I am working on a 2007 LR3 HSE and trying to install an antenna for an Icom -IC-7000 Ham radio.
I see there is a small amount of room on the roof in front of the movable sun roof. I removed the overhead console and can see the roof metal. There are no obstructions for mounting an NMO mount for an average VHF/UHF antenna or routing the coax to an A-Pillar. I am looking at the front rather than the back by the GPS/Cell phone antenna, as I want to keep the option of a roof rack open as a future add on.
My question is... IF, I run the antenna coax down the A-pillar behind or alongside of the airbag, and then to the floor and over to the radio, is there a very good chance that it will interfere with the airbag system when I transmit on the radio?
I know the manual has a blanket statement warning about cell phone and two way radio installations near SRS wiring, but I have never heard of any one setting one off with a VHF transmitter before.

Any thoughts from the vast brain trust known as the "Land Rover Forums"

 

I am puzzled as to how you plan to get an RG58 or similar thru the roof once you have run it up the interior side of the A post.

The guys who do this the most are the Australians.

They run the antenna cable thru the firewall grommet. In our case, this is on the drivers side at the top left corner of the drivers side foot well area, (the left side).

Once the cable is in the engine compartment, they either mount the antenna on the fender/hood per below, or on their front bull bar, or run the cable under the exterior A post removable plastic moulding up under the roof track grove and then mount it on the roof carrier or rail.

The thru the firewall grommet solves all the water problems - there are none.

 

I mounted the actual radio in the drivers side rear storage compartment. The power is supplied by a separate power run directly from a 2nd battery. Fused both leads. This supplies the radio.

The antenna feeds are done through the rear door molding, inside the finish to and through the bottom of the storage box. You should put ferrite chokes outside the cabin near the base of the antenna.

The Radio should be grounded with a strap through the hole in the storage compartment to a body ground point bolt near the tail light.

The Antenna base should be grounded with a strap to the rear boot hatch top ground strap. The roof rails have no ground to the vehicle.

The antenna's I have are mounted on a roof rack, but you could possibly also use a lip mount. You might also devise a roof rail mount. It is likely you will want a tilt mount, as nothing clears with an antenna mounted.

The head is mounted remotely in the front.

Drop me a PM with your contact info and i can provide you some pictures, guidance, etc. if you need more help.

 

OK.... Sometimes when you are working closely on a project, you ask questions forgetting that not everyone is as close to the information as you are . My fault for not providing more info, so Let me try again...

The car has a glass roof so roof mounting options are limited. I would prefer to mount the antenna directly above the overhead console.... but the RAVE manual says to avoid placing cell phone and two way radio wiring near the SRS wiring. I may be forced to run it to the rear.

I will be using a Laird 140-162 Phantom Antenna for VHF/UHF and a Stealth Telecom 9310 mounted on the front bumper for the HF antenna. If the factory cell phone antenna can take the power, I will connect my Wilson Electronics 3 watt cell phone repeater to the factory cell phone antenna, if not, I will put another Laird cell phone antenna in the rear like the Laird VHF antenna.

I will be mounting the control head on the right side of the center console and the radio box itself on the floor under the center seat on the second row seats.

I will run an extension cable from the control head down under the carpet and to the radio box itself.

I will run the power cable under the threshold plate on the drivers (left) side of the car then out through the firewall with the wire bundle to the left of the steering column into the box around the brake master cylinder. (I will eventually but the second battery there and the leads to the radio will connect to that battery there).

I will run the VHF/UHF coax to one of two places
a. up the right side threshold through the dash, up the inside of the A-pillar cover (avoiding the actual airbag) and then to a place directly above the overhead console. I will (gasp!) drill a 3/4 in hole and mount an MNO base for a VHF/UHF antenna.

OR
b. I will run the coax under the carpert to the right side then toward the rear under the side trim panel, then up the rear side (D pillar?) under the plastic trim and then place an MNO base on the right side of the GPS/Cell Phone antenna in that 8 inch piece of metal that is the rear part of the roof.

I will run the HF antenna and control cable under the right side threshold and then into the fender but over the inner fender well trying to avoid running the wires into the engine compartment. 1. to avoid heat issues on the cable and 2. reduce RFI if possible.

The cell phone repeater will be next to the IC-7000 box so power and coax runs will be common.

I have used 1 1/2 in braided strap on the tailgate, overhead part of the tail gate, all the doors, two on the hood, four straps connecting the body to parts of the frame and another four straps to the exhaust.

Guys, I am not new to Ham radio, I have done this before, just never to a Land Rover.

I read a lot on this forum and it has been a god send of information. this the first time I have posted I and I screw up the question like a new kid in grammar school.

bbyer - I do not want to use the mount on the side of the hood, I want to protect the coax connection and get a good RF ground (not a ground plane) for the antenna.

unseenone - I have an air conditioning unit there so there is no room to mount it on the inside of the access panel. I know better than to mount on a roof rake or ladder. again looking for a good RF ground just worried about the SRS airbag wiring


Sorry for the long rely, but thanks for listing.

 

You are really going to have a radio car when you are finished.

Yes, ground plains can be a problem and the glass roof is a problem but it seems to me that if you modified your roof rack to be a ground plain ...

Please post some pictures when it is done. The blokes in Australia will be looking at it for certain.

It appears you are putting in a dual battery setup - the transmit loads sound to be more than a Warn 9,000 pound winch at full ******. Below is a link to my Traxide dual battery install.

DISCO3.CO.UK Photo Gallery - Traxide Dual Battery install in LHDrive

 

Link to some antenna discussions. There are a number of sub links within; you may have seen them, but I thought I would post anyway.

UHF antenna mount - Australian Land Rover Owners

 

Bbyer - yes that is the one I will buy. I like the idea a all of the cables cut to fit and it includes the battery barwcket. If I read it correctly, the only other thing I need is a battery.

All of this has been good, but I still don't know if I can run the coax up the A pillar near the SRS airbag wiring. I will keep looking before I drill a hole in the roof:-D

 

I was toying with the pros and cons of running the coax up the B pillar but once at the top, there is an air bag curtain along the side so you are pretty much beat there as well.

The D pillar is about the only real alternative to the A pillar. Both D locations might have merit if your radios were located in the rear. I had my D pillar speaker covers off and I do not recall that there was an air bag there - along the top sides yes, but not on the vertical if I recall correctly. Also drilling holes in the roof is I think easier to get at from the underside. There are however double wall reinforcements back there along the rear to contend with. Also watch that when the rear hatch opens up, that it top hatch edge does not somehow run back into your aerials.

Traxide now has about 3 variations of their isolator now; when I purchased mine, there was only the one model but now there is one unit with a remote switch that allows more flexibility.

Re the battery, I used a "shallow cycle" starting battery for my second battery but you will probably want a "deep cycle" battery for radio use.

My goal was cold weather starting ability and reduced voltage drop. The 3's 5 VDC computers seem to prefer 13.5 VDC power to 13.0 VDC norms.

The jpg is of the not glass roof D3s in the UK and Australia. It does show the roof reinforcing somewhat.

 

I had wondered about running the coax cables along the air bag curtains hoping they would not interfere with their operation in the event of deployment but had not given any thought of interference from the wiring. Might be better off running it out the back like the unseenone has done.

 

Given that most choices come down to being the least worst rather than best of, it seems that most practical method is with the antennas mounted at the rear.

The rear is also the farthest from engine noises and with the Traxide kit, you can run a heavy power cable to the back and perhaps add a third battery back there - as some have done, plus one or more of the kits is designed for that. A battery as a "sink" is a practical way of cleaning up power plus the grounding concerns can be further addressed as well.

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