My current mobile radio platform is a 2017 Volkswagen GTI that I purchased in November 2016. The GTI is my first sport-oriented car and I wasn’t sure if I’d install any ham radio equipment. My first upgrade to the car included a 750-watt stereo system with a 10-inch subwoofer. Running the 4-gauge wire from the starter battery to the trunk opened the door for adding more electronics equipment later; I just didn’t know it yet! After just a few months, I opted to install the Icom ID-5100 dual-bander that I had used in my previous car. I drove with just the dual-bander and the discrete antenna shown in the photo above for about three years. I added my old HF rig to the car in 2020.
In the mean time, I did the kind of upgrades that attracted me to the GTI in the first place: horsepower mods! Without detailing every mod, I’ll just summarize that my GTI has a turbo swap, exhaust upgrade, and an appropriate program to bring the engine output to ~400 horsepower or, as many automotive enthusiast prefer to measure, 360 wheel-horsepower. The car is a blast to drive, especially if I decide to make a spirited pass on a two-lane highway! Ironically, I don’t use the horsepower as often as one might think, especially now that my ham radio additions are so conspicuous. I prefer to not attract the additional attention that speeding may bring.
Later, I expanded my travel supplies and added a refrigerator (lock-downs), WeBoost cellular signal booster, voltage inverter, and then a house battery to power everything. With all of that done, it was time to remove the subwoofer system to make room for more ham radio equipment and to clean-up my installation. Naturally, my nutty radio upgrades are what gets the bulk of attention on this site. Feel free to visit StealthGTI.com if you’re a car nut and want to take a deeper dive into the car itself. Otherwise, use the menu at the top of this webpage to read more about my ham radio excess.
It’s True: I Void Warranties!
Scott