TechSys

I think Im gonna try to order one next payday

Waiting for the rest of the review. This will determine if I want to invest in one or not. So far, it's a yes I will.

Nirvalica, you have a PM

Doesn't matter where it's made. EVERY thing electronic or electronic controlled has SOMEthing in it from overseas.

I currently run a 200amp alternator from motorcityreman. It's in my '89 Astro. Is it a good brand? If you are pretty much strapped on money to buy from iraggi, mechman, DC, powermaster, or any of the others, then the answer is yes. You have to know to not expect much from it though. When cold my alternator charges at 14.8/9 volts. After it warms up it drops down to 14.2volts. Sometimes when I drive a little while and stop at a store (turning the van off) then leaving the store (starting the van), I see voltages of 14.0 for a while. The voltage does get back to 14.2/3volts, but it takes a bit. Now, bumping the system. 2 batteries (I know, I know, I need more batteries), one in front and one in back. A SoundStream xxx-4000d amplifier @1ohm. This is sitting in the driveway idling. When cold voltage does not drop no matter the volume system is played at. When alternator is warmed up, well, let's just say I have seen 10volts. If I raise the idle, I'll get back to the normal 14.2/3volts where it will stay. I've been running my alternator for right around 3 years, IIRC. It is no where near the best, but does serve it's purpose. For a comparison.... My powermaster alternator with external variable voltage regulator never dropped voltage no matter what. I had it set for 14.5volt, when I ran it as a replacement for my stock alternator. When I ran it at 19.5 volts for my 16volt setup, it still didn't drop any. Of course, on the 16volt setup I had 14 batteries which helped out quite a bit.

I got the following from a PDF I found: Medium Density Fibreboard: is an engineered wood product formed by breaking down softwood into wood fibres, often in a defibrator, combining it with wax and a resin binder, and forming panels by applying high temperature and pressure. The majority of wood mills reuse the saw dust created during the manufuring of lumber to make MDF. This process insures a minimum of lumber waste. High Density Fibreboard: is similar to MDF and particleboard, but is much more dense, strong and hard because it is made from exploded wood fibres that have been highly compressed using a similar binding process to MDF. Property / MDF / HDF Density per kg/m3 / 600-900 / 900-950 Moisture Content % / 5-10 / 5-10 Expansion in Water after 24 hrs. by % / 7-9 / 5 Resistant to Fungus/Termites / Moderate / High While more properties exist, this comparison shows that (depending on the manufacturer) that HDF can be almost three quarters more dense than MDF, that MDF will swell in moisture almost twice the amount as HDF (which can cause board expansion, and breakage), and that, due to the density of the product, it is highly resistant to parasites. Another item to note is that HDF also increases the strength of the locking system, thereby increasing the ease of installation and a higher resistance to board separation. From what I have heard, HDF is a lot more in price. Right around the price of Birch. Not sure if the price would be worth it, if birch can be had.

I would say Kinetik over Optima anyday, however, you may want to check to see if Kinetik is still doing business. I got word last week through the grapevine that they are no more. Haven't found any info on that yet, just word of mouth from here, a couple local audio shops, and various other forums.

x2 on that. I bump in my neighborhood usually whne testing or coming home from work. Nobody has messed with the system. Let's see what all I have done. I installed 2 M3 door mirrors with LEDs in them. These LEDs were originally white in color, I swapped them with blue ones. Each mirror has 6 LEDs. Both mirrors are wired to my alarm indicator wire (the little light that blinks). I then installed piezos inside the van. These cost right around $5 I think, from Radio Shack. They are 102dB each. They are hidden but still hurt when the go off. I then got a 60watt LEDGlow strobelight kit for $89.95. This strobe kit has a wire that connects to the positive wire of the siren. The strobes light when the alarm is set off. I also have some lights inside the van that do the same thing. The next upgrades is going to be a Lund moonvisor with a 60watts strobe kit installed in it. 4 out of 5 of the lights will be the strobes. The center one will be Blue LEDs (3 or 4) also wired to the alarm indicator. After that is done, I'll be looking into an underbody kit to wire to one of the light output wires on my alarm (Cheapo Freedom 550). I will then start shaving the locks and installing remote door poppers. Now my van sits at night right next to the window of the room I sleep in so I can hear just about every thing that goes on. There is also a webcam aimed at both vehicles in the driveway. When I have to leave the van for long periods of time (family outing), I put the van in the garage, which also has a webcam installed. Both webcams use Gotcha! to record the videos if any movement is captured. I don't have to worry about the van at work due to the facilities being pretty well secured. Oh, and I "test" my alarm system on a weekly basis. Usually on a Friday or Saturday night. Just to let people see what happens if the alarm goes off. There are some things you can do with the alarm brain, siren, and wiring, during install that will protect the alarm. One is hide the wiring, make them look like part of the vehicle factory wiring. Two, don't install the brain in a normal place (under the dash on the driver side. Third, hide that siren somewhere where people can't really get to it or the wires. Also make sure your alarm has a battery backup in case they disconnect the main battery. And above all else. Think outside the box. An alarm is like a lock, only made for honest people.

I know for a fact the xxx-4000d does 3k+ at 14.4volts @1ohm. Just shy of the rated. The xxx-6500d at 16volts @1ohm did (for me) just under 6k. The 15000d has been tested to do more than rated. These also, in my opinion, depend on install. I can put my 4k in another vehicle with same setup and it won't do the same output for some reason. I believe the D-Tower are rated closer to actual, but then again I'm not sure as I haven't used them yet. Been thinking about tossing 4 of the dtr1.3400 amps in the van to see, just haven't got around to it financially.

Proper ported enclosure for the 2 12s you currently have (2.50 to 3.0 FT^3 per sub ported to 24-26Hz is proper). Upgrade to the PCA-2000d (which is a VERY good amp btw). Wire the subs in parallel to get a 1ohm load. Those subs "should" hit pretty darn hard. And djphilly is correct. Epsilon owns all of them, even Kole. I believe they have PPI also, but not honestly sure on that one. Would have to look at my info to be 100% sure.

Welcome Bobby. You've come to the right place to get any help needed. Good to see somebody else from Jax is here. If you see the black SoundStream van, stop it and introduce yourself.

Thanks. I am going to just run 2 sets per door (2 midwoofers, 2 tweeters and 2 crossovers) wired in parallel. That'll get them going. Will plug the other holes until I get the crossovers back from being fixed and a better amp for them. Not the best thing to do, especially when SBN is coming up. guess I won't be competing. Oh well, no problem. And yea, I think I misunderstood.

No I'm not high.. hehe I guess I'll just run 2 per door and send the other 2 to SS for repair. Thanks

O.k. Here is the amplifier specs. Like I say, over rated as hell. RMS watts per channel @ 4ohm: 200x2 (probably 100x2) RMS watts per channel @ 2ohm: 400x2 (might be 200x2) RMS watts per channel @ 1ohm: 700x2 (maybe 350x2) MAX watts per channel @ .5ohm: 1000x2 (hope it's 500x2) Bridged power @ 4ohm: 2000x1 (more like 800x1) Low Pass Crossover: 50-120Hz High Pass Crossover: 120-720Hz Freq. Response: 9Hz - 50Khz (+/- 3dB) Ahh, hell. It's a Boss PD-2000. I only use it for mids and highs. Currently have it running 2 PowerBass L-6502x coaxials per channel, wired in parallel. I would never put this amp on subs of any type and kind of ashamed that I'm even running it anyway. I just can't justify (to my wife) getting another amp right now. This one was given to me a few years ago. I've been running it like it is since 2005 without any problems. The current speakers are rated at 60wrms each. they are 3ohm each. I have them wired in parallel per channel to give a 1.5ohm load per channel. The RF-60C specs. I was wrong on the impedance, they are 4ohm. Power Handling (watts) 180 Magnet Weight 20oz High Pass Filter 3.5kHz Low Pass Filter 2.5kHz or 2.8kHz Filter Slope 12dB LPF, 18dB HPF Efficiency 90dB Frequency Response 50-20kHz Voice Coil Size 3" Woofer Depth 2.625" The crossovers are: Crossover (Tweeter/Woofer) 2 Way Passive Network 18dB per Octave Crossover Output 4 Different Attenuation Points Built In DC/Clip Protection Selectable 6 or 12dB per Octave Crossover Output

O.k. here is the deal. I have 8 sets of SoundStream RF-60C component speakers (6" midwoofer, 25mm tweeter, and crossover). I just found out that I have 2 blown crossovers (so far). Being that each set has a rms power rating of 180watts, I thought I could get away with running 1 crossover per 4 midwoofers and 4 tweeters. This gives me a 1.7Ohm load. I was just told not to do that as the crossover will not handle the power. O.k. then, my next question goes here. Since the amplifier that I will be using has a built in crossover, do I really need to use the crossovers that come with the components? I am pretty sure this can be done without a problem, but want to be sure. I know the crossover will give me more flexibility on fine tuning the sound, but will that be the only drawback? As far as the amplifier I'll be using, I won't mention any brand, but.... it's overrated as hell. It IS .5ohm stable in stereo, which I have ran for quite some time (couple years) without a problem. The tweeters seem to have their own crossover in them also, but not sure. And just to let you know, I will be sending the crossovers back to Soundstream for repair. This is no problem, but I know that might take a while. I've had these new door panels for about a month now and want to get them in the van now.

I was taught to tune 10hz lower than the car's res. freq.. However, every car is going to be different. Even if your friend has the same car, same year, same everything, it will still be a little different than his. Could be lower or higher a couple hz. Now, since your box is tuned to 50hz, did you actually use a 50hz tone? Did you try any higher frequencies? Get somebody with a termlab, set the system up the exact way you had it when you hit your highest number, and put the system on a sweep. When the sweep is done look at the termlab screen to see what frequency it peaks at. You can go from there. 145 is not a bad score actually.

hmmm... Astro = automatically loud. Can't wait to see this build. Now get to work.

Just checking to see if any update on this or not? Not trying to rush you, just want to get started on the redesign of my wall.

Astros have been done time and time again. Yes they can get loud. Yes they can sound real nice. However.... A small car, thinking along the lines of a vauxhall astra. Not sure what the equiv. would be in the US, probably a Ford Transit Connect or something like that. You could go haywire with one of those, make it get loud as hell but still have real good sound quality. I like the Astro limo idea also. It'd have to be stretched and another axle added. Slammed to the ground. The rear end updated to a newer 3500 look with the black going from driver's side to passenger side. Gullwing slider door. Welded together barn doors to lift up or lower to make a step so people can climb in. But no matter what, have to think outside the box.

I'm not sure what I got but at night car headlights look like little flashlights being carried by a couple kids. I know the dark parts of the tint is called limo tint. The lighter part of the tint is like a mirror. At the front of the van you can't see anyhting unless you're right up on the bumper. From the side, the only windoe you can see anyhting is the slider door window. The back windows are painted black from the inside.

Don't really need a cut list, but if you want to do one, go ahead. And thanks.

I was wondering if you offer enclosure blueprints? I can build just about anyhting, just can't design worth a crap for some reason. If you do, here is what I got and need: Vehicle: 1989 Chevy Astro cargo van Subs: 4 SoundStream SPLX-154 quad 1ohm 15" subs HxWxL available for enclosure: Well, pretty much a wall, but. 46" high x 48" wide x up to 60" deep (doubt I'll ever need a box that deep unless I go with a tunnel). Power to subs: SoundStream XXX-6500d at 1ohm on 16volts. Tuning: 35 to 37Hz. What used for: Bass Race 140-149.9 or higher class as well as daily driver. Design does not have to be extravagant just get loud, look decent, and sound good. I pretty much like the design you already have sketchuped for the quad havoc 15 enclosure. That's kind of the design I want to go with, port in center. SoundStream says 3 ft^3 per sub with an F3 of 45Hz, tuned to 34Hz. The sub specs are: RMS Power (Watts): 1000 VOICE COIL DIAMETER (INCHES): 3 VOICE COIL IMPEDANCE (INCHES): Quad 1ohm WOOFER DISPLACEMENT (FT3): .13 MAGNET WEIGHT (oz): 192oz FREQUENCY RESPONSE (Hz): 20-300Hz Fs (Hz): 34Hz Qes: .388 Qms: 5.041 Qts: .360 Vas (Ft3): 2.31 Xmax (in.): .565 SPL (dB): 90 HOLE SIZE (INCHES): 14.25 WOOFER DEPTH (INCHES): 8.125 Thanks. hopefully we can work something out

I know this is an old topic, well, a month old that is. What is the tuning of that enclosure? Just out of curiosity. btw. I just tried to call you. Got the answering machine. Will post a separate topic on what I need and hopefully we can go from there.

j-roadtatts is correct. Rehab only works for those who want it to work for them. All the tools are in one spot (more or less). YOU'VE got to want it. However, judging from your first post, I think you do want it. Now it's up to you to do something about it. All of us here and at treatment centers can talk to you about it until we are blue in the face and on our last breath. Unless you want to quit, all the talk won't help. Oh, and for those that say pot isn't addictive..... 30% of the clients at my job would dissagree with you on that. (And for those wondering what I do for work here. I am a Maintenance Technician Level III. I fix things that people break while going through withdrawal tantrams)

So what's the next step going to be BILTD? This van is an all out inspiration to me. Hopefully when I get done with mine (or even close), it'll look 1/4 as good as this yours. I doubt it though cause I can't get the formula figured out for a darn tunnel. I know the basics of it, but still can't figure things out. Can't wait to see more of the van. Wish it was here in the states so I could see it in person.