Welcome to the Official SoCal BS/ Shenanigans, Tundras and What’s Happening Thread

yeah not quite sure on 17s vs 18s. looking at the method 701 or 703 with bead grip. Really likeing the bahia blue on a super white CM

 

Weights as far towards the edge as possible.

17" great choice!

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the Tundras.com moms out there. @Sunnier and @Mrs. Nishibot just to name a few.

 

Thank you, Francis! Enjoy your day.

 

Thank you soo much!! I really appreciate it.

 

Anybody got a recommendation for an installer to install a ham radio in the next week or so? San Diego area south of the 56 preferred, east county even better.

I opened everything up yesterday and laid it all out figuring to muddle through it myself, but the icon

$346 ic-2730A dual band VHF/UHF 50W mobile radio

ic-2730A I got doesn’t fit in the dash, and I don’t want to mod something crappy looking to sit in plain sight. I see some creative options to install elsewhere, that could work with how I pack for trips, but I’ve decided this is worth paying someone who’s done it before. I’ll appreciate anyone that can point me in the right direction.

 

Sorry, Steve would do it for you but we will be out of town until the camping trip.

 

Happy Mother’s Day @Sunnier and @Mrs. Nishibot

 

Thank you!! Tell Jackie I said Happy Mother's Day!

 

Thank you, Marty! (And yes, tell “Jen McFly” happy Mother’s Day!)

 

Don't give up so quickly. The body of the radio can go beneath the driver seat, just use some adhesive velcro to secure it in place. Then, for the face, there are things like a goose neck that mounts to one of the passenger seat bolts. Just be sure to run both + and - directly to the battery with the supplied inline fuses.

 

You can also remote the mic from the base to the face plate. You can also do what @Porschetech29 and I did and relocate the mic to some where completely separate from both base and face plate.

 

Don’t forget to do the MARS CAP mod before installing especially if you install the main unit in a location that makes it difficult to remove.

 

Not sure what you mean by "remote the mic?" I've seen what @Porschetech29, Francis, did, brilliant. I shamelessly copied him. OK, maybe just a little guilt but no shame.

 

No guilt required.

 

You can get a patch cable and plug into the base. Then run to where you want and get a coupler installed like @Porschetech29

I copied @Porschetech29 as well

 

It is just too convenient and too smart not to copy. Thanks for sharing that one!

 

Ahh, yep. Game changer.

 

I admit that I was very nervous to do this mod, due to not 100% sure I was on the right chip

 

I chickened out and ordered mine with the mod already done.

 

You guys are killing me. This ^ isn’t even English.

However, after looking again, going away, and looking again, I think I found a place in the dash that may work if I remove the lame cup holder thing that doesn’t work anyway. This would allow me to place the controller face at the front of the ham unit, in view, and attach the mic there as well. If I can figure out a way to mount it here securely, most of my connections will be behind the dash but should be secure and not the PITA that running connections to a bunch of places under carpet and what-not would be.
Doesn’t fit where I’ve marked in blue. Maaaay fit where I’ve marked in orange.

However, I cannot yet picture where/ how to mount the extra speaker I got. I like the corner of the driver’s side of the dash near the windshield, but can’t yet envision how to mount it.

I can envision... but don’t have and would need in a hurry... some type of extension for the antenna wire, since it screws in to the back of the unit, which would be behind the dash; I’d like it to run to some stationary point in the cab, where I can attach the extension leading out the back window when I go out on trips. So I’d need an extension and some connection.

YES, hillbilly, but for several reasons, I’d like not to commit to a permanent mount and drilling until I know how it works... and what else is that back sliding window for anyway...?!

 

What??

 

Mars = military aux radios service. It is a mod that "opens up" more frequencies to your radio.

 

BTW @Sunnier, it's super easy and cheap to get a ham license. One of the benefits, besides being legal, is you might be able to find a cool call sign. Mine's K2SGU. Just don't tell any Bastrds.

 

You can do it yourself, you are capable. I’ll send you a link to the directions

 

https://radioaficion.com/cms/ic-2730-mod-frequency-expansion/

Make sure to follow the directions for the USA version

 

If you figure out something for that stupid cup holder please let me know. I don't have a big boy ham unit yet and your success may guide my future purchases. You can possibly mount ram balls on some of the tan areas and a flat plate for a mic clip, that's what I'm thinking of doing.

Do you know how to get through the firewall? No drilling, just some poking. Depending on the coax cable and if it comes apart you can run it through there. I have my antenna permanently mounted to my Rago ditch light brackets.

 

Where you installed your ball mount is about where my iPad goes. I recently received a full-size iPad to replace my mini and will find out on the next trip whether the window suction mount I use will hold the extra weight at high speed off-road.

In any case, I’ll either fit the ham in where the pull-out cup holder is, or have to find somewhere else entirely. But that’d likely be some combo of under the front seats or mounted outside the center console (it’d look lame but would work with how I pack for trips). It looks like I’ll have to pull the dash just to access the far-back screws to get the metal frame that holds the cup holders out— at that point, it’ll make sense to to install the ham myself if it will fit. I’m concerned it won’t because there’s some type of vertical metal support just behind that metal cup-holder insert, that may prevent me inserting the ham far enough into the dash.

My internet’s useless and won’t upload a pic. In any case, the pic won’t matter unless it prevents install; I’ll update one way or the other once I’ve figured it out.

 

Forgot to respond to the second part: I plan to run directly from the ham through the hole in the firewall (not to the ignition wire under the dash, as the cheap-ass local audio install shops suggest) to my SwitchPro under the hood.

 

So I had been using a window suction mount for my Galaxy tablet and it didn't hold up to the high speed off road test. I was having to constantly put it back on. I then went to a Proclip mount that clips into the radio bezel where the head unit is, that failed the off road test and broke the very first whoop I hit.

Last outing I went back to the window mount, but put adhesive on the back instead of just suction mounting and that actually held up very nicely. The problem with the window mount is it blocks your line of sight I found, also think it could have been giving me migraines there. I have decided that I want to try it on that ball mount on top of the dash with the tablet screen more in front of the head unit. Feeling hopeful on this.

My dash is completely apart right now because I'm rewiring some switches to look a little less Mickey Mouse clubhouse. After work I can maybe see about getting that cupholder out and look at that vertical metal support. That cupholder is so useless. I'm jelly of your SwitchPro - someday I'll bite the bullet.