Engine | Geartrain | Chassis | Electronics | Interior | Goodies | Photos | Trails Explored
I did some experimenting with CBs and antennas. I decided I liked the compact size, glare-free black finish, and plethora of sophisticated features of the 520XL from Uniden. I find RF Gain a big help off-road and the PA is surprisingly useful. I kept hitting the K40 antenna on branches so despite its incredible range, I swapped in a permanent mount 34" antenna from Hustler which hits the foliage less often and is spring loaded anyway. It isn't the traditional four-wheeler fiberglass, but it has a low SWR and works well.
I got into Ham radio mostly for four-wheeling though I have only used Ham gear once off-road. Too few other Hams out there. The idea, though, is in an emergency I'd probably be able to hit a repeater in the mountains and get help. To that end, I have a Tech Licence, a 6m Alinco radio which should be able to skip around at night, and a dual band Icom that features cross-band repeat among other things. The 6m uses a permanent mount Larsen in the rear of the roof while the dual bander has a dual band Larsen 18"; antenna up front.
I added some navigational equipment, too. Though not quite as useful as a real map, my Lowrance GlobalMap 100 mounted on a RAM 'stalk' to the right of my leg and the left of the radio stack on the tranny hump, is rather handy to have. Occasionally when I'm exploring and not entirely sure where I am this device can help me pinpoint my location on the real map. In addition, I have added a simple electronic compass as I have absolutely no sense of direction.
I wired in a Painless Wiring 7 circuit auxiliary fuse block which I custom mounted in the glove box. It is securely fastened to a thick steel plate behind the rear wall of the glovebox. The loom of wires feeds to a terminal strip mounted to the defroster/heater duct above the right floorboard. I installed this unit so I could easily add additional circuits, such as the 3-way lighter plug power distribution box, in the cleanest, easiest way possible. I can add switched and battery circuits with a minimum of hassle.
For battery protection I have a heavy duty PriorityStart unit which detects battery low voltage and disconnects the battery to prevent flatting out the battery and ruining it, not to mention being stranded with a dead battery. This device has already paid for itself several times.
The head unit is a Pioneer DEH-5000UB with CD/CDRW MP3/WAV/AAC capability, iPod interface, and Aux input, among numerous other features. I use an XM Satellite radio portable unit and my iPod video 30GB as auxiliary sources.
For speakers, I have a set of four Boston Acoustics FX5 5" speakers. I've made some improvements to the front speaker installation but the small speakers and extremely high noise floor (it's a 20 year old off-road truck...) leave the bottom end a bit weak. Heck it's hard to have a normal conversation at highway speeds, how can I expect the stereo to sound halfway decent?
I've installed some vibration dampening and sound blocking material but will add more over time to lower the noise floor. Future plans also include upgrading to larger speakers, whether 6x9's in the front, or 6.5's. The low frequencies are currently handled by the 10" Infinity 1032W powered by the Alpine MRP-M200 mono amplifier. These units will be more permanently installed in the future.
Overview
- Icom 2134H 2m/70cm amateur radio, 18" Larsen NMO mount dual-band antenna
- Alinco DR6M0 6m amateur radio, Larsen 6m NMO mount antenna
- Uniden Pro 520 CB radio, 30" Hustler permanent mount CB antenna, PA system (actually quite useful off-road, honest)
- Lowrance GlobalMap 100 mapping GPS with external antenna, Radio Shack electronic automotive compass, internal/external digital thermometer
- 2-way paging car alarm (model/brand undisclosed)
- Auxillary vehicle protection: Winchester 1200 12gauge shotgun
- Pioneer KEH-5000UB 50Wx4 peak, CD/CDR/CDRW, MP3/WAV/AAC, Aux, iPod interface
- XM Satellite radio (Audiovox Xpress)
- Apple iPod Video 30GB MP3, 10+ days of continuous music
- Boston Acoustics FX5 5" 2-way speakers (4)
- Infinity Reference 1032W dual voice coil 10" subwoofer
- Alpine MRP-M200 amplifier, 200W x 1
- Painless Wiring 7 circuit auxilliary fuse block custom mounted in glovebox
- PriorityStart disconnects battery if voltage drops to 11V when vehicle is off [broken]
Radios
I did some experimenting with CBs and antennas. I decided I liked the compact size, glare-free black finish, and plethora of sophisticated features of the 520XL from Uniden. I find RF Gain a big help off-road and the PA is surprisingly useful. I kept hitting the K40 antenna on branches so despite its incredible range, I swapped in a permanent mount 34" antenna from Hustler which hits the foliage less often and is spring loaded anyway. It isn't the traditional four-wheeler fiberglass, but it has a low SWR and works well.
I got into Ham radio mostly for four-wheeling though I have only used Ham gear once off-road. Too few other Hams out there. The idea, though, is in an emergency I'd probably be able to hit a repeater in the mountains and get help. To that end, I have a Tech Licence, a 6m Alinco radio which should be able to skip around at night, and a dual band Icom that features cross-band repeat among other things. The 6m uses a permanent mount Larsen in the rear of the roof while the dual bander has a dual band Larsen 18"; antenna up front.
Navigation
I added some navigational equipment, too. Though not quite as useful as a real map, my Lowrance GlobalMap 100 mounted on a RAM 'stalk' to the right of my leg and the left of the radio stack on the tranny hump, is rather handy to have. Occasionally when I'm exploring and not entirely sure where I am this device can help me pinpoint my location on the real map. In addition, I have added a simple electronic compass as I have absolutely no sense of direction.
Auxillary Fuse Block
I wired in a Painless Wiring 7 circuit auxiliary fuse block which I custom mounted in the glove box. It is securely fastened to a thick steel plate behind the rear wall of the glovebox. The loom of wires feeds to a terminal strip mounted to the defroster/heater duct above the right floorboard. I installed this unit so I could easily add additional circuits, such as the 3-way lighter plug power distribution box, in the cleanest, easiest way possible. I can add switched and battery circuits with a minimum of hassle.
Battery
For battery protection I have a heavy duty PriorityStart unit which detects battery low voltage and disconnects the battery to prevent flatting out the battery and ruining it, not to mention being stranded with a dead battery. This device has already paid for itself several times.
Audio
The head unit is a Pioneer DEH-5000UB with CD/CDRW MP3/WAV/AAC capability, iPod interface, and Aux input, among numerous other features. I use an XM Satellite radio portable unit and my iPod video 30GB as auxiliary sources.
For speakers, I have a set of four Boston Acoustics FX5 5" speakers. I've made some improvements to the front speaker installation but the small speakers and extremely high noise floor (it's a 20 year old off-road truck...) leave the bottom end a bit weak. Heck it's hard to have a normal conversation at highway speeds, how can I expect the stereo to sound halfway decent?
I've installed some vibration dampening and sound blocking material but will add more over time to lower the noise floor. Future plans also include upgrading to larger speakers, whether 6x9's in the front, or 6.5's. The low frequencies are currently handled by the 10" Infinity 1032W powered by the Alpine MRP-M200 mono amplifier. These units will be more permanently installed in the future.
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