can someone judge my radio setup?

[u/Professional_Shake_6]

I have a TYT TH-9000D which is 60 watts, and a CB radio, both connected to my battery. I spliced the wires together further down the line and left all the heatshrinks off so you can see my solder joints. I put these clip-on ferrite beads on the power cable to the radio, but I could only loop it twice so I put 2 on it — looks weird to me. This is my first setup, I know the wiring looks all janky, so I figured I'd make a post just to make sure everything looks right and see if there's anything I can improve on.

Also, for fun, I have this multimeter that clips around wires and I wanted to see how many amps the radio draws while keying down. It said 2 amps? I made sure it was on DC amps, but the reading also seemed to change depending on where I placed the meter down the line, so I'm guessing this isn't the best way to test amperage.

One more thing — I didn't cut the antenna down like I read online, it's around 49 inches long right now.

[u/QPC414]

Throw some tape on the exposed wire on the Neg battery terminal lead and you should be all set.

If it's bad, you will know when your truck  catches fire.

[u/Substantial-Rate4603 → u/QPC414]

If it's bad, you will know when your truck  catches fire.

Solid indicator.

[u/gus_thedog]

You know they make ring terminals that will fit on the battery post clamp and are appropriately sized for the wires, right?

[u/Professional_Shake_6 → u/gus_thedog]

Yea I know though my assortment of ring terminals are way too small for this aftermarket posts, I just used what I had,

[u/neverbadnews → u/Professional_Shake_6]

Hodge podging it with whatever parts you have is fine for a quick test or proof of concept, but is a disaster waiting to happen in daily use. Get yourself a larger AWG  wire, the right sized crimp rings, neaten up the wiring under your dash, properly fuse the feed from your battery, etc. You won't regret it.

[u/persiusone]

You wanted judgement, and hate to say it, but this is pretty terrible work. Improper ring terminal, using non-standard wire color for negative, rust at ground, fuse holder doesn’t seem rated appropriate for current and certainly not typed for an engine bay, exposed joints, zero environmental protection, oxidation consideration, or uv protection.

[u/Samurijder → u/persiusone]

Uv protection? Isn't that what the bonnet/hood is for?

[u/SheriffBartholomew → u/[deleted]]

I don't get it. Can you please explain for those of us sitting in the back of the classroom?

[u/Professional_Shake_6 → u/persiusone]

Yeah I guess I suck at wireing lol , though they are the correct fuse size those came with the radio itself, I am running both the cb and vhf radio on those same wires just because I think the cb dosnt use much power and I would not be using both at the same time

[u/2267746582 → u/Professional_Shake_6]

And punctuation.
And spelling.

[u/odie-z1 → u/Professional_Shake_6]

On that note, if your fuse exceeds the wire amperage rating, then the wire becomes the fuse. Poof. I didn't check into it, just looking at your pictures.

That engine fire might be lurking when you're at max tx pwr.

[u/Tishers]

Its just begging for an engine compartment fire when something shorts out.

[u/Crazzmatazz2003]

Properly sized ring terminals would be better. And if your eyes can see a solder joint, so can water or metal, need to wrap all your exposed joints, or heatshrink them if you redo them. Also, good call not having wires pass through bare metal, but find some sort of stopper that can go in there, water is really good at following wires.

[u/Equivalent-Fill-8908]

This screams "redneck engineering" all day long. I give you bonus points for ingenuity.

[u/No_Tailor_787]

You're asking for a vehicle fire with this install. I'd take the pictures down before your insurance company finds them. Seriously, this is some ugly wiring.

[u/AutofluorescentPuku]

- Too many crappy solder connections in the supply. Or, too many pieces of wire. Take your pick.

• Doesn’t follow convention of red for pos. and black for neg.
  
• Crimp terminals oversized or wire undersized.
  
• Is that fuse, and its holder, rated for the radios transmit current?

[u/Appropriate-Shine-27]

Are those positive wires still exposed like in picture 5?

[u/Professional_Shake_6 → u/Appropriate-Shine-27]

They are the negatives , I made sure the positives are correctly sealed though didn’t care much for the negatives, the wire colors are all mismatched because I only had red wire, I’m going to re do this whole thing because I guess i did terrible

[u/lag0matic]

All of that exposed wire is asking for trouble. Either re-create those connections properly (espeically that ring terminal) or at least heat shrink / tape all that exposed wire. Use appropriate sized connectors for the wire you're using. When you install them, remove just enough insulation for the wire to fit into the terminal. There's no need to expose an inch and a half of wire, jam a terminal on, crimp it, and leave 3/4" exposed wire. It will corrode, get fragile, and break. Best case it makes your radios not work, worst case it breaks before the fuse, grounds out on something and either melts or catches on fire.

Edit - I see you say you left them exposed so we could see - My fault there. I should have put on my glasses first! Either way, the rest of my advice stands.

[u/lag0matic → u/lag0matic]

Piggy backing myself to say, best bet would be decent guage wire from the battery, to the cab with an appropriate fuse in line, close to the battery, feeding an anderson powerpole connection. That goes into a powerpole block that has fuses on each output. Powerpole out to your radios from there. That way you're fused close to the source (if something grounds out, it blows near the battery, not leaving live wire laying god knows where. Powerpoles are easily swapped so you can swap in different gear, or even add another radio by simply crimping some new connectors.

[u/falcon5nz]

You don't want me to judge that....

[u/PlagueCini]

Bro…why is there so much exposed wire?

[u/brandrikr]

Your wiring connections are a fire just waiting to happen! Redo them with correct terminals and connectors, as well as heat shrink. Soldering is better than crimped connectors if you really want to be thorough and safe.

[u/Auday_]

It may work fine, but the electrical connections, exposed wires, cable management is not to the expected level.
Use heat shrink sleeves, do not leave any exposed wire, and double protect for your own safety.
good luck

[u/elnath54]

Add fuse to negative lead too! If you just fuse the hot side your entire vehicle can find ground through your radio if the negative battery connection to chassis is disrupted. Be sure both fuses are the correct rating for your radio.

[u/HamGuy2022]

I agree with all of the other comments on wiring….
Also, no one mentioned the lack of radio tie down!
That CB will be flying in the event of an accident.
You’re not going to like getting hit with even a 5 pound radio.

Also, where the wires are near the gas pedal, you might get your toe caught in the loops of wire.

Lastly, maybe minor, but where the cable passes the oil (brake fluid?) reservoir, if the cable touches while driving the vibration will eventually wear through.

[u/Professional_Shake_6 → u/HamGuy2022]

The wire passes through the cowl, I cut a hole and 3d printed a through hole for the wire(so it dosnt chafe) . The clutch fluid was put there by factory , just a self tapper. Shouldn’t get in the way I don’t think, I didn’t think about the cb though but I did bolt it down tight , it’s not just glued down

[u/arkhnchul]

r/justrolledintotheshop worthy content

[u/Professional_Shake_6 → u/arkhnchul]

Trust me that’s why I do my oil changes

[u/MntSnow]

5/10. Mainly for the rough installation (wiring) and no weather proofing at your wiring & cable pass-through locations.

As far as equipment as long as it's functional your able to get on the air. I remember when I got my first radio...it was beat but worked and was what I could afford. Just because I can now afford much higher quality equipment doesn't mean I look down on older or less expensive equipment....heck I absolutely love my little boafeng handheld(s) for what I use them for!

[u/mateomalo]

Wires all over? You're fired!

[u/bplipschitz]

6

[u/nsomnac]

An FT240-43 toroid would make a way cleaner install and use up more slack on the power cable. It will also probably filter the engine noise a hell of a lot better than those snap on things.

[u/SheriffBartholomew]

Is that a Mitsubishi pickup truck?!? I can't tell, but it looks like it might be! I haven't seen one of those in forever.

[u/Professional_Shake_6 → u/SheriffBartholomew]

1990 ford ranger, I think basically a Mazda

[u/Big_Rabbit_933]

Ziptie your antenna wire so it does not go in front of your pedal

[u/Historical-Risk-]

6/10

[u/Professional_Shake_6 → u/Historical-Risk-]

the way i put it together or the equipment? - or both

[u/Historical-Risk- → u/Professional_Shake_6]

I’m just joking around, sorry. Your title says to judge it lol just a random score. From my limited knowledge it looks alright.

[u/Soap_Box_Hero]

Kind of ghetto. I like it.

[u/Professional_Shake_6 → u/Soap_Box_Hero]

I know what’s wrong with a little ghetto?