1995 Isuzu Rodeo, retired May 12, 2005 after South
Plains, TX hail damage
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Currently I'm driving a 1995 Isuzu Rodeo. It doesn't get
the best mileage, but is 4-wheel drive and has gotten me out of some muddy
situations off the pavement. I've tried to keep modifications to a minimum, the
only permanent mark on the outside is a 3/4" antenna hole on the roof.
I took these pictures before they tore down the research
radar out on North Campus.
Here's what you see from the front
Views of all the equipment from the driver's and passenger
side. The laptop mount is homemade, using wood, steel pipe, and aluminum
angle-irons. The pipe threading makes it easy to install and remove as needed.
Between the passenger seat and the console is a 3 port lighter plug assembly and
a 110v power inverter. For internet access on the laptop, I have a wireless web
adapter for my Sprint phone. Works great when I'm in a Sprint service area, but
pulling to the shoulder of most any interstate will put me outside of their
coverage area. The laptop runs
SwiftWX and
Garmin Mapsource.
The scanner is a Uniden 800xlt.
The display for the
Kenwood TM-G707 2 meter/70 cm ham radio. The face was detachable, so I
mounted it to the top of the rear-view mirror and attached cables to run to the
main unit mounted under the passenger seat. The microphone also plugs into the
main unit, and sets nicely in the center console seen in the middle picture
above. As for audio, look at the first picture above and notice the wire going
into the cassette door on the factory stereo. I've installed an 1/8" headphone
jack next to the stereo and connected it to the Kenwood's speaker output. Into
the jack I plug in one of those CD to cassette adapters and can listen to the
Kenwood through the factory speakers. Very nice when hail is making it hard to
hear, I can crank it up!
Close-ups of the camcorder mount. I purchased a
Bogen 3294 suction cup mount from Industrial Video in Oklahoma City, and
modified it to work as a camcorder mount. A couple of metal braces from Home
Depot connect the suction cup to a quick-release bracket removed from a tripod.
This works pretty well, and I've not had it fall since getting it a couple of
years ago.
Top of the Rodeo showing my two antennas and anemometer. I
have a 2 meter/70 cm antenna for the Kenwood TM-G707 ham radio. It has an NMO
mount so that it can be easily removed for the car wash or parking garage. The
other antenna is a Radio Shack magnet mount scanner antenna for the Uniden
scanner. The anemometer mount is made from PVC pipe and attached to the luggage
rack using hose clamps. It does not touch the body, and can be easily removed
during the winter, if needed. the vertical tube is held on by friction and the
entire anemometer assembly can be removed for the car wash. I've placed an RJ45
coupling just inside the back window to disconnect the electrical wiring.
Console for the
Davis
Weather Wizard II
Garmin Emap
GPS receiver mounted to a modified cell phone windshield mount. Basically, I
removed the phone grip mechanism and drilled holes to match the mounting holes
in the back of the GPS. The plug at the bottom provides power from the vehicle
and also has the computer interface for running mapping software and SwiftWX.
Here's a view in front of the passenger seat showing the base
of my laptop mount and the serial interface for the Kenwood TM-G707. That's for
downloading repeater frequency sets from the laptop based on the area I'm
chasing in.
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