F-150 Icom Install
- Thread starter N4GK
- Start date
kg4ehv
Radio Active
Very nice install. You'll like the IC-2730B, picked up one for the Misso's car a couple of months ago. Works very good.
Magnetsteve
Member
I have been eyeballing this radio. Very intrigued!
kg4ehv
Radio Active
I have the IC-2730 A and B, like them both. I programed VFO A with repeater and local scanner frequencies and VFO B I scan Air-band. Its cool riding down the road listening to air traffic.
N4GK
Member
I programmed VFO A with my software for all the local repeaters. How do you program the other VFO? I haven’t figured it out yet. I use RT Systems.
kg4ehv
Radio Active
I use RT also, go to VFO b and touch 144, 440, AIR. in band.
N4GK
Member
Well, I tried that, but the software still installed it on A
kg4ehv
Radio Active
Make sure you switch main to B.
N4GK
Member
I have the repeaters on the left side, and then I put it on main to the right side. The software should automatically populate the one on the right, correct?
kg4ehv
Radio Active
It should write to the one set as Main.
Nice install! Where is the mic and speak located?
CcSkyEye
Member
Looks very nice,
Nice to see a fender mount. Many will ridicule you for it, mentioning ground plane and NMO mount to the roof and all, but I prefer to keep them on lip mounts (usually the trunk of cars), and fenders.....it will never leak into the headliner there. Some of my fleet of vehicles are approaching thirty years old, and NMO mounts on the roof leak. Think Oshkosh ARFF truck at an airport, or fire trucks that need refurbished after decades of use.
(Await flaming on NMO mounts not leaking, they all do given enough time or bad weather). Come to my part of the country and water gets into everything.
I lip mount as much as possible these days. Aluminum skinned vehicles has also made this more necessary.
(Await flaming on NMO mounts not leaking, they all do given enough time or bad weather). Come to my part of the country and water gets into everything.
I lip mount as much as possible these days. Aluminum skinned vehicles has also made this more necessary.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
No flames, but the OP was talking in another thread about doing a roof mount NMO.
As for the NMO mounts that are leaking, have the O rings been replaced? I don't doubt that given enough time, the O rings will break down and cause issues. Seems like an easy fix to take the nut off, install a new one and reinstall. I do have 20 year old trucks at work with NMO mounts and no issues, but I'm farther south, and while it's wet here, nothing like up there.
Can I ask why it's necessary with aluminum bodies?
Replacing the O ring would probably have saved some of the leaing roofs. Have found many that seem to be cracked over time. Then, lots of gasket sealant, silicone caulking, and other field expedients in use. My current employer keeps vehicles over 20 years, many are specialty vehicles (fire trucks mostly). I have also found NMO bits that are worn, so some holes may not be precisefrom the beginning.
As for aluminum vehicles, dissimilar metal corrosion has also been a problem. Tow tugs were the first vehicles where corrosion was breaking the seal on NMO mounts. Now, with Ford trucks being aluminum (and some chemicals in use around them), I see corrosion around the mounts as well. Many sites have fleet of Ford Expeditions now, and the previous fleet of Chevy Suburbans all leaked after a couple of years (could be quality of install or failing O rings), and all Expeditions now get lip mounts.....better to not damage new and expensive vehicles, although failing transmissions and engines might end these vehicles usefulness first.
As for aluminum vehicles, dissimilar metal corrosion has also been a problem. Tow tugs were the first vehicles where corrosion was breaking the seal on NMO mounts. Now, with Ford trucks being aluminum (and some chemicals in use around them), I see corrosion around the mounts as well. Many sites have fleet of Ford Expeditions now, and the previous fleet of Chevy Suburbans all leaked after a couple of years (could be quality of install or failing O rings), and all Expeditions now get lip mounts.....better to not damage new and expensive vehicles, although failing transmissions and engines might end these vehicles usefulness first.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Got it.
What I found over the years was that the 'chrome nut' style antennas do a piss poor job of sealing. I discovered a few corroded NMO mounts on one of our PD cars shortly after I started and finally figured out it was those antennas. I replaced the mounts and switched to the Larsen NMOQ style antennas and never had the problem again.
I do remove the antennas and check the mounts whenever doing PM and haven't run across that again.
I ran across one of the mobile video installers that drilled with the wrong size hole saw or step bit and the mount was wobbling all over the place.
Haven't experienced that. I know the Stainless steel NMO mounts are designed for aluminum bodies, as the stainless doesn't have as much of an impact on the galvanic corrosion like some of the brass mounts do.
But, if you keep the mounts dry, there shouldn't be any water to cause it. Not always possible in all installs, but for an F150 in ham use, it shouldn't be a big problem.
I've been putting NMO mounts on aluminum body FPIU's without any issues, as well as F-series trucks since 2011 with no problems.
But, as you said, it may have to do with chemicals used in your locations.
Always good to pay attention and watch the mounts. I do try to keep a close eye on ours.
slowmover
Active Member
There aren’t that many who will keep a personal vehicle twenty years, and it’d be negligent to have not removed & inspected an NMO or other permanent mount a few times over that period.
Lesser performance and a higher chance of body damage plus mount corrosion is what distinguishes lip mount.
Commercial use ought to be segregated on some topics. Age, in this example.
It’s a bit like where a particular radio is favored for Base, Mobile and Portable. Clarity about how it’s used is sometimes missing from comments on performance.
Installs which date from the Clinton Era need a brass disc epoxied next to them commemorating their historical significance.
.
Lesser performance and a higher chance of body damage plus mount corrosion is what distinguishes lip mount.
Commercial use ought to be segregated on some topics. Age, in this example.
It’s a bit like where a particular radio is favored for Base, Mobile and Portable. Clarity about how it’s used is sometimes missing from comments on performance.
Installs which date from the Clinton Era need a brass disc epoxied next to them commemorating their historical significance.
.
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