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<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:TGatje@aol.com">TGatje@aol.com</a> wrote:
<blockquote cite="midd14.7040fbb.333c312d@aol.com" type="cite">
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<div>Greetings,</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I am relatively new to this list but have seen some discussion
of installation of Kenwood TM-D700As in various vehicles. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>For a new wrinkle (for me) I want to install the radio in a
Toyota Prius. It, of course, has some issues. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>First, it has a relatively small capacity 12VDC battery. This
battery basically runs the control system and computers. All the heavy
lifting is done by the 200VDC battery. Therefore I believe I won't be
able to let the system run continuously when the vehicle is parked. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Second, the Prius is basically a "drive by wire" vehicle, heavy
on computers and such. I'm worried that the presence of a transmitter
in the car may cause some malfunction. The last comment of the
Experience center was that unapproved modifications may void the
warranty! Contact with the dealer and the "Toyota Customer Experience
Center" have not been any help. I believe someone on this list
mentioned seeing a bulletin saying transmitters in Priuses are okay up
to about 100 watts but I've not been able to find anyone at Toyota to
verify that. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>Third, suggestions on wire routing, power tap locations, etc
would be appreciated.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Does anyone have any experience installing a D700 in a Prius? Or
have any advice on how to minimize problems? If you've seen their
bulletin on installed transmitters, please let me know where to find it.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I</div>
</font></blockquote>
<br>
I have installed a D700 and a 100W HF rig in a Prius with no
problems. I installed a second battery (An Optima Spiracell
Yellowtop 42AH deep-cycle), with a Hellroaring Technology battery
isolator in the sub-trunk, and connected it in parallel with the main
12VDC battery. The DC-DC converter that creates 12VDC from 240VDC can
source 50 amps or more, so the power system has no problem charging the
larger 12V battery when the engine is running. <br>
<br>
The Hellroaring isolator is a voltage-sensitive power-FET switch. When
the power system on the input side of this device is at 13 VDC or
higher (i.e. engine running), the switch conducts and connects the
secondary battery to the charging system with less than .1 VDC drop.
When the input side drops below 13 VDC (i.e. engine off), the isolator
opens and disconnects the secondary battery. All the radio and
computer gear runs off the secondary batttey and can be safely left
on. The isolator also has contacts for attaching a "panic switch" to
force the device on even if the primary voltage is below 13 VDC --
useful for jumpstarting from the secondary battery if the primary one
runs down. <br>
<br>
For antenna mounts, I bent up some L-shaped brackets that added a small
horizontal "wing" to each side of the tailgate hatch opening. I
placed two holes in the vertical part of the brackets with exactly the
same spacing as the existing mounting screws for the hatch lifter
pistons. You just take out the two 11mm screws that secure the
hatch-lifters to the trunk sidewall, slip in the brackets so they are
sandwiched between the piston bracket and the sidewall, and re-insert
the screws. The bracket on the driver's is punched with a 5/8" hole
for an SO-232 bulkhead ("barrel") connector. The right bracket is
punched with a 7/8" hole and has a standard body-type NMO mount
installed through it. The SO239 side supports a Yaesu ATAS-100 HF
screwdriver. The NMO side supports a Comet 770
no-ground-plane-required 2M/450 dual-bander. <br>
<br>
The chassis of both radios are also mounted in the subtrunk. I lined
the floor of the subtrunk with a 1/8" thick aluminum plate cut to
exactly fit the floor of the trunk. The standard mobile brackets for
both radios are bolted to the plate as are several fuse blocks, the
Hellroaring isolater and various other radio-related pieces of
hardware. Since this plate is resting in a plastic tray it is
completely isolated from the car's chassis grounds. I use the plate as
a common point ground for all the black (negative) wires of the ham
gear and related electronics. ( I placed a single 1/4-20 1 1/2-inch
bolt upwards from the underside of the plate. All negative power leads
from the transceivers, second battery, isolator, laptop power supply,
etc are equipped with 1/4" ring terminals, stacked on this bolt and
locked down with a couple of 1/4-20 hex nuts.) A single 10-ga black
wire (car stereo primary power wire) goes to the negative terminal of
the car's existing 12V battery in the right rear corner of the trunk. <br>
<br>
[The objective here was to absolutely minimize heavy DC currents from
the ham gear current drain from circulating on the car's own chassis
ground/negative power system. This is to both minimize the chance of
interfering with fly-by-wire electronics, and to minimize the amount of
noise picked up by the ham gear via voltage drop over shared chassis
grounds. A single 10-ga black wire (car stereo primary power wire)
goes to the
negative terminal of the car's existing 12V battery in the right rear
corner of the trunk. ]<br>
<br>
Up front there is plenty of room between the front of the console and
the underside of the dashboard to mount the control heads of both
radios. Again, I made an L-bracket by cut an approximately 4" x 8"
piece of 1/8" aluminum plate and bending it 90 degrees at the
centerline, to yield a 4"x4" bracket on each side. One 1/4" hole, and
another 1/4-20 x 3/8" bolt with a pair of 1.5" dia fender washers
secures the plate to the underside of the plastic dash panel very
solidly. <br>
<br>
The result of this is absolutely no interference with any of the car's
electronics. <br>
<br>
However, on HF, the noise from the hybrid power converter generates a
LOT of broadband white noise hash across the HF bands, making it
impossible to hear anything under S8-S9 or so. An inverter mounted
on the electric drive motor converts 240 VDC to 440V three-phase AC.
The noise generated from this 50 KW (!!) DC switching converter is a
lot more than your run-of-the-mill 200W switching computer power
supply! This hash SLIGHTLY desenses the D700 receive on 2M but has no
noticeable effect on UHF. It get especially severe when you hit the
brakes activating the regenerative braking system or roll down hill. In
either case, the motor reverses roles to become a generator driven by
the wheels and generates a lot of popping grinding noise (sounds like
an electric drill or mixer) overlaid on the smoother existing white
noise. <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
--<br>
<br>
Stephen H. Smith wa8lmf (at) aol.com <br>
EchoLink Node: 14400 [Think bottom of the 2M band]<br>
Home Page: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://wa8lmf.com">http://wa8lmf.com</a> --OR-- <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://wa8lmf.net">http://wa8lmf.net</a><br>
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