That would go on the passenger headrest behind just fine. Could then point the speaker at you. Looks like it would work that way. Thanks for this video.
I went the cheap route. The speaker I use fits between the posts (similar to the rectangular one you mentioned), and I zip-tied it in place. This puts the speaker between the posts, and between the seat top and bottom of the headrest. (right behind my neck). Works great.
I got this same mount a few months back, or it feels that way at least. For the speaker, I took the speaker bracket off and drilled some holes through the speaker back to attach the ball mount directly to the speaker. It has set the speaker back a bit more and feels more stable when I am running down the road. I didn't think I would like this solution for when I have the family dogs in the car, but it hasn't interfered with them or them it, so overall a great solution for me. I really like it a lot! 73
I took a lido speaker I had from another mount I bought, and mounted in the space between the headrest bars. Used two small bungees to hold in place. Works great, and if I’m in an accident the speaker will push back and not be a problem for injuries. Great review!
I’m very happy with this mount. I have it installed in my 2021 4Runner and love it. It’s funny because I also use that vertex speaker. I just drilled a couple of holes in that plastic bracket. Oh, and I also mounted mine with the bar toward the backseat and the set screws toward the front seat. Works great.
Nothing against Mesh, but these videos covering the more "mundane" aspects of radio have more value to me, personally. Tenths of inches: Tell me you're an engineer without telling me you're an engineer.
@MaryBrownForFreedom was having a Facebook discussion about this with someone just the other day. We live in a dead zone for Meshtastic, APRS, Winlink, DMR and other digital mode nodes. I think the mesh stuff is interesting, there's just not a large enough adoption in my area to make it worthwhile.
Definitely more interested in the accessories, parts, tools, and putting stuff together. The bracket should install behind the headrest posts unless you want a broken neck.
I use 2 Lido mounts in my jeep. One speaker for the Icom 2730a and one for my Wouxun KG-1000G-plus. In a noisy vehicle with radios mounted under the seat, these work really well! I'm using the Lido speakers and they are plenty loud enough
I’d also love a more in depth mesh dive! I set up my nodes and everything was dandy, but now I’m experimenting with non default main channel. And it’s a bit of a learning curve if you want to still play with the normal group as well
Those rectangular speakers are sold under so many names. They are all copies of Kenwood's KES-8 speaker used in a lot of commercial applications. I use those style speakers in 2 of my vehicles and my base VHF/UHF radio. They're a good speaker (especially the Kenwood ones) considering how compact they are.
That bar behind the head would make me nervous too. If you flipped it around you'd need some flush mount screws instead of those winged bolts on the clamp. There is a F150 headrest MFJ-281 speaker mount on Thingiverse.
Flip the composite 90 holding the friction ball. I did not hear this option contemplated. Unless I did not perceive what I saw correctly, always a possibility, there is a silver retaining pin it appears holding the foot of the composite 90 holding the friction ball. Instead of flipping the bar inside the frame, pick up a "Drift" or Punch and drive that pin out at the composite 90 and just flip it there. The nesting track does not need to be flipped. You might have to adjust the foot of the composite 90 for the internal shape of the sliding bar to fit back in when reinserted 90 or 180 Degrees. Just a thought.
I agree with @LWatsonIII .. If needed the hole could be "adjusted" to the correct location.. And also if you are worried about the thrumb screws, just replace them with either button head or standard allen screws. You would need a tool to adjust it, but probably that would be a set and forget until you need to install it elsewhere.
EMT here, in my opinion by the looks of your setup you are much more likely to sustain a neck injury as a result of the whiplash the comes with a car accident then the mount you have there. If you're whipping around hard enough to hurt yourself on the mount, you're probably going to get a neck injury just from the forces involved anyway.
It looks like some kind of pin is holding the 90 deg at the end of the arm, maybe it could be removed and the angle flipped around? A few more inches of space from the speaker to ear would not be that big of a thing as its still a lot closer than what a speaker on the transmission hump or dash mounted would be.
The slider bar is beveled only on one end so flipping it isn’t really op option you modify the plastic arm on the speaker, but I will investigate that.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse Its hard to see on the vid and also on the web page, but it looks like there is a silver roll pin thru the sliding bar that retains the 90 deg dingus at the end of the slider. Looking close it seems like the pin is offset in the slider bar, but with a little effort it might be able to be driven out and a new hole of the correct size and location drilled, allowing the part to be rotated 180 to bring the bend to the front. .
Darn. Yeah, I would want the bar behind the headrest supports. My headrest isn't that thick. For $40 that's a steal. Even if they changed the design to make the extendable rod flippable, so it could go either way!
the only part that would need remaking for that to be on the back of headrest would be the 90 degree plastic part coming out of the sliding bar, everything else could stay the same.
Cool mount. If anyone wants a good bass/trebel ratio spk. The Icom SP-35 is a really good one and it comes with a mono plug on it. I also use the older motorola and kenwood speakers alot.
hey josh- couldnt you just flip it horizontally front to back turn the speaker the other way? (to get the bar behind the headrest poles instead of in front)
Josh, can you help us find a speaker that supports multiple inputs? Alternatively, a compact amp (even a small, simple one) that can handle multiple speaker inputs with a single speaker output would work too. Let us know what you come across.
Drill 2 new holes in the Vertex speaker bracket... When I T-boned a pickup truck that ran a stop sign(100% his fault... he almost stopped then took off, admitted it to the cops) I hit then was violently dragged sideways slamming my head into the door and headrest. I bent the headrest back and bent the door frame above the window out with my skull. Still fight the TBI from it with headaches etc... a car accident can be really violent! There were tire rub marks on the roof edge above the drivers door! Bent the truck frame in 3 feet, front of my car was offset 2 inches to the right... I remembered hitting and screaming "this is going to hurt" then when I woke up the kid was standing by my window repeating are you alright... I looked at him and said hell no, I was unconscious! That crash earned me the TBI, a plate in my neck, a screw anchor and shortened tendon in my thumb after it dislocated. I was down shifting trying to get traction to turn it sideways, managed to slightly turn it and that probably saved my life according to the accident report. Bent the shifter forward an inch... also inflamed the carpal tunnel on that wrist so a second surgery... My walking away after it was pure luck... all the injuries(except the thumb, I popped that back in at the accident site) didn't start to really show for a few days.
I really like the idea of this product; thank you for bringing it to our attention. I do have two thoughts: 1) Being a cheap ham, it should be possible to fabricate something similar as a DIY project. 2) Modern vehicles have all kinds of airbags and safety features that are rigorously tested by HNTSA, SAE, etc. I would feel much better installing a product like this if it had passed these safety tests. Police departments and other public service agencies routinely mount speakers for their two-way radios in their vehicles. If one of the major departments were to test and adopt this product, it would give me a great degree of confidence that it would be safe in the vehicles they use. DE WA1KLI
Is there any facility for mounting two speakers? My radio has an A and B VFO and with a stereo cable I can feed A audio to one speaker and B audio to the other. Helps to aurally identify which frequency a call is coming in on (although I still screw up and transmit on the wrong VFO sometimes). It would be cool to mount one to the left of the headrest and one to the right of the headrest (I currently have both speakers under the seat and pointed at my legs... not ideal but it mostly works, although I do have to keep the volume up quite a bit).
Meshtastic is interesting. Meshtastic also needs a lot of people decently close together (at least in terms of amateur radio) to be actually fun, and since radio itself is quite a niche hobby nowadays, it probably explains the lack of interest.
I doubt that you would hit this if rear ended. Technically, it's not a head rest. It's a whiplash arrestor. It's designed to catch your head to keep it from going too far back and hyperextending your neck. Is it possible? Maybe. I'm not going to say that something will not happen. But I'm not expecting it to.
Thanks, Josh. Good information. For me, no interest in Mesh-anything - but - your channel is for people with an interest in “High Falutin’”, Also. Thanks for ALL of the videos you do. Quien Sabe? Maybe one day Mesh-something will be of interest to this old man. Keep it up! KQ4IXD
Holy shit, I'm 30 seconds in and I run three of those MFJ speakers. hey rock) However I'm not stupid enough to mount a 1 pound + piece of square STEEL tube stock behind my fuggen neck on a car seat !! Are you kidding !?!? Have you EVER been rear ended - Jesus !!!
That would go on the passenger headrest behind just fine. Could then point the speaker at you. Looks like it would work that way. Thanks for this video.
That’s exactly how I am using it
I went the cheap route. The speaker I use fits between the posts (similar to the rectangular one you mentioned), and I zip-tied it in place. This puts the speaker between the posts, and between the seat top and bottom of the headrest. (right behind my neck). Works great.
Lmao
I'm a big fan of Lido mounts. They are well designed and functional and their customer service is excellent.
Thanks Josh. Just bought one. I did watch your mesh vid. I saw the speaker and thought, "Great Idea!". Glad you made a video of it.. 73
“In practice I’m more like 3 inches” finally an honest RUclips review 😂
Lido makes mounts for practically everything for mobile ham radio. 👍
I got this same mount a few months back, or it feels that way at least. For the speaker, I took the speaker bracket off and drilled some holes through the speaker back to attach the ball mount directly to the speaker. It has set the speaker back a bit more and feels more stable when I am running down the road. I didn't think I would like this solution for when I have the family dogs in the car, but it hasn't interfered with them or them it, so overall a great solution for me. I really like it a lot! 73
I took a lido speaker I had from another mount I bought, and mounted in the space between the headrest bars. Used two small bungees to hold in place. Works great, and if I’m in an accident the speaker will push back and not be a problem for injuries. Great review!
Great video Josh.. You got me thinking of my own vehicle for when I put HF in it.
Practical and functional are appreciated. Cool will always be cool. Thank you for the logical tips. Remember, form follows function.
That’s what the “Secret Service” ear piece you get with most Chinese radios is for. 😂
I’m very happy with this mount. I have it installed in my 2021 4Runner and love it. It’s funny because I also use that vertex speaker. I just drilled a couple of holes in that plastic bracket.
Oh, and I also mounted mine with the bar toward the backseat and the set screws toward the front seat. Works great.
Thank you this is useful. Yes I really like your to the point videos. Please do more.
Nothing against Mesh, but these videos covering the more "mundane" aspects of radio have more value to me, personally.
Tenths of inches: Tell me you're an engineer without telling me you're an engineer.
Mesh is great if you are in a city... out in the boonies I would have the only node...
@MaryBrownForFreedom was having a Facebook discussion about this with someone just the other day. We live in a dead zone for Meshtastic, APRS, Winlink, DMR and other digital mode nodes. I think the mesh stuff is interesting, there's just not a large enough adoption in my area to make it worthwhile.
I loved the Mesh video.
However… i agree. We ALL Struggle with mountings & stuffs
I bought one of these Lido mounts when they first came out, love it!!!
That is awesome. I found something else I didn't know existed that I have to have. I am ordering two imediately.
Definitely more interested in the accessories, parts, tools, and putting stuff together. The bracket should install behind the headrest posts unless you want a broken neck.
Well great. Didn’t know I needed this until now. My wife is going to love this 😉
Love these short, specific tips, Josh.
I use 2 Lido mounts in my jeep. One speaker for the Icom 2730a and one for my Wouxun KG-1000G-plus. In a noisy vehicle with radios mounted under the seat, these work really well! I'm using the Lido speakers and they are plenty loud enough
Just purchased one. Been looking for something like this. Thank you.
This was helpful. I recently saw that mount and had been thinking about it for a mobile install, depending on what radio I go with.
I’d also love a more in depth mesh dive! I set up my nodes and everything was dandy, but now I’m experimenting with non default main channel. And it’s a bit of a learning curve if you want to still play with the normal group as well
Those rectangular speakers are sold under so many names. They are all copies of Kenwood's KES-8 speaker used in a lot of commercial applications. I use those style speakers in 2 of my vehicles and my base VHF/UHF radio. They're a good speaker (especially the Kenwood ones) considering how compact they are.
that's real ham radio right there.
That bar behind the head would make me nervous too. If you flipped it around you'd need some flush mount screws instead of those winged bolts on the clamp. There is a F150 headrest MFJ-281 speaker mount on Thingiverse.
Thanks for this video Josh. Can the mount be flipped so that the speaker is behind your left ear instead of your right ear?
Upcoming videos on knob replacements for you Baofeng! So trendy hi Hi 73
That could easily be a good safety issue for that item that does appear to be a simple fix of they change that slide out bar. Good video
Flip the composite 90 holding the friction ball. I did not hear this option contemplated. Unless I did not perceive what I saw correctly, always a possibility, there is a silver retaining pin it appears holding the foot of the composite 90 holding the friction ball. Instead of flipping the bar inside the frame, pick up a "Drift" or Punch and drive that pin out at the composite 90 and just flip it there. The nesting track does not need to be flipped. You might have to adjust the foot of the composite 90 for the internal shape of the sliding bar to fit back in when reinserted 90 or 180 Degrees. Just a thought.
I agree with @LWatsonIII .. If needed the hole could be "adjusted" to the correct location.. And also if you are worried about the thrumb screws, just replace them with either button head or standard allen screws. You would need a tool to adjust it, but probably that would be a set and forget until you need to install it elsewhere.
I enjoyed the meshtastic content from the video too.
Thanks 🙏
Back in the old days the Pontiacs fiero had speakers in the headrests.
EMT here, in my opinion by the looks of your setup you are much more likely to sustain a neck injury as a result of the whiplash the comes with a car accident then the mount you have there. If you're whipping around hard enough to hurt yourself on the mount, you're probably going to get a neck injury just from the forces involved anyway.
more like this!
It looks like some kind of pin is holding the 90 deg at the end of the arm, maybe it could be removed and the angle flipped around? A few more inches of space from the speaker to ear would not be that big of a thing as its still a lot closer than what a speaker on the transmission hump or dash mounted would be.
The slider bar is beveled only on one end so flipping it isn’t really op option you modify the plastic arm on the speaker, but I will investigate that.
@@HamRadioCrashCourse Its hard to see on the vid and also on the web page, but it looks like there is a silver roll pin thru the sliding bar that retains the 90 deg dingus at the end of the slider. Looking close it seems like the pin is offset in the slider bar, but with a little effort it might be able to be driven out and a new hole of the correct size and location drilled, allowing the part to be rotated 180 to bring the bend to the front. .
Darn. Yeah, I would want the bar behind the headrest supports. My headrest isn't that thick. For $40 that's a steal.
Even if they changed the design to make the extendable rod flippable, so it could go either way!
the only part that would need remaking for that to be on the back of headrest would be the 90 degree plastic part coming out of the sliding bar, everything else could stay the same.
Cool mount. If anyone wants a good bass/trebel ratio spk. The Icom SP-35 is a really good one and it comes with a mono plug on it. I also use the older motorola and kenwood speakers alot.
I have one for my GMRS radio in my 2010 Tundra.
hey josh- couldnt you just flip it horizontally front to back turn the speaker the other way? (to get the bar behind the headrest poles instead of in front)
Josh, can you help us find a speaker that supports multiple inputs? Alternatively, a compact amp (even a small, simple one) that can handle multiple speaker inputs with a single speaker output would work too. Let us know what you come across.
Thx Josh, but can you use it to listen to your meshtastic buzzer? ;)
Try adding a star washer to the MFJ speaker screw.
Great idea! That will likely make it much better!
Might the MFJ tilt screws benefit from lock washers between bracket and speaker?
I'm gonna buy 5 of them and set up a surround sound.
Drill 2 new holes in the Vertex speaker bracket...
When I T-boned a pickup truck that ran a stop sign(100% his fault... he almost stopped then took off, admitted it to the cops) I hit then was violently dragged sideways slamming my head into the door and headrest. I bent the headrest back and bent the door frame above the window out with my skull. Still fight the TBI from it with headaches etc... a car accident can be really violent! There were tire rub marks on the roof edge above the drivers door! Bent the truck frame in 3 feet, front of my car was offset 2 inches to the right... I remembered hitting and screaming "this is going to hurt" then when I woke up the kid was standing by my window repeating are you alright... I looked at him and said hell no, I was unconscious! That crash earned me the TBI, a plate in my neck, a screw anchor and shortened tendon in my thumb after it dislocated. I was down shifting trying to get traction to turn it sideways, managed to slightly turn it and that probably saved my life according to the accident report. Bent the shifter forward an inch... also inflamed the carpal tunnel on that wrist so a second surgery... My walking away after it was pure luck... all the injuries(except the thumb, I popped that back in at the accident site) didn't start to really show for a few days.
How am I supposed to hear my wife telling me how to drive with this in my ear?
Give her a radio to talk to you on
That thing extends way far! If you drive alone, I'd probably put it on the passenger seat and extend it all the way out.
Instead of locative I would use rubber o rings. I’ve had better luck with them on the MFJ mount.
Josh is the kenwood 74a still a good radio or not. used 550 with extra stuff. Tu
I have a FEVER, and the only prescription, is more MESHTASTIC! :P
I really like the idea of this product; thank you for bringing it to our attention. I do have two thoughts:
1) Being a cheap ham, it should be possible to fabricate something similar as a DIY project.
2) Modern vehicles have all kinds of airbags and safety features that are rigorously tested by HNTSA, SAE, etc. I would feel much better installing a product like this if it had passed these safety tests. Police departments and other public service agencies routinely mount speakers for their two-way radios in their vehicles. If one of the major departments were to test and adopt this product, it would give me a great degree of confidence that it would be safe in the vehicles they use.
DE WA1KLI
@Josh could the slide mount for the speaker be pulled out and reinstalled 180°? This would have the screws towards your neck and the bar further back?
Is there any facility for mounting two speakers? My radio has an A and B VFO and with a stereo cable I can feed A audio to one speaker and B audio to the other. Helps to aurally identify which frequency a call is coming in on (although I still screw up and transmit on the wrong VFO sometimes). It would be cool to mount one to the left of the headrest and one to the right of the headrest (I currently have both speakers under the seat and pointed at my legs... not ideal but it mostly works, although I do have to keep the volume up quite a bit).
Does anybody else think of the Boz Scaggs song, Lido Shuffle, when they look at LIDO products? :)
rubber washer from home depot for the speaker knobs
Just commenting to say, "MOAR MESH"... please!
Can you flip the slide out bar around and mount the support bar behind the uprights?
Nope. Not worth the speaker facing the right way.
My experience with Lido stuff has been negative. Very light flimsy plastic. The scanner mount I bought broke quickly with light use.
Meshtastic is interesting. Meshtastic also needs a lot of people decently close together (at least in terms of amateur radio) to be actually fun, and since radio itself is quite a niche hobby nowadays, it probably explains the lack of interest.
I think the site may be over taxed with purchases. I can’t get to the check out page 😂
1:55 or VibraTite might be the better solution.
I doubt that you would hit this if rear ended. Technically, it's not a head rest. It's a whiplash arrestor. It's designed to catch your head to keep it from going too far back and hyperextending your neck. Is it possible? Maybe. I'm not going to say that something will not happen. But I'm not expecting it to.
That is about how I feel. But I am not qualified to answer that so I was cautious in the video.
@HamRadioCrashCourse likewise. You notice how I used weasel words.
I thought it was your “Predator Plasmacaster” for those time people cut you off in traffic.
Might work in bed of truck during emcomm event
Mount the bar on the passenger’s side. Most of the time, it is just you commuting to work.
I just wear my Heil Pro 7's while in the Jeep
Pretty spiffy.
Mount it on the passenger side and aim the speaker toward the driver...
Good idea.
Thanks, Josh. Good information. For me, no interest in Mesh-anything - but - your channel is for people with an interest in “High Falutin’”, Also. Thanks for ALL of the videos you do. Quien Sabe? Maybe one day Mesh-something will be of interest to this old man. Keep it up! KQ4IXD
Holy shit, I'm 30 seconds in and I run three of those MFJ speakers. hey rock) However I'm not stupid enough to mount a 1 pound + piece of square STEEL tube stock behind my fuggen neck on a car seat !! Are you kidding !?!? Have you EVER been rear ended - Jesus !!!
Keep watching. Lol
you have a 3d printer. print out an adapter for the screws.
That bar behind your neck during an accident is huge concern for me. Not worth being quadriplegic to hear a radio.
Thoses clamps are too small for my cars headrests
Just a waste off money, most newer vehicles have a way to plug your radio into the existing radio or stereo in the vehicle
Why not both; high faluten and everyday mundane stuff :-)
Ridiculous, this only works if you plan on the wife never being in your car.
Huh? Slide it out further and point it in the middle.