2014 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon HeliNomad Build

HeliNomad

Adventurer
How well does the radio work with such little ground plane for the antenna?
I'm thinking I may just mount a dual band on the side of the hood, not ideal but it seems like it would be a slightly better ground plane.

The performance is plenty fine. Sure if we were going for perfect I would trash the JK plastic roof and build a metal one and have nothing but this antenna in the middle sticking up 44". For my purposes it's excellent. There's more to life then just a good ground plane.
 

HeliNomad

Adventurer
Nice!!! You don't have any pics of the "brain" mounted do you?

Sure I can take one for you. I just mounted it on top of my JL amp under my passenger seat. It defies physics how much space is under these JK seats. Full motion of travel is no factor. I wired the sound output to my audio system which really sounds great. As a helo pilot I like to hear my local airport talk to pilots all day long.
 

lysol

Explorer
Sure I can take one for you. I just mounted it on top of my JL amp under my passenger seat. It defies physics how much space is under these JK seats. Full motion of travel is no factor. I wired the sound output to my audio system which really sounds great. As a helo pilot I like to hear my local airport talk to pilots all day long.

I actually fired up my transceiver last night and listened to the traffic here in the D.C. area just because... One day, I'm going to finish my PPL.

So you built a tray for under the passenger seat? I am going to be installing the Tuffy security box under the driver's seat so no space there. I am wanting to mount the D710 brain as well as a the Cobra CB brain. I also would like to future proof it for when I want to get into HF, I'll have some space left over. Would be nice to just mount all the radios together.
 
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HeliNomad

Adventurer
I actually fired up my transceiver last night and listened to the traffic here in the D.C. area just because... One day, I'm going to finish my PPL.

Do it before this current government ruins general aviation...the last real freedom we have in this country.
 

HeliNomad

Adventurer
I actually fired up my transceiver last night and listened to the traffic here in the D.C. area just because... One day, I'm going to finish my PPL.

So you built a tray for under the passenger seat? I am going to be installing the Tuffy security box under the driver's seat so no space there. I am wanting to mount the D710 brain as well as a the Cobra CB brain. I also would like to future proof it for when I want to get into HF, I'll have some space left over. Would be nice to just mount all the radios together.

Yea actually I made a nifty bracket to accept the D710 brains on top of the JL amp. Like I said there is plenty of room above it. Your Cobra will have no problem fitting in there. I'll take some pics once I get a moment.
 

Rockhard426

New member
Heli , I think the FLIR is a great idea, I think they also have a 2x magnifier to go along with the camera so will double the distance from like 1000 feet out to 2000 feet i believe .. but don't quote me on the specs. but they are close,

Here is a NAV-TV link with a Jeep demo on you tube near the bottom. The pan function is pretty cool.

http://www.navtv.com/product/85/flir-night-vision.html
 

HeliNomad

Adventurer
Heli , I think the FLIR is a great idea, I think they also have a 2x magnifier to go along with the camera so will double the distance from like 1000 feet out to 2000 feet i believe .. but don't quote me on the specs. but they are close,

Here is a NAV-TV link with a Jeep demo on you tube near the bottom. The pan function is pretty cool.

http://www.navtv.com/product/85/flir-night-vision.html

Yea I saw that...pretty cool. It's high in my list. But for now I'm tackling the dual battery and fluid changes. I'm going with a Amsoil signature across the entire truck. For the battery I'm considering The Genesis Off-road Dual system with Odyssey. Any opinions?
 

lysol

Explorer
Yea I saw that...pretty cool. It's high in my list. But for now I'm tackling the dual battery and fluid changes. I'm going with a Amsoil signature across the entire truck. For the battery I'm considering The Genesis Off-road Dual system with Odyssey. Any opinions?

Will you be using the same battery for both your starter and aux? I am leaning away from a typical isolator to charge my aux under the hood. I am rather interested in a DC-DC charger. This will allow me to use different types of batteries (lead acid, agm, calcium, starter, deep cycle, etc...) I really like Redarc's stuff out of Australia.

Before I do the dual battery under the hood however, I'm currently building my "camping" battery set. For starters, I'm mounting a class/group 31 in the rear cargo area above the drivers-side wheel well. For odyssey, this would be the PC2150 and for the Sears Diehard Marine, this would be the 31M:
http://www.sears.com/diehard-platinum-marine-battery-group-size-31m-price/p-02850131000P

I'm going with the Sears because Odyssey builds this battery for Sears to the same specs as their PC2150 for half the price. Plus, I like the blue color as some of the battery will be exposed in the mount. This battery is going to be for my camping needs but primarily, just for the ARB fridge. With my math, If the fridge draws on average 1.2 amps, I could run it off this battery alone for 41 hours before the battery reaches 50% capacity with zero charge input from the vehicle alternator or solar panels. Eventually, I'll add a second matching battery on the passenger side to double my power.

Back to your topic thougn, I plan on putting (2) batteries under the hood. The auxilliary under the hood will be for all vehicle accessories (lights, radios, etc...). If I don't end up using the same type of batteries under the hood, I'll get a DC-DC battery charger. If I find (2) deep cycle batteries that can put out enough CCA to start my Jeep, then I'll just get an "auto" isolator like the one in the Genesis kit. The disadvantage to a DC-DC charger is that it offers no "manual connect" to jumpstart your starter battery. This is simply solved with a 200 or 500 amp isolator however.

For my camping battery, I'll be using Redarc's BMS system. It's a really cool unit that will give me a small LCD screen to mount up front giving me live diagnostics of my "camping" battery bank. I won't go into detail about it, but it's really cool. It even offers an AC input, though it only accepts 240V which we don't have here in the states. I would have to get an up-converter to be able to plug it into a wall port at my house. Not a big deal as I don't plug my vehicle in a lot.
 

HeliNomad

Adventurer
Will you be using the same battery for both your starter and aux? I am leaning away from a typical isolator to charge my aux under the hood. I am rather interested in a DC-DC charger. This will allow me to use different types of batteries (lead acid, agm, calcium, starter, deep cycle, etc...) I really like Redarc's stuff out of Australia.

Before I do the dual battery under the hood however, I'm currently building my "camping" battery set. For starters, I'm mounting a class/group 31 in the rear cargo area above the drivers-side wheel well. For odyssey, this would be the PC2150 and for the Sears Diehard Marine, this would be the 31M:
http://www.sears.com/diehard-platinum-marine-battery-group-size-31m-price/p-02850131000P

I'm going with the Sears because Odyssey builds this battery for Sears to the same specs as their PC2150 for half the price. Plus, I like the blue color as some of the battery will be exposed in the mount. This battery is going to be for my camping needs but primarily, just for the ARB fridge. With my math, If the fridge draws on average 1.2 amps, I could run it off this battery alone for 41 hours before the battery reaches 50% capacity with zero charge input from the vehicle alternator or solar panels. Eventually, I'll add a second matching battery on the passenger side to double my power.

Back to your topic thougn, I plan on putting (2) batteries under the hood. The auxilliary under the hood will be for all vehicle accessories (lights, radios, etc...). If I don't end up using the same type of batteries under the hood, I'll get a DC-DC battery charger. If I find (2) deep cycle batteries that can put out enough CCA to start my Jeep, then I'll just get an "auto" isolator like the one in the Genesis kit. The disadvantage to a DC-DC charger is that it offers no "manual connect" to jumpstart your starter battery. This is simply solved with a 200 or 500 amp isolator however.

For my camping battery, I'll be using Redarc's BMS system. It's a really cool unit that will give me a small LCD screen to mount up front giving me live diagnostics of my "camping" battery bank. I won't go into detail about it, but it's really cool. It even offers an AC input, though it only accepts 240V which we don't have here in the states. I would have to get an up-converter to be able to plug it into a wall port at my house. Not a big deal as I don't plug my vehicle in a lot.


Yes I will go with two Odyssey. Has anyone had a good/bad experience with Genesis' system? How does it handle winching?
 

mvbeggs

Adventurer
I think you mean LockPick.

Sorry, arriving a little late to the party :)

+1 for the Lockpick.

Have one in my '11 JKUR. Couldn't stand that the GPS locks you out when traveling over 5 mph. The auto backup camera and auto front camera are also great features.
 
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