Slim Pickins' Journal

[Slim Pickins]

Well I finally broke down and decided to swap my truck antenna. I went from a Lil Will to a Predator 10K. Thought I would document the swap with some pics.
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Here is the old Lil Will
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Drilling the 10" saw blade backing plate
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Oh my, drilling a hole in the roof of my truck
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Inside of roof with paint removed
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Sawblade drilled and shield screw installed
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Coax connectors
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Mounting stud installed
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New 10 ga wire installed to + and - of battery

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Wire running up the windshield pillar to where radio will be. Ford recommends twisting the power and ground to reduce RF noise.

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Truck back outside with the antenna mounted

[Slim Pickins]

Well, I took a test drive to see how the antenna would flex the roof and it moved a little but I was worried that over time it would stress the roof metal. So...
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I cut a couple of pieces of 3/8 plywood and sprung them between the outside framework of the roof so that they were tight to the sheet metal. They kinda act like ribs in a wooden boat and cant bend down without moving outward on the ends. When I got them just right I secured them in place with construction adhesive suitable for a multitude of surfaces. Now the roof doesn't flex a bit.

[bigjames]

Thats a pretty big step up from a Little Will.


Looks good!

[Slim Pickins]

Thats a pretty big step up from a Little Will.


Looks good!

Thanks Bigjames

I know it is quite an upgrade but I figured I might as well start where I was wanting to end. Also with the stud mount I can swap to any antenna I want with the 3/8 thread.

[Slim Pickins]

I figured that since I had the roof liner out it would be a good opportunity to install some roof clearance lights.
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[Slim Pickins]

Finally got the headliner back in and interior back together. Decided to install the TRC-448 I had for a little while now. Getting great reports with it and the 10K.

Here's the 448
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73s
Paul

[Slim Pickins]

Finally got tired of having a broken ground plane antenna and not being able to get out like I should be able to so I decided to fix the broken bottom section of my .64's vertical element.
Thought I'd include some pics for anyone interested.

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here's my busted ground plane antenna as it sat on the mast on my garage

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The broken section

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Fuel (high octane 5%)

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Pipe to repair the broken section

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Pipe fitted into the bottom section

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Top part of broken section fitted over pipe

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All riveted together

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Bottom section all together and standing vertical again

Now I just got to get something to seal the joint with and put the rest of the antenna back together and get it back up on the mast.

I know that there is a chance that this repair technique will add extra stress on the rest of the antenna, but, I think it is better than not having the antenna at all.

[Shaft]

Looks good slim. I might try the ribs in my roof.

[Slim Pickins]

Thanks Shaft, and the ribs really do take a lot of the flex out. The shaft on my 10k doesn't even move on rough ground anymore.

73s
Paul

[Shaft]

Mine doesn't flex too much since I have a crew cab and it has a ribbed roof. But it can't hurt to brace it more.

[Slim Pickins]

Finally got my ground plane antenna back up yesterday. It is a Hustler 27TD and dates from the late 70's. SWR around 1.4 across the band. Not as good as it used to be but still respectable.
Anyway here she is.
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and another
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I am so glad to have this antenna back up. It has fantastic ears, and I can get out pretty good on it.

73s and thanks for looking
Paul

[weedge]

Hello Slim.
Hey that 448 looks good in the truck. Do you have much static with it mobile. I had mine in my truck for a while and I had so much static I finally took it out. It could be my antenna. I'm back working now so I'm looking at antennas. Your set up looks great. Hope to catch you some time when the skip is in.

Weedge

[Slim Pickins]

I don't find I get a lot of static on my 448 in the truck. Most times I leave the squelch turned all the way off and there is very little or no noise. I do live outside the city and that does help. The only noise I have noticed that occurs regularly is whenever I push in the clutch there is a very slight whine like from an alternator. My alt is grounded with #2 welding cable so I think that helps keep it to a minimum. The only complaint I have is the recieve audio is a little high pitched but the tech who tuned the 448 up for me said to put a 33uF non-polarized cap across the speaker terminals to help with that.

73s
Paul

[Slim Pickins]

Got my "new" mic for my Spitfire base unit and got it all wired up. Getting great reports on the air with it.
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you can see the mic here. Pardon the rest of the mess. This is only my temporary setup. Can't wait till I get a chance to get working on my permanent shack.

[Slim Pickins]

Well, I finally got sick and tired of having to wiggle the mic connector on my TRC-448 to make it work. So I removed the factory 5 Pin DIN type socket from the radio and installed a new 4 Pin Cobra type plug. Other than having to remove a couple of switches to get to the plug it went pretty smooth. Pluged in the D104M6 I had on my old Cobra and it sounds great. I might just do this to the rest of my Realistics. Then I could just use any Cobra mic with all my radios.

Paul

[Slim Pickins]

I have been wanting to install red LED meter lights in my TRC-448 for a while now, so, I decided to do it this afternoon.
Here ara a couple pics
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Thanks for looking.

73s
Paul

[443 Arizona]

hey paul, looks like a good installation but what about hitting any branches or something? i guess i can understand the risk as i once ran big ear too. lately i have been thinking of finding a magmount wilson,, so tell me, how much difference are you noticing?

[Slim Pickins]

hey paul, looks like a good installation but what about hitting any branches or something? i guess i can understand the risk as i once ran big ear too. lately i have been thinking of finding a magmount wilson,, so tell me, how much difference are you noticing?

I don't hit a lot of branches. The top of the antenna is just under 13' from the ground when parked. I find a huge difference over the Lil Will but that really isn't a fair comparison since the 10k is more than twice as long.

Paul

[Slim Pickins]

I have never really been satisfied with the mounting of my current radio in my truck so I have decided it is time to fix it.
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Here is the current install. I had to put the radio overhead because there is no room anywhere else. Trouble is the overhead info center keeps the radio down too low. After much thinking about how I would rebuild the console to house the radio higher and look stock, I decided to go for a more custom look. I am going to pull out the console and replace it with a piece of aluminum checker plate with a custom mounting bracket that turns the radio slightly toward the driver and keeps it sitting level. Should also have room for the small amp I just got to sit up there as well. I started work on it today and will post pics as it progresses.

73s
Paul

[Slim Pickins]

OK, here is what I got done last night.
Here is where the radio and the info center/console used to be
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My aluminum checker plate that I got from a local welding shop for a 12 pack
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I traced out the old console on a piece of flexible plastic like the stuff they use on real estate signs and then transfered it to the plate. I cut it out with the jigsaw using a hacksaw blade and filed the edges smooth. Had to bend it a couple of times to fit the headliner so I heated it with my propane torch and bent it while the plate was clamped to my workbench.
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Today I have to install the plate then work on fabbing the bracket to fit the angles of the roof and still keep the radio level

Thanks for looking

[Slim Pickins]

The piece of checker plate installed to the roof
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I cut out the bracket and filed it smooth. Here it is installed on the checker plate
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Plate with radio bracket back in the truck
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Radio back in and hooked up
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Now, when my new amp arrives I can mount it in front of the radio on the plate and I will need to drill a few holes for coax and power wires and everything will be nice and neat and within reach. I couldn't get the radio on an angle without interfering with the sun visors, but, it is far enough ahead now that it can be easily seen. I am very happy with this install so far, can't wait to get the amp in and see how it all works together.

73s
Paul

[yMidnite]

Looks great. I hope my final install looks that good.

[Slim Pickins]

Looks great. I hope my final install looks that good.

Thanks. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. Still have a little work to do and I will continue to post progress for anyone interested.

73s
Paul

[weedge]

Hello Paul

Man that install looks great! Would love to see the finished pics after you get your amp installed.

Weedge

[Slim Pickins]

Hello Paul

Man that install looks great! Would love to see the finished pics after you get your amp installed.

Weedge

Thanks. I will definately be posting here. Hopefully next weekend.

73s
Paul