Batboard

Hey, I just finnished this custom job. There are a lots of photos on this link, please be patient. You comments are welcome, good or bad. I took some time to do this, but it was well worth it. You can click on any photo to see it larger. regards

http://www.willer.org/id4.html

that is some seriously nice work.......

Im impressed... a couple of questions though...

how did you wire the programming ports to the RJ45 jacks??? and what are the switches under the scanner for??
and how long total time, obviously without waiting for parts.. total production and installation time??

nice job....

John

Now that is ham sexy.


Very nice install!

Awesome job. How cut up are your hands from removing the OEM center console. Some SHARP metal in there!

I re-wired the 15 pin port on the back of the spectra's to bring out the speaker feed and the data. I custom built a RJ45 plug to RIB box cable. This allows me to me to re-program without having to remove the radios. I also brought out to the RJ45's the DB9 from the Kenwood and the scanner. the last port was for the Kenwood mic as you can see. total time.. maybe around 100 hours? that's just a guess.

oops, the six switches control the little lite, power to all of the power points, a bypass to the charge guard , inverter and some other devices that can't be discussed here.

regards

Nice Job!! Quick questions. Im in the same boat as you with the hobby. Did you design the console fron scratch or did you find a template somewhere. The mesurements you came up with look like they are right on the money. I have 2004 Silverado 2500 HD wit the same center console and was thinking of doing th Jotto Desk Console that is made for the new Chevy. But, I like yours alot better. However, I don't have the equipment you have. I just have a CDM1550 in right now. I have 4 togle switches near the air bage key switch for my lights and I have 3 toggles and 2 momentary switches on the side of the larger storage pocket for my siren. If I built a console like that I would then add in my Whelen Siren/Light controller and maybe a new scanner.

no template, just started with a peice of cardboard. LOTS of cutting! The OEM console is a real &*%$# to remove. There were some hidden treasures inside it too ! ie: the boise stereo amp and a 6 in woofer speaker.

Yup, same experience I had with the 2003 suburban. The damn Bose amp and subwoofer were hiding in that pain in the ass OEM console. I'm sure you were left with a bucket of fasterners like I was.

I really like what you have done. I did consider going totally custom at the time, but ended up doing a mix of off the shelf gamber johnson and jotto desk with a lot of custom stainless steel fabrication.

I just couldn't put a big chunk of wood in my truck, but I must say yours is exceptional.

good job!

Wasn't this vehicle for sale not too long ago?

PJ, ya the red one was and I did sell it. The new black one is NOT for sale. Well, not now at least. thanks for all of the positive comments. Regards

Great install!!! I may need to copy it for my truck.
Question from me. 1. where did you get the rails for the radio plates? 2. Where did you get your radio mounting plates from?

The rails and faceplates are all Troy Products. ANd thanks for the positive comments.

Another question or two. Where did you get the formica that you used to build the console and how hard was it to work with?

I ordered the formica from Home Depot ( it a home improvement store in Ca.) Formica, is really a :o to work with. That was my first time. Some of the inside cuts had to be done by hand and were not perfect. Now that I have done that once, I will not touch formica again!

WOW.

I never post my comments for installs... but I have to give you my praise on this one. Definitely one of the best I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing!

Possibly one of the best ones I've seen. Where did you get the Lighter plugs on the left side and what brand of Laptop mount is that.

what does the troy faceplates run?

Cost of Troy face plates... I believe that the MRSP is about $40 ea. but depending on your volume you can get them alot less. Mine were less than $30 each new. hope this helps.

gives me hope, right now i have an 84 buick, lights up the ying yang with a cdm1250, broken switchbox and soon to be a pa/airhorn on a tower. I hope to soon yet a 2001 yukon xl, that shall be nice to light up!

But do you actually have a vision on the roof, or are you just using it as a controller? If so, how? Doesn't it want to see the bar and give you errors?

Rwiller wrote:Cost of Troy face plates... I believe that the MRSP is about $40 ea. but depending on your volume you can get them alot less. Mine were less than $30 each new. hope this helps.

I have to ask, on the picture of the 99 Red Tahoe on that site it shows the X9000 head sitting at an angle and tilted towards the driver, is that a stock Troy plate, or was that a custom. I really like the look of that versus having the heads lay flat, it would make them easier to read on my current install.

If it is a Troy or other companies product do you remember the part number and price?

Thanks.

Dude that Truck is Bada**. It good to see you are doing good..now that the swap meet is gone...its kinda crapy...Hope you are doing good and I might catch ya on one of the 440mhz repeaters in your area..


Brian
KG6BKI

looks good!!!

I will be removing the factory console this weekend and replacing it with a Troy console. Problem is that the console has the BOSE sound system and amplifier located inside it.

I borrowed this image from Rwiller


Has anyone removed the amplifier? I do not want to keep the amp installed. Will the remaining speakers in the doors and in the rear continue to work with the amp removed?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Yep I've done it and been exactly in the same spot you are right now with my 03 suburban. I'll repost some pic links so you can see what was done.

I was an extensive project and I still find myself adding stuff to it.

You'll want to remove the amp from the remaining OEM floor plate and then remove the plate itself (it just gets in the way). Also remove the "channel" from the stereo amp wires and discard it.

I re-mounted the amp vertically inside the consoles (I used back to back 17 and 9 inch gamber johnson) so none of the wiring had to be moved or extended.

I moved the sub to the rear cargo area where it was mounted on previous year vehicles.

Thanks, but the question is can I completely disconnect the amp and not use it? I don't have room for it in my console, and I don't listen to the radio all that much anyways. I just want it out of there, but want to make sure that when I remove it, the remaining speakers in the car will work.

Thanks.
Ryan

No the amp needs to be there as its parts of the entire Bose system. You can live without the sub woofer.

I'd keep it all together if possible - its a very nice stereo short of the navigation version put in the denali

Thought I'd post some work while we're on the subject...








And a different vehicle... this enclosure at the front served two purposes, to hold the electronics that can be acessed easily on the driver side (panel where the two speakers are mounted) and to serve as a platform for a future docking station for a laptop.

Sean,

That's awesome. Great Idea. I had a similar idea to cut a hole in MDF and attach it to the front opening of the Troy console so that I can get the Bass speaker working again.

Very well done, and thanks for the pics.

Got dimensions of the filler panel handy?

Yeah dude, that's some mighty fine work you've done there. I especially liked the panel of RJ45 connections to allow for easy programming access to all of the radios!

Rwiller, that looks great!
EVConcepts, yours looks great too!

apco25 wrote:I just couldn't put a big chunk of wood in my truck, but I must say yours is exceptional.

I used to think the same thing about wood, but seeing what can be done with a wooden console and i think i'm a 'convert'. i'm joining the dark side and going with a wood console too.

Where are you a storm chaser at