This is all very ugly, I know, but I'll make it all pretty one day! Anyway, here's my install in my 2006 Chrysler Sebring. It's a 396XT, 346XT and an Icom R20. The two XTs are mounted on floor mounts bolted to the passenger seat and are plugged into both a single Garmin 15x GPS puck (which is tucked up under the dash, behind and above the radio) and to the AUX input on the radio. (The 3.5mm jacks from both are connected to a home-made audio mixer – an Altoids tin – pictured below.) The Icom sits loose in the console because I often take it inside at home. I've got an external speaker plugged into the Icom because it's own internal speaker is tough to hear sometimes at highway speeds. (The Sebring is a noisy car.) The whole setup looks much nicer at night when it's all lit up.
I've also got mounted above the rearview mirror a dashcam – just because I can. This is powered through a 12V DC multiplier stuck under the dash, as are the GPS puck and the secondary console that holds the Icom.
A bit more about the Altoids tin: I found the plans online at instructables.com and modified them slightly. The far right input jack is wired to the right side of the output; the second jack from the right is wired to the left side of the output. This allows me to have the audio from the 346XT come out of the right speakers in my car, and the 396XT out of the left. Makes it easier to distinguish between the two when driving. The remaining two inputs on the tin are wired up as stereo so I can plug an iPod into it if I want.
The last two pics are my "shacks" at home. The first is a 996XT and two BCT15 scanners stacked on some wire frames I found at Solutions. The last is two BC760XLTs (one for air, one for rail). The bottom one is sometimes plugged into my Dell Mini 10v netbook, which runs SoftEOT to monitor the trains that pass by on the rail line 200 metres away.
Like I said, the install is ugly, but I'll get there one day!
I've also got mounted above the rearview mirror a dashcam – just because I can. This is powered through a 12V DC multiplier stuck under the dash, as are the GPS puck and the secondary console that holds the Icom.
A bit more about the Altoids tin: I found the plans online at instructables.com and modified them slightly. The far right input jack is wired to the right side of the output; the second jack from the right is wired to the left side of the output. This allows me to have the audio from the 346XT come out of the right speakers in my car, and the 396XT out of the left. Makes it easier to distinguish between the two when driving. The remaining two inputs on the tin are wired up as stereo so I can plug an iPod into it if I want.
The last two pics are my "shacks" at home. The first is a 996XT and two BCT15 scanners stacked on some wire frames I found at Solutions. The last is two BC760XLTs (one for air, one for rail). The bottom one is sometimes plugged into my Dell Mini 10v netbook, which runs SoftEOT to monitor the trains that pass by on the rail line 200 metres away.
Like I said, the install is ugly, but I'll get there one day!
