Need some ideas...

[ILuvXMRadio]

When you guys are doing installs, either for yourselves or for others, what kind of 'wish you hads' have you come across? What little gizmos or gadgets are super helpful in using the gear mobile or stationary, etc... White/Red LED Map lights? special mic clip/holders? etc....

The reason I am asking is there are often things we all think about AFTER we do an install and most of the time we don't know what ... "We don't know". Make sense?

So list your 'life is better when you have a ___________' or I love my ___________ in my vehicle... etc.

Just trying to think of some things BEFORE I finish collecting my gear to install.

Thanks all. Happy March 1st.

Jonathan

[mmckenna]

Well, other than X-Ray vision so I could see the wire harness I'm about to drill through, I think my new favorite thing is marine grade/adhesive lined heat shrink tubing. I started using it for all the under hood connections, but have started using it more places. While it's certainly not the -best- stuff out there, I picked up a "kit" from Harbor Freight that had a selection of sizes. While I know it sounds trivial, I've really fallen in love with the stuff. I've used it on coaxial cable connections for years, but only the stuff that came with the connectors.

As for other things, I've found that I often end up fabricating brackets to make custom things.

[Wowbagger]

Secondary battery. Add a Hellroaring battery isolator, and run all your gear off the secondary, so you don't run the primary down and can always start the vehicle (alternatively: if the primary goes down for some reason, you likely will have the secondary to call for help with). Use a good AGM or gelled electrolyte deep cycle for the secondary - you don't need cranking amps, you need amp-hours.

[Astro Spectra]

MNO sized hole cutter and torque limited power drill for installs.

Operationally, a mute bus to cut the entertainment audio for phone calls and when the dispatch radio un-mutes. You want the type that has like a 30 second hang time and then ramps the volume back up slowly.

[mmckenna]

^^^ I like the sound of that. Is their an available box that will do that, or is just taking COR off the radio and interfacing to the stereo mute lead?

[tvsjr]

Secondary battery. Add a Hellroaring battery isolator, and run all your gear off the secondary, so you don't run the primary down and can always start the vehicle (alternatively: if the primary goes down for some reason, you likely will have the secondary to call for help with). Use a good AGM or gelled electrolyte deep cycle for the secondary - you don't need cranking amps, you need amp-hours.

Agree on the second battery. My solution was a Kussmaul Auto Isolator system... continuous duty solenoid rather than an isolator, with the voltage drop and diode failure issues. Not terribly expensive either ($150-ish). I run an Optima red top for cranking, Optima yellow top for technical.

[Jim202]

Secondary battery. Add a Hellroaring battery isolator, and run all your gear off the secondary, so you don't run the primary down and can always start the vehicle (alternatively: if the primary goes down for some reason, you likely will have the secondary to call for help with). Use a good AGM or gelled electrolyte deep cycle for the secondary - you don't need cranking amps, you need amp-hours.

Agree on the second battery. My solution was a Kussmaul Auto Isolator system... continuous duty solenoid rather than an isolator, with the voltage drop and diode failure issues. Not terribly expensive either ($150-ish). I run an Optima red top for cranking, Optima yellow top for technical.

I guess you have never seen what happens when you tie 2 batteries together with a relay when the battery capacity and charge levels are not the same. There use to be a well wrote paper on the hazard of doing just what your doing. You are much better off using the diode isolator with enough amp capacity to more than handle what the alternator can supply.

That is as bad as training the fire truck driver to press both starter buttons at the same time. It's amazing the damage that can occur when one starter gets hung up and won't release. Plus the electrical system was never designed to carry the current demanded by running 2 starter motors at the same time.

Jim

[Wowbagger]

Agree on the second battery. My solution was a Kussmaul Auto Isolator system... continuous duty solenoid rather than an isolator, with the voltage drop and diode failure issues.

The Hellroaring units use a switched FET - no diode drop. When active, the drop is about 0.02V (yes, 20 mV) at 40A. As a result, the secondary and primary are at the same voltage, so as long as the chemistries are the same, both batteries would have to overcharge at the same time for bad things to happen.

[tvsjr]

I guess you have never seen what happens when you tie 2 batteries together with a relay when the battery capacity and charge levels are not the same. There use to be a well wrote paper on the hazard of doing just what your doing. You are much better off using the diode isolator with enough amp capacity to more than handle what the alternator can supply.

That is as bad as training the fire truck driver to press both starter buttons at the same time. It's amazing the damage that can occur when one starter gets hung up and won't release. Plus the electrical system was never designed to carry the current demanded by running 2 starter motors at the same time.

Jim

What "bad things" happen? You mean serious but short-term current flow between the two batteries? 2/0ga. cable should be sufficient to address that... I'm not looking for thousands of amps for hours. I've had one battery nearly depleted on several occasions and I've not had an issue one. Using the same system on two different trucks... one has 116K, one has 155K, both are running significant amounts of comms and emergency gear (think 48" of center console full)... no problems. I doubt Kussmaul would be selling the system if they hadn't thought of such issues.

[Jim202]

I guess you have never seen what happens when you tie 2 batteries together with a relay when the battery capacity and charge levels are not the same. There use to be a well wrote paper on the hazard of doing just what your doing. You are much better off using the diode isolator with enough amp capacity to more than handle what the alternator can supply.

That is as bad as training the fire truck driver to press both starter buttons at the same time. It's amazing the damage that can occur when one starter gets hung up and won't release. Plus the electrical system was never designed to carry the current demanded by running 2 starter motors at the same time.

Jim

What "bad things" happen? You mean serious but short-term current flow between the two batteries? 2/0ga. cable should be sufficient to address that... I'm not looking for thousands of amps for hours. I've had one battery nearly depleted on several occasions and I've not had an issue one. Using the same system on two different trucks... one has 116K, one has 155K, both are running significant amounts of comms and emergency gear (think 48" of center console full)... no problems. I doubt Kussmaul would be selling the system if they hadn't thought of such issues.

Please let us know when one of the batteries blows up on you. The sudden inrush current can cause the battery plates to warp and short out. When that happens, they tend to explode. Just like someone working under the hood of a vehicle that was just driven into the shop from being on the road. You open the hood, put your head under there and make a spark near the battery, It will blow up. Have seen it happen twice. Person managed to walk away with only acid burns.

Jim

[ILuvXMRadio]

Love the posts so far.

How does everyone handle mic cables when there are 2 or more radios in a console ? For example on the XTLs the mic jack is surface mount on the left side. To hang up the mic on the right side of the console, the cable drapes across the radios or other items in the console. Suggestions on keeping them neat and organized?

[mmckenna]

Not the best solution, but whoever set up our PD cars at work notched the faceplates down near the bottom left corner and ran the mic cords through there. They come out near the top of the console and the hang up is on the dashboard.

[tvsjr]

Please let us know when one of the batteries blows up on you. The sudden inrush current can cause the battery plates to warp and short out. When that happens, they tend to explode. Just like someone working under the hood of a vehicle that was just driven into the shop from being on the road. You open the hood, put your head under there and make a spark near the battery, It will blow up. Have seen it happen twice. Person managed to walk away with only acid burns.

I guess I'll have a good lawsuit against Kussmaul, then.

How does everyone handle mic cables when there are 2 or more radios in a console ? For example on the XTLs the mic jack is surface mount on the left side. To hang up the mic on the right side of the console, the cable drapes across the radios or other items in the console. Suggestions on keeping them neat and organized?

For XTLs and Spectras, it's simple - mount the mics on the left side! I have four Manta keypad mics on the left side of my console. Other radios (Kenwood TK-x180s in my case), I build extension cables and use a surface-mount keystone box with Cat5 keystone jacks along the bottom of the console on the right side where the mics plug in. I guess I've got, err, 9? mics mounted to my console.

I also use small cable clamps (the black plastic type) under the faceplate screws on some of the XTLs to keep the cable organized and to allow it to "fall" off the side of the console in the appropriate place. Not necessary, but it keeps things looking nice and provides good strain relief.

[ILuvXMRadio]

Tvsjr: I would put them on the left but this is my personal Tahoe and I'm a big dude using the havis veh specific consoles and my left leg litterly rests on the left side of the console. My only choice is on the right. Just trying to figure out the best options.

[tvsjr]

Tvsjr: I would put them on the left but this is my personal Tahoe and I'm a big dude using the havis veh specific consoles and my left leg litterly rests on the left side of the console. My only choice is on the right. Just trying to figure out the best options.

Yeah I know the feeling - I'm 6'3 myself. However, I'm using a standard 30" and 18" console back to back, rather than a wide-body version like the one for the Tahoe.

Moto does make three extension cables -
PMKN4093 - 2 foot
PMKN4033 - 10 foot
PMKN4034 - 20 foot
- which might work. They are listed as compatible with APX and TRBO... I would expect them to work on XTL, but you never know the ways of Moto - I would test one out first.

Are your radios remote mount? I've never tried it... can you plug a mic into the GCAI connector on the TIB and have it work? If yes, get an extension and your golden. Otherwise, you might need to poke around to see if you can get the necessary lines from the 26-pin, DB-25, or TIB GCAI to make a mic function... and connect that way.

If you could find the signals elsewhere, you could cap off the mic plugs on the control heads and it would make for a clean install.

[Tom in D.C.]

My method of doing personal mobile installations:

1. Save up some money.
2. Get a mobile radio shop or other competent professional to do the work for you. They will cut the roof hole, run the coax properly, install the antennas and, probably most important, install the control cable hidden between the console and the back of the vehicle. The expense involved is, I believe, worth every cent in terms of having a mobile setup that won't fail you in the future. This suggestion goes double if you're no longer a kid and find it physically difficult to crawl around inside, under, and on the top of, your vehicle.

On the subject of microphones, I use an 03 control head for my 7500 and a standard PTT mic that hangs on a mic clip on the side of the console for my Icom 208, with the 208 due to be removed soon which will leave only the 03 sitting on top of the console in a standard mic retainer clip. If and when necessary I can remove and hide the 03 by detaching it from the multipin connector that's also screwed to the side of the console.

[tvsjr]

I guess it depends on what you want. Most install shops would look at my install and either not know where to start, or charge half the price of the truck.

[ILuvXMRadio]

Does anyone use any type of audio mixer/combiner? if so, what do you use, and how do you have it setup? I'm only going to deal with 3 radios, so I think I will be alright, but none the less... it might be nice to mix down to 1 speaker..not sure how i feel about all that traffic coming out of 1 place. Its kind of nice having spacial imagining so can keep track of things from different areas the sound originates from.

[tvsjr]

Does anyone use any type of audio mixer/combiner? if so, what do you use, and how do you have it setup? I'm only going to deal with 3 radios, so I think I will be alright, but none the less... it might be nice to mix down to 1 speaker..not sure how i feel about all that traffic coming out of 1 place. Its kind of nice having spacial imagining so can keep track of things from different areas the sound originates from.

I use three 4-position speaker combiners from Fleet Radio Products (company was bought out by Command Communications... they had some of these units for sale on eBay for awhile... now I can't find any).

[honda_CR2506]

Panavise. Tessco Part # 80597 / 42271.

#8 and #10 bolts with Self Locking Nuts. Self Tapping Screws == Bad

[ILuvXMRadio]

I love the idea of moving the mic cable with a short extension to the right side of the console and routing the plug there. I'll have to look into the 2 foot one. Love the idea. Hope I can implement it the way I'm envisioning.

[quote="tvsjr"]
Yeah I know the feeling - I'm 6'3 myself. However, I'm using a standard 30" and 18" console back to back, rather than a wide-body version like the one for the Tahoe.

Moto does make three extension cables -
PMKN4093 - 2 foot
PMKN4033 - 10 foot
PMKN4034 - 20 foot
- which might work. They are listed as compatible with APX and TRBO... I would expect them to work on XTL, but you never know the ways of Moto - I would test one out first.