sfd119
Member
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2009
- Messages
- 1,763
I replaced my 2014 Chevy Silverado a few years ago and I’m finally getting around to posting the setup. Install this time took probably 100 hours total on my own. A lot of that time was just taking things slow and running the wires correctly. I went with a Havis widebody console.
Background: I’m a County radio system administrator for my day job. I also am a COML and COMT and get deployed to various incidents in the region. Additionally, I’m an officer on our Fire Department that does EMS as well so I use the truck for all three jobs.
The top radio is a Motorola APX 7500 in VHF/800. It primarily sits on our State’s trunking system. Depending on the incident/situation, it can become the tactical simplex operations channel radio.
The second radio is a Motorola APX 7500 in VHF. It primarily sits on our County’s Fire dispatch channel and scans the fire tacticals.
The third radio is a Motorola APX 7500 in VHF. It sits on our County’s Law dispatch channel and scans the different law channels we have.
Next up is a Motorola XTL-5000 in 7/800mhz. It sits on a tactical simplex encrypted 7/800mhz channel and also has interoperability stuff with Minnesota since I’m so close to them.
Finally for the radios, I have a Motorola XTL-5000 in UHF. It has the UHF NIFOG stuff in it and I leave it on UCALL. It does have some schools and utility companies that I’m authorized to have in other zones for interoperability purposes during incidents.
All five radios are tied into the X10DR wireless mic that is mounted on my console. I have a five port selector in the back that I can reach from the driver’s seat to select what radio it uses. Because I don’t have space for all my mics, the 7/800 and UHF don’t have a wired mic into them…I just use the X10DR to transmit on them.
In addition to the X10DR wireless mic, I also have a Pyramid UHF vehicle repeater tied to the Fire radio right now that I can turn on and off using a button on my lighting controller. That way, I can step out on an incident and have in building coverage by using my triband portable. I currently have someone building me a custom cable that will connect to the first three radios to the vehicle repeater so I can hear radio traffic from all three radios and when I transmit, it will go out only on the Fire radio.
Moving on to the scanners, the SDS200 monitors the statewide WISCOM system and any other trunked public safety system such as ARMER or the other ones in the metro areas found in southern Wisconsin. The Uniden 536 monitors all conventional public safety channels in the entire State of Wisconsin. Both scanners are utilizing GPS to turn trunked systems/sites on and off and also turn on individual counties on/off in the entire State.
The last thing in the console is my Feniex 4200 controller that handles all my lights/siren. In addition to the standard labels, the Radio button in the lower right corner is the one that turns my vehicle repeater on and off. The AUX 1 switch is tied into my garage door opener inside the console. I press the console button to open/shut my garage door.
Mounted on the console is the X10DR wireless mic, a flashlight, and my GPS. All of the speakers are mounted on the back of the console with the exception of the UHF radio, that speaker is mounted under the driver’s seat. Also mounted on the back of the console is my wireless APX mic + charger, and an APX battery charger for longer duration incidents. I carry extra batteries for deployments but this allows me to charge a dead one in the field. I also have a Garmin dash cam mounted behind the rearview mirror.
The toggle switches between the radios and the scanner control functions of the truck. The first toggle switch is the ignition sense for the radios, the second is the scanners, the third is the Feniex controller, and the fourth powers the GPS, the scanner GPSes, and my dash cam. I probably use the scanner toggle switch the most…it’s a quick thing to hit to shut them off when I’m on the phone or don’t need the extra noise.
The truck has the master power coming into the cab from the battery and going into a master on/off switch. This switch generally stays in the ON position at all times because that feeds into the ChargeGuard. Basically, when I turn the truck on it powers up everything and when I shut off the truck it shuts it off after 30 minutes. The lone toggle switch in the top right of the picture by my GPS is an override switch. I can turn that on and the ChargeGuard will keep everything powered up regardless of ignition sense. I VERY rarely have a use to override the ignition sense. The flashlight charger, X10DR mic, and one of the 12v plugs are always on regardless of the ChargeGuard so the master switch is used to cut power to EVERYTHING if the truck is going to sit off for an extended amount of days to make sure I don’t come back to a dead battery!
Other things in the truck include a Verizon Cradlepoint to provide WiFi, a Dell 12v power charger so I can plug my work laptop in, two 12v plugs by the GPS (one on the ChargeGuard, one always on), a volt meter with USB A and USB C charging ports, and various charging cables in the storage next to some map books. Underneath the two 12v plugs is a momentary button that I can use to reset the Cradlepoint if it starts acting up. There’s an additional volt meter / temperature sensor plugged into the factory 12v plug as well.
All of the antennas are triband, Comtelco A1510WTB. I have a diplexer in the truck to split various radios into one antenna to cut down on having so many antennas. The Pyramid UHF repeater uses a standalone EM Wave UHF antenna, and the X10DR has a low profile 2.4ghz Laird antenna.
Photos (sorry for the dust, I haven't had a chance to clean):
Top half of the console:
Bottom Half:
Full Console:
Side Angle:
X10DR / Flashlight:
X10DR Select Switch:
APX Mic + Charger:
I don't really have any dedicated antenna pics, but here are two to give you an idea:
https://i.imgur.com/ISuYtyk.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/i97UiGJ.jpg
Full Truck:
Background: I’m a County radio system administrator for my day job. I also am a COML and COMT and get deployed to various incidents in the region. Additionally, I’m an officer on our Fire Department that does EMS as well so I use the truck for all three jobs.
The top radio is a Motorola APX 7500 in VHF/800. It primarily sits on our State’s trunking system. Depending on the incident/situation, it can become the tactical simplex operations channel radio.
The second radio is a Motorola APX 7500 in VHF. It primarily sits on our County’s Fire dispatch channel and scans the fire tacticals.
The third radio is a Motorola APX 7500 in VHF. It sits on our County’s Law dispatch channel and scans the different law channels we have.
Next up is a Motorola XTL-5000 in 7/800mhz. It sits on a tactical simplex encrypted 7/800mhz channel and also has interoperability stuff with Minnesota since I’m so close to them.
Finally for the radios, I have a Motorola XTL-5000 in UHF. It has the UHF NIFOG stuff in it and I leave it on UCALL. It does have some schools and utility companies that I’m authorized to have in other zones for interoperability purposes during incidents.
All five radios are tied into the X10DR wireless mic that is mounted on my console. I have a five port selector in the back that I can reach from the driver’s seat to select what radio it uses. Because I don’t have space for all my mics, the 7/800 and UHF don’t have a wired mic into them…I just use the X10DR to transmit on them.
In addition to the X10DR wireless mic, I also have a Pyramid UHF vehicle repeater tied to the Fire radio right now that I can turn on and off using a button on my lighting controller. That way, I can step out on an incident and have in building coverage by using my triband portable. I currently have someone building me a custom cable that will connect to the first three radios to the vehicle repeater so I can hear radio traffic from all three radios and when I transmit, it will go out only on the Fire radio.
Moving on to the scanners, the SDS200 monitors the statewide WISCOM system and any other trunked public safety system such as ARMER or the other ones in the metro areas found in southern Wisconsin. The Uniden 536 monitors all conventional public safety channels in the entire State of Wisconsin. Both scanners are utilizing GPS to turn trunked systems/sites on and off and also turn on individual counties on/off in the entire State.
The last thing in the console is my Feniex 4200 controller that handles all my lights/siren. In addition to the standard labels, the Radio button in the lower right corner is the one that turns my vehicle repeater on and off. The AUX 1 switch is tied into my garage door opener inside the console. I press the console button to open/shut my garage door.
Mounted on the console is the X10DR wireless mic, a flashlight, and my GPS. All of the speakers are mounted on the back of the console with the exception of the UHF radio, that speaker is mounted under the driver’s seat. Also mounted on the back of the console is my wireless APX mic + charger, and an APX battery charger for longer duration incidents. I carry extra batteries for deployments but this allows me to charge a dead one in the field. I also have a Garmin dash cam mounted behind the rearview mirror.
The toggle switches between the radios and the scanner control functions of the truck. The first toggle switch is the ignition sense for the radios, the second is the scanners, the third is the Feniex controller, and the fourth powers the GPS, the scanner GPSes, and my dash cam. I probably use the scanner toggle switch the most…it’s a quick thing to hit to shut them off when I’m on the phone or don’t need the extra noise.
The truck has the master power coming into the cab from the battery and going into a master on/off switch. This switch generally stays in the ON position at all times because that feeds into the ChargeGuard. Basically, when I turn the truck on it powers up everything and when I shut off the truck it shuts it off after 30 minutes. The lone toggle switch in the top right of the picture by my GPS is an override switch. I can turn that on and the ChargeGuard will keep everything powered up regardless of ignition sense. I VERY rarely have a use to override the ignition sense. The flashlight charger, X10DR mic, and one of the 12v plugs are always on regardless of the ChargeGuard so the master switch is used to cut power to EVERYTHING if the truck is going to sit off for an extended amount of days to make sure I don’t come back to a dead battery!
Other things in the truck include a Verizon Cradlepoint to provide WiFi, a Dell 12v power charger so I can plug my work laptop in, two 12v plugs by the GPS (one on the ChargeGuard, one always on), a volt meter with USB A and USB C charging ports, and various charging cables in the storage next to some map books. Underneath the two 12v plugs is a momentary button that I can use to reset the Cradlepoint if it starts acting up. There’s an additional volt meter / temperature sensor plugged into the factory 12v plug as well.
All of the antennas are triband, Comtelco A1510WTB. I have a diplexer in the truck to split various radios into one antenna to cut down on having so many antennas. The Pyramid UHF repeater uses a standalone EM Wave UHF antenna, and the X10DR has a low profile 2.4ghz Laird antenna.
Photos (sorry for the dust, I haven't had a chance to clean):
Top half of the console:
Bottom Half:
Full Console:
Side Angle:
X10DR / Flashlight:
X10DR Select Switch:
APX Mic + Charger:
I don't really have any dedicated antenna pics, but here are two to give you an idea:
https://i.imgur.com/ISuYtyk.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/i97UiGJ.jpg
Full Truck:
Last edited:
