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Ive had a CB radio or two in this thing over the years. But, no one really uses citizens band on the trails anymore, so i havent actually used it in a few years now. So, since the bronco is already in the garage for the winter i figured nows the time to replace my old Cobra, with a proper GMRS unit. Enter the MXT575 from Midland:  Comes packaged nicely, and includes everything you need for install, from power wires to a small magnetic base antenna  The radio itself is smaller than some CBs ive had in the past, and looks like itll be pretty easy to mount  Step one is to open up the dash and remove the old CB unit. Can you see it?  This is an old Cobra 75 WXST All-In-One CB units, where all the controls are in the mic, leaving a small TX/RX unit you can hide somewhere (like i did inside the dash). Here's the whole thing:  Ok enough chitchait, lets get this the Midland installed. So right off the bat its obvious its not going to fit inside the dash, but it will fit where the ash tray is. Since i dont smoke, it seems like the perfect place to put it! I removed the ash tray from the mounting bracket  Had to make some room for the radio mount, so i trimmed the sides a bit, and added a couple rivnuts for a mounting location  ...and there you go! That was simple enough  The original power source for my CB radio...  ...now modified for the new radio's power plug  ...that was easy enough to do. Next up is the antenna. I could have used the small magnetic base antenna it came with, but i figured with the tight trail network in our area, it would always be getting knocked about by tree branches. So i opted for this antenna from Retevis. I figure with its flexible base it should probably survive getting caught on trees, and if not, well, at least it wasnt very expensive
Now all we have to do it run the antenna wire, and get the radio hooked up  ...and the final install!  Fits in the space like it was made to go there by Ford  |
