The Weather Spotting Mustang
Here is my car, which I've equiped to do weather spotting.It's a 2004 Ford Mustang GT, Dark Shaddow Grey.
I spent alot of time trying to make sure that everything I added had a good function, but was still very low profile. I like the idea that most people never notice that the car is capable of all that it is.
Front Left Corner sitting at the apartment. You can see my 'Amateur Radio Weather Spotter' on the windshield if you look for it.
Front Left Corner in the sun.
Rear Right Corner showing off the antennas, tail light covers, rock guards, and LoudMouth2 Pipes.
Front Daytime view of the Whelen Talon Dashlight, Code3 Headlight Flasher, wig-wag lights down low, and my four 55watt halogen driving lights in the front grill. The driving lights are controlled by their own relay, which I can activate independently, or by simply turning on my high beams.
Rear Daytime view of my dual 55watt Focused Beam wig-wag dash lights, and tail-light flashers. You can't see the white strobe in the rear center of the deck. It's 700 flashes per minute, and I guess the camera couldn't see it. You can also see 'Amateur Radio Weather Spotter' on the rear window.
The left antenna is now a Larsen NMO Dual Band (144/440MHz) antenna for the Kenwood d700a. On the right it is a combination NMO antenna for the scanner. Due to this antenna being a combination, it has good selectivity for 800MHz and for 144/440MHz.
This is a rear view of my hidden reflective tape. This is a great way to make sure I don't get hit when I open my door, or my trunk. The problem with opening the trunk is you block your rear-deck warning lights, but atleast with the reflective tape, the car is still seen. Also, the 'Mustang' in the rear bumper is reflective.
It has been noted that my antennas lean out just a little, which is in-effecient for vertical transmission. From this angle you can see that the spoiler would not clear the antennas if they were straight up. It just happened that the inside of the trunk was just the right angle to let the antennas be as close to vertical as possible without catching the trunk.
You can also see my backup maglite flashlight, and the GPS receiver for my Amateur Radio APRS setup. This is an ideal location for the GPS receiver as the trunk lid is a composite fiberglass material, thus it does not hinder RF signals. There is also an auxiliary 12v socket to the left of the maglite.
Here you can see my radar detector, Kenwood d700, Uniden TrunkTracker, Whelen Talon Dash Light, and my stereo.
None of that gear on my dash is actually screwed down. I used a very strong double stick tape that is rated 5 pounds vertical load. It holds the equipment quite sturdy, but I can still remove it, which I have done before. There has never been any stability issues with this mounting system, and I have been very pleased with how sturdy it has been over the last three years.
This view lets you see what's on the rear deck. Now you can see the strobe, focused 55watt halogen beams, and the dual speakers for my kenwood d700.
This is a close up of my Kenwood d700 showing the realtime GPS readout.
Here you can see the normal view of my Kenwood d700.
This shows where the switch box for my lights is actualy located.
I put it here so it is conceiled, yet easy to use, and hard to accidently turn on. I used velcro to attach it, as that is an uneven surface, and double stick tape didn't work. That is 'Industrial Strength' velcro, so it's never pulled off. You nearly have to get a screw-driver to pry it apart.
There are 5 metal toggle switches, all fed with a common 14guage hot lead fused at 3 amps, and each switch feeds one conductor of a short run of cat 5 cable. Category 5 networking cable typically has 24guage conductors, which are small, but can handle 12v at 200ma fairly easily.
Due to the location, and size of the switch box, I opted not to put any indicator lights, but instead oriented the switches so that while pushed in as they are now, they are off. I must pull the switches out to activate them, and since they are realitively stiff metal toggle switches, they don't get accidentally turned on.
