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Questions on installing car audio system in my garage (pics).

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Venumb

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I'm attempting to run a car audio setup in my garage but before I get too involved (and in over my head) I have a few questions...

What I'm running:

- Sony head unit without RCA's
- Line output converter
- 85W RMS @ 4ohm 2 channel amp
- 12V 70ah 600A battery
- 6V/12V 2A/6A battery charger
- (2) 10" woofers, (2) small mids, (2) tweeters all in the same box (pictured)
- remote bass control


What I need:

- inline fuse for pos cable
- capacitor

My questions:

- What is the best way to ground this system?
- What size capacitor will I need?
- What amperage should I run my charger at while operating this system..or should I not use the charger while the system is operating?
- Is there anything obvious I'm missing that I'll need for this system (besides earplugs..lol) ?

Shoppicsaug09004.jpg

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blazemaster83

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you dont need a capacitor. your method should work, is that a sealed battery? if not it will produce fumes when you use it. a car runs at about 14 volts, and going down to 10 and below can destroy components. 12 volts should work. I would not use the charger unless it is a trickle down charger.

You can use a 12volt power supply like Daman suggested, just try to get the amp rating close to the amp rating on the amplifier.

Or it would be alot easier to just sell that stuff and buy a cheap amp that can run at the ohm setting the speakers require.
 
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Venumb

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blazemaster83 said:
you dont need a capacitor. your method should work, is that a sealed battery? if not it will produce fumes when you use it. a car runs at about 14 volts, and going down to 10 and below can destroy components. 12 volts should work. I would not use the charger unless it is a trickle down charger.

You can use a 12volt power supply like Daman suggested, just try to get the amp rating close to the amp rating on the amplifier.

Or it would be alot easier to just sell that stuff and buy a cheap amp that can run at the ohm setting the speakers require.
Click to expand...

I can run this amp at 2ohm or 4ohm..the speakers are 4ohm.
 
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Venumb

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Understood....

However, I'd like to try to make this setup work.

I've seen others do it. I'd just like to make sure I have all the loose ends tied-up before I start splicing and plugging stuff in.. ya know?:shocking::shocking::shocking:
 
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Prototyper

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I did the exact same thing for 4+ years in my shop. Used a standard cranking battery, charged with 2 amp automatic trickle maintainer charger. Only a couple times, when I had it playing pretty loud all day, did the battery run down to the point that the amp started to cut out. It will work fine for you, but I strongly recommend you get an automatic charger. Also a marine battery box is a good idea to contain any nasty stuff the battery may emit, as well as guarding the terminals from accidentally setting something conductive on it!
Get a charger, hook it all up, and let her buck!

Jon
 
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Venumb

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Prototyper said:
I did the exact same thing for 4+ years in my shop. Used a standard cranking battery, charged with 2 amp automatic trickle maintainer charger. Only a couple times, when I had it playing pretty loud all day, did the battery run down to the point that the amp started to cut out. It will work fine for you, but I strongly recommend you get an automatic charger. Also a marine battery box is a good idea to contain any nasty stuff the battery may emit, as well as guarding the terminals from accidentally setting something conductive on it!
Get a charger, hook it all up, and let her buck!

Jon
Click to expand...

Got one.:thumbup:

How did you ground / run your neg wire?
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franksinatra

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With out question save money and get a powered home stereo receiver. Heck if you sold your stuff you could easily buy an *** kicken system for your garage. I bought a Yamaha RX100 and a pair of Cerwin Vega RE30' floor speakers off Craigslist for 250.00 and my entire block complains. I dont want to be a downer , but dont waste your time with the DC stuff in the garage. :beer: G

Damn, Im too late. lol. Good luck! G
 
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makgreens

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def get a dc converter at radioshack...50 bucks but alot better than a battery and charger
i gotta get one soon so i can add some stuff to my shop
 
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Venumb

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franksinatra said:
With out question save money and get a powered home stereo receiver. Heck if you sold your stuff you could easily buy an *** kicken system for your garage. I bought a Yamaha RX100 and a pair of Cerwin Vega RE30' floor speakers off Craigslist for 250.00 and my entire block complains. I dont want to be a downer , but dont waste your time with the DC stuff in the garage. :beer: G

Damn, Im too late. lol. Good luck! G
Click to expand...

makgreens said:
def get a dc converter at radioshack...50 bucks but alot better than a battery and charger
i gotta get one soon so i can add some stuff to my shop
Click to expand...

I believe that's the route I'll go before it's all finished. Then I won't (technically) be "wasting time with DC stuff". :lol_hitti
 
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makgreens

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yeah its a better route...ive got a nice stereo system i could put out there but with all the welding and metal cutting itd be pointless

go to goodwill,thrift stores, etc and get some home speakers and hook those up
did that in my last garage and it worked perfectly
 
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Todd.Brock

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I understand not wanting to spend some cheddar and using what you have. Thats cool. If you are going to have to spend any money at all, For the 50 bucks at the Hack, You could probably find a Fischer 2 channel 25w amp that would even be enough to piss off the neighbors and a pair of speakers. Just my .02.
 
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Venumb

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makgreens said:
yeah its a better route...ive got a nice stereo system i could put out there but with all the welding and metal cutting itd be pointless

go to goodwill,thrift stores, etc and get some home speakers and hook those up
did that in my last garage and it worked perfectly
Click to expand...

Oh no..I guess my multi-quote looked as though I was agreeing with Mr. Sinatra.

I was actually agreeing with you about the DC converter.
 
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Venumb

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FWIW..I already have two home systems in my house collecting dust that I could easily drop in my garage but obviously that's not what I'm interested in doing.

I also have the car audio system you see pictured sitting and collecting dust. I thought it would be neat to hook it up in my garage.

While opinions on my selected setup are fine, what I'm specifically looking for is tech info on how to best install it. Hope that clears up any confusion.:)
 
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kwhitelaw

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wish I would have seen this earlier, as I just sold off an inverter cheap..

anywho, you really should use an inverter.. no need for chargers, no need to worry about battery fumes etc..
 
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tdkkart

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Venumb said:
FWIW..I already have two home systems in my house collecting dust that I could easily drop in my garage but obviously that's not what I'm interested in doing.

I also have the car audio system you see pictured sitting and collecting dust. I thought it would be neat to hook it up in my garage.
Click to expand...



You need to visit the packrat thread..........
 
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79firebird

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look for an inverter out of a old vw van ive used them befor to run decks and charge batterys seamed to work real good
 
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GSMetal

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I had the same idea but changed my mind. I have a fairly nice boom box that I found at a resale shop for $20.00.

But it doesn't end there. I bought a really nice set of computer speakers with a sub woofer ($50.00) and then I put my old laptop to use to feed the internet music station Pandora.

It's pretty nice since when I work on my bikes I often have to reference something on the internet.
 
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Venumb

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Great advice on the power supply folks!:thumbup:

I'm currently trying to figure out exactly how many amps/watts/ min./max. voltage is safe for my setup.

Looking at my power supply for my laptop it's specs are:

AC Input :100 - 240V~2.5A, 50-60Hz.
DC Output: 15 - 24V 5A Typical, 90W Max.
 
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slopecarver

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Laptop power supplies are typically higher voltages than you would need, I was talking about a desktop power supply, they have a 12V output. You need 12-15 volts of input, car batteries get charged at about 14.3 volts.
 
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kwhitelaw

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most important is the amperage...you need to work off what your amp draws.. granted you will more than likely never run the amp at 'full tilt', but if it starts pulling 10a through this laptop power supply, you risk burning it up.
 
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kwhitelaw

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also, I see that the amp has high level inputs.. I'd just use those, no sense in running the LOC..

and I'll be honest, if you are only running that box, with no dedicated mid or high range speakers...its not going to sound too good..and if your bass knob plugs directly into the amp and adjusts say 80hz for example, that will require you to run full range into the box to cover all your frequencies, and allow the bass knob to function, but at the same time will cause the other speakers to sound muddy..you really need to high pass the smaller speakers in the box, which you more than likely cant do as im assuming the box only has a L/R input covering all sizes of the speakers...
 
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mrb

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ive modified a few computer power supplies to just run all the time. I have one running a 12v motor thats drawing 25-30 amps. These will run a car stereo no problem.
 
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kwhitelaw

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mrb said:
ive modified a few computer power supplies to just run all the time. I have one running a 12v motor thats drawing 25-30 amps. These will run a car stereo no problem.
Click to expand...

I guess possible then...I was working off what the OP posted of his specs..
 
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Venumb

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kwhitelaw said:
also, I see that the amp has high level inputs.. I'd just use those, no sense in running the LOC..

and I'll be honest, if you are only running that box, with no dedicated mid or high range speakers...its not going to sound too good..and if your bass knob plugs directly into the amp and adjusts say 80hz for example, that will require you to run full range into the box to cover all your frequencies, and allow the bass knob to function, but at the same time will cause the other speakers to sound muddy..you really need to high pass the smaller speakers in the box, which you more than likely cant do as im assuming the box only has a L/R input covering all sizes of the speakers...
Click to expand...


I have my cross-over set on full-range..it sounds great,nice solid bass,with crisp and clean mid-high freq's. I have not hooked up my remote bass controller yet. I'll swap out the LOC for the high level input and see how it sounds.

A buddy of mine offered to give me two 12's w/ enclosures so I prob swap one of them in place of the box I'm currently running and connect two 3way 6x9's off the head unit. Who knows? I'm having fun with this setup..lol
 
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kwhitelaw

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Venumb said:
I have my cross-over set on full-range..it sounds great,nice solid bass,with crisp and clean mid-high freq's. I have not hooked up my remote bass controller yet. I'll swap out the LOC for the high level input and see how it sounds.

A buddy of mine offered to give me two 12's w/ enclosures so I prob swap one of them in place of the box I'm currently running and connect two 3way 6x9's off the head unit. Who knows? I'm having fun with this setup..lol
Click to expand...

Swapping the LOC and running it high level will allow you to lower the input sensitivity on the amp, allowing the amp to run cooler, and in a vehicle environment, help reduce the chance of noise being introduced into the system. Probably not an issue in this situation...

Switching in one of your friends subs and the 6x9'S will probably sound better, imo.. only issue is, the 6X9's would probably enjoy more power than the radio amp puts out...

its probably all a moot point though and should sound fine for a garage setup... :)
 
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fireball 440

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The only AC to DC converters I can find are for very low amperage. I have a 4 amp and the only others I've seen are 3 and 2 amp. I too have extra car stereo equipment I'd like to power in my basement. The low amp converters will power the CD deck, but not enough to power my 600watt amp and 2 10" subs.

Anybody know where to find the bigger say 20-30 amp AC/DC converters and how much they are? If they cost a lot I still have the radio thats in there, which is good enough I guess but it would be sweet to have a kicken car stereo instead.
 
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kwhitelaw

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fireball 440 said:
The only AC to DC converters I can find are for very low amperage. I have a 4 amp and the only others I've seen are 3 and 2 amp. I too have extra car stereo equipment I'd like to power in my basement. The low amp converters will power the CD deck, but not enough to power my 600watt amp and 2 10" subs.

Anybody know where to find the bigger say 20-30 amp AC/DC converters and how much they are? If they cost a lot I still have the radio thats in there, which is good enough I guess but it would be sweet to have a kicken car stereo instead.
Click to expand...

here is the one I use..

http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/1550776/vpcsid/0/SFV/30046

http://www.cascadeaudio.com/power_converters/power_converters.htm

Of course, I didnt pay that price (took 6 of them when my shop shut down)..If you peruse some car audio forums they pop up for sale from time to time..
 
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kwhitelaw

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fireball 440 said:
WOW those are expensive! Guess I'll just keep the boombox I have now, which is fine.
Click to expand...

they can be yes. at least new..at my shop, we had a single aps-55 running 15 or so amps, not all at once, but powered constantly, along with radios etc...

definitely pricey, but worth it if you need clean, regulated power.
 
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mrb

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fireball 440 said:
The only AC to DC converters I can find are for very low amperage. I have a 4 amp and the only others I've seen are 3 and 2 amp. I too have extra car stereo equipment I'd like to power in my basement. The low amp converters will power the CD deck, but not enough to power my 600watt amp and 2 10" subs.

Anybody know where to find the bigger say 20-30 amp AC/DC converters and how much they are? If they cost a lot I still have the radio thats in there, which is good enough I guess but it would be sweet to have a kicken car stereo instead.
Click to expand...


you can do it with a computer power supply for about $20
 
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mrb

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kwhitelaw said:
any links? I'm interested in seeing a computer supply that will handle 20A continuous?
Click to expand...

here is one example http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch_v3.asp?scriteria=BA25817 20a @ +12vdc for $19.98.

on the output wires of it, connect the green to a black, and if a brown is present connect it to orange. Black is ground, yellow is +12v. connect all the yellow wires in parallel (each one is only #18 so you want to parallel all the yellow wires when feeding one large load), and parallel an equal number of black.
 
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