Thread: GME TX3340 install.

Originally Posted by Rocket00

Hello Pete
Can you help he with running the antenna cable once through the firewall. I plan to put the unit under the drivers seat but am unsure how to get the antenna cable from the firewall to the unit. I assume under the carpet but unsure where and how.

Your help is appreciated.

Regards
Rod

I know I'm not Pete, but I have a suggestion if you don't want to go under the carpet properly.

Option 1: If you stay behind the dash towards the centre console, then towards the cubby, then you can get down between the cupholders and the driver's seat.

Option 2: Go towards the base of the driver's a-pillar, then along the door sill and exit when you get to the driver's seat.

Rod,
Entry through the firewall is via a grommet on the drivers side of the vehicle. If you remove the lid from the brake booster just to the centre of the vehicle you will see the grommet & that is your entry point.

As Eddomak has said i would use No.1. Its just easier to tuck under the console section to run the cable to the where you want it & then under your seat.

HTH Cheers

Eddomak and Pete
Thanks guys, option one will be my preference. Pete, I have the electronic gear selector and power seats, is their anything I should consider with those features? Will the console come off the same way if I choose to take the power from the cigarette lighter as you did?
regards
Rod

Originally Posted by discotwinturbo

Sniegy,

How did you attach the mike bracket to the trim....did you screw it on, or did you use some double sided tape ? So far I have not found any tape to hold it on, and don't real want to screw into the trim.


Brett

Brett, To drill into the centre console of such a great vehicle is such a drastic step to take. I hate doing this in even the worst vehicles. The way to do it & so that it is reversible once you sell it, is as follows:

1) Make up a bracket of sheet metal, bend it using a vice on a work bench, you want the bracket to come up the slit of the two plastic panels of the console. By the way I said a thin sheet, the thinner the better.
2) the bracket needs to go from either an internal point where you can screw into or reuse an internal mounting screw.
3) the sheet metal brackets just bends as it comes out of the console, so that you can mount the mic clip that came with the radio to the new bracket you made.
4) the job - if you are very careful and unsure should take approx 1 to 2 hours & you do not destroy the external surface of the console. PM if you need a diagram or need me to better explain it.

Regards
Tor

Originally Posted by bomber1

Great photos and came in really handy for installing my unit. Now the big question where to mount aerial front or back?? Also if on the front where is the best place to go through fire wall?

Regards Bomber1

This is a good question indeed, I was a communications technician in a past life before I became an engineer. So How does an aerial work, well it is the transmission of energy between the energy source and the ground plane. The energy source being the aerial and the ground plane being the car body. So

1) rear mounting - this would mean that you highest gain for transmission and reception is in the forward direction of the vehicle as the ground plane is the roof of the car. So your radio will be setup to communicate more efficiently towards the front of the car.

2) Bull bar or Forward Mounting - the reverse is dominant here, so your communications system is now geared up to communicate more efficiently towards the rear of the vehicle.

3) the ideal position is the centre of the roof, so that you have equal gain all around the vehicle. So on a roof rack is great & so that you don't hit trees, use a short aerial. But not too short as the taller the aerial the more gain again.

It is all a balancing act. Let me know if you need more detail.

Look at the attached drawing, red star is the aerial position, black rectangles the car and the blue oval is the gain pattern roughly and not to scale.


Hope this helps
Tor

Well since there is so much interest on where to mount radios, these are my plans for when I get my vehicle next week.

I do not intend to drill into any part of my car, but intend to use a removable roof centre console which I will make out of ply & covered with matching or grey material to nicely finish it.

I intend to reuse the rear & front current roof consoles to mount a couple of sheet metal brackets and will have press studded nuts for me to screw in and remove the roof centre console as I need.

I have bought a Oricon Uhf180 radio from the camping & 4WD show, (less than half the price of the GME, $195) http://www.oricom.com.au/oricom-uhf-...n-vehicle.html
This unit has a separate head and a remote speaker that extends from the base unit.
The base unit can be mounted anywhere out of the way & you just need to run the extension cables for the head unit & speaker up the pillar and out of one of the current light consoles.

Then I intend to mount the head unit, the speaker and mic bracket onto this removable roof console. I came up with this design as I want my vehicle to glow in the city without all the gadgets and convert to a bush beast when I go out.

If people are interested I can post pictures. If people need more detail, I can post videos and how to's.

Cheers
Tor

Originally Posted by Rocket00

Eddomak and Pete
Thanks guys, option one will be my preference. Pete, I have the electronic gear selector and power seats, is their anything I should consider with those features? Will the console come off the same way if I choose to take the power from the cigarette lighter as you did?
regards
Rod

Hi Rod,
There is little difference as you have the benefit of not having to set the gear shift into Neutral &/or removing the gearshift (& possibly punching yourself in the chin)
It all comes apart in the same way.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by Torero22

SNIP
So How does an aerial work, well it is the transmission of energy between the energy source and the ground plane. The energy source being the aerial and the ground plane being the car body. SNIP

Hi Torero,
As most UHF aerials are now ground plane independent, I find your post to be in error and misleading. With this type of aerial the positioning is irrelevant, with the obvious exception to mount as high as possible in order to minimise obstruction to the signal.

Best Wishes,
Peter