ke6gcv
Member
Greetings! I'm looking for some ideas on where to install my radio control heads into my Charger. Can you please help? I'd really like to install two radios - Kenwood TM-V71A and CS800D - but if I can't, then I will only install my Kenwood.
The RF decks will be installed in the trunk of the car. That's where the battery is located plus a plethora of grounding locations. I will be running trunk lip mounts for the antennas... for now. I will eventually drill holes, but since this is a brand new car (and my current track record of picking lemons) I will hold off for now. But rest assured, it will happen!
One area I have to worry about is the back seat heaters. I don't know if it's ideal to pull the cables down the middle or from the door tracks. I'm thinking the tracks may be ideal. Which brings me to my next question.
For the Kenwood. Though I can't seem to find the information, I recall someone using standard Cat5 cable to run from the RF deck to the control head. Is that possible? Can I do the same the mic cable? Or am I better off getting another extended cable kit from HRO? I'd be using shielded Cat5 or Cat6 cable.
For the control heads, where can I mount them? One area comes to mind but I'd lose a spot to put my phone. That's where the red circle is. I'd use double-sided tape and put the control head there. But where to put the second one? I can't use the side pocket where the red 'X' is located because that is where the emergency shift release is. I'm also stuck as to where to put the external speakers.
I'm not opposed to some drilling for cable runs and connectors but would really like to keep this as minimal as possible. I've got all the necessary material to keep it as neat as possible too - cable ties, split loom, anderson connectors, etc. Just a matter of putting it all together. I love puzzles!
So... any ideas you have will be greatly accepted and, above all, appreciated! If you have photos that you want to share, please do! Thank you, everyone!
The RF decks will be installed in the trunk of the car. That's where the battery is located plus a plethora of grounding locations. I will be running trunk lip mounts for the antennas... for now. I will eventually drill holes, but since this is a brand new car (and my current track record of picking lemons) I will hold off for now. But rest assured, it will happen!
One area I have to worry about is the back seat heaters. I don't know if it's ideal to pull the cables down the middle or from the door tracks. I'm thinking the tracks may be ideal. Which brings me to my next question.
For the Kenwood. Though I can't seem to find the information, I recall someone using standard Cat5 cable to run from the RF deck to the control head. Is that possible? Can I do the same the mic cable? Or am I better off getting another extended cable kit from HRO? I'd be using shielded Cat5 or Cat6 cable.
For the control heads, where can I mount them? One area comes to mind but I'd lose a spot to put my phone. That's where the red circle is. I'd use double-sided tape and put the control head there. But where to put the second one? I can't use the side pocket where the red 'X' is located because that is where the emergency shift release is. I'm also stuck as to where to put the external speakers.
I'm not opposed to some drilling for cable runs and connectors but would really like to keep this as minimal as possible. I've got all the necessary material to keep it as neat as possible too - cable ties, split loom, anderson connectors, etc. Just a matter of putting it all together. I love puzzles!
So... any ideas you have will be greatly accepted and, above all, appreciated! If you have photos that you want to share, please do! Thank you, everyone!