Motorcycle Radio Installation

Motorcycle Amateur Radio/GPS Tracking System Installation

To provide GPS tracking to the bike several changes had to be made. The system uses a Kenwood TH-D7 hand held Dual Band amateur radio with a Diamond SG7500A antenna. A Garmin StreetPilot GPS provides the positioning. This system can provide navigational mapping through the GPS and tracking using the position provided by the GPS and transmitted through the radio on a frequency of 144.39 MHz. A network system called APRS uploads the position information to a Internet web site call FindU.com. By using the Call sign of KC8YVF-10, the bike can be tracked when the system is active.

	The first step was to disassemble the bike so I could remove the AM/FM radio antenna to make room for the new Dual Band Amateur antenna.
	With the AM/FM antenna out of the way and moved to inside the fairing, the new Dual Band Amateur antenna was mounted to the existing mount. The excess cable was run under the seats in a "U" shape and back to the trunk.
	The GPS is powered from the bikes 12V system through a switched connection in the fairing and mounted with a RAM mount. The Data cable was fed through the fairing, along the frame of the bike to the trunk.
	A 3/4" hole was drilled in the under side of the trunk to allow the antenna connector and GPS cable to pass. Two small holes were drilled in a plastic cap and the cap was slit to allow the both cables to slid through the slit and into one of the holes. The cables were fed through the opening and the cap was secured into place with a small amount of Epoxy.
	The radio was mounted to a Plexiglas base using a RAM Belt Clip mount, 3" arm and standard base. A piece of foam provides a cushion for the radio. The antenna cable and GPS data cable were attached to the radio. The radio is powered by a DC power cord connected to the power outlet on the left. With a hand-held microphone, this radio can also be used for voice communications, or removed from the mount and used as a handy talkie by using the rubber duck antenna provided with the radio.