In March of 2003 I decided I needed to do something with my mobile radios. Everytime I would go to the Cape
(Kennedy Space Center or Port Canaveral) for a shuttle or rocket launch I would take several radios. Along
with several radios came antenna coax, splitters, power cables, cigarette lighter plugs and more. With
three radios (usually three BC 780XLT scanners) plus a handheld this was a mess in the front seat! And
I'm not a person for a mess or messy areas, I'm a neat freak!
When I built my shelf for my base setup (click here for picture) I had some boards
left over. After thinking about this I decided to get out the tape measure and saw and go to work. About
an hour later I was putting the first coat of stain/varnish on my new mobile radio rack. I sized it so that
three BC780s or BC785s could fit. It needed to fit between the center console and the dash panel
of a 2003 Ford F150 4x4 (Captains chairs, not the bench seat version). It is sized so it fits snuggly
so it doesn't move while traveling however it still
is very easy to remove to take in the house. When its in the house it sits perfectly
on top of my shelf in the home shack. I also designed it with a power terminal strip which would power all three
radios plus a Stridesberg Active multicoupler (MCA204). The power terminal strip was powered with 1
cigarette lighter power cord, right there I just eliminated three power cords!
When at home
I plug the rack into a 12 Volt power supply and with the multicoupler I just need to plug in one antenna to
power all three radios. Makes going mobile very easy, just two cables (1 antenna, 1 power) will take care of antennas and power
connections for three radios!
The antenna I use mobile is the NIL-JON Super M with a Larsen Mag mount. Designed for 144, 220, and 440
ham bands it does very well for in both the Civil Air (108-136 MHz) and Military Air (138-144 & 225-400 MHz)
ranges.
I was going to mount three of the small 2" RadioShack speakers on the side, one for each scanner. However after I got
the speakers I wasn't impressed with the sound quality. I've used the larger 4" speakers before and really like
the audio they produce. So I'm still thinking what I might do for speakers. However as a bonus I've discoverd
that since the audio from all three scanners can not escape the "rack" from the back or either side the audio
level is louder than just a stand alone scanner. I'm guessing the box "funnels" the sound out the front instead
of all 360 degrees. Anyway when the scanners are in the box they do sound louder than before.
Below are pictures of it in the truck as well as a shot of the back. Next I'm going to "neaten" up the wiring
and possibly add speakers. Right now I'm using the active Stridsberg Antenna Multicoupler, 1 BC 780XLT and 2 BC 785D's.
