Todays project du jour is a GMRS installation and a very detailed description of it!
I've gotten tired of fumbling for my handheld radio on the trail, the handheld range kind of stinks in the mountains and I'm not always great at remembering to charge them.
I chose a Midland Micromobile MXT275 base unit based on a balance of good reputation, decent strength and cheaper than going up to the MXT575. Plus I've got a satellite messenger if I really get myself in trouble.
I didn't want more clutter in the cabin so I opted for a Mountains to Metal bracket for mounting up in the guts of the dash above the glove box.
I opted for a Midland stubby Ghost antenna for better reception than the basic antenna and frankly I like the look. I also needed an antenna cable and opted for a 13' no name cable.
I got a 3' no name cat 6 Ethernet cable to extend the cable of the paddle control mic. Otherwise, the paddle mic cable would be stretched too tight when in use from the driver's seat.
I mounted the antenna to a Trail Rax Trail sight mount. Price was reasonable, quality great, gets the antenna away from other electronics and again... I like the look.
Installation of everything was actually pretty easy.
You’ll need to pop the glove box out by pressing in clips on each side, popping out the soft close mechanism, letting the box swing fully downward the popping apart the three hinges to completely remove.
The provided MXT275 bracket mounts to the M2M bracket with two screws, then the radio base unit slides and clicks into place. You can connect all the cables before installing the bracket with base unit, but the only cable you really really really want to plug in before mounting is the paddle mic extension cable. It's oriented so you can't plug it one's mounted in the dash. It’s easier to connect the wiring harness and antenna after the base unit is bolted in.
So I fed the M2M bracket with base unit mounted on it up and toward driver side first as there is more room, then I wiggled the other side above the dash brackets. You have to wiggle it around to get it into position, but then it is easily secured with 2 T25 screws provided by M2M into the dash bracket nutserts.
Next I mounted the TrailRax trail site mount bracket. This is super straightforward unless you read the directions. The simple directions specify different hardware than actuallyprovided. A couple of emails with TrailRax and they assured me I had the right hardware and incorrect instructions.
I chose to route the antenna cable and 14 gauge red/black wiring from the battery/traile site bracket as it was cleaner to tuck excess cable up under the dash than the hood. I chose to the power/ground direct to the battery as there is an inline fuse and the unit auto powers off if the paddle mic is disconnected or it times out. I covered the harness and antenna cable with 3/8” split plastic loom and routed everything to the firewall pass through grommet. I wrapped the loom with cloth harness tape to keep moisture out (love that tape so easy to work with).
The grommet pops out easily, but you have to carve (with a razor knife) a good size hole through its very thick rubber to get the antenna cable connector through. Fortunately, the loom fills the hole in the grommet as it passes through.
Then you have to fish the power lines and antenna cable under the dash and past the center console. I slid a coat hanger from passenger side along the firewall above the tranny hump to the driver side to allow me to fish the cable/wiring through. There is just enough room to get the antenna connector through, but I found it was best to feed the wires with left hand (on drivers side) while pulling them on right hand (passenger side). It was awkward, but it allowed me to pull the mess up the firewall an inch or so and then it slid through freely.
I clipped the 12V plug off the Midland provided harness and wired everything together. Connected antenna cable. The bundled the excess antenna cable up and stuffed up under the dash
Lastly I routed the Cat 6 extender through a gap in the center console, removed a screw so that I could get further forward and then left the female cable end so that just peeks out. I'll probably mount in the center console later, but for now I can in plug the mic control and store it when not in use. No clutter. No hole in my dash or console.
A lot of little details, but none of them difficult. it’s working great, but I’ll be quality assurance testing in the mountains on Sunday during our next snow storm.
top view of trail tax mount
Side view of trail tax mount
Wiring in engine bay
Cable routing to grommet in engine bay
Raptor at the Winter 4x4 Jamboree. We'll be on Plan B today.
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