My Mobile and Home Shacks

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jonesyxvii

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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!
 

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62Truck

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Not to shabby, as long as it works for you that's all that matters
 

Rt169Radio

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Your setup is looking good.I like those wire racks,where did you get them from?
 

N1SQB

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Thanks!

Very interesting idea on the altoids box project! I found the plans on the site you mentioned. Gave me a neat idea on something else I can use that for. Thanks for posting!

Manny
 
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Nice setup. How is the dash camera working out for you? How long has it been installed?

I just got one very similar to that and I'm planning on installing it soon.
 

jonesyxvii

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Yeah, and was wondering what that was for? I like to see diy things of such.

From my original post:
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.

I missed the post inquiring about the dashcam: Works great. Occasionally gets stuck and doesn't power on properly (maybe once out of a hundred times) but that's my only issue with it. Even in low light conditions it picks up quite a lot, though it is quite grainy but still watchable. I hope yours works as well.

R
 

SCPD

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I like the 760's. I still have all three of the ones I purchased in the late 1980's and early 1990's. I had a BC-200 for portable use. I used to use them on long trips. The problem with them, although we didn't have anything better at the time, was having to write out programs on sheets of paper and reprogramming them as you passed from area to area. Then if you wanted to change a program, out came the pencil and paper again. I kept dreaming about having scanners that could be programmed by computer.

I modified mine to scan faster and installed brighter lights so I could see the display better inside the cars at night. I haven't used mine in quite some time, since the feds started operating narrowband, because the difference in volume of the narrow vs. the wide is a killer. Once everything is narrowband then I will try to use them again. I can get along without trunking and digital in the rural area I live in. Since I would not travel with them the lack of being able to program them by computer will not be a problem.

The installation in your car is interesting. Why not clean up the installation by using mobile scanners? I would find the installation you have made very distracting and therefore unsafe. I strive to keep all my radios in the same place where I can look forward. Otherwise you have to look sideways and go from one view to the other to see what is going on. The price of the new scanners is a small investment considering what an accident would cost.
 
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