so i've been running an HT clipped to my visor for like two years now and i finally broke down and bought a proper mobile rig, got a Yaesu FTM-300DR and spent last weekend running the power cable and everything. went straight to the battery with 10 gauge wire and used the factory fuse holders on both leads, felt pretty good about that part.

the antenna situation is where i'm not sure i did it right. i've got a mag mount NMO dual band on the roof for now, i know mag mounts get a lot of hate but i'm renting and cant really drill. the cable is coming in through the weather stripping on the door frame and i tried to flatten it as much as possible but i can still feel a tiny bit of resistance when the door closes. is that gonna be a problem long term? the coax is pretty thin, its the one that came with the mag mount.

also the radio itself, i mounted it in the little cubby under the dash on the passenger side, works fine but the display is kind of hard to see from the drivers seat. thinking about getting a separation kit so i can put just the head up on the dash. anyone done that with the 300DR?

the door frame coax thing is super common with mag mounts and honestly if you routed it carefully it'll probably be fine for a while, just check it every few months for any wear on the jacket. the thin cable that comes with most mag mounts isnt great to begin with so if you ever upgrade to a proper NMO mount you'll want to run better coax anyway, like LMR-240 or something similar.

on the separation kit yes absolutely get one, i did that with my FTM-200 and it made a huge difference. the head mounts right at eye level and you're not squinting across the cab trying to read a tiny display. yaesu's separation cables come in different lengths so measure before you order, i made the mistake of getting the short one first and had to reorder. the install is pretty straightforward, just make sure you tuck the cable neatly so it doesn't rattle around under the dash.

i did almost the exact same setup last spring, mag mount on a rental with the cable through the door. mine has been fine for about 8 months now but i did add a little bit of foam weatherstrip tape around where the cable goes in, just to keep the door from pinching directly on the coax. probably overkill but made me feel better about it lol