Secure Mobile Installtion?

[Radionut453]

Hello:

I am looking for some advice on how to install 2 radios securely into my vehicle so they have the lowest chance of getting stolen. I have a Honda Civic sedan, and I removed the cupholders in the console, so there is a large hole (7 in deep, 6 inches wide) where I have the radios loosely resting in currently. However, I am trying to construct some sort of bracket out of either wood, plastic, or metal to securely hold in the radios, but i have had little luck. Any suggestions would be very helpful.

 

[wv8mat]

can you put up pics of what you have now, so people can see them so they can help ya, i have put alot of radios and siren and scanners in but not on a civic, but if i can see what your working with, i can maybe help ya

 

[Universaldecoder]

What kind of radios are they, and can you provide pics of the interior of your car. That way we can see 1+1

 

[JnglMassiv]

At a few hundred bucks installed, an alarm will go a long way, too. Another area to consider is exterior appearance. If you have antennas all over the vehicle, you might be targeted. That said, I don't think there are very many thieves that are looking for scanners and other radios. Not sayin' it never happens, just that thieves will tend toward more easily fenced items.

 

[Radionut453]

Thanks for the advice! I will try to post some photos by tommorrow. The radios are both ham radios, a Kenwood TMG707a and an Alinco DR-MO6th.

I have just received a email back from Gamber Johnson Inc., which manufactures radio brackets and consoles. Anyone have experience with them?

 

[Universaldecoder]

Just an Idea.....

I saw a Chevy HHR in the parking lot today, and it's interesting to note that at the top of the dash there is a pop up bin that looks deep enough to house at least one radio. When closed its totally flush, and it even looks like an Airbag panel.

Just an idea, and it would probably take a lot of work, but it would be a "pimp'in" ride.

 

[Radionut453]

that is an awsome idea!

 

[fmulder13]

I am going through the same exact install issue right now! For me it's two scanners, a pro-2096 and a bct8. I've got my pro-2096 installed to the right of my center console. The only problem with that is that the screen is vertical rather than horizontal, and it sometimes gets in the passenger's way. I've thought about doing the cupholder thing, and i've also thought about mounting one radio via bracket to to the underside of the dash, gluing/taping the second scanner below that, and constructing some kind of box/cover around it. I've also got an ipod and a sirius radio to work with. Good luck, and we'll have to be sure to share tips. I'll be starting on mine as soon as I get home from school for the summer. (3 weeks!!)

 

[Radionut453]

i just noticed your previous thread which is just like mine, and you have a civic too! i originally had one radio on a bracket mounted on the side of the console. but i was frustrated one day so i took my dremel tool and cut out the cupholders infront of the shifter. the radios fit well and confortably in the hole, but i need to secure them in some way so they cant easily be stolen. ill post pics later.

 

[iMONITOR]

If they're going to be visible, I wouldn't spend too much effort making them secure. If they're unable to remove them, they'll most likely destroy them in the process of trying. Your time would be better spent figuring out how to hide them, or a quick-disconnect removal scheme, so you can put them in the trunk when away from your vehicle.

 

[fmulder13]

You need to cut out the cupholders? I thought you could just snap them out of the console... Did you find any suitable replacement for your cupholders? I don't think I could give up coffee drive-thrus for better scanner placement!

 

[Radionut453]

The idea behind removing the cupholders was because I couldnt fit the radios below the dash and i didnt like the insecurity of side mounting using the supplied brakets. If you have ever seen the inside of a police cruser, they use something called a Havis Shield, which is a steel box that is bolted down. They only fit GM and ford (or any car with open console) so i cannot use it. I dont drink coffee so i didnt care about the cupholders .

 

[n8emr]

I have to agree with greatlakes, If the radio's are visiabile make sure they ware secure enough to survive a car crash. You cant keep a theif from taking the radio if he wants them. The more your secure them the more damage around the area will be done. Easy to pull out means a few hundred dollars loss of radio, have security means lots of damage to everything around the radio's.

 

[kskarma]

Hide in plain sight...

Without seeing your placement, it's hard to make a specific recommendation...but..the old saying, "Out of sight, out of mind" should be kept in your plan. If a potential thief looks in the car and sees something that looks 'right'....but does not look 'fenceable'...they problably will move on to more productive targets. SO...having something like a common Kleenex box with an open bottom that you could just drop over the radios would be one suggestion. Anything that looks 'normal'...but does not give the radios away would work. Think about a fake book, package, carryout drink tray, folded road map, ball cap, etc. All of these could be constructed or reinforced so that you could just pop them over your radios when you park and no one would be the wiser.

On a similar note, about 10 years ago J.C. Whitney sold a 'theft prevention' gadget in their catalog. This was a fake face-plate that looked like a cheap AM radio. One the back side of it there was an audio cassette sized piece of plastic..(might have been an actual cassette...I never saw one for real).. When you left the car the idea was to slip this 'Fake radio' into the cassette slot of your high dollar AM-FM $uper radio. Anyone checking your car would only see the fake face of the phony radio and move on. I thought that was a very clever idea...this was before all the removeable face plates, car alarms, etc.

 

[Universaldecoder]

Keep your mouth shut when you look up!

Another place would be overhead.....as in an overhead console....

Go to this place...

www.ebay.com and do a search for "overhead" or "overhead console".....

I know the honda civic did not come with one, but a lot of others did. You maybe able to easily modify one to fit the curvature of your roof. Some have deep bins that can easily swallow a ham radio. You may even be able to stack two together.

Here is another example....

http://www.tuffyproducts.com/consoles/overhead/048.html

Here are ones for golf carts....

http://www.golfcarttrader.com/radio_/radios.htm

And they also make simpler overhead mounts for boat cabins.

And last....here are instructions on how to make overhead powered rack for a jeep....you can probably do the same for the civic..

http://www.omninerd.com/2006/03/07/articles/49

I would think that most thieves look at the center console anyways.

Just another Idea (one I might even try!.....err got to many projects as it is....sigh)....

 

[SLWilson]

Sad...

The sad part of ANY install is, no matter HOW good the install is, no matter HOW HARD you try to hide things, IF the thief decides to throw a brick through the window and get in, they won't care to rummage around a while to find anything ov value....They'll take most things that are bolted down of any value and all that aren't !!!!Steve/KB8FAR

 

[Universaldecoder]

The sad part of ANY install is, no matter HOW good the install is, no matter HOW HARD you try to hide things, IF the thief decides to throw a brick through the window and get in, they won't care to rummage around a while to find anything ov value....They'll take most things that are bolted down of any value and all that aren't !!!!Steve/KB8FAR

Just park it next to the Lexus with the gold trimmings, and the spinners...

 

[Radionut453]

thanks for the tips...the overhead stuff would be really cool but the sunroof just makes it impractical and difficult to view while driving.

after talking to some police officer friends, i have decided to custom design a steel box that i will have fabricated at a local welding factory (good practice on autocad). it will be similar to a police console but smaller and will have unique security features that i havent worked out yet. thanks for the tips!!

 

[fmulder13]

Way to go, radionut! I've decided to build myself a wooden radio box. I'm going to put it under the dash, above the cupholders and have the front plate run from the bottom of the dash to the edge of the area around the shifter. I've got a few plans to mount the scanners, but we'll see how that goes. Pictures promised.

Would you mind tossing on some pictures of your current situation with the radios in the cupholders? I'm just curious...

 

[Radionut453]

Fmulder13,

Your idea is pretty much exactly like mine, and i actually tried to do that last year with wood under the dash and above the cupholders. Unfortunately, one of my ham radios was much too long to fit unless i removed the copholders and angled the radios down. I have attached a photo of the radios just in the hole, and I am almost finished with the bracket design and i will post that when its done. good luck on your design!