Ham Radio Installation Highlights - 2024 Subaru Outback

[@KC1PBW]

I loved putting my ftm300 in my outback. It actually installed beautifully

[@Caprica-Approaches]

Great info in this and your antenna video, thank you! Good head's up on RFI from car electronics: I'm going to put HF into my sedan, and will test out car RFI with different physical placements. I'm looking to have a whip at the trunk.

[@jjay718]

Nice job. I think the main thing I would do differently is to find a spot in the firewall to run the wires through. I like the antenna mounted on a ditch light mount tho.

[@davidg9953]

Completed my install today in my 2022 Outback Touring XT, your video helped a lot

[@SevenFortyOne]

Awesome, glad it helped!

[@MikeN2MAK]

This was great. And I'm not just saying that because I have a new 2024 Outback I need to do a mobile install in. You do a great job showing and explaining. And just as I was thinking about chokes, you took the antenna off and the noise disappeared. This is very, very helpful. Thanks!

[@SevenFortyOne]

I haven't had a chance to try setting up an antenna on the the back of the car temporarily to see if the noise reduces but I'll let you know what happens when I get around to it.

[@MikeN2MAK]

@@SevenFortyOne You got me thinking. I might use my ICOM 705 and a mag mount with some different antenna placements and see if I get the same noise issues.

[@pongo1372]

Thank you for that video. I have the same car and same radio, I'll be installing it this summer.

[@1corsair]

Great job! Thanks for sharing. As a side note, I put my radio control head (icom 2730) on the seat bolt stalk and it's not in the way off the passenger or the shifter. However, it is farther off to the side so I have to turn my head more to see the radio. :)

[@rbton]

I'm looking into this and noticed that the 2730's control head fits perfectly into the overhead sunglasses case on the '24 OB. Looks like it should even fold up properly. I might have to give that a shot.

[@AQ40V]

I had the same problem with my honda. When it was mounted where you had it, i had to increase my squelch on my radio and it still bugged me. Moving the antenna to the rear of the hatch solved the problem. The antenna appeared to be picking up noise either from the dash or the engine bay. I had my FF friend check it out and he said fender mounts are the worst because its so close to all the electronics. He did mention a good point and said COPS/FF vehicles never used them for a reason. Its either mounted on the roof or the trunk. Which makes alot of sense

[@kzerobkobrian8937]

Hey Rob, Nice install. I mounted the head of my FTM-500 the same as you, on the left of the steering wheel in my 2016 Honda CR-V. I was wondering if anybody else was doing it the same. Thanks for the video.

[@markbielawski]

Altered AWD has some switch mounts for the place where you have your radio. Maybe you could adapt that for the radio.

[@StealthGTI]

I'm a fan of running power and data on one side of the car and RF on the other. Try that with your antenna feedline before moving it altogether. A separated path may surprise you. I'm thinking a good path may be to run the feedline through the passenger side fender and then under the door trim. Next, I think I'd even go so far as to route the feedline beneath the rear seat cushion, across to the driver's side, and then back up to the driver's seat. It's a longer path, but may avoid some noisy components. A feedline with better shielding may help, too. These days, I have so much stuff in my car that it's difficult to maintain good separation between DC, data, and RF. But my foundation appears to be good. See my KE4WMF playlist for more ideas. Take Care! -Scott

[@SevenFortyOne]

My antenna feed line comes in the passenger side and filled a different path than power. I'm pretty sure I'm picking up radiated rf from the touch screen since the problem goes away when I remove the antenna. If it were coupling on to the coax I'd still see noise when the antenna is removed

[@StealthGTI]

Ah, yes, of course! I overlooked that. I was tired. I'd suggest testing your touchscreen theory by turning off the display, but I suspect that it's not possible with a unit that's integrated into everything. My next test would be with a magnetic NMO mount in different locations. I don't use them for anything other than testing. Thanks for your response and good luck!

[@andrewrckt01]

Enjoyed this. I bought a 2024 just yesterday and did the install. For the most part my installation is the same. I routed the cable through the door than the grommet (which I may change). I used a suction cup mount for the head and it sits above the vent where your does (Icom 5100). Interested in the hf setup as I will be doing this next and will also play with the antenna location to see if I can replicate your noise. My antenna is on the side of the hood on the passenger about a foot down instead of passenger side to the top

[@andrewrckt01]

Only question of suggestion would be a relay which is what I am trying to figure out now

[@Subgunman]

Nice instal! Can I recommend that you instal a short piece of split loom tubing on that positive lead that rolls around that short support near the battery as well as a larger diameter split loom on the lines that are curving around the fender and along the door. It will prevent chafing of the wire over time. I have been gathering parts and building a custom bezel for my instal. Picked up on an XTL5000 last summer and have been slowly gathering parts for my instal. We have used a pair of Anderson 50 amp disconnects inside of weatherproof boots designed for the connectors. Power lines run back to the trunk where the brick is mounted but I need to wait for a few more parts for the power distribution board that is co located in the trunk. I am utilizing a charge guard as well as a 100 amp latching solenoid for power control but still waiting for the fuse block for this system. The control head is to be mounted under the car radio in place of a small cubby holder, finally finished the mounting bezel for the head. Speaker was a problem, Motorolas is way too large so I went with a compact speaker mounted to the right of the steering wheel just under the dashboard divide on the hard plastic. I yet have to figure out where the microphone will live up front. It’s their "canbuss" microphone that has some remote features as well as DTMF. The antenna is the last issue, going with a trunk lip mount but I need to find some RG316 cable to use instead of the RG58. Body tolerances are very tight. When install is complete I will be posting a Power Point style video on my channel explaining the setup. BTW how does such a new vehicle qualify for Historical Plates in the Buckeye State? 73 from a Buckeye living in SV9 land!

[@SevenFortyOne]

Sounds like a well thought out install! As far as the plate goes, it's an "Easter egg " I put in some of my vidros. take a closer look at it... especially the numbers. Also keep in mind I live in CT.

[@Subgunman]

@@SevenFortyOne figured that out after looking you up on QRZ. NICE EASTER EGG!

[@KC5TGTRadiosNMore]

You have to get real creative in the newer vehicles and I think you did a great job. I'd probably leave that antenna where it is and just deal with the interference as long as it's not constantly breaking the squelch and it's not making your received transmissions sound strange. For the HF antenna you might try the Yaesu ATAS120 on a K400 lip mount on the rear hatch door. This will get you 6m and HF on the 891 without having to change the antenna. No extra wires needed as the power needed to tune the ATAS goes through the coax.

[@1958johndeere620]

My buddy has a new subaru and he has RF from his 891 get into the car sometimes when transmitting and it throws check engine, and gets all kinda confused. He unhooks the battery and lets it set for a minute then he is good to go. Just a heads up. On my 2015 chevy when I transmit on one particular frequency ( 2 meter ) the drivers side head light goes out when keyed down, but only on low beam. RF is weird, and unpredictable. On my 2011 chevy P/U when I work stationary mobile in a park my strobe lights on the headache rack flash with my voice peaks on SSB.

[@SevenFortyOne]

Good points. I get some weird stuff with my suburban too

[@rgreene4385]

i always put my wiring and wires on the passagerside if possible. just takes more wires from the battery to that side. but nice job.

[@ertcom1]

You may find that the hood is not galvanically bonded to the electrical earth (sometimes you will see an earth strap near the hood hinge). You can check it with a multimeter from the antenna base to an earth point. If it's open circuit, try bonding the antenna base to electrical earth. This will work like a capacitor to short the "noise" to ground.

[@SevenFortyOne]

I'll have to look into that and see if it helps. I feel like the problem is radiated EMI from the touch screen rather than common mode noise on a floating "ground" but bonding the hood to the chassis won't hurt.

[@KutWrite]

Nicely done. I wonder: 1. Why you didn't use the car stereo as the external "speaker." 2. How your 2024 Subie is a "Historic Vehicle." Thanks!

[@SevenFortyOne]

Because I want to use the radio when the car is off. Take a closer look at the plates...

[@Nova1624]

the cockroach running up the doorpost @ 2:53 was a bonus. :)

[@KS0JD]

Nice clean installation. 73

[@RobPetty622]

I have a 2021 Outback and you have given me many good tricks and tips for exactly my situation. And thanks for the ditch light bracket mount video, too! If you ever ride in the passenger seat, then the goose neck from the passenger seat and you can play radio on the passenger side. And for other ideas to reduce RFI, what about mounting the VHF/UHF antenna on the luggage rack up above? Many thanks!Rob/WA9RAD

[@SevenFortyOne]

I don't want an antenna on the rack for various reasons. I ended up moving it to the rear hatch above the tail light where I wanted it originally. It's attached to the plastic panel but seems to work fine

[@glevideo]

The license plate? …. If that much RF is going in through the antenna from the center console electronics then it stands to reason that the reverse of that will also happen and high power from the TX will likely cause problems in the electronics. I remember back in the 70’s when electronic controlled brakes were introduced in some cars that someone running 50 watts on 2 meters could pull along side another car, key the mic and cause the other car’s brakes to malfunction.

[@SevenFortyOne]

I didn't have any issues with that but I did move the antenna to the back of the car. In other words, susceptibility of the car's electronics seems better then it's conducted emissions

[@5ksam]

How does Apple CarPlay react when you transmit? My 2019 outback’s CarPlay goes in and out while I transmit.

[@SevenFortyOne]

I use android auto and it works fine

[@sirmister4411]

Good job. I looking for a way to run my speaker from the ham radio to the blue tooth on my stereo that way I won’t need and ext speaker that way my 2 meter recieve audio comes thrue my stereo. Have you found anything for that.

[@SevenFortyOne]

I haven't tried that as I often use the radio when the car is off

[@GreasyGrits21]

Great video! Have you had any issues with the auto start/stop or the variable alternator charging the battery? What I mean is does the charging cycle where the alternator stops charging, the battery drains down and then it recharges once ~12.3 volts is reached interfere with the radio? I like your idea of using an Anderson distribution block! I have a 2020 Outback and I'm debating between going down the rabbit hole myself or have a "pro" install it. One more question...where did you find the battery terminal connector that you used? Thanks again for the video.

[@SevenFortyOne]

I haven't had any issues with voltage - the radio seems to work just fine. The terminals I'm using for the battery are just crimp-on ring terminals and I bought a 5-pak of fuse holders on Amazon. amzn.to/3QWlTRd

[@josephsmyth7742]

Please make sure you put split loom tubing over your positive wire...you are asking for a short , otherwise nice job.

[@kimoclyde]

Just out of curiosity, how is that Subaru considered 'historical'?

[@SevenFortyOne]

It's not

[@kimoclyde]

@@SevenFortyOne I get it. 👍