Mobile Ham Radio Install

Dual-band 2 m / 70 cm antenna on an NMO door mount, feeding a handheld radio in the F-150 console, on its own power and ground.

Status

Installed

Category

Radio and Emergency Comms

Started

2026-10-21

Last updated

2026-10-26

Photos

Both photos are from install day, 21 October 2026, with location data removed.

The antenna on the Comet HD-5NMO bracket at the top rear corner of the rear passenger-side door. The panoramic roof rules out a roof mount.

The BaoFeng in the console tray, with a short SMA jumper from its antenna port to the coax's PL-259 connector.

Goal

Put a usable 2 m / 70 cm amateur radio station in the truck, with an external antenna for better range than the radio’s own rubber antenna, without sharing power or grounds with the emergency lighting system. As a licensed operator (KR4JSQ) and a Duval County ESF-2 emergency communications volunteer, I want a radio in the truck that works when I need it.

Constraints

• Roof: 2017 F-150 Lariat SuperCrew with a panoramic roof, so there’s no roof mount. The antenna goes on a door-frame bracket instead.
• Separation: the radio must stay electrically separate from the Whelen CanTrol WC system. Whelen’s own guide (14580G, p.1) says never to power warning equipment from the same circuit as radio equipment, or share its ground.
• No drilling: the NMO bracket clamps to the door frame, so no hole goes in the aluminum body.
• Callsign: KR4JSQ.

Architecture

BaoFeng BF-F8HP (console tray)
   └─ SMA jumper ─ PL-259 ─ Comet HD-5NMO coax
                                └─ NMO bracket (rear passenger door, top rear corner)
                                       └─ 7.5" dual-band 2 m / 70 cm antenna
Power: radio's own battery pack (nothing shared with the truck or the CanTrol)

Parts list

Prices haven’t been recorded yet. Links go to the vendor listing for each part.

Part	SKU	Price paid	Key specs	Source	Status
BaoFeng BF-F8HP dual-band 2 m / 70 cm handheld	TBD	TBD	Label on my radio reads BF-F8HP PRO	Manufacturer	Installed
Compact High Performance 2M/440 Mobile Antenna, 7.5 in, NMO base	H0-016475 (HRO)	TBD	Dual band, 2 m and 70 cm	TBD	Installed
Comet HD-5NMO NMO bracket mount with coax	H0-019294 (HRO)	TBD	Bracket mount with attached coax, PL-259 at the radio end	TBD	Installed
SMA to PL-259 jumper	TBD	TBD	Short jumper, radio port to coax	TBD	Installed

Station at a glance

Bands

2 m (VHF) and 70 cm (UHF)

Radio

BaoFeng BF-F8HP, handheld, rides in the console tray

Antenna

7.5" dual-band, NMO base

Mount

Comet HD-5NMO bracket, top rear corner of the rear passenger door

Feed line

Coax supplied with the HD-5NMO, PL-259 at the radio end

Power

Radio battery pack only

Installed

21 October 2026

Source: Radio product page (BaoFeng Tech)

Unverified

The radio’s power output, frequency range and the coax length aren’t documented here yet. I’ll add them from the BaoFeng manual and the Comet spec sheet rather than from memory.

Wiring and configuration

The radio runs on its own battery pack, so it shares nothing with the truck’s electrical system.

If it’s ever powered from the truck (a battery eliminator or a mobile rig later), the rules are fixed:

• Its own fused feed from the battery, fused within 2 ft of the source.
• Its own ground to the Ford ground point or the side of a steel frame rail.
• Never the CanTrol’s fuse block or grounds.
• Never the battery negative post. On a 2015+ F-150 all negative current has to pass through the battery monitoring sensor (Ford SVE Bulletin Q-231).

Build steps

1. Mount the Comet HD-5NMO at the top rear corner of the rear passenger-side door.
2. Fit the antenna on the NMO base.
3. Route the coax to the console. Keep it clear of door hinges and pinch points, and away from lighting and siren wiring. Where it has to cross them, cross at right angles.
4. Connect the radio to the coax with a short SMA jumper.
5. Check the door still opens and closes fully without pinching the coax.

Testing and verification

Test	Status
Antenna and mount installed	Done, 21 October 2026
Door opens and closes without pinching the coax	Not documented yet
SWR measurement on 2 m and 70 cm	Not yet
On-air check into a local repeater	Not documented yet
Noise check with the lights and siren running	Not yet. Waits until the CanTrol system is installed
CanTrol behavior while transmitting	Not yet. On the wiring-day test list

Safety notes

• Keep the coax clear of door hinges and pinch points.
• After the warning system is installed, key the radio with the lights and siren running and listen for interference both ways: noise on the radio, and any glitch on the CanTrol.
• Don’t transmit while someone is touching the antenna.

Lessons learned

• A door-frame NMO bracket is a clean answer for a panoramic-roof truck. It needs no hole in the body, and it keeps the antenna high.

Open items

• Add prices for the radio, antenna, mount and jumper.
• Measure and record SWR on both bands.
• Add the radio’s power and frequency specs, and the coax type and length, from the manufacturer documents.
• Decide whether to move to a truck-powered mobile radio later. If so, it gets its own feed and ground per the rules above.

Changelog

1. 2026-10-26

   Added install-day photos, install date, station summary, separation rules and an expanded test list.

   Rollback: Revert the commit that changed this page.

2. 2026-10-26

   Project page published.

   Rollback: Revert the commit that added this page.