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2020 Toyota Camry LE, 12volt battery power to radio

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N1KK

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Looking for methods of getting the 12vdc Battery power to the front floor area as well as to the trunk.
The trunk path is easy but I have not found an existing hole in the firewall to run the 12vdc power through.

I plan for now to just install a VHF/UHF antenna with one of my Diamond lip mounts on the Trunk.
The antenna is a Dick Austin 2/220/440 antenna with 3/8x24 mount.
I wondering if there was a smaller profile antenna mount since this antenna is about the length of a 1/4
wave 2m antenna with very little weight. Something with good success not to scratch the paint.
I need a few years with this new car before I don't care any more about scratches. hi hi.

Ken
 

03msc

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May not be the answer you want but if you’re going to keep the car for awhile, you’ll be better off and likely happier if you go ahead and just drill mount an NMO in the trunk now. If you’re saying you will in the future, why not go ahead and get the benefit now, for longer, than settle for less. That’s my view on it. I have antenna mounts installed very soon after purchase.

Not sure about a low profile mount for that...there may be some that exist but off hand I’m not thinking of them.
 

WB9YBM

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Looking for methods of getting the 12vdc Battery power to the front floor area as well as to the trunk.
The trunk path is easy but I have not found an existing hole in the firewall to run the 12vdc power through.

How hard is it to find the existing cable routes from the engine compartment to the inside of the car? Could that be an option, to share those paths?
 

CanesFan95

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May not be the answer you want but if you’re going to keep the car for awhile, you’ll be better off and likely happier if you go ahead and just drill mount an NMO in the trunk now. If you’re saying you will in the future, why not go ahead and get the benefit now, for longer, than settle for less. That’s my view on it. I have antenna mounts installed very soon after purchase.

Not sure about a low profile mount for that...there may be some that exist but off hand I’m not thinking of them.

^ Really agree with this. It will look clean and professional. It's a hassle, but you can get it over with now and it'll be awesome. One thing I do hate about modern cars is how small and short they keep making the damn trunks. You get these almost horizontal rear windows any more and very little trunk length. All the car companies are doing that same thing for some reason and it keeps getting worse every year.
 

N1KK

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I have a follow up question. Are there any Ham radio websites showing How Ham have configured their radios and how they
ran power from the battery as well as mounted antennas on different cars? This sounds like something the ARRL should have
but I have not seen it. I certainly would contribute to it
Ken
 

mmckenna

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I have a follow up question. Are there any Ham radio websites showing How Ham have configured their radios and how they
ran power from the battery as well as mounted antennas on different cars? This sounds like something the ARRL should have
but I have not seen it. I certainly would contribute to it
Ken

I've never seen anything.

Personally, I wouldn't trust the ARRL to do this. A lot of the amateur installs I see would qualify as a fire hazard, and hopefully ARRL would be smart enough to not touch that with the proverbial 10 foot pole.

Best I've found is just web searches. There's some good documentation on this site. There used to be a lot of good stuff on Batlabs, but not so much anymore. There's a few other websites that have info.

But keeping your internet B.S. filter active is important. Like I said, some of the installs are downright dangerous and sloppy at best.
 

R8000

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Many Toyota's have a "nipple" on the grommet that the main wiring harness uses to enter the firewall. I can't vouch for the Camry, but their trucks have this. The nipple is meant to be snipped off, then you have a entry hole for wire to pass through. Check both passenger and drivers side harnesses.

This nipple is mentioned in a few technical bulletins. For the RAV4, it's mentioned if you add the Toyota trailer harness. The Tacoma mentions it for the factory add on condenser A/C fan harness.
 

R8000

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Worth a shot to see if the Camry has this.....
 

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wwhitby

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OP, if you decide to drill a hole in the deck lid of your trunk, put your antenna on a mag mount, stick it on the deck lid and then make sure you can open and close the deck lid with your antenna in place. For example, the clearance between deck lid and back window is so small that the biggest antenna I could mount there without hitting would be a UHF 1/4 wave whip or 800MHz antenna. A very flexible VHF 1/4 wave whip could be mounted, but it would hit the glass every time the trunk is opened.

I have a follow up question. Are there any Ham radio websites showing How Ham have configured their radios and how they
ran power from the battery as well as mounted antennas on different cars?

I'm a "installer geek" and I like to see how other people do their installs to get ideas. I've searched the web looking for install pictures and write ups, and to be honest, they range from professional level to "you gotta' be kidding me" level. So if you do a search, take what you see with a grain of salt.
 

mrweather

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RR seems to be a decent reference for a variety of mobile installs, especially here and in the "Pictures of Your Shack/Mobile Setups" subforum.
 

chief21

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In most newer cars, there is a rubber membrane where various connections pass through the firewall. This membrane can usually be pierced (carefully!) to allow additional wires to be passed. I have often needed a wire hanger (or similar), connected to the wires, to help snake the wires through the membrane.
 

dlwtrunked

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In most newer cars, there is a rubber membrane where various connections pass through the firewall. This membrane can usually be pierced (carefully!) to allow additional wires to be passed. I have often needed a wire hanger (or similar), connected to the wires, to help snake the wires through the membrane.

Exactly what is on my two Toyota wit a metal cover covering it in the engine area that had to be removed for access. One might describe these as a black rubber plug with a thin area that one can make a hoe in with a nail. It was under the dash on the drivers side. I used bender clips (used instead of paper clips for larger number of pages) that can be found at office stores) to attach the wire to under dash area inside the cabin to support the wiring out of the way of the driver.
 
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