and XM. Escort 8900 in the windshield. I've got about 2 hours a day in the car commuting, which is good 'play radios' time.

This was a 9 hour install, but I'm picky and a perfectionist. Never did find any other Accords (7th gen) install pics anywhere, so maybe this will help someone.
Cheers
Eric

 

[ncarpenter]

Nice install, I like the plate!

 

[KB9E]

Glad to see another Honda Ham! If you haven't yet, please check out my install in my 2007 Honda Civic LX Coupe:
http://forums.radioreference.com/pictures-your-shack-mobile-setup/152817-gray-2007-honda-civic-lx-coupe.html

 

[KB9E]

Glad to see another Honda Ham! If you haven't yet, please check out my install in my 2007 Honda Civic LX Coupe:
RR Post

 

[ERICMYERS]

Nice install, I like the plate!

Thanks for the comment. The plate is getting swapped for a call sign plate when renewal comes up. Those vanity plates are pricey here in IL!

 

[MOGA]

Nice install Eric. May I ask if the cupholder mount is an AKRON CM-330? I'm looking for a similar holder for my PSR-500 but am concerned about buying something only to find out that it doesn't fit the unit or purchase the scanner well during driving. If something fits your Pro-162 then I know it'll do the job for my unit too. Thanks in advance.

 

[ERICMYERS]

Mine is a Bracketron mobile dock-it. It works OK, but not what I'd consider great. I don't like the lever thing that creates the outward pressure in the cupholder, and if you don't use the sticky pad at the bottom, it flops around. The newer version of the Bracketron mobile cup-it looks like a better engineered unit in that respect. I like the head of this mount a lot, giving access to the charging port, and good grip.

What it also does well is rotate, angle and stay in the spot I put it.

The Arkon you mention looks like it should work if you can accept the rigid riser. In my car, the flexible riser really helped allow use of the rear position cupholder for the mount, and position the scanner at just the right height and angle, while still leaving room for a large travel mug of coffee!

If I was going to spend money on a new scanner mount today, it would be this
Mounting Solutions For Amateur Radio

or this

Car Floor Mount for Uniden GE Radio Shack Bearcat & Other Handheld Scanners & Radios

 

[tnf]

might try raising radar detector...probably would work better

 

[jimmyr]

Hi Eric:

That's a good looking install! Thanks for posting these pics. They are helpful to someone--me! I'm doing the same thing to my '04 Accord with a Yaesu FT-1900 2 meter.

Do you have any pics of your wiring install? I think I've found a suitable grommet in the firewall above the gas pedal, but I'm puzzled on how to get the wire from there to the battery (without the aid of a contortionist).

Any advice you have would be helpful.

Thanks!

Jim
KF6GRI

 

[madrabbitt]

bracketron cupholder mount?

 

[ERICMYERS]

Hi Eric:

That's a good looking install! Thanks for posting these pics. They are helpful to someone--me! I'm doing the same thing to my '04 Accord with a Yaesu FT-1900 2 meter.

Do you have any pics of your wiring install? I think I've found a suitable grommet in the firewall above the gas pedal, but I'm puzzled on how to get the wire from there to the battery (without the aid of a contortionist).

Any advice you have would be helpful.

Thanks!

Jim
KF6GRI

good luck getting that Yaesu in the console, if that's your plan and if it's the same as mine. I picked the Icom 2200H specifically because it was the ONLY chassis that would fit in my cubby and brother, another couple millimeters and it wouldn't have gone.


I drilled, just about 4 inches up and left of the gas pedal. If there was an unused grommet, I couldn't find it to save my life. Right there, there's plenty of room in the engine bay (mine's a v6) for your arm (and I've got pretty big paws). If you find a grommet you wont' have to do much to protect the wire through the firewall...I wrapped some plastic shield on the power leads for about 10 inches where I thought it would be going though the firewall before pulling the wire, not knowing exactly where it would end up.

A little RTV sealant where I drilled and some zip ties and lugs, and it looks clean in the engine bay. In fact, if I took pictures, you wouldn't see much until the battery...easy to run the wire along other looms.

 

[ERICMYERS]

bracketron cupholder mount?

for the scanner. better than most other similar ones, but frankly, barely adequate...barely.

Need to get around to getting one of these -
Car Floor Mount for Uniden GE Radio Shack Bearcat & Other Handheld Scanners & Radios

 

[jimmyr]

I was sweating the width of the radio, believe me! I bolted the bracket on the radio and it slides into the cubby hole with zero room to spare. Poor man's anti-theft I suppose.

I'm going to revisit the engine bay and look for available looms.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[ERICMYERS]

I was sweating the width of the radio, believe me! I bolted the bracket on the radio and it slides into the cubby hole with zero room to spare. Poor man's anti-theft I suppose.

I'm going to revisit the engine bay and look for available looms.

Thanks for the tips!

In the 2007 model, the cubby narrows slightly from front to back. Yours may or may not. I actually recessed my radio by cutting out the back of the cubby so that the tilt down door would close. Literally, it fit with millimeters front to back to spare. Had to go deeper than I expected to clear the knobs. Any wider and I would have had to trim the sides of the cubby at the back couple inches. Door closes, but only with the mic unplugged.

You've got to cut out some of the back of the cubby to run the power and coax. Dremel tool with a router/rasp type bit and cleanup with a half round bastard file handled that just fine. I gave a little more hole than necessary for airflow...good thing too, since that radio gets really really hot when on high power.

Disassembly on that console isn't as bad as you might expect. A good diagram helps a lot (collegehillshonda.com has a great online parts catalog w/ diagrams.)

+1 Poor man's anti-theft!

 

[davefriesen]

Coax run to trunk

Eric,

Thanks for the post/information.

Realize this is old now but, if still watching: curious exactly how you ran the coax "through the console to the sill plates, under the rear seat, to the trunk?"

Thanks!

 

[ScanWI]

Looks good, I know the center shifter is always a pain to work around.

 

[NewSDScanner]

Nice setup. I have a question for you. I have a 2008 Honda Civic and I'm trying to install an 800Mhz antenna with a RG58A/U cable. How can I neatly run the cable to my scanner which is at the front like yours? I am using a handheld though so it'll be easier but still I want to run the cable neat rather than just have cable dangling around in my car. I don't know how to remove body panels to get into the wiring. Thanks.

 

[emd001]

This thread may have risen from the dead, but that is a good looking install.

 

[w2xq]

I am using a handheld though so it'll be easier but still I want to run the cable neat rather than just have cable dangling around in my car. I don't know how to remove body panels to get into the wiring. Thanks.

One option is to loosen the sill plates and tuck the cable in. A second option is to fish the cable under the floor rug. Don't want to do it yourself? Find a local auto sound store (not a chain store) -- those that sell and install big speakers and high power amplifiers -- to do the work.The fella that crawls around installing the stuff probably can hide the cable in 15 minutes.