VHF mounting help

[MikePA]

I am trying to flush mount a VHF radio in the dash of my campion 542 and have run into some issues.. I had no idea the dash was over and inch thick.. and what's happened is the mounting screw receptacle on the VHF doesn't come far enough through the dash for the mounting bracket to attach to it. Anyone run into this and come up with a solution other than cutting out some of the depth of the dash so it comes farther through?

 

[Barman]

I am trying to flush mount a VHF radio in the dash of my campion 542 and have run into some issues.. I had no idea the dash was over and inch thick.. and what's happened is the mounting screw receptacle on the VHF doesn't come far enough through the dash for the mounting bracket to attach to it. Anyone run into this and come up with a solution other than cutting out s

You might be able to custom make new brackets using an angle bracket, available in different sizes from any hardware store.

 

[Rayvon]

I've mounted a few in dash VHF's,never had that problem.The maufacturer had the machine screw holes far enough back to allow for dash thickness.Yours must be close to working,is it sitting flush on the front of dash? Shouldn't be hard to relieve the back side a bit if needed with a router or spade drill bit and chisel if needed.

 

[ship happens]

Why not just pressure fit it with some foam tape or something like that

Either that or cut a large hole and then make a panel with some starboard

 

[Oceanmaster]

Bed it in with some 4200, I have done this a couple of times and it works well and yes you can remove it if require. Do not use 5200 if you ever need to remove it again.

 

[MikePA]

I've mounted a few in dash VHF's,never had that problem.The maufacturer had the machine screw holes far enough back to allow for dash thickness.Yours must be close to working,is it sitting flush on the front of dash? Shouldn't be hard to relieve the back side a bit if needed with a router or spade drill bit and chisel if needed.

Yes it's flush, it's about a quarter inch too thick.. It's a really cramped space with wiring/hydraulic cables.. super tough to get tools in.

 

[MikePA]

Why not just pressure fit it with some foam tape or something like that

Either that or cut a large hole and then make a panel with some starboard

Good ideas, thank you.

 

[MikePA]

Bed it in with some 4200, I have done this a couple of times and it works well and yes you can remove it if require. Do not use 5200 if you ever need to remove it again.

Interesting.. 4200 is "gluey" enough to hold it there with rattling/bumps on the road?

 

[Rayvon]

Can you drill new holes in the mounting brackets that the machine screws go threw to allow for the extra thickness?

 

[MikePA]

Can you drill new holes in the mounting brackets that the machine screws go threw to allow for the extra thickness?

Great idea.. unfortunately the holes are as far forward on the bracket as possible.. room to go the other way tho.

 

[Brando]

A forstner bit would do it if you could get a drill in behind..

 

[MikePA]

A forstner bit would do it if you could get a drill in behind..

Interesting!

 

[Oceanmaster]

Interesting.. 4200 is "gluey" enough to hold it there with rattling/bumps on the road?

Yes never had a problem working loose pounding out to Swiftsure almost everyday.

 

[sly_karma]

Repeat after me:

Caulk is not a piece of trim.

 

[MikePA]

I'm also curious about the antenna and radio proximity. In the manual it says the antenna should not be closer than 3 ft to the radio so if I want the radio in my dash and the antenna on the starboard side, that'll be definitely within 3 ft, although I see this is a common setup so potentially not an issue?

 

[Baxter]

Longer screws? (Strathcon is great for that stuff)

 

[MikePA]

Longer screws? (Strathcon is great for that stuff)

Thanks for the idea but it's not a matter of not having long enough screws. The issue is the bolt receptacle on the VHF unit doesn't come far enough through the dash for the bracket on the back side of the dash to attach to it.

 

[Baxter]

Thanks for the idea but it's not a matter of not having long enough screws. The issue is the bolt receptacle on the VHF unit doesn't come far enough through the dash for the bracket on the back side of the dash to attach to it.

Oooooohhh. Hmm. Okay that’s tougher. Ya, I’d also say the to cut a larger hole and use starboard or something to mount too. Not ideal, but would work.

 

[N2013]

Sounds like a job for someone with a 18' Kingfisher and with a every electronic known to man installed

 

[Baxter]

Sounds like a job for someone with a 18' Kingfisher and with a every electronic known to man installed

I’m sure he’s lurking somewhere. He’ll chime in I bet.