220 Radio install, phase 3 complete (working beta)
So last night after the whole family got home, (Rosie and I saw Sherlock Holmes, while Isaac played at school/daycare) I got a little time to work on the radio install. I got the SWR measured with the 1/4 wave antenna I had in the garage.(I’m still annoyed that Mark cut it for 1/4 wave instead of a 1/2 wave) It was Ok, meaning the coax run was good, so I proceeded with mounting the radio. Other then putting the mount on upside down, everything went really smooth. (With the mount upside down, I couldn’t actually attach the radio. Doh!) I was happy to see that the radio even had all the normal 220 repeaters still programmed in, so after a radio check I called it good. (Thanks Lynn!)
Today I’m going to make the little shelf thing to hide the cables in the cubby hole. (Using what has been described as a poor man’s CAD system. That is Cardboard Aided Design) Then I’m going to get started on the mounting bracket for the other radios. I made the trip to the car stereo place this morning and got the fabric to cover the board, so with a little cutting and drilling it should be ready to go.