Build Process

• Install 4 AGM batteries in the old oxygen compartment for “house power”

  • Totaling 400 Ah @ 20 hours

• Install a 2,000-watt pure-sine inverter and tether it to the AGM batteries

• Install a Battery Isolator solenoid to automatically balance the charge between the house batteries and the chassis batteries.

  • When plugged into shore power, it bonds the two sets of batteries together when it senses a lower voltage on the chassis batteries to keep them charged

  • When the engine is running, it works in the opposite manner by engaging the solenoid when it senses a lower voltage on the house batteries

  • Also provides backup engine starting power by pressing a button to engage the solenoid, should the chassis batteries become depleted

• Install the first two radios that were on hand

  • VHF Motorola Spectra with dual remote-mount heads

  • Tri-band B-Tech VHF/UHF/220 radio

  • Tether the two radios to the pre-existing NMO mounts on the roof

• Install a computer console

  • Zotac Mini PC

  • Two monitors with lockable articulating wall mounts

• Fabricate and install the first rack in the forward cabinet

  • Business-grade Sophos router

  • Wireless AC access point

  • PoE network switch

  • Run CAT6 cabling between the network rack and computer console

  • Battery backup

  • Populate it with network equipment

• Upgrade the majority of interior and exterior lighting to LED’s

• Place a dehumidifier and heater in the vehicle

  • Moisture had become a problem after working inside the truck during the winter months as it would tend to collect and freeze

• Replace the factory stereo with an Android-based touchscreen system

  • The system was chosen for its ability to load any android based applications and tether it to the onboard WiFi for web-enabled applications (i.e. APRS, navigation, etc.)

  • Install and tether a backup camera to the infotainment system

• Prepare to install a 42’ pneumatic mast

  • Having snowfall land on the roof of the vehicle with a heater running inside was a great way to identify the internal cross members of the roof that would have otherwise been invisible

  • Measure out the appropriate location and cut the hole in the roof

  • Used a Genie boom lift to lower the mast through the hole in the roof and bolt it onto a welded steel platform

  • Extended the mast to verify it is fully operational

  • Add drainage plumbing to the inside section of the mast so any collected water can cleanly drain out when it is fully extended

• Design a logo and fit it for proper alignment

  • Order a paint mask of the logo in preparation for painting the vehicle

• Paint the vehicle

  • Catalyzed primer keeps any missed contamination below the surface from transferring through to the final coat.

  • Weekend 1: Sand down the entire body of the vehicle

  • Prime the rear of the vehicle with a catalyzed primer

  • Paint the rear of the vehicle

  • Apply the paint mask of the logo and proceed with painting it gray with added pearl to give it a glistening appearance

  • Apply clear coat to give it a shiny appearance

  • Weekend 2: Prime, paint, and clear coat the front of the vehicle

  • Also painted the awning to match (still has yet to be installed)

• Dedicate a portable 3000-watt pure-sine generator to the truck and house it in a rear compartment

• Install an automatic satellite dish for mobile DirecTV reception

  • Chosen for its best reception due to the size of the reflector

  • Winegard Trav’ler SK-SWM3

  • DirecTV HD Receiver

• Add a secondary 12-volt air compressor and a hose reel to the pneumatic mast compartment so the mast can automatically maintain elevation in a long-term deployment

  • Non-lockable pneumatic masts have a tendency to sag after long-term use without adding more air

• Install a VoIP phone and an onboard phone system

  • Line 1: Local extension to the onboard phone system

  • Line 2: Extension to the phone system at my house via VPN

  • Line 3: Extension to the phone system at my house via HamWAN

  • Line 4: Extension on the HamWAN phone system

  • It has it’s own dedicated DID so the truck can be accessed from the public switch network

  • The VoIP phone is a Sangoma S500 with 4 lines

  • The onboard phone system is a Raspberry Pi running Asterisk

• Purchased a GPS and compass enabled antenna pointer, primarily for use with HamWAN

  • Automatically locks onto the heading of the chosen cell site from its present location

  • Also added the ability for the pointer to communicate directly with the Mikrotik Metal radio to automatically peak the signal via SNMP

  • Made by Nextmove Technologies. Model: LinkAlign 360EER

  • It allows you to save specific coordinates (cell sites) into memory for quick and easy deployment

• Install the first radio rack in the right-hand cabinet

  • Custom cut a two-post rack to fit into the original cabinetry

• Had the first radio rackmount custom made by Novexcomm

  • For a Motorola XPR 5550 UHF (DMR) and a Motorola XTL 5000 800MHz

  • When doing custom work with Novexcomm, it is best to drop-ship any new radios to them so everything can be fit to perfection

• Installed a Motorola MCS 2000 VHF with two remote heads for use between the cab and rear workspace

  • The MCS 2000 was chosen due to the vehicle already being wired for the same model radio in its past life

  • The vehicle was also previously wired for tactical headsets in the cab, with the ability to communicate via the MCS 2000 with a PTT button in the dash

• Installed a secondary head for the 800MHz radio in the cab for access while underway

• With a need to easily add more antennas, I started designing an antenna rail idea to be mounted on the roof of the truck

  • To keep moisture from entering the vehicle, a collar around the entry hole was applied to divert water around it, should moisture ever make its way inside the rail

  • The coax safely lays inside the rail until it reaches the hole in the roof for vehicle entry

  • The design was to take two C shaped pieces of metal and place one over top of the other (with the top one being slightly larger)

  • Ended up going to Smiley’s Inc. in Mt. Vernon to have them fabricate two 10 foot aluminum rails with end caps and thumb screws

  • The forward section of each rail is the only point where a hole was drilled for the coax to pass through the roof

  • The NMO mounts were installed on the top rail caps in 2-foot intervals

• Installed an Icom ID-5100 for D-Star capability

  • Had a custom rackmount made for it by Novexcomm

• Installed a Uniden BCD536HP scanner for situational awareness of analog, P25, DMR, and NXDN communications

  • It was paired with a wideband 25MHz to 6GHz MP Antenna

• Cut another large hole in the roof and installed a heat pump (heat & A/C)

  • It was installed so the interior climate could be controlled without the need to run the engine

  • Due to the high amperage draw, a separate circuit was added to keep it independent from the pre-existing circuitry

  • When out in the field, it can be powered by the generator

• Add two more custom made rack mounts

  • One to house a CB and the B-Tech tri-band radio

  • The other to house a TNC-X, a Kantronics PacketCommunicator, a clock, a voltage readout for the house batteries, and a KISMET backlight to fill the remaining space

  • The B-Tech tri-band radio was interfaced to the PacketCommunicator primarily for Winlink communications

• Installed 7 new wideband antennas (VHF/UHF/700-900MHz)

  • Two of which are PCTEL Model: PCTWSLMR

  • The remaining 5 are Browning Model: BR-136

• Installed a laptop stand in the middle of the cab

  • Used for additional navigation, APRS (via APRSIS32), and other forms of digital communications

• Installed a Kenwood TM-D710G radio in the ceiling compartment of the cab

  • Its primary purpose is for tracking the vehicle with APRS and to give the driver/passenger access to UHF while underway

  • It was paired with another Browning wideband antenna that is mounted on the roof of the cab

  • It has a built-in TNC that is also capable of interfacing with the laptop while underway, should the need arise

• Mounted a water-tight box on the roof with quick connects for quick and easy interfacing with equipment on the mast

  • Installed 2 water-tight N-Type connectors

  • Installed 2 water-tight RJ45 connectors

• Installed a second radio rack in the left-hand cabinet

  • Custom cut a two-post rack to fit into the original cabinetry

• Had two more custom rackmounts made, one for two high-powered radios and the other for speakers and magnetic mic holders

  • Paired it with a VHF Motorola XTL5000 110W

  • And a UHF Motorola XTL5000 110W

• Installed a VHF Analog/DMR repeater in the forward network rack

  • A Hytera RD982S

• Installed a cellular booster for repeating the signal inside the vehicle with support for multiple users and all US carriers

  • A Weboost Drive 4G-X with interior panel antenna

  • It’s paired with a low-profile 4G antenna on the roof

• Installed a Cradlepoint IBR900-1200M Cellular Modem 

• Fabricated an alternative mount for the mast to support an NMO mount antenna and a PTZ camera

• Added a WiFiRanger to the truck for connecting to nearby WiFi via an externally mounted 2.4 and 5 GHz antenna

  • The WiFiRanger makes it easy to manage connections with the ability to set priorities and control a portal for segregated guest access

  • All of its previous connections are retained in memory so it can automatically connect the next time you’re in range

  • It also has the ability to automatically test multiple connections and pick the one with the best throughput

• Installed a rack-mounted VHF duplexer and paired it with the Hytera repeater

  • It has the ability to interface with a roof-mounted antenna or an antenna that can be mounted on the mast

• Installed a number of other radios​

  • Motorola MCS 2000 900MHz​

  • Motorola XPR 5550 UHF (DMR)

  • Motorola CDM 1250 VHF Low Band

  • Icom A120 Airband

  • Icom 7300 HF

  • Icom 9700 VHF/UHF/1.2Ghz Satcom

  • Uniden UM525-B Marine Band

  • Motorola DTR 650 ISM FHSS tactical radio cache (5x)

• Installed a JPS ACU-2000 Interoperability Gateway

  • 10 of them are dedicated to interfacing with radios

  • 1 of them is dedicated to RoIP communications

    • Gives you the ability to control and communicate over any connected radio via a remote PC console

    • Also has the ability to interconnect with other JPS ACU Interoperability Gateways or Network Extension Units

  • It allows the ACU to interface with the onboard phone system via the VoIP SIP protocol

  • When a radio is patched to the SCM-2 module, it allows the ACU operator to initiate a phone call, giving the phone user the ability to communicate via radio

  • It also has the ability to do the same in reverse, allowing the phone user to initiate the call if patching has already been activated

  • It provides the ability to easily patch 2 or more radios together in a single net or up to 7 separate nets

  • It was configured with 11 DSP-2 modules

  • It is additionally equipped with one SCM-2 module​

• Replaced the portable generator with a 4000-watt generator that is permanently fixed to the truck

  • Added an automatic transfer switch that will engage when the generator is powered on

  • Added a surge protector to protect the truck from grid-tied surges

• Installed an over-the-air TV antenna for reception of broadcast television

  • Winegard Air 360+​ with amplifier

• Upgraded to a new HPUE capable modem and antenna for higher power communications with FirstNet Band 14

  • Assured Wireless AW12-MEGA-MOBILE Modem​

  • Parsec Technologies Belgian Shepherd 4-in-1 Antenna (PRO4BS2L14G15BS)

• Added Starlink Satellite Internet connectivity

• Added 220W Renogy Flexible Solar Panel (Monocrystalline) paired with a Victron SmartSolar 100V/20A MPPT Solar Charge Controller

• Added a Victron 500A SmartShunt to monitor the 12V battery bank status and the power demand