Uniden Pro510XL - Ford E150 cargo van install

It should be called a cargo "can" because the sheet metal is too thin for traditional ball mounts etc. I compromised and put the ant. on the front bumper. I was able to get 3 miles, OK for me. Anyway i thought I'd throw this into the mix..

The front grillework of the van is plastic and any metal in there is about a foot behind the antenna. The 5 FT antenna gets the closer-wound high voltage section decently above the hood and the tip is about 1 FT higher than the van roof. The antenna mount is a 1/4" thick aluminum angle-type mirror mount bolted through the bumper and the coaxial cable connection is wrapped in 3M "23" self-bonding tape. That kind will last for many years keeping water out. The mount does not move as the fiberglass Wilson helical-wound antenna wiggles a little when driving. I've had front mounted antennas before so it does not bother me.

The only CB that will fit in the dash pocket is the size of a Uniden Pro510XL. The pocket was cut out partly using a Dremel tool. There is a metal bracket behind the pocket that supports it, or supports the "upfitter switches" factory option, which I do not have.

The coax is RG-8X and the power is a 10-gauge 'zip cord' put in wire loom and run straight from the battery with a 10A fuse at the battery. The power and RF enter the firewall though a hole drilled with a step-drill. On the E150 this easily-drilled 'knockout' is located just above the mechanical hood release cable. Having a basic van is good. If it had a bunch more options, that spot might have been in use already.

I think it looks as good as can be expected, and it works well. I am very pleased with how the in-dash part turned out. This leaves open the possibility of hamming things up later. Maybe the little Yaesu FT-817 HF rig and a wide-range antenna line matcher. There is enough room behind the bumper to put a decent matcher keeping the coax to the antenna mount very short, or if necessary due to high voltages an insulator and wire could be used. A small remote speaker is mounted near the lower part of the instrument panel where it is out of the way.

I did an experiment on the CB antenna. It is a '5/8 wave' unit, of course wound helically to be short. It can be matched up for ham bands with a tuner, but the high voltage or high current issues may remain as with any random antenna pressed into ham use. I would not expect it to be efficient. Most commercially available tuners and military tuners want a 15 FT whip at least. That is not practical on a road vehicle.

The Uniden pro510XL (shown) is 4-1/2” W x 6-3/4” D x 1-3/8” H.
The Yaesu 817 is 5.3" x 1.5" x 6.5"
The height is the main issue or question. I think it will fit, but the plastic pocket will be borderline for a mount, may be OK for an escutcheon. It took a major modification to get the CB to fit. The Yaesu would take some craftsmanship to do the same because of the way the pocket's attaching tabs are made. It might be as well when going to a ham set to just mount the detachable face on that location and hide the body elsewhere. I am not sure an Alinco DX-70 or a Icom 706 body section can be put into the dash through the existing hole.

I was able to contact another mobile 3 miles away. That is acceptable for the 11M service in AM mode.

 

Thanks on the compliments of the dash work. I did booger up one corner of the dash pocket a bit but it's not too noticeable (looks like a 1/8" hole). Having done it now, I am almost tempted to buy another dash pocket and redo it, applying what I learned. I had cut away too much, making the CB impossible to mount via its side screw-holes. Therefore I had to run a couple screws through the CB case, rather carefully.. I would like to redo it.

Maybe I can try to check the thickness of the roof. It might be better than the sides. Nothing's etched in stone.

I have a nice roof type mag-mount with a 3FT helical antenna (forget if it is a wilson or firestik, no matter) and it works well but I do not like having to put it on and off all the time. It's not a base load type, just a 6" magnet that will accept a 'stick'. I don't like a mag-mount very much because the ones with a thin under-coating can wear and scratch the roof and the ones with the tick coating or pad don't hold as well or couple as well. I consider them a necessary evil. then there is the running of the cable inside, and a PITA when doors are open and shut not to pinch it.

I agree fully that the best thing is a mount in the center of the roof. If a base load is used with a thin whip, sure it could work.

Speaking of roof mounts on vans, here is one unusual account. An acquaintance, now deceased, had some kind of V-shaped antenna system on his van. it looked like a big set of center-loaded rabbit ears, tilted back at an angle. They were the kind with clear, oil-filled loads. he was the previous owner of the 8-transistor, 800 Watt amp I now own, as well as a cart machine he got from his community radio station job (KERA?, KNON?). This was in Dallas, TX. His name was Jimmy and he worked as the CB repair technician at Bonnie and Clyde CB on Harry Hines BLVD, and he used to agitate the agitators and make comments about corn and peanuts, and had the cart machine rigged up in the van so he had hundreds of automated comebacks available for any smart-aleck. I doubt anyone would recall that wild character from the early 1990's.
The point is his roof mount. I never got a close look at it to see how it was really attached or wired. One person told me it was set up as a co-phase having both mounts right next to each other and another said the antenna shafts were in parallel, that is, using two instead of one, presumably with some kind of adapter so they could both be screwed in. Even though it leaned back, it was about 2-3 FT higher than the roof. With that amp and the antenna setup, he could squish anyone that got too uppety. I witnessed this many times. Back then 800W was a lot for an average mobile and only the real serious super bowl and key-down people had more. He said it was very directional to the front. I can imagine 800W +3 or + whatever dB. If it was known where the big-mouth was, he would drive in that direction and just point the van at them and tell 'em how the cow ate the cabbage. I'm afraid the secret of that setup is lost.

As for antennas up front, I am used to it and they have not bothered me in the past. They are there but after a while you don't 'see' them. I had two on a previous 1-ton van and also two on the bumper of an M35 military truck I used to make 1000-2000 mile road trips in. Those antennas were all the military type, they did not wiggle and jiggle like the CB stick..
The one with the yellow label is the type used with SINCGARS and the low-band VHF gear, covers 35-80MHz. I used it, with an RT524 transceiver and a VIC-4 intercom system, for the 6-meter ham band. 35W FM on 6M.. but contacts were scarce along the interstates, even in cities.
The other is a more generally interesting type because it is made of sections, a minimum of three, but more 3FT sections can be added until it has to be guyed. The lower section is straight, not tapered, the the two above it taper. With the mount shown and two of the long sections and one special short one, its length gives about 2:1 SWR on CB and acts sort of like a classic steel CB whip. Detains of the exact part numbers are posted on steelsoldiers.com. Both of these mount through a big hole, but there is a military mount that looks like a sugar scoop and that can be welded to the bumper.

The reason I have not done this with the Ford van is because there is no "bumper and brush guard" worth a darn made for the Ford vans. Plenty of Cattleman, Ranch Hand, and the like for all pickups, and nothing for the van but cheap, thin, badly-mountable bolt-together junk that will fly apart the first time it is hit with any sort of road trash (like a Prius or Mercedes SUV for example). OK didn't mean to rant on bumpers, but Check out those antennas on the M35 there. The one that will work for CB can be had surplus for about $50-100. On my previous chevy van, I had a custom bumper made, but that was very costly, $500 in 1998. It saved my life.



I am disappointed with the output of the 510XL CB. I think it has previously been damaged because it makes only 2 watts of carrier into a dummy load. Checking the tuning has not helped. I put it in because I had it and because i can get another one if necessary. I don't want high power, just the 4 watt carrier.
The 510XL service manual and schematic does not seem to exist for free, and the 510E and 520E is a different animal in the RF output stages department.
The XL's final is driven right off the collector of the quite small driver, coupled only by a capacitor.
The 510E has a traditional set of coils for the driver. I do not know the type of final in the XL, but it may be a FET, considering the coupling is capacitive only.
If I were to swap radios or repair the present one, then it would be a good time to swap for a new dash pocket and do a better job behind the panel.

Still, the V-shaped roof-mounted antenna setup comes back to mind.

 

Ok, a report on this thing after a week.

There is some ignition noise and blower noise from the a/c blower motor. These are expected, the ant. is near the engine and the power leads go direct to the battery. I may try some techniques.

Overall the thing has been very useful in learning what is going on, and even though the power is a bit weak, I reached 2 miles with a good signal report. That is enough for this sort of installation.