Road trip mods

[Venator]

I think this is the best sub-forum for this thread; mods please feel free to relocate it if not. I'm starting with a 2016 PPV 4wd. Leaving the mechanicals stock. Want to add a few functional electronic things to make road trips nicer.

I permanently-mounted and hardwired my radar detector. I hate temporary solutions such as suction cups and cigarette-lighter power plugs. My detector is a Radenso DS1.

I ordered the Radenso hardwire kit with remote mute button from Radenso, and a permanent glass mount from an eBay vendor (the only one I was able to find for this detector). If all I needed was power, I could have made my own cable, but I wanted a remote mute button so I wouldn't have to reach up to the top of the detector to mute it.

I experimented with the mounting position; I wanted it tucked up nice and high, but had to allow space for my fingers to operate the controls located along the top front of the detector (menu, volume, etc). I also needed to be able to adjust the mirror of course, and still use the passenger-side sun visor. Once I had settled on the location, I cleaned the glass with an isopropyl alcohol pad. I had a co-worker look from behind and tell me what I needed to do to get it sitting straight, then pressed the adhesive mount onto the glass.

I used an add-a-fuse to tap a RAP source in the left-side dash fuse box. I mounted the remote mute button and LED on a flat spot of the dash to the right of the steering column. Tucked the wires away taking care to not interfere with the A-pillar air-bag deployment.

It's barely noticeable from the outside, even when it's not raining.

This detector is nice because it is quite resistant to falses, is extremely configurable, and has a GPS for red-light and speed camera alerts, as well as auto-lockout for known falses (compares radar frequency and location, and automatically locks out that alert after I've encountered it 3 times, at least 8 hours apart). I keep the display turned off; I don't look at it when I hear an alert, and I don't want it lit up when viewed from behind.

The coiled cable in the 3rd photo is for a microphone; more on that later.

 

[Doubeleive]

I think this is the best sub-forum for this thread; mods please feel free to relocate it if not. I'm starting with a 2016 PPV 4wd. Leaving the mechanicals stock. Want to add a few functional electronic things to make road trips nicer.

I permanently-mounted and hardwired my radar detector. I hate temporary solutions such as suction cups and cigarette-lighter power plugs. My detector is a Radenso DS1.

I ordered the Radenso hardwire kit with remote mute button from Radenso, and a permanent glass mount from an eBay vendor (the only one I was able to find for this detector). If all I needed was power, I could have made my own cable, but I wanted a remote mute button so I wouldn't have to reach up to the top of the detector to mute it.

I experimented with the mounting position; I wanted it tucked up nice and high, but had to allow space for my fingers to operate the controls located along the top front of the detector (menu, volume, etc). I also needed to be able to adjust the mirror of course, and still use the passenger-side sun visor. Once I had settled on the location, I cleaned the glass with an isopropyl alcohol pad. I had a co-worker look from behind and tell me what I needed to do to get it sitting straight, then pressed the adhesive mount onto the glass.

I used an add-a-fuse to tap a RAP source in the left-side dash fuse box. I mounted the remote mute button and LED on a flat spot of the dash to the right of the steering column. Tucked the wires away taking care to not interfere with the A-pillar air-bag deployment.

It's barely noticeable from the outside, even when it's not raining.

This detector is nice because it is quite resistant to falses, is extremely configurable, and has a GPS for red-light and speed camera alerts, as well as auto-lockout for known falses (compares radar frequency and location, and automatically locks out that alert after I've encountered it 3 times, at least 8 hours apart). I keep the display turned off; I don't look at it when I hear an alert, and I don't want it lit up when viewed from behind.

The coiled cable in the 3rd photo is for a microphone; more on that later.

all my V1's are mounted to the mirror and hardwired in. X & K band turned off because it's basically never used anymore.

 

[Venator]

Unfortunately they still use K in my area, although it's mostly Ka now (and LIDAR). The only time I see X is on some of the older speed-monitoring signs, so I also have X disabled.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Nice work.

 

[Venator]

I needed radio communications in the Tahoe. My requirements were VHF, UHF, NXDN, DMR, coverage of Amateur and commercial frequencies, and trunking. Front panel programming (FPP) ability would be nice.

After lots of research, I settled on the Kenwood NX-5000 series of radios: the NX-5700 VHF mobile, and the NX-5800 UHF mobile. The radios came with NXDN, with DMR an added option via a one-time license key purchase (per radio). FPP was another available added option via license key purchase.

My PPV had the center seat reinstalled, and no aluminum radio console, so I wanted to hide the radio decks somewhere and use remote heads. Kenwood has an optional KCH-20R enhanced remote head, capable of controlling up to three decks. I built a dual-deck system using the two radio decks (without their heads) and a KCH-20R. I added a DMR license to each deck. This gave me a multi-band, multi-mode radio system, legal for use on both Amateur and commercial frequencies, controlled by a single head.


The nice thing about setting up a PPV for radio use is it comes with holes in all the right places. I mounted the remote head on top of the dash using existing holes. Whatever had been mounted there before was facing the driver at exactly the angle I needed, at exactly the right distance from my eyes.


The KCH-20R can be switched to display both decks at the same time, or to a more-informative screen for a single deck. Audio from both decks can be heard from the one speaker during either screen view, with the selected deck taking priority if there are signals being received from both decks simultaneously.


I mounted the KES-5A speaker below the center of the dash. It's out of the way and sounds clear.


There were already three 3/4" holes in the roof from the police antennas, so I removed the plugs and installed NMO mounts with dual-shield coax (stranded center-conductor for mobile use). The front antenna is a Larsen WBQ-140 wide-band quarter-wave VHF, the middle antenna is a home-made wide-band quarter-wave UHF (made from an end-cutting of a VHF whip cut to 440 MHz, mated to a Larsen cone, Larsen straight-through NMO base, and topped with a Larsen ball). The third antenna is for a cell booster; more on that later. I use quarter-waves because they are physically-short, which allows me to fit into covered parking areas, and to take the Tahoe through an automatic car-wash without having to remove any antennas. There is also the antenna radiation pattern; quarter-waves are better when you're attempting to communicate in areas with varied heights like mountains, as opposed to a gain antenna like a 5/8th-wave which sends the signal out towards the horizon at the expense of vertical radiation.


The decks are hidden away from view, in a location where they can't be kicked by a passenger or hit by shifting cargo.

I'm using the KMC-66M DTMF microphone. The keypad allows me to access a telephone interconnect via our linked mountain-top repeater sites to make and receive phone calls if the cellular phone system is not functioning or doesn't cover my location. I haven't figured out a good location to hang the microphone yet, so no photo. It currently sits in a mic-sized pocket on the center console.

I've enabled a few other things in the system, such as cross-band repeat (had to make a custom cable), radio rebroadcast (switchable radio audio to an outside speaker), etc. I like maxing out my radios' capabilities, and the Kenwoods can do a lot.

I use the system for Amateur Radio, scanning, and work. I will also be using it on industrial roads (logging and mining roads) when I get back into exploring ghost towns and abandoned mines.

 

[Venator]

Installed a Surecall Fusion2Go 5G cell booster today. Hid the inside antenna above the roof-mounted center console. Tucked the unit inside a rear panel next to the parking-assist back-up sensor control module.

Rather than use the supplied mag-mount "shark fin" antenna, I used a Laird TRA6927M3NB-001 radome (698-960MHz, 1700-2700MHz, 3dbi, 100w) with an NMO mount on the roof. Photo in the previous post.

I had tested this particular unit in my previous vehicle, and it works very well. In the area I tested it (a known dead zone), my phone went from no cell signal (couldn't connect to the network to even send a text) to 3/4 or 4/4 bars of signal strength, depending on my elevation in the parking lot (low side or high side).

The unit will be kept switched off until it's actually needed.

 

[Venator]

I wanted a decent cell-phone mount that didn't use a suction cup, occupy a cup holder, or clip to a vent vane. It needed to be easily-visible from the driver's seat, and really solid.

After doing the usual research, I settled on the Proclip mount. No holes to drill, and custom-designed for specific vehicles. The mounts are composed of two pieces, the vehicle-specific mount and the device-specific holder (cell phone, GPS, etc).

The 2015-2020 Tahoe mount was p/n 865166, and the mount for my phone was p/n 711042 (medium universal adjustable Proclip holder). The 15%-off link on their site when you sign up wasn't working, but I found a 10%-off coupon after a quick online search.

Each piece was $39.99 USD, or $36 with the discount. Including shipping to Canada it was $96.04 USD, or $139.58 CAD. Yes, it's really expensive for some ABS plastic, but it's exactly what I needed, and it's the last cell phone mount I'll ever buy, for what I hope is the last vehicle I'll ever buy. So I didn't mind spending it.

Then they sent an email saying the 865166 was backordered. I guess not enough of you guys were ordering it, so they didn't make any more when they sold the last of them. lol

A week later I received an email saying my order had been shipped. It arrived two days later. I followed the instructions for the install and am happy to report that it works as intended for my phone (Oneplus 10 Pro phone with a Tudia DualShield Merge case).

It's solid and the phone doesn't move. The viewing angle and the width are adjustable, and both are locked into place via a single set screw. The side grips are positioned so they don't contact the phone buttons. The bottom is open to accommodate a charging cable and not block the opening for the speaker. The phone easily slides into place from the top and is easily pulled up and out. It's a well-designed piece of kit.

 

[Tonyrodz]

You've got some really nice electronics in there--very knowledgeable too. I also like stealthy installations. No need to show the thieves where things are. That's an awesome phone holder too.

 

[Venator]

I mounted my Garmin DriveSmart 66 GPS Navigator today, using a RAM diamond screwed to the A-pillar, a RAM arm, and a RAM ball to Garmin ball adapter. No suction cup to fall off the windshield when the temperature changes.

The screws and nylocs are shorter than the ribbing on the back of the A-pillar moulding, so no issues with the air bag.

I ran the power cable through an existing hole in the A-pillar from the removed A-pillar spot light.

I chose this location because it's easy to see and touch, and doesn't obscure anything.

 

[Padraig]

Looks good. i mounted my Rodenso a little different. I used double sided tape to mount a small metal plate to the window, removed the suction cups from the factory mount and replaced with two small magnets. Works fine and I can remove and replace it instantly. Hard wired from the fuse panel.

Padraig