I officially retired http://forums.radioreference.com/pictures-your-shack-mobile-setup/155173-newsphotog-rig-2-0-a.html on July 1 and replaced it with a 2011 Jeep Patriot. The body was starting to show signs of age and wear and trying to keep the black paint looking good was becoming really tiresome. When I started looking for a replacement, I knew a small SUV with 4-wheel drive would be optimal, although I considered getting another Impala for ease of installing radios.
Used car prices are pretty high right now and I found I was able to lease a new vehicle for not much more than buying a used one. On June 30 I was able to swing a good deal on leasing a 2011 Patriot. Every dealer I had seen had said the Impala was in exceptional condition, mechanically and in appearance. Even with four NMO mounts drilled (one on the roof and three on the trunk lid) I was able to get $2500 more than KBB value on the trade-in (this might be a good time to trade!). It's 4-wheel drive, gets decent MPG for its class, and best of all, the paint isn't black, so it should be a little easier to take care of.
I liked the Patriot enough that I chose it even though the radio mounting options are not the best. The shifter seems like kind of a waste of space for what it is. No one makes consoles for the Patriot, apparently.
My goals were to keep the install clean and unobtrusive. That was actually an easy goal to reach since there was nowhere to mount the radios in the first place. I mounted the Uniden BCD-996T in the glove compartment, leaving just enough room for the owner's manual, insurance card, registration, etc. It works well, but the only downside is not being able to see the screen (still looking for an RH-96 if you have one you're willing to part ways with!) and having to reach over into the passenger's area to use some of the functions. I mounted the Icom ID-800H transmitter under the passenger's seat and then bought the 23-foot separation cable, ran the cable up to where I mounted the remote head just below the dome light and above the mirror. My only complaint about that is it's still a bit of a tight space between the volume knob and the headliner and the viewing angle isn't the best, but it works well.
I ended up sacrificing my Kenwood D-710A and putting those funds into the first few car payments. I do miss the APRS functionality, even though most of it was passive interaction. If I ever add APRS back in the car, I may install a RAM mount on the passenger's seat and use the universal arm and cradle to hold the remote head for either the D-710 or Yaesu FTM-350AR head. So far, I'm not missing it that much, but I haven't been on a long trip yet, either.
The radio and scanner are connected to one Motorola HSN4039 13-watt water-resistant speaker each.
Since it is a leased vehicle, I asked around about others' experiences in drilling NMO mounts (see thread http://forums.radioreference.com/ra...rum/216939-drilling-holes-leased-vehicle.html). From what I gathered, most said that it really didn't matter since it will go to auction anyways (if I don't end up buying the vehicle at the end of the lease). This was affirmed by the fact that all of the appraisers that looked at my Impala with four NMO mounts said that they didn't really matter and appraised it higher than KBB trade-in value.
Two holes were drilled on the roof in between the luggage rack. I am using a generic Motorola quarter-wave (from eBay My World - precision-communications-equipment) for 144-152 MHz that I use on both VHF and UHF ham. Why did I choose this one? Because they look nice and simple, they're more flexible, and aren't very noticeable. Dual-band ham antennas are rarely chrome and if they ever are chrome, they've got crazy traps and coils that, in my opinion, are ugly. If I go any taller than that antenna, I'll be scraping the beams in the parking ramp at work. For the scanner, I'm still using the Laird Phantom Elite ETRAB8063, the 806-866 MHz fin-type antenna, with great results.
So enough words, let's do some pictures:
Used car prices are pretty high right now and I found I was able to lease a new vehicle for not much more than buying a used one. On June 30 I was able to swing a good deal on leasing a 2011 Patriot. Every dealer I had seen had said the Impala was in exceptional condition, mechanically and in appearance. Even with four NMO mounts drilled (one on the roof and three on the trunk lid) I was able to get $2500 more than KBB value on the trade-in (this might be a good time to trade!). It's 4-wheel drive, gets decent MPG for its class, and best of all, the paint isn't black, so it should be a little easier to take care of.
I liked the Patriot enough that I chose it even though the radio mounting options are not the best. The shifter seems like kind of a waste of space for what it is. No one makes consoles for the Patriot, apparently.
My goals were to keep the install clean and unobtrusive. That was actually an easy goal to reach since there was nowhere to mount the radios in the first place. I mounted the Uniden BCD-996T in the glove compartment, leaving just enough room for the owner's manual, insurance card, registration, etc. It works well, but the only downside is not being able to see the screen (still looking for an RH-96 if you have one you're willing to part ways with!) and having to reach over into the passenger's area to use some of the functions. I mounted the Icom ID-800H transmitter under the passenger's seat and then bought the 23-foot separation cable, ran the cable up to where I mounted the remote head just below the dome light and above the mirror. My only complaint about that is it's still a bit of a tight space between the volume knob and the headliner and the viewing angle isn't the best, but it works well.
I ended up sacrificing my Kenwood D-710A and putting those funds into the first few car payments. I do miss the APRS functionality, even though most of it was passive interaction. If I ever add APRS back in the car, I may install a RAM mount on the passenger's seat and use the universal arm and cradle to hold the remote head for either the D-710 or Yaesu FTM-350AR head. So far, I'm not missing it that much, but I haven't been on a long trip yet, either.
The radio and scanner are connected to one Motorola HSN4039 13-watt water-resistant speaker each.
Since it is a leased vehicle, I asked around about others' experiences in drilling NMO mounts (see thread http://forums.radioreference.com/ra...rum/216939-drilling-holes-leased-vehicle.html). From what I gathered, most said that it really didn't matter since it will go to auction anyways (if I don't end up buying the vehicle at the end of the lease). This was affirmed by the fact that all of the appraisers that looked at my Impala with four NMO mounts said that they didn't really matter and appraised it higher than KBB trade-in value.
Two holes were drilled on the roof in between the luggage rack. I am using a generic Motorola quarter-wave (from eBay My World - precision-communications-equipment) for 144-152 MHz that I use on both VHF and UHF ham. Why did I choose this one? Because they look nice and simple, they're more flexible, and aren't very noticeable. Dual-band ham antennas are rarely chrome and if they ever are chrome, they've got crazy traps and coils that, in my opinion, are ugly. If I go any taller than that antenna, I'll be scraping the beams in the parking ramp at work. For the scanner, I'm still using the Laird Phantom Elite ETRAB8063, the 806-866 MHz fin-type antenna, with great results.
So enough words, let's do some pictures:
