Odyssey odyssey Part 2

[N9JIG]

In my Honda Odyssey van I had my several radios mounted in the rear cargo area with remote heads up front (See: http://forums.radioreference.com/pictures-your-shack-mobile-setup/233727-odyssey-odyssey.html ). While it all worked very well it had a major drawback. It took out the storage area and made it a bit aggravating on grocery day.

While cleaning out the basement last week I consolidated my tools and ended up with a redundant large, sturdy hard plastic tool box that looked like it would fit my radios. A dream was hatched...

I disassembled my radios in the van and pulled back the coaxes to reroute them to between the second and third row seats. A couple hours in the basement and I came up with a tool box radio case. 3 power leads and 6 antenna cables come in from the side and several control head cables go out the front. The speakers are mounted on the top, allowing the handle to still be accessed.

Above is the box before installation. The Moto speakers provide plenty of audio from the 3 scanners and the Alinco dual bander.

A hole on the side of the box allowed me to run the antenna cables as well as the power leads. A second hole in the front provided access for the control head cables.

The box fits between the second and third row seats snugly which keeps it from moving. I am a little concerned about heat, so I will keep an eye on it and install a fan if needed. I don't transmit much but it could be an issue when I do.

It ain't pretty but it works.

See the referenced thread for views of the front.

 

[W9WSS]

Your ideas we discussed Friday evening seemed to really work out well for you. And, you didn't have to take the drive to Oswego to purchase a new tool box.

 

[Rt169Radio]

Interesting.

 

[W9WSS]

I would also be concerned, even though you don't transmit very often. Unless you leave the cover completely open, I would surmise that the movement of air would be at a minimum, if at all inside the box. When you had the radio units in the rear compartment, at least there was more room around inside that compartment. You could probably purchase a few +13.6VDC "whisper" fan's and install them possibly in the top, and maybe one in the side(s) to keep some air moving inside. Just a thought on my part, Rich.

 

[SCANMUNCIE]

Interesting..... I like the idea....

 

[ScannaMan9]

-Taptalk; iPod

Any pics of it in the van???

 

[N9JIG]

Pics as requested

Any pics of it in the van???

Here ya go.

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First is the box as seen with the second row seat folded forward. There are two cable ports. On the left as looking forward is the port for antenna and power cables. There are 6 antenna cables, 1 for the GPS and 5 NMO's. There are 3 incoming power leads, battery, switched and ground.

On the front of the box is another port for cables to the front. Six control heads (2 BCD996XT, 1 BCT15X, 2 CDM1250 and the DR-635) as well as a power and ground for the Uniden control heads go forward.

You may notice the wire loom to the front has a large bend. This allows me to lift the box and place it on the seat for maintenance or to get the mat out for cleaning.

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The view from the rear with the third row seat folded down.

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The control heads are mounted up front. The BCT15X and a BCD996XT are mounted on a slide-out drink tray. The CDM's, DR-635 and another BCD996XT are on the top cover of the center console. I left enough slack so I can still get in the console to store miscellaneous car junque.


As for the heat issue I don't think there is one. I drove for an hour and a half the other day and transmitted on all three radios pretty extensively to test. Several times I checked for heat and nothing was felt on the outside of the tool box. I put my hand in and felt the radios themselves and they weren't any warmer than they would have been otherwise. I will keep an eye on it and I still think a fan or two may be in store for this.

 

[W9WSS]

I had the pleasure of viewing this complete installation on WED evening. As always, impressive! I like how the plastic looming finishes everything out. Thanks for posting the new photo's, Rich!

 

[Rt169Radio]

Looks good,does anyone sit in the back?

 

[N9JIG]

Looks good,does anyone sit in the back?

Not in the third row, we are DINK's and travel as much as possible, so the extra room helps out. The radios keep me occupied on the road and I use them for work as well.

 

[fieldho]

Looks great, I think that's was a great idea. I would have probably mounted some kind of push/pull fan system on the sides but if they are ok after more than a year I would have been wasting my time. With some universal plugs and connectors, this system would be easy to move from car to car. I like the way it stored out of site.

 

[FFRXing]

quite impressive!

 

[N9JIG]

Well... After a few months I ditched this set up. It was just too difficult to access the radios for programming. While the CDM's were never an issue (they program thru the mic connector) the scanners and Alinco were a bear to get at this way.

The radios are back on a board in the cargo area but this time I oriented the scanners so that the heads are pointed into the vacant area so I can get at the front ports. Since I use RH-96's on the scanners I developed a mod to connect the RH-96 to the rear panel using a panel mount socket (see my posts in the Uniden threads on that...).

I did mount a board above the radios to allow packages to be stored there but eventually will probably figure something out that is a little more visually acceptable (my woodworking skills are non-existent...).

The radio layout is different now too. I bought ProClips for both the right and left side air vents up front. A BCT15X (actually the RH96 for this) is on the left side, used mostly for CloseCall. On the right side of the steering wheel is the head for an IC7000. I still have the 2 BCD996XT's on the slide-out tray and the Alinco is the only radio left on the console lid. I found that I almost never really used the CDM's, and the few times I did I could have used a scanner or ham rig.

Pics before some slight modifications are at http://forums.radioreference.com/pictures-your-shack-mobile-setup/255552-n9jig-van.html