"Tony Castagno" <tcastagno@careerstream.com> wrote:
> Well I finally got to "installing" my RT-524/VRC and R-442/VRC in my HMMWV.
I have pictures of my "by the book" installation, from a complete
installation kit, of an AN/VRC-47 set in my HMMWV on my web page. It's
on the HMMWV pictures sub-sub-page; just follow the obvious links from
the URL in my .signature.
> Since It was not one of the ones that come complete sealed in the box, I
> have some extra pieces and some potentially missing pieces.... The
> instructions I have reference the Interconnector Box that gets bolted inside
> of the 524 mount.
That sounds like a J-3513A/U box (there should be a dataplate on its
side), commonly called a "J-box". That junction box is used for
connecting a KY-57 voice security box to the transceiver. If I'm not
mistaken, not all radio installations would be equipped with security
equipment, so it should be just fine to leave it out. In a HMMWV
installation with a single RT-524 or RT-246 (similar to the RT-524 and
interchangeable, but with ten preset buttons in place of the speaker,
and remote channel selection capability), the KY-57 would mount on the
right side of the radio shelf. When you also install an R-442
receiver, it goes on the right side of the shelf instead, and you
mount another auxiliary shelf below the main one to hold two KY-57
boxes. In such a radio set, there should be another similar J-box,
called a J-3514A/U, which bolts inside the R-442's mount. Each J-box
uses a pile of various odd-ball cables to interconnect to the radios
and other gear.
The radio set in my truck includes the auxiliary shelf (which came
with the basic radio installation kit), but does not include any of
the other KY-57 equipment. I've managed to get my hands on both J
boxes, a pair of KY-57 mounts, and the cable set for the transceiver's
J-box, but I have not yet found the cables for the receiver's J-box,
or the KY-57 units themselves. I'd be surprised if intact KY-57 units
were available (or legal, anyway) on the surplus market, but I'm
hoping to at least get my hands on a pair of inert, demilitarized but
cosmetically Ok boxes so that I can make my installation look
complete, even though it won't have any security capability. Any
leads?
> the instructions also reference a vehicle power conditioner which I
> can't find.
Hmm, I could be mistaken, but I think that power conditioners are
generally used in armored vehicles to protect the radio from
transients caused by turning heavy loads on and off, like the turret
traversing motor. The power conditioner was not mentioned in my
installation instructions; they just said to pass the cable through
the feed-through on the right side of the radio shelf (with a special
grommet and bracket), and attach them to the power lugs under the
body. In my pictures, you should be able to see the thick power cable
poking out of the transmission hump in the right-side view. Maybe
those instructions aren't for the basic M998, but are for one of the
other HMMWV variants?
> The cables for the radio I have, have terminal connectors that I
> thought just went into the battery box and connected to a bus bar.
There's another hint; I think the bus bar is only present in trucks
which have extra electrical equipment, like hard-top ambulances
(maybe; you could double-check that in the parts manual). Basic M998
HMMWVs just have an insulated pass-thru that goes through the body
from the battery box to the underside of the truck.
> how and where do I connect my power cables in the battery box.
If it's a basic M998, they shouldn't enter the battery box; they
should connect to the power and ground lugs under the body, on the
other side of the left wall of the battery box.
> can I connect the 442's antenna cable to an antenna with a
> matching base
The R-442 does not use a matching base. It just uses a plain base with
a plain whip. The whip is made form the same elements as 1950's radio
sets. There's a new plain base which has the same mounting hole
pattern as the matching unit, but they also used the old ceramic
1950's AB-15 bases with a metal adapter. My installation kit was made
in the 1980's, and yet it came with the ceramic AB-15 base. Either
base would be correct. I could look up the other base number and the
whip element numbers, but I don't remember them off the top of my
head.
Good luck!
-- Mark J. Blair, KE6MYK <mblair1@home.net> PGP 2.6.2 public key available from http://pgp.ai.mit.edu/ Web page: http://www.qsl.net/ke6myk/ DO NOT SEND ANY UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL EMAIL TO THIS SITE
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