FT-857D in 2003 Silverado

I have been wanting one of these little wonder rigs for a while. Now I have one! My uses for the rig will be an on-the-go rig - whether it is tossed in a backpack for a hike, light-packing (relatively - if you have read my post on EN39 you know I don't pack "light"), mobile, or any other grab-and-go type scenario. I figured I would install my remote kit in the truck and use the rig/controls as one for the rest of the stuff.

My first task was to figure out where to put the control panel. That would dictate the type of bracketry I needed. This is where it gets interesting! I considered about five different locations, but I didn't like any of them for one reason or another. My mobile set-ups in the past have always had me reaching for the controls. Visibility was fine as my HF rig sat right on the dash - easy to see, hard to reach.

My main goal was to find a place that was EASY to reach. That meant being low and within reach. The places I considered were to the left and right of the steering wheel down low. The access was great - it was at a comfortable height. The issue here is the visibility. Also, I am right handed so the left side was out of the question. I also considered on the side of the center console. That was easier to see than next to the steering wheel, but it posed mounting and access issues. I didn't want to mount the control panel on the front of the center console (near the cubby holes and power ports). This would have limited access and use to those.

I now had three issues: ease of reach, ease of visibility, and not blocking anything. This is when I started looking at the lid to the center console storage compartment. This looked like a good place at first. My preference would be to keep the control panel in one place, but there was no way to mount it at this location without some fancy metal work to get bends that would contour to the plastic console. If I mount it to the lid itself then the control panel is mobile - it moves with the lid, and it weighs it down so it will no longer raise on its own.

I looked at this scenario for a good while and studied how it would work. The access was great - the controls were literally at my fingertips. The visibility wasn't great because of the angle I had on the display. The only thing I was blocking was the very rear part of the open compartments.

Looking at the other alternatives it was very clear - some compromises had to be made and the only location that made sense was the console lid. So thats just what I did.



In fact, it got even better than this. Instead of mounting the controls straight in line with the lid I bent the bracket at an angle to tilt the control panel backwards and to the left so I could see it better. This little tweak made all the difference in the world!



I may even bend the bracket a bit more to get even more of an angle on it. The location of the tuning knob is very comfortable as it is now, though. I can rest my arm on the console and just move my fingers to scroll the bands.

I got the remote microphone with the rig too. I figured it is the closest type of hand mic/controller to what my IC-207H has and I use that mic in the truck all the time. The remote control features of the Yaesu mic are great! You need to get to know it, but it really is a great addition. I still prefer to tune with the big knob, but surfing the menu is easily done with the mic.

My mobile ham station went from this:



to this:



Boy have I really missed out on mobile HF! I have always managed in the past, but this set-up really changes my whole experience to something really wonderful. I am sure this goes without saying, but I am quite proud of my installation. It doesn't solve every problem but it is very enjoyable to use. I hope to catch you on the bands!