Installation of a UHF Radio

[Lambys]

Hi All,

I have a new Land Rover Defender 2021. I plan to install a UHF radio for my trip around Australia. Has anyone installed a UHF radio in a new Land Rover? Is it straight forward? Where is the best place to position the aerial on the vehicle?
Thanks.[bighmmm]

[TB]

Has anyone installed a UHF radio in a new Land Rover?

Yep!


Is it straight forward?

Nope!


Where is the best place to position the aerial on the vehicle?

That depends. If you have the LR bull bar, then grab a Stedi light mount and you can *just* fit the antenna inboard of the left headlight, a few mm clear of the front-most corner of the bonnet as it opens. The only other options I've seen are a custom-made mount that went on the rear corner of the bonnet near the windscreen, or up on a roof rack.

For the UHF unit itself there's apparently a decent void buried two layers down behind the central button panel, and you can route the antenna coax via the existing cable tunnel through the firewall into the engine bay. The handset socket can be installed on the rear-facing panel below the 12V outlet that sits under the button panel. It's very tidy.

My mate in Melbourne was the pioneer here with a GME 330 installed by an ARB and he reports great success. I bought an Oricom online and got a local ARB to replicate the same install... and it's not turned out well. If the car's electric systems are active (dash on, Pivi on etc) then there's a huge amount of noise picked up by the Oricom and cutting over the top of every transmission it receives, even with the squelch turned way up. Press the Start/stop button to kill the electrics and it all comes clear. (Got the radio wired with permanent 12V so it doesn't turn off with the dash – I'd recommend you don't rely on the "accessory" power because the damn modern vehicle kills that a few minutes after you turn the engine off. Both the units mentioned here have an auto-off timer so they'll avoid draining the starter battery if we forget to switch the radio off after stopping.)

ARB reckons it's just poor quality on the Oricom side of things. They're going to swap a GME into the same spot using the same power and antenna and see if it fares better. If it does, I'm paying for all the repeat labour as well as another radio. But honestly that's probably the best outcome I can hope for.

[Sweetpea]

Spotted this on a search of something else and the link takes you to another forum but shows how a guy in the USA installed his radio. Super neat and he explains where all the cables run. I do like the small 3+db aerial but don't have enough experience to know if this will provide a massive range increase as height was always what I expected was required, hence the roof type mounts and small aerials.

GMRS radio installation - Land Rover Forums - Land Rover Enthusiast Forum (https://landroverforums.com/forum/2020-defender-60/gmrs-radio-installation-106398/)

He also said the hood lip antenna mount and ghost antenna are all Midland parts available at midlandusa.com (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=comments&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbGV5OUprTXdzYWFxZXVkOEE5YkVWYT ZmZmVsd3xBQ3Jtc0tuUHE4eFZjWWNiY2pJOXBTMWU5Vm1BdDE0 MVZWYVJmYVVWTzRBbDUtTndveUtmbTBKNXY5Unk3LURUVVB4cX NJeHcxOGVtdnh4Z2x2NW9XZHdob2VIWjB0dmNCeC1neXQ1MkFV amRZbUFSbGxCeDZxRQ&q=http%3A%2F%2Fmidlandusa.com%2F&stzid=UgzqGP-1PrZEZ2GNwch4AaABAg.9Op4ANF9rRV9OptML4JXT6) . I did not follow this just providing the information.

[one_iota]

Spotted this on a search of something else and the link takes you to another forum but shows how a guy in the USA installed his radio. Super neat and he explains where all the cables run. I do like the small 3+db aerial but don't have enough experience to know if this will provide a massive range increase as height was always what I expected was required, hence the roof type mounts and small aerials.

GMRS radio installation - Land Rover Forums - Land Rover Enthusiast Forum (https://landroverforums.com/forum/2020-defender-60/gmrs-radio-installation-106398/)

He also said the hood lip antenna mount and ghost antenna are all Midland parts available at midlandusa.com (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=comments&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbGV5OUprTXdzYWFxZXVkOEE5YkVWYT ZmZmVsd3xBQ3Jtc0tuUHE4eFZjWWNiY2pJOXBTMWU5Vm1BdDE0 MVZWYVJmYVVWTzRBbDUtTndveUtmbTBKNXY5Unk3LURUVVB4cX NJeHcxOGVtdnh4Z2x2NW9XZHdob2VIWjB0dmNCeC1neXQ1MkFV amRZbUFSbGxCeDZxRQ&q=http%3A%2F%2Fmidlandusa.com%2F&stzid=UgzqGP-1PrZEZ2GNwch4AaABAg.9Op4ANF9rRV9OptML4JXT6) . I did not follow this just providing the information.

Here is an explanation of the characterstics of various antenna gains:

Understanding Antenna Gain and dBi - GME (https://www.gme.net.au/au/news/understanding-antenna-gain-and-dbi/)

3 db is good in hilly country but doesn't have the range that a longer antenna with higher gain has in flat country.

[Graeme]

If the car's electric systems are active (dash on, Pivi on etc) then there's a huge amount of noise picked up by the Oricom and cutting over the top of every transmission it receives, even with the squelch turned way up. Press the Start/stop button to kill the electrics and it all comes clear.First step would be to loop the radio's power and earth cables through an RF choke a couple of times close to the radio if one isn't already fitted. Also fit clip-on RF chokes to each end of the head unit cable if the radio has a remote head.

[jwb]

I installed my Uniden UHF previously in the D4. Was pretty straightforward for a reasonably handy person.

Bonnet hinge antenna mount
Cable fed through the large grommet for the steering column then down the side of the center console
Base unit under the drink holder which is pretty much wasted space.
Handset mounted next to steering wheel. Plastic bracket from Aliexpress for about $4, GME magnetic mount and needed to replace the holder on the handset with the GME part.

189753189754189755189752

[Eric SDV6SE]

I've got the GME XRS portable unit, antenna suction cup to the dash near the window, radio head unit mounted to underside of centre console. Plugged into the 12v socket. Mike mounted to dash just below and to the right of the start stop. Works a treat, and is fully portable when we take the wife's jeep instead.

[LiamO]

Hi there - just wondering how you connected the power source? Did you run the powere cable from the engine?

Tks


I installed my Uniden UHF previously in the D4. Was pretty straightforward for a reasonably handy person.

Bonnet hinge antenna mount
Cable fed through the large grommet for the steering column then down the side of the center console
Base unit under the drink holder which is pretty much wasted space.
Handset mounted next to steering wheel. Plastic bracket from Aliexpress for about $4, GME magnetic mount and needed to replace the holder on the handset with the GME part.

189753189754189755189752

[jwb]

Hi there - just wondering how you connected the power source? Did you run the powere cable from the engine?

Tks

Used a fuse tap on the panel behind the glove box. there's also a proper earth point nearby behind the end plate of the bar going across the car.
Run the cable under the dash and behind the centre console panel which unscrews easily.
I can get some pics later if you need.
I always connect my UHF to a permanent battery live point so anyone can use it if necessary without needing a key.