Yaesu FT-891 with FTM-400 & ATAS 120 mobile radio setup

This rig is a few years in the making. Running a Yaesu FT-891 and FTM-400 lets me cover VHF/UHF and 6 through 40 meters on the go.

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Physical Mail.............►Josh Nass P.O Box 5101 Cerritos, CA 90703-5101

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[amariner]

Josh, exactly what I was looking for....
Powering, running the wires to the antenna, powering 2 radios, all good stuff. And, I am a dad of 3 with a filthy Sienna, so you are an inspiration.

[themasterhammer]

I love the fact that you include the clip of your son!

[nicholasquintero]

Handy tip... When you can't find a pass through or you just don't feel like getting your fingernails dirty, there's usually at least two or three unused fuse placements in your interior fuse block. I find that much easier than trying to burrow through the firewall.

[christominded]

Good video!
Time to get yourself a truck!!! That Leaf wont make it in an apocalypse. 😊🚙

[jptrade]

I have the Atas 120 and the FT 891 in my model Y Tesla and have no noise except when it's charging. About three S units of sound. I guess I'm lucky. I didn't do any bonding other than a simple install. Works great. Thanks for the vid!

[gregngds]

Glad you didn't cut the boys out. I like when YouTubers leave real life in the video.
I had one of those mounts 20+ years ago when I needed to mount my Sony DiscMan in my car. Work great and I'll be looking to do the same to get a radio into the car.

[BrotherWeaver_]

I got a Nissan Hatchback, and I just drilled in the center of the roof behind the center support, and used a exacto knife to cut the headliner out. I'm running a Diamond Supergainer, a very stiff antenna with lots of gain. It is the only way I can "get out" to the repeaters when the Corn grows so high! I use BreedLove mounts!

[mikeramsey]

Thanks Josh, I like how you set up both radios. Improvise and Compromise are keys.

[jwssngr]

Great job thank you for showing us your install. I had no idea about those mounts so you just saw that problem for me thank you

[SwitchMonkey]

I put a Yaesu FTM-400 in my Toyota Tacoma. My goal was no visible wires, no obvious holes. I did drill an NMO mount into the center of my quad cab roof. I did it in such a manner that it looks stock. I mounted the radio body under the driver seat. Power goes directly back to the battery through a grommet I found on the passenger side of the firewall. The radio head is mounted on my left pillar using a ram mount very discretely drilled into it. It’s actually beautiful and most people don’t realize that I installed a VHF/UHF radio in my truck. Next will be my Yaesu Ft-891 and ATAS-120. This is taking more thought on how to stealthily install it.

[PepperandCaseysRV]

Love the FTM-400XDR. Bought one on your recommendation. Will never let it gooo

[kingruckus]

Thanks for the vid Josh. Has given me a few ideas of my own. Thanks again so much and thanks for helping get me into this hobby.

[peredavi]

Ok I’m convinced. I need a Yaesu 891 for my truck.

[howardhiggins]

Josh, I was impressed your car put as little RFI as it did.

I've read just about everything written on RFI reduction in automobiles, and I also firmly believe in bonding everything.

Up until the latest version of the ARRL RFI Handbook, they said the same thing. In the last edition however, they fell victim to the propaganda put out by FoMoCo, which tries to forbid the process. Those authors base their recommendation on what "automobile manufacturers" told them to say, rather than what intelligent HAM's need..

The real problem arises NOT because of electrical currents passing between body panels, but instead is due to the problems encountered by connecting bonding straps to ALUMINUM car body panels. Galvanic reactions are causing real problems when it's done poorly.

We still should be bonding, just more carefully.

You already showed us what and where to bond. Now it would be nice to have an episode based SOLELY the right materials to use, and which ones to avoid for making our connections.

73

[ronhuggins]

Very informative...I like your setup. Thanks, South Carolina Myrtle Beach.

[NathanMazanec]

Thanks for the video Josh! I will be looking into putting my UHF, VHF radio in my car soon. Thanks for the ideas. K1MAZ aka The last emailer (Most of the time...)

[jamdiversified]

Quite a few comments on how ugly your car is and how you've lost your mancred and how could you drive that. This is the exact reason I love function over anything else, it often highlights the people I wouldn't want to associate with anyway. I freaking love your car and setup purely because you've put practical thought into and and haven't let "what will people think of me?" effect your decisions. Right on brotha!

[Likebirdsofprey]

I love my FTM 400. I'm looking at the FT 891 next. I already have the ATAS 120. I see from your APRS you were in the foothills. I was just down there working on the Goldline project in Glendora and when I was there I was checking into the Pasadena net. Great radio club! Thanks for explaining your setup, I will be using a similar setup in my truck. And those LIDO mounts are FIRE!
Drew KL5DK

[zulufoxphoto]

Getting ready to throw some radios into the new to me 03 Xterra, lots of room in the cab for radios, just a long antenna run from the back hatch.

[KRRR]

Another great video, Josh! My first mobile HF days started back in undergrad with a Swan 240 and a Hustler mobile antenna. (Happily, that mobile setup worked out surprisingly well on first dates when I was a freshman and sophomore in college… But I digress.)

Since my shack and my SUV amicably agreed to joint custody of my new ICOM 705, I use my Wolf River Coils Mini Silver Bullet with a 56-inch stainless steel stinger. Recent mobile setups included an ICOM 7100 with a Diamond screwdriver – and before that, I ran, for 11 years, a dedicated Yaesu FT-857D with the same ATAS 120a that you have.

Without a doubt, the ATAS 120a was my best, most dependable and most favorite mobile antenna that I have owned during my 59 years of being a ham… It will be interesting to see if this changes during my next 59 years of being a ham!) I always was amazed how well it did even on 40 m – and how well it worked through an entire solar cycle. Unfortunately, it's not cost justifiable to cheap me to try to use a new ATAS with the ICOM radios I've had including the 705. If you can pick up one used for around $200, that cost justification equation changes when you take the cost of the necessary control box into account.

A strong caveat to other readers: Watch Josh's video on bonding your vehicle to create a sufficient ground plane for your HF antenna! I can tell you with embarrassed certainty, that every time I tried to short-circuit this step, mobile HF antennas do not work right. With proper bonding, HF antennas can work surprisingly well.

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73 de Robert K3RRR
Twitter: @K3TripleR
YouTube.com/K3RRR
Website: K3RRR.com
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