Clean Antenna Wiring

[Erik Irvine]

I am wiring a race radio into my tow/chase truck (2005 Tundra). I wanted to know what you guys thought the cleanest way to run the coax and antenna was. I wanted to run it to the center of the roof, but don't know if there is a way to run it under the headliner without re-doing the entire liner. If I can't run it to the roof with no visible wires, I am going to attach it to a spare tire rack in the back. Does anybody know a way to accomplish this wiring task?? FYI, I am running the standard antenna from PCI. Thanks,

Erik Irvine

[mattb]

Here's what I've done in the past (in Ford's)

Take off the plastic on the inside (cab) side of the "A" pillar. When you've done this, check to see if you'll be able to access all of the way to the center of your roof with something small and rigid, like a piece of welding wire.

Once you've check that you'll be able to access a hole you'll be drilling, mark the spot for the antenna. You always want to mount an antenna in the middle of your roof. It gives you the best reception.

Drill your hole for your antenna. Then, from the "A" pillar side, advance your welding wire to the hole you've drilled. Duct tape your antenna cable to the welding wire and pull it thru the roof to the "A" pillar.

From there, rung your cable, reattach your parts, and hook it up. Also, if you haven't already, always hook your radio up directly to your battery. It will work 10 times better getting direct energy form the battery, and you can have it on in your pit w/o the truck on.

Good luck.

[OldStroppeTeam]

You need to put your antenna as close to the center of the roof as possible. If you look at the PCI website, there are some instructions regarding the how and why...I'm sure there is a way to snake the cable up there even the headliner is glued..

[Erik Irvine]

Yeah I assume that the headliner is glued, I will try the welding wire trick and see if it works. Thanks for the info

[Jack]

Also When you are drilling through the roof, you will want to remove your dome light so you can put a block of wood between the roof and the headliner where you are drilling so you don't pop a hole through it.

[pciscott]

The center of the roof will give you the most range, but do not run your coax to close to the dome light. Heat will kill the coax over time migrating the center towards the outside shield where it will short out over time. Try to keep the coax from getting smashed or deformed, the coax is much like a garden hose and kinks or flat spots slow the flow of power. A Toyota is a pretty easy install, pull back the door seal and pull back a 2-foot section of the headliner off the sill around the edge. Be careful not to drill through the headliner shoving something up in there is a good idea. You can use the antenna whip to slide up between and pull your coax through. Leaving a foot of coax up near the center is a good idea so you can make repairs if your antenna ever gets ripped out. Run the coax down the A pillar and rout to the radio keeping it away from hot tranny tunnels or heat vents that will hurt the coax over time, When tie wrapping a coax leave them loose as not to crimp the coax. If you need to put a new end on to shorten up the coax have a professional do it. Cheap connectors from radio shack do not work well and without the right crimpers it is easy to botch the job. The solder on type connectors are hard to get right and too much heat kills them, this means leave the coax long unless you have the right tools to shorten it. We do custom coax lengths for those of you who know the length you need. Final step is to meter your antenna for output power verses reflect, you will need to borrow a wattmeter or bring it down to PCI. For 5 bucks we will put on a new end and tune in your antenna. If you just need to use the meter for a few minutes no charge. Good luck with your project and make sure you hook up the power directly to the battery for the maximum transmit range. For those of you who need a few more questions answered call PCI 562-427-8177.

[Erik Irvine]

Thanks Scott. I was going to call you today and ask a bunch of questions, you just saved yourself about 15 minutes of phone time :)