Stop Fighting With Your Factory Stereo and QC... Bypass It!

Okay, we all know the factory stereo in most road tractors is anything but sufficient. About the only thing they have going for them is newer units have Bluetooth and support USB (and a major fail by not supporting Android devices). Not to mention that some QualComm setups are known to lock out one channel indefinitely (usually solved by going to HOS menu, by the way). And most trucking companies do not allow upgrades of the stereo system, especially if it involves altering wiring. I'd had enough of all this crap, and I had noticed that the standard single-DIN receiver size fit a CB radio mounting bracket near perfectly.

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Maybe I had found a way to get away from those pesky QC interruptions, and have great sound without touching the truck's factory setup or altering wiring. I started with my Alpine CDA-9884. Great unit, if a bit underpowered (18x4, Alpine? REALLY?). I then found an old Cobra 29 that was fried and otherwise useless. Removing the case halves, I removed the screws securing the radio electronics and faceplate and control knob assembly to the internal frame. Then I removed everything electronic, stripping the frame to little more than the factory power socket, to which I soldered the Alpine's 12V, memory and ground leads to the corresponding pins on the Cobra's power socket. Photo for clarity... (2-pin setup shown, center pin can be used for the memory lead with a three-wire 12V Cobra cord available in most truck stops, but it isn't necessary, I've run this one on a two-wire socket for over a year.

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To clarify. Items I tossed in the conversion: Original Cobra CB electronics, Original Cobra CB faceplate and control knobs. Cobra faceplace COULD be modified to make this a bit more flush and professional-looking, but I don't recommend it with head-units with flip-down or motorized faceplates.

I found that it was necessary to bend a few tabs on the Cobra's frame skeleton to allow the Alpine's chassis to sit in the case, but once I figured this out, it fit nicely in the case as though it were designed to. For some reason, I wound up inverting the CB case's inner frame upside down, possibly because I was converting an older case with the mic on the side. When finished, the unit should protrude from the case just enough to snap the head-unit's surrounding trim bezel in place.

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NOTE: You may want to bend one or two of the CB frame's tabs inward to lock the head unit in firmly, and you may want to use hook-and-loop or rubber strips to cushion the top and bottom of the outer case, as I've noticed the outer case has a tendency to sag in the middle on the top and bottom. Merely a cosmetic issue, though, does not affect operation. See the finished product here...

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One nice thing about this setup is that Cobra CBs use a modular three-pin socket/plug arrangement, even though most CB radios only require two wires. Two-and-three-wire 12V cigarette lighter plug harnesses are available in any truck stop. Newer ones actually have provisions to use the plug's center pin, but it isn't necessary, I have been running mine with the memory and 12V drawing from one pin.

If you're interested in doing this, most CB shops will have burned-up radios that others elected not to fix. They may just give you the case and frame just to get rid of it. When finished, depending on how you have it set up and mounted, you can remove the whole unit from the vehicle to take it with you if you wish. If you want to mount this setup with a standard Cobra bracket, it may be necessary to install outward-facing screws from inside the unit for securement -- the head unit will prevent any outside bolts from threading in. I simply hook-and-loop mine in place.

Of course, now that I had the unit adapted for this situation, I needed more power to overcome road noise. The Alpine's 18x4 was not going to cut it. However, as a company driver, it wasn't feasible (or allowable) to have a typical car stereo amplifier installed.

The answer was already in place. Most companies will at least allow you to have an inverter installed, if the truck is not already so equipped. In the interest of ease of removal, I elected to use an Onkyo home theater receiver and powered subwoofer with the truck's power inverter. Side note here, satellite speakers from a Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 speaker system wedge solidly into the overhead storage cubbies on at least two models I'm aware of - The Peterbilt 386, and the International ProStar. Looking at the 2013 Cascadia midroof I am currently moving into, I feel confident they will work there as well without issue.

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It all sounds a bit complicated, but it really is not. With a little research and a little of my time, I had the rockin'est semi around, with no permanent modifications to the truck, which kept the company happy. And the best part is, the entire setup can be removed without a lot of fuss and muss. If you or someone you know want better sound but can't modify the company's truck, this idea should work with any single-DIN receiver.

For those concerned about high volume and disturbing your neighbors at a truck stop, you can still have great sound this way. Initially, I ran a functional Klipsch Promedia 2.1 system, which I mentioned earlier. I found out the hard way that they are notorious for failed factory amplifiers. However, you can pick these up when they have failed for under $75 most of the time.

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When mine failed, I simply bought a low-power 2.1 amplifier that would run on a 12V lighter plug on eBay for about $32.

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As the Promedia's subwoofer houses the system's power supply and electronics, I simply used the 110VAC cord running inside the box to run straight to the subwoofer, cutting off the plug end to connect it to the 2.1 amp's subwoofer out, bypassing the faulty amplifier. Satellite speakers wired up fine and the whole system sounded great, but wasn't loud, I ran one this way for quite a few months and found that even when I thought it might be disturbing others, it was not. Side note here, this setup is susceptible to CB inteference, which is the reason I decided to run a home theatre receiver instead.

 

I've given that some serious thought, 8thnote, but it becomes a question of knowing what one person or another prefers in their setup... I might just think some more on it. Here's a pic of mine in action.

 

8thnote has a good idea about making this into a business to serve those who don't have the time or knowledge to do this themselves. Anyone who would rather have this pre-built for them, message me privately or post here with your interest and preferences as far as setup, I would be interested in doing this if the market really is there. Be aware that turnaround and shipping time would be a bit slow in the beginning, however.

 

So my iPod finally decided to quit... After a bit of research, I decided to upgrade to a new head unit with Bluetooth and USB/SD capability. I chose the Kenwood KMM-BT315. This is how it turned out....

 

A funny I made after a visit to the Freightliner dealer yesterday...

 

Nice, but not all of us are so lucky. And most fleets spider their Qualcomm's audio into the factory setup, as I mentioned earlier. Personally, I like a little more bottom end and volume than factory can really give... But to each their own.

 

BTW... Update.

The Kenwood I used a few months ago had serious problems after 30 days. I now am using a Sony MEX-4100BT. Very nice unit, all the same features and sounds great.