It has extra power cables from the battery to the fuse panels. The 110 watt VHF has its own power cable to the battery. With the exception of the power plugs, everything is fused separately so that failure on one circuit doesn't take out anything else.
My Work Shack
- Thread starter RodStrong
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It has extra power cables from the battery to the fuse panels. The 110 watt VHF has its own power cable to the battery. With the exception of the power plugs, everything is fused separately so that failure on one circuit doesn't take out anything else.
LowbandGuy
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Nice set up! Nothing like a "Kick A** Work Truck", no matter what kind of work it does.
oregontreehugger
Member
Ahh... finally pictures of an install in a GM product with the 4x4 shifter on the FLOOR.
That handmade console looks awesome and so does the install!
That handmade console looks awesome and so does the install!
davidbond21
Member
Ahh... finally pictures of an install in a GM product with the 4x4 shifter on the FLOOR.
That handmade console looks awesome and so does the install!
I second both of these comments.
emd001
Member
great setup. I am also interested in knowing where your weapons went, im trying to figure out where i can mount my shotgun in my single cab ram 1500. A+ on the setup.
Okay, since this thread suddenly came back to life, I'll add a couple of pics of the front, the weapon setup, and the cage. All custom built.
There are ballistic panels in both the driver door and back left door for protection while accessing the long guns
In the second photo adjacent to the cage, you can see the stack of (little) big mouth speakers which I mentioned in an earlier post that are hooked up to both scanners and my UHF mobile.
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fireman846
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wow that is a very sick setup if im ever in your area ill make sure i keep an eye open for ya!!! great job on the rig!!!!!!
For those who may be interested, had some additions/adjustments to my rig recently.
A second XTL2500 700/800 was added, as well as a Trident iOpt Comm-Tac. Also, the UHF Vertex VX-3200 was removed, and replaced with a UHF Icom IC-F6061. This was mainly due to compatibility issues with the Comm-Tac, not necessarily because the Vertex was not performing well.
Due to some space issues, the old console had to be removed, and a complete new hand made console was built. This console is a couple of inches taller than the older one. I also lost my factory arm rest, and a custom arm rest was built (you can see part of it in the pic). Although I miss my other arm rest due to the storage space inside it, this setup works much better for controlling the radios as I drive
Several other minor changes such as locations of power ports, and speakers moved as well.
A second XTL2500 700/800 was added, as well as a Trident iOpt Comm-Tac. Also, the UHF Vertex VX-3200 was removed, and replaced with a UHF Icom IC-F6061. This was mainly due to compatibility issues with the Comm-Tac, not necessarily because the Vertex was not performing well.
Due to some space issues, the old console had to be removed, and a complete new hand made console was built. This console is a couple of inches taller than the older one. I also lost my factory arm rest, and a custom arm rest was built (you can see part of it in the pic). Although I miss my other arm rest due to the storage space inside it, this setup works much better for controlling the radios as I drive
Several other minor changes such as locations of power ports, and speakers moved as well.
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wd9cms
Member
The setup looks great and very functional, I just have a few questions. How do you like and use the Trident iOpt Comm-Tac? Do you use it as a mobile repeater or just link radio nets. Final question why two xtl's on 800???
Thanks,
Bill
Thanks,
Bill
bezking
Member
That's an awesome setup Rod!! It looks like you live/work in an area where Officers use their personal vehicles for patrol? (I know it's like that somewhere in Hawaii)
Thanks for your comments.
I would say in general I don't have much experience with the Comm-Tac yet. This particular one has had pretty minimal use, all small scale and largely testing. We do have a couple of them in a large regional comm truck which seem to work well, although use of them has been limited as well. I tell you one thing though, they are idiot proof and very easy to operate. Anyone, even the most radio challenged, can operate them. There are other similar devices out there that are much more complex and/or challenging to operate.
As far as use of it, there are a couple of main reasons. One, it is basically for any type of patching needed for interop. For example, local agency on 800mhz works with federal agency on VHF. They can talk to each other. I can also program any of these radios on the fly, so the truck is a pretty formidable rapid attack comm rig.
Second, so I can use a portable to link into one of the mobiles. There are numerous marginal areas that we work in, and it's not uncommon to be in coverage with my mobile, and as soon as I step out of the truck or walk down into a drainage, I am out of range of a repeater. I can either cross patch and use any of 3 portables I have in the front seat of the truck (UHF, VHF, 800), or set up an 800 to 800 patch (for example, an 800 simplex to the state's trunking system or perhaps an 8 Tac).
The reason there are two 800mhz radios in the rig is because the county I work in is transitioning all local public safety to 800. The ability to patch 800 simplex to the state's trunking system, 8 Tacs, or portable repeaters is arguably critical in several marginal areas of our county.
Thank you as well. It's a county owned vehicle. Certainly excessive for your everyday cop car, but the unit I am in has some additional communcations needs due to the terrain we work in and some of our duties, which vary from search & rescue, wildland firefigting, and out of county special assignments, etc.
wd9cms
Member
Thanks....I have a NCS C250 that works like the Trident iOpt Comm-Tac. I like it because you can use one mic and two speakers for four radios.You can cross connect two, three, or all four radios, however only one net. The Trident iOpt Comm-Tac can set up two separate nets if I remember correctly. Thats an awesome radio setup. If I ever get a truck assigned I will steal some of your setup ideas. I really like the rifle setup on the back door. From a tactical perspective it sure looks effective.
Thanks Again!
Bill
Thanks Again!
Bill
We too have a few C250s, but they have largely been a failure for us due to the complexity of use.
A couple years ago we had a person (an advanced radio user, not an average user) accidentally patch some stuff that didn''t need to be patched in the middle of a major critical incident, and it immediately impacted public safety. We have also had people who supposedly knew what they were doing have difficulty operating them in general. I have had to teach so called communications experts more than once to be mindful of volume controls on both the NCS and the actual radio, etc., and many routine radio calls have been missed over the years due to users not having settings correct.
We have a couple of radio challenged users who have had them installed in their cars and refuse to even turn them on. I could have bought one for my truck, but chose the Comm-Tac instead due to ease of use, and the fact that I did not want all my radios combined into one mic. Just my preference.
The Comm-Tac doesn't even get turned on until it's needed, and only does one thing. The NCS is on all the time, and therefore subject to accidents that occur due to user error.
I am not going out of my way to shred the NCS. I think it is a great product, and would be fine for me, but I don't think it's a good tool for multiple users with varying degrees of radio nerdness, or for users who barely know how to turn their radios on. Therefore it's not really working out for us.
Thanks again for the comments.
A couple years ago we had a person (an advanced radio user, not an average user) accidentally patch some stuff that didn''t need to be patched in the middle of a major critical incident, and it immediately impacted public safety. We have also had people who supposedly knew what they were doing have difficulty operating them in general. I have had to teach so called communications experts more than once to be mindful of volume controls on both the NCS and the actual radio, etc., and many routine radio calls have been missed over the years due to users not having settings correct.
We have a couple of radio challenged users who have had them installed in their cars and refuse to even turn them on. I could have bought one for my truck, but chose the Comm-Tac instead due to ease of use, and the fact that I did not want all my radios combined into one mic. Just my preference.
The Comm-Tac doesn't even get turned on until it's needed, and only does one thing. The NCS is on all the time, and therefore subject to accidents that occur due to user error.
I am not going out of my way to shred the NCS. I think it is a great product, and would be fine for me, but I don't think it's a good tool for multiple users with varying degrees of radio nerdness, or for users who barely know how to turn their radios on. Therefore it's not really working out for us.
Thanks again for the comments.
Great setup! Just ignore the S.A.P.S., they get fired up anytime someone posts a lightbar or siren.
I was at IWCE last month, and I saw Trident just came out with a one mic set up, which is similar to the NCS models. I personally still like having it all separate though.
very nice set up there
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