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The Icom 706 is mounted up high, at the top of the windshield, between the visors. I removed the bracket that is used to hold the windshield in place when it is folded down onto the hood. The bracket holes and screws were then recycled and put to use in hold the 706's front panel mounting bracket (and optional item available from Icom). I routed the seperation cable to the left and down the driver's side of the dash (actually, it can go behind the dash while going from top to bottom) and then along the lower door area to the radio which is located behind the driver's seat. The external speaker is attached to the roll bar and is located just over the driver's left shoulder. This provides plenty of volume since it is only about 8" from your ear. | |
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The Kenwood TM-742 tri-band FM radio was installed on top of the mid-dash area. Jeep was kind enough to put a little tray area there, which I guess is for your sunglasses, pennies, and what ever else you decide to toss up there. I removed the rubber liner from this tray area (it lifts right out) and with the help of some double sided tape, installed a 1" square (and about 3 inches long) block of plexiglass. Using a bit more of that sticky tape, the mouting bracket for the front panel was firmly attached to the top of the plexiglass bar. This raises the control panel sufficiently so that the buttons and knobs are easily accessed. | |
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Here is a shot of the tri-band FM antenna mount. It is on the left front fender. You can not see if from the top of the fender, but there is a reinforcing seam that runs adjacent to the mount which helps strengthen it and reduces the flexing of the body metal. The antenna is only about 40" tall, so it does not present a significant load. You must remember that the antennas can be subject to a lot of movement once you are off road and bouncing along the trails. | |
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I went about 6 months with my Wrangler before I decided to put a 2 meter
horizontal loop in it. Part of the reason I waited that long was the garage was just
too darn hot during the summer to work on this project. The loop is mounted to a
1"x4" pine board which is painted black. It is cut to length (and shaped
on the ends) so that it just fits on top of the roll bar. The hardtop curves down
around the rollbar making the antenna bracket a snug fit. This keeps it from moving
vertically. So that it does not slide backwards, I took a 1" nylon strap and
secured it to the Sound Bar which is mounted just forward of the antenna bracket.
This picture is taken looking back from the driver's seat. The loop is a clone of the KB6KQ 2 meter horizontal loop. I purchased a pair of them and use them for mobile contesting. I made this one on a Saturday morning after I decided I needed another one for those "non-contest" weekends. It works great and gives me a SWR of nealy 1:1 mounted here in my Wranlger. |
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