With all of the cool new gadgets and accessories available for your classic truck these days, it is sometimes a challenge to find a good place to locate their switches. Wipers, lights, radio, ignition, heat/air conditioning, cooling fans, and a host of other switches for necessities require space where there's sometimes not enough. Painless Performance has come up with an idea that may be the perfect solution to that dashboard overcrowding you're anticipating or experiencing.
The original custom horn button is disconnected and removed. It'll be stored for safe keeping in the event the RF Center is someday transferred to a different vehicle.
The new Painless RF Center is designed to replace the original horn button in your custom steering wheel. The button is equipped with a transmitter, which sends a signal to a receiver mounted behind the dash. This, in turn, creates a ground signal to operate a relay for the selected device you wish to control. The receiver is programmable for six different channels or operations and may also be programmed for several different types of functions.
The six channels, with the use of relays, are capable of operating any device that can be turned on and off with a switch. The functions selected may also be used in conjunction with switches already installed, so there's no need to choose between the old switch and the new RF Center; you can have both.
Another slick feature is that the channel selected may be programmed to provide power to the device in four different ways. The "momentary program" allows the device, such as a horn, to operate when a selected button is depressed and cease operation when the button is released. The "timed program" will allow a selected device, like the dome light, to operate for 30, 60, or 90 seconds and then automatically turn off. The "ignition latched program" will turn on a device, like an electric fan, when a selected button has been depressed and will either turn off with the ignition or when the button is depressed a second time. Finally, the "fully latched program" requires the button to be depressed a second time to turn off the selected device such as the headlights.
The new button assembly is slipped in while the O-ring will hold it solidly in place. With no wires to hook up, it takes only seconds.
Installation requires only a couple of hours in most cases but, as with most anything, the more complicated the circuit or accessibility to the wiring is, the more time will be required. The installation in Ken Brown's '51 F-1 took Joe and Dale Armstrong (from the Painless Tech Department) about three hours due to the bracket they fabricated for the receiver in this particular truck. The receiver can be mounted in various ways depending on the situation, using Velcro(r), double-sided attachment tape, custom-made brackets, or whatever is the most convenient. Once the receiver is mounted, just run the antenna wires close to the steering column, hook up the wires furnished with the unit, and you're ready for cruising.
So, if you're hesitant to add yet another switch to your dash this is the answer. A little time and imagination and your new Painless RF Center switches could make your classic pickup the talk of the next cruise night.
