HF Radio - Self Fitment

Miker,

Under Vehicle Requirements menu\Vehicle Set up David has explained how to install an HF radio. This may help you.Just Do It!

If you have fitted 27 meg stuff then you should be OK.
Just remember check your earths
Good circuit breaker at battery for power feed.
I have heard dont run power near fridge power as causes interferance.

Peter S

Just a suggestion.

If you can get your hands on some very heavy coax, use the centre conductor as the positive power lead from battery (via circuit breaker) to radio, earth the radio and the power coax braid to the vehicle at the radio, and the other end of the power coax braid to the negative terminal of the battery. This acts to shield the power supply to the radio from electrical interference. For the coax, it should be at least 0.5-0.75" diameter with a center core (braided or single core) of at least 0.125" diameter, very well tied down to resist rattling/metal fatigue of the center core, and using the minimum number and severity of bends in the coax.

Not really sure if this works or is needed for HF, but it works a treat on microwave links (similar to the old Channel 10 "Live Eye" vans)

MikeR
Last year, I bought a second hand Codan 8528 for $1,100 ($3,000 new) and auto-tune aerial for $600 ($1,500 new) and paid $100 for expert help. So you can see there can be a big saving - I got a unit worth $4,500 new for under $2,000. Of course my unit is not new, it has no warranty, and it will become obsolete (i.e. difficulty getting parts) sooner than the latest model - but it works fine and should see me through. I mounted all components (transmitter, aerial, remote head) and ran all the cables. You will need an expert to program your frequencies and strictly speaking that expert will need to verify that you are entitled to use those frequencies. You will need ACA license to access Flying Doctor frequencies and VKS737 or other HF club membership for their frequencies. The power and aerial cables carry very high currents, so if you don't know what you're doing then get expert help. You dont want a fire or interference with other electrical equipment !!! My tips - No kinks, keep power supply cable separate from aerial and control cables as much as possible, install a fusible link close to the battery, have good heavy duty earths and run a separate heavy duty power supply (+ and -) direct from your auxiliary battery. If you mount the aerial on the bull bar then don't run the cable through the grill as I did because it is then more difficult to fit a radiator blind for deep water crossings. Instead run cables up from underneath the grill. You will need to remove the aerial cable connectors with a soldering iron (in order to feed the cables through tight gaps and through the firewall) and re-solder after installing the cables. Note the pin connections for each coloured wire on the control cable connector. Run the cables backwards from the front of the vehicle through the firewall because the connectors at the aerial end are more difficult to remove. Mount the transmitter high enough inside the vehicle so that it wouldn't be submerged if you stall in a deep water crossing otherwise you will have to remove the transmitter before entering the water. I mounted mine behind the backrest of one of the rear seats using short self tappers so they don't go through the seat padding - it's out of the way and I ran the cables so as not to inhibit folding the backrest or seat hob, but its still very easy to access the transmitter by folding the backrest forward. I made a bracket for the control head and mounted it centrally just above the gearbox / transmission tunnel in front of the gear lever (80 Series) - it's out of the way but very handy and easy to see the illuminated LCD face. I took my time to think things through before installing because there are a lot of factors to consider. Even then I made some mistakes like initially mounting the transmitter under the passenger seat before I realised that it could be easily flooded and was difficult to access). It was not a quick job but mainly because i am a bit fussy. If you're fussy like me then do it yourself but don't be in a hurry. The alternative is to entrust the job to others but they don't know how you like to load your vehicle or what ompromises you're willing to make, so you may go through a few iterations before you're satisfied. The transmitter does take up a bit of room and it needs to be reasonably accessible because it needs to be removed for any frequency changes or if you want to protect it from theft when not in use. Good luck. (If I can help further email me gordon.buck@originenergy.com.au).

MikeR
Just one more tip - you might not want 27Meg or UHF now but they are functional and entertaining when travelling with others and to pass the time on long trips. Plan for future installation of either or (like me) both as well as your HF. HF is great for emergencies but you can't beat UHF for car to car, some people have 27 Meg instead of UHF so, for another $130 bucks you can talk to anyone. My UHF and 27 Meg are mounted out of the way but handy in a visor shelf - one each side.

dont know where you are but if in victoria contact alex dawes at heathcote victor 344 he is a private person with excellent prices on secondhand sets and instalation is second to none. regards peter

Thanks for all the replys and info. I did discover David's fitting intructions after I posted, very informative. Gordon, you hit the nail on the head. I'm more than a touch fastidious when it comes to this sort of thing and experience (very recent, ARB #@*#%#$) tells me no one ever cares for work on one's chariot like the owner. There are so many "little" things that can be done to make a good job and just as many "little" shortcuts. My gut feel is to buy new but do the installation for the aforementioned reasons more so than to save $200 (still good). However I'll enquire further with regard to the tuning aspects. It's a bullbar mount on a Defender Xtreme. Box will go on the cargo barrier, head I'm not sure yet.

Cheers
Miker.

Mike
I have installed HF's for about 15 years now, most of the advice given is good, as someone said check earths especially bullbars to chassis to body, remove bolts, grind/scrape paint etc off until shiny and reinstall the bolts, will save you heaps of grief down the track.
I see you have a Defender, if it has a TD5 engine forget about using the HF while the engine is going, the receiver will be swamped by the electrical noise/interference from the injection system and it is nigh on impossible to shield/screen it out.
Another tip, connect the HF to the main battery if you have a dual battery system, HF radios with autotune antennas will not tune if the volts are down after a day running the frig, lights etc if you aren't travelling. Unless you are going to be on the radio all day you will never drain enough to stop the vehicle starting. My longest stop in one spot without starting the truck was a week, I used the HF every day to call in on the sked and it was scanning from dawn to dusk every day, the diesel troopy fired up straight away when it was time to hit the road again.
Another important point is to NEVER connect the negative/ground lead from the HF (or anything else for that matter) directly to the negative terminal of the battery. Always connect it to the vehicle end of the negative lead or very close to it.
The reason for this is that if the main vehicle negative lead becomes loose or comes off guess where the starting current flows, yes that's right through your HF radio. Believe me the HF is totalled if this happens and I've seen quite a few over the years.
Peter