The driver seat pedestal seems like a great place to keep the HF (shortwave) and FM transceivers. A plywood baseboard was cut to fit, and painted black. It is held in place by ty-wraps. Looking from behind the driver’s seat, everything is accessible for making connections. Antenna coax wires are run to the back of the van where two antenna fittings are available.
Looking from the front of the drivers seat, the HF radio, an Icom IC-7000 and 2m/440 Yaesu are strapped to the plywood base. An LDG Z-11 Pro is used as an antenna tuner for the HF radio. The upright radio on the left is the Yaesu. It has a 6 conductor wire the is fed to the dash area above the cup holders where the radio head and speaker are located.
The radio head and speaker is attached to the top of the lower dash panel.
The microphone for the Yaesu radio is attached to the head and stored in the center cup holder.
The head for the HF radio will eventually be located in the couch area of the van, to be operated away from the driving position.
ANTENNAS
I created a hitch insert to hold two ham antennas with quick disconnect fittings. This is the original design.
Then (three month later) I realized that it ties up the hitch receiver and came up with a “plan B” design. Using a piece of 1/8″ thick 12″ x 4″ aluminum, I made a plate that would clamp onto the hitch bar without interfering with using the hitch.
Installation with back bumper removed, which only takes 3 minutes to remove 6 screws. The two antenna coax leads are routed along the bumper bracket and into a rubber seal at the corner of the van.
Bolts used to clamp the plates together are stainless steel to avoid rusting. A plastic tube is slid over each bolt to protect the paint on the hitch crossbar.
Now the hitch receiver is usable and the ham radio antennas are mounted to one side. In both designs, the holder is placed off center so that the right door can be used without interfering with the antennas. If the left door needs to be opened, the antennas are quick-disconnected and the door clears the antenna posts.
