How I Mounted a Ham Radio (Yaesu FT-7800) in the Nissan Frontier

So, how to install a HAM radio in the Nissan Frontier? Funny that this question comes up a lot. The tight dash area leaves in its wake a crowd of head-scratching Nissan owners hoping to install a communication radio somewhere up front . . . where it's makes sense.

The secret to the installation of a ham radio inside this Nissan Frontier (D40) is with the Yaesu FT-7800, a dual band VHF/UHF mobile transciever.  It's a lot of radio for the casual HAM radio operator with some really cool features: big frequency coverage, 10 NOAA Weather Alert frequencies, 1000 memory channels, and backlit LCD display to name a few.  Most importantly (in this scenario anyway) a front display panel that disconnects for mounting the part to which you want direct access in tight quarters.

With the Yaesu mounting kit, you can affix the small radio face in some cool places.  In the Frontier I used the little nook at the front end of the console.  And waht of the main body?  That's under the driver's seat.  The Yaesu mounting kit comes with the wiring and bracketry to make this whole party happen.  The only speaker, though, is on the radio body (which, like I just pointed out, is under the seat). So I've also mounted a little external speaker, approximately a 2" cube.