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Go Back   WakeWorld > >> Boats, Accessories & Tow Vehicles Archive > Archive through February 15, 2009

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Old     (brucemac)      Join Date: Dec 2005       02-05-2009, 11:57 AM Reply   
hey, couple questions

boat is 03 MC X-2 (205V/X1)

i realize all boats are different, but with regards to running RCA's from the driver dash around the bow to the observers side for an WS420, what are people usually using for lengths? i know 20ft would get me for sure, but obviously the goal is to keep it as short as possible. should i take a roll of RG6 coax and try to run it and then measure it or should i just order up the 20ft'ers and be done with it?

was looking at either the stinger pro 3's from darvex, or maybe the knukonceptz karma series. i couldn't go wrong with either of those could i?

also as far as amp racks go, i'm really wanting to mount my amps on the outside wall on the port side, but there's no backing or anything there that i can see to secure a mounting surface for the amps. any suggestions there? how do you secure something solid without drilling a hole in your boat!

lastly, amp kit or parts and pieces? need 4 guage power and ground. what type and gauge of remote wire do i use for the 420?

thanks in advance for any advice or guidance
Old     (phall925)      Join Date: Feb 2005       02-05-2009, 12:24 PM Reply   
I am not sure about the RCA cables.
Having had that MC before I would warn first about the amp placement. Make sure that the vent is properly attached because spray possible dunking of the bow etc can let water some in and damage your amps.

That being said first you must build your amp rack.
Measure our the footprint for the rack amp then measure that out on the wall where you want the rack to be.

Cut and remove the carpet where the rack will be mounted and expose the fiberglass.

Make sure that you coat the rack with resin (to waterproof it) before you cover it with carpet or vinyl.

When you cover the rack only cover the top and the sides do not cover the part that will be mounted to the fiberglass.

Use liquid nails to secure the rack to the fiber glass (Warning this will be pretty much permanent.

Hope that helps

Preston
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       02-05-2009, 12:29 PM Reply   
RCA's---buy the 20 footers. I've never had any issues with long RCA runs, or high quality vs low quality. I've bought the $100 RCA's int eh past but now use cheap ones ( not radio shack cheap, maybe 1 step above, lol).

amp rack---coupel options. 1) pull back carpet, and mount a board ( starboard, 3/4 mdf,ect) usind liquid nails 2) mount a board to the floor using L-brackets...search on the baord for some good ideas.

IF all you need is 4 guage, just buy the cable, kit is not worth the money.

I use 16 ga for my remote. It's probably overkill. You can buy a roll ( 25 ft) of 14/16 ga ( can't remember which one) red/black for under $5 at radio shack. And it's flexible.

I used all one color in my last stereo install, I think it looks better

(Message edited by acurtis_ttu on February 05, 2009)
Old     (brucemac)      Join Date: Dec 2005       02-05-2009, 12:30 PM Reply   
oh gosh, i never thought about that vent. that's giving me second thoughts. that vent ducting is pretty thin too and it's right there above and next to where i'd want them. hhmmm. bummer.

looks like i have to rethink that. if i put it on the inside wall i'll still have to do something because i don't think the backing is wide enough where it needs to go and it also is not flush the full depth of that area. it jogs in a couple inches about a foot and a half inside there where the walkway to the bow is.
Old     (brucemac)      Join Date: Dec 2005       02-05-2009, 12:40 PM Reply   
thanks adam for the info.

there's some cheap $10 blue rca's on ebay that have a remote wire included. they look like they've got decent shielding, but i'm skeptical.

http://cgi.ebay.com.my/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400029043145

ha ha, what do you think?
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       02-05-2009, 1:00 PM Reply   
I buy that kind of stuff from a local stereo shop that sells all the flea market stuff....kenwood, kicker, mephis audio, ect. I buy there cheap twisted ones....always less tan $5 per:-)

It's $10, that ebayer looks legit, you can always get your money back. Test them before the install. Stick an ohm meter on them and test for resistance.
Old     (elleduke)      Join Date: Aug 2005       02-05-2009, 1:29 PM Reply   
I mounted my rack on the outboard port side. I have had no problems with water, I actually just wrapped the vent tubing with duct tape to prevent any leaks.
Here is my install http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/330737.html?1149178738
It has held up for 3 seasons now with the exception of a Optima going bad. Good luck.
Old     (brucemac)      Join Date: Dec 2005       02-05-2009, 1:59 PM Reply   
thanke Elle, that's kind of what I had in mind. it looks almost like it's a false wall though, with the cables running behind or is it just a flat piece that has space behind it due to the curve of the wall? how did you secure it? i'll have to go back and look at the pics again...thanks!
Old     (canucked)      Join Date: Jun 2007       02-05-2009, 2:04 PM Reply   
monoprice.com

this is the best place for any type of cables and its very cheap.
Old     (brucemac)      Join Date: Dec 2005       02-05-2009, 2:09 PM Reply   
oh huh, I didn't think about monoprice. i know them well, i've used them for my home theater DVI and HDMI cables. didn't think of them for the RCA's.
Old     (elleduke)      Join Date: Aug 2005       02-05-2009, 4:31 PM Reply   
Bruce - the extra battery box bolts to the amp board and the battery box is bolted to the panel that seperates that area from the storage area behind it. The amp board is like a false wall, but it is just 3/4" MDF that is epoxy coated and then when i did the dry fit I measured for a spacer that holds it off the hull at the top. This spacer i padded and wrapped in vinyl as well. I got almost all my wires and stuff of ebay, pretty cheap.
Old     (brucemac)      Join Date: Dec 2005       02-05-2009, 4:38 PM Reply   
hey, sorry, i'm not following. the batery box bolts to the amp board through the side? so is it only connected on the bottom then? is it pretty rigid or is there some play?
Old    bigdtx            02-05-2009, 5:51 PM Reply   
You can get cheap good 20 foot RCAs at walmart.
Old     (elleduke)      Join Date: Aug 2005       02-05-2009, 8:40 PM Reply   
Bruce, the battery box that I built, the picture with the "X" cover, is bolted to the panel that separates the two storage areas. The battery box is then bolted to the tongue portion of the amp board. It is suprisingly rigid. I think it has a little to do with the angle in which it lays back and the weight of the amps. I can try to get a picture of it, but it is pretty tight quarters. I prewired the amp board so all the wires are pinned down on the back. I really don't like to see any of the wires so I wanted them out of the way. Also I used cardboard templates to layout everything that way I knew it would all fit.
Old     (brucemac)      Join Date: Dec 2005       02-06-2009, 10:04 AM Reply   
roger that. thanks.

hey Elle Duke, did you replace your inboat clarions with the polks? if so, how did you install the tweeters up front in the bow?

i'm looking at the new polk mobile monitor series and was thinking about somehow painting the old tweeter surface mount housing or using the polk surface mount and gel coat repairing the one small screw hole that will be left visible from the clarions. just curious if you did those. thanks.

more questions:

how do i determine what size fuses to use? i have a fuse block (installer did it when i had my last upgrade done). batteries have i think 4awg for power and ground and then it looks like maybe 8awg from the fuse distribution block. i also have a large fuse inbetween the fuse block and the battery. is there a rule of thumb for determining what size fuses to use? also where's a good place to get these? because i'm going to be moving stuff around, i'll probably end up redoing all the wiring too so any recommendations on what to get would be great.

oh and one more question, i'm looking at these RCA's online that use RG59 or RG6 which of course has a solid copper core any reason why i can't use those? i realize they won't be as flexible, but the shielding should be good. they're 23 or 22 awg i think--like you's see in home theater.

thanks!
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       02-06-2009, 10:27 AM Reply   
Bruce, I prefer circuit breakers over fuses.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CIRCUIT-BREAKER-100-AMP-INLINE-RESET-SELF-TEST-83100_W0QQitemZ360101097093QQihZ023QQcategoryZ3281 3QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/CAR-STEREO-AUDIO-12V-CIRCUIT-BREAKER-FUSE-100-AMP-RESET_W0QQitemZ370106336713QQihZ024QQcategoryZ3281 3QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Old     (acurtis_ttu)      Join Date: May 2004       02-06-2009, 10:33 AM Reply   
Find the specs on your amp...see what the max ( amp) current draw is on them. Add those numbers together for a rough estimate of the fuse size. I will alwasy round up.

Good thing about the circuit breaker is you can easily reset it if it blows.

Mine will sometimes "pop" when voltage gets too low= high current thru the power wire.
Old     (elleduke)      Join Date: Aug 2005       02-06-2009, 10:41 AM Reply   
Bruce, I did not do the polk in the boat. I will eventually. I do agree the new MM series, I was thinking about redoing all of mine both tower and boat with these. I have seen somewhere on this site that they modified the tweeter cup from the clarion to fit their new tweeter. they just painted it black to match. I used 85% of the amps for determining my fuses. I also went with a digital fuse to monitor the voltage to the amps. I used 4ga. from battery to amps. I was going to go to a 3 amp set up which then I would have done 0ga. with 4ga splitter. I got everything from ebay, wire, rca, amps, and subs. Tinned wiring is always recommended for marine applications, but not a requirement. Good luck with your build, post pics when it is done. I am interested to know how the WS-420 works out.
Old     (brucemac)      Join Date: Dec 2005       02-06-2009, 11:27 AM Reply   
i'm starting to wonder if i should slap this stuff in and put some hours on it to see what kind of run time i get with the boat off before i try to make it pretty. i've only got (2) optima blue tops with the surepower 1314, so really only one battery for the stereo with the boat off. i'd hate to go to all the effort of making it all nice and neat and then have to rewire everything becuase i need a 3rd battery. adam thanks for the links adam. thanks elle duke too.

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