Hello...did anyone install a 2 meter rig in their explorer?..i have a icom here and was wondering if i was going to get that fuel pump noise on the 2 meter band. i should just plug it into the cigarette lighter to see but i was wondering any experiences you might of had...thanks in advance...bob

I have never had fuel pump noise with a 2m or 440 rig in my Explorer. It only comes across on the HF bands.

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Rick Horwitz
explorer@4x4central.com
Editor
www.4x4central.com (http://www.4x4central.com)

I have a 144/440 dual band Icom in my '98 Explorer, and I used the remote capabilities to install the control head on the dash under the heater controls and put the main body of the rig in the back of the Explorer. since the Explorer's computer is installed in the firewall just behind the engine, the rf generating components are some distance from the computer.
I have had no adverse Explorer driving conditions this way...even the criuse control functions normally with high power.
There have been other threads in these newsgroups stating that the computer is in the back of the Explorer, just ahead of the jack cubbyhole. This is not the engine computer.

Is the radio a handheld or mobile unit? If it is a mobile rig, Run the power directly from the battery and save yourself some grief. It will take about an hour but this will be the absolute best way to keep interference down. One thing I DO notice is if you are driving with Cruise Control "on" and key the Mobile rig in high power mode, you will slow down (at least that is what my '94 EB does). As soon as you release the PTT the truck goes back to the correct speed. Other than that my Kenwood 733 dual bander works fine.

the radio is a Icom 281 H mobile...somewhere here i have the power cord that i know will reach directly to the battery. I haven't figured out where to place the antenna yet, maybe i'll run the cushcraft magnet mount for a while...i'll try it out this weekend...thanks people for all the replys

Rgr on the Icom om...I did run a mag mount for a while, but like the rest of my vehicles before this, I finally got up enuf nerve to poke a hole in towards the rear of my Explorer. This way, I can stand on the back bumper and unscrew the ant (A Larsen) when I need to haul something up there.
Running the coax from the hole to the one back corner of the vehicle was a snap...I snaked a 5/8 wave whip from the hole to the back of the vehicle, taped the coax to the end of the whip still sticking out of the hole and pulled the other end of whip out of the back.
These days, car dealers aren't too concerned about an antenna hole in the roof, since there are so many of them with cell phone ant mounting holes. They just use hole plugs at trade in time.