[N0GR]

Has anyone installed a radio transceiver (VHF/UHF/HF) in a Prius? I am planning on installing a dual band VHF/UHF FM transceiver in my new (yet to be acquired) Prius. Does anyone have any experience with this? Anything I should be aware of or be cautious about?

Thanks,
Greg

 

[Sprocket]

I'm looking for the same information. I've been searching the web but have not found anything useful. One ham I have met has one of our cars and said he tried HF in it, and it was horrible. He hadn't tried VHF/UHF yet. I've used a 5 watt handheld on VHF with no problems. Will be installing 2m, 1.25m and 70cm soon. Hopefully we'll figure this out. I know where I'm going to out the antennas, but not sure yet about power.

K2DCD

 

[mrv]

1. be careful where you drill. (Was a problem for a TX sheriff's office, as they mounted their radios on the front/center floor "hump," and that's where the HV orange cables run...
2. tap directly to the 12v battery, and if you need more power, add some batteries. Do not use the 12v "cigarette lighter" outlets, as they switch off with the car, and it's easy to blow their fuse.
3. keep the antenna away from the ECUs. my understanding is that the center of the roof, or above the trunk/cargo area is best.

I can't say that I've heard of many problems in the Classic Prius, but I have heard of HF issues on the 2004+ Prius. The threads from radio operators pop up occasionally, but so infrequently that I haven't been tracking them (like I probably should).

 

[Sprocket]

Thanks Michelle...perhaps we can develop a definitive source of information-hints on this site.

I wasn't going to drill in the center of the roof, but use lip mounts at the top sides of the hatch. Also would be adding an additional ground braid from the hatch to the main body.

73
K2DCD

 

[edlambert]

No problem mounting a 2/70 radio....

I mounted the antenna to the rear hatch near the roof line with the comet trunk mount works great!!!

I mounted the radio it's an older Alinco Dr600 dual bander right under the compartment beneath the stereo it's a nice place.I was thinking of mounting a Pana vise 627-09 to the center of the floor but I didnt have too.I've only had the car a week but so far so good.

Regards,Ed WJ1L

 

[WA8LMF]

Mobile installs in Prius

Just got a 2005 Prius last Saturday and am now in the process of relocating my extensive mobile setup from my Passat TDI wagon. The previous installation consisted of a Kenwood D700 APRS radio, a TM742 6-2-450 tribander and a Yaesu FT-100, along with a laptop computer, my homebrew system console and my "Mobile LiveCAM" SSTV setup.

Probably in the next week, I will take deep breath, take a Motorola holesaw in hand, and make a hole in the center of the roof for an NMO mount for the Comet SB14 6M/2M/UHF tribander. I anticipate placing a bunch of radio gear on a board in the hidden cargo area under the trunk floor. I plan to place an Optima Bluetop deep-cycle battery in there with an isolator to the main 12V battery (It's so nice having it in the rear near the radio gear!).

A ham friend of mine, Dennis KB6C, devised a really cheap and simple way to create two no-holes antenna mounts in the hatch area. He made up a couple of L-shaped aluminum plates; the horizontal part is about 2" square and can accomodate standard permanent-type NMO mounts while the vertical part is about an inch and a half high by 2" wide. He unscrewed the two bolts anchoring the bottom ends of the hatchback lifter pistons, sandwiched the plates between the body and the lifter ends, and then re-inserted the bolts.

He says it's solid enough to support tall VHF/UHF ants and even low-drag HF ants like Ham Sticks. He says he hasn't noticed much HF noise with a casual test with a world band radio, except during regenerative braking. If my tests confirm this, I plan to stick a TS2000 in the hidden trunk area and use the optional remote control head. I will then have just the two identical control heads up front. (The D700 and TS2000 use the IDENTICAL heads - the different displays and functions of the pushbuttons are determined soley by the radio they are connected to.)


For HF, I will probably go with a racheting adjustable antenna mount that came from an SGC SmartTuner QMS attached to the left rear sidewall just behind the gas filler lid. This will require drilling 4 #10 holes through the side wall to bolt it on, and a fifth larger hole (about 1/2") for a feed-through insulator to bring the high voltage tuner feed line out from an Icom AH4 auto-coupler inside the left rear corner of the trunk.

WA8LMF Mobile SSTV LiveCAM
http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/ham

No Holes "Gravity Mount" Mobile Computer Table
http://webs.lanset.com/wa8lmf/table/index.htm

 

[Sprocket]

Steve,

Please post the results of your massive installation. I'd really be interested in photos if you can post any here.

Thanks

K2DCD

 

[GaryM]

I've got a Yasue FT-90 mounted in my '04. I used foam tape to stick the radio's mount on the panel that's under the radio. Antenna is a Comet SBB-5 NMO on a Comet trunk edge mount. This is on the upper left side of the hatch. Right now power comes from the outlet in the console.

A larger speaker is mounted below the FT-90.

No problems at all.

WØGOM

 

[Thomme]

mmm... ham...

 

[jmneely]

I had an '01 and an '02 that I ran dual band tranceivers in powered from the cigarette lighter plug and a mag mount antenna on the trunk.

I haven't snagged the antenna mount for the '05 yet.

jn
WA5LHS

 

[Richhan]

Will it damage the car?

Does anyone have experience operating 100 watt transmitters from a Prius for any significant amount of time? HF? VHF? UHF?

Before I lay down all of that money, I need to know if the radios will damage the car.

Thanks
Rich (N6YVW)

 

[donny612]

Has anyone installed a radio transceiver (VHF/UHF/HF) in a Prius? I am planning on installing a dual band VHF/UHF FM transceiver in my new (yet to be acquired) Prius. Does anyone have any experience with this? Anything I should be aware of or be cautious about?

Thanks,
Greg

I installed a Yaesu FT-7800 in my C-2. I placed the control head over the rearview mirror using a "BlendMount" www.blendmount.com, which gives me a good view of it without taking my eyes off the road. Most of the needed controls are remotely operated from the microphone which is coming out of the center console. The radio itself is mounted under the rear shelf and powered via 12v power outlet so that I can still remove the shelf for cargo. Power, cat5 cable, and antenna connections can all be easily disconnected from the radio. Speaker and radio remain attached to the shelf when removed. 2m/440 Antenna and 800mhz antenna are mounted to the hatch side lip. So far the setup works well for me and I've had zero noise or interference issues thus far.

 

[Metalman]

I mounted 2-meter radios in both of our Prisus'. The radios sit in the storage compartment between the two front seats. Power comes directly from the engine starting battery on one Prius and the power outlet on the other. The antennas are 2-meter/440 mag mounts on the roof next to the broadcast antenna. The radios work fine.