Best Switch Box...

[c17loadsmasher]

Hello all.....

I had a small mishap where something went awry in the reinstallation of my XL400 switchbox, and now two of the micro-relays are bad, in addition to probably some of the logic function (ahh, the sweet smell of burned electronics). Anyways... I was pondering getting it repaired by TouchTronics, they refurbed it before when I got it from the USAF. The following is what I have in my truck, and a loose idea of how I wanted it switched. Some of you have seen so many different ways to wire things, as well as so many different products, I thought maybe I could see what ideas some of the more experienced people may have for me. First and foremost, I'd like the switch box to be decent looking - it has to go in a small area where the XL400 went. Here are the accessories I have that need to be powered by the switch box:

• -Vector Lightbar (Basic)
  -4 Corner Strobes
  -Wig Wags
  -Flashing Take-downs
  -Rear flashers (on lightbar)
  -Rear flashers (in rear window)

That may seem pretty straightforward, but I also have a Whelen remote siren.... The way I had it wired with the XL400 it was six switches, one did the lightbar rotators, the second did the corner strobes, the third did all the rear flashers, and the fourth did the wig-wags and front flashers. The last two buttons one was momentary for airhorn, and the other was a master off; which sequentially shut down each load w/ a 1 sec delay between them all. The pursuit switch did the siren (sounds silly, but it worked!). Position 1 did wail, 2 yelp, and 3 did phaser. It was a modified stacking system...where position 3 combined position 1 and 2 to command the siren amp to do phaser. All this was ignition switched. Key not in run position, nothing worked.

Siren is Tap-II compatible, so that's an option, but I didn't want to go through all of that searching for the horn wire in the steering column when the pursuit switch was much easier. I'd like the replacement to operate in a similar fashion...only difference is I'd like the wig wags & flashing takedowns to be separately switched as there are times when I don't want the wig wags.

That's about it... any help would be most appreciated. Any suggestions would be great, I'm open to just about anything (positive of course) that may make it easier or better. Thanks all...

[Pj]

I think the Whelen (yes I am biased, but I haven't seen anything better) PCC9N/9R switch boxed are pretty good. The R verison has the built in 30? and 20 amp relays and also has an output for remote siren activation (slide switch in red). N is the non-relay verison. The come in slide plus 5 push buttons+1 momentary (which is programmable with some boxes to do different things) or with 6 on/off switches. I just sold my old one on eBay or I would have offered it to ya.

[KitN1MCC]

i have to second pj on that one

[jedi_saber]

You need a unitrol man!
Classic 480k
Contemporary touchmaster
or superbitchin Omega

Although a big fan of Whelen myself, I felt like I had to speak up for Unitrol (figured our Connecticut boys cover the Whelen end of the discussion) - even if you don't want the unitrol siren amp (can't see why you wouldn't ) the slide switch and extra switches on omega and 480k's are great units. They are cheap on ebay (well 480k's at least), however not as nice and compact as the whelen switchbox... There, my 2 pesos worth.

[Bob]

I concur with all of the above. However, it depends on how much you want to spend. I've had a Unitrol Touchmaster in my car for years, and I LOVE it. It takes a lot to kill them. I recently installed a Whelen CenCom for a customer, and that thing is the cat's ass. I'll be abandoning my Touchmaster shortly in favor of a CenCom.

If you're looking for just a switchbox, pretty much anything by the big names is decent. I like the look and feel of the Whelen units, followed closely by the Code 3 Halfpack.

If you want to consider a Touchmaster, let me know. I have a used one to unload.

[nick.dejohn]

I will have to agree with the guys about the Whelen. I have had one in several of my vehicles and they work great!!!

[c17loadsmasher]

Yeah, I saw a CenCom on Whelen's website, and that thing does look pretty cool. Any more information as to how that thing works? I read the manual and it looks like it has an activity tone option that lets you know lights may be on...which is pretty cool in itself.

[jedi_saber]

You mean similar to the Unitrol Touchmaster that has the audible clicking that tells you it's on? (had to disable that, totally went on my nerves if sitting on side of the road for prolonged time with flashers on and all you hear is click-click-click-click...)

[Bob]

It does have the activity tone. It sounds for about 1 second every 8.

I sold and installed one for a customer. It takes a little bit of planning, and a little bit of fine tuning to get the functions just the way you want them. Each of the buttons can be programmed for momentary, timed, toggle on/off, or security functions. The security function requires you to tap the button twice before it activates. The programming for the slide switch has it's own set of outputs, and will also allow you to turn on or off various buttons depending on the position.

You can set different siren tones to activate with different functions. You can also set the siren tones to switch off or be suspended when switching into or out of different positions on the slidebar.

Think 'B-Link meets SmartSiren'

Unlike the Fed Sig SmartSiren, the CenCom is PC programmable via USB cable. The only thing I don't like about the programming is that you can't retrieve the programming from the unit. When you have to make changes, you open the file for the unit, make your changes, and then dump it into the unit again.

Any more questions, let me know.