Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
|
Home Repair (alt.home.repair) For all homeowners and DIYers with many experienced tradesmen. Solve your toughest home fix-it problems. |
Reply |
|
LinkBack | Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
i was wondering if there was anyway possible to take a car stereo
system and inbed it into lets say a wall and hook it up to speakers and everything but run it off of the electrical outlet in the house? what would i need to rig up so that i could avoid the whole car battery set up which would need a constant charging that would build up hydrogen gas and pose as a potential fire hazzard? if any of that made sense, i appreciate your help. |
#2
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
wrote in message oups.com... i was wondering if there was anyway possible to take a car stereo system and inbed it into lets say a wall and hook it up to speakers and everything but run it off of the electrical outlet in the house? what would i need to rig up so that i could avoid the whole car battery set up which would need a constant charging that would build up hydrogen gas and pose as a potential fire hazzard? if any of that made sense, i appreciate your help. You are likely a troll, but I'll answer anyway- yeah, just hook it up to a 12v power supply from Radio Shack or wherever. Be aware most power supplies are 'dirty', so it will sound pretty staticy. Also be aware the sound from most car stereos is designed around small spaces and small speakers, so in a normal size room, it is likely to sound pretty crappy. Make sure the ohm rating of the speakers you use is appropriate. All in all, cheaper and easier to buy a good boom box. aem sends... |
#3
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
|
#5
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
In article ,
Arfa Daily wrote: Also, vehicle antennas tend to be electrically short for the frequencies concerned, and don't contain anything in the way of loading coils to address this, so end up being pretty inefficient things. Many have head amps these days. Mine - I have a DAB radio - two, one for VHF band III and one for VHF Band II & AM. -- *Remember, no-one is listening until you fart.* Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#6
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
On Thu, 17 May 2007 08:09:03 GMT, "Arfa Daily"
wrote: "mm" wrote in message .. . On 16 May 2007 18:20:51 -0700, wrote: i was wondering if there was anyway possible to take a car stereo system and inbed it into lets say a wall and hook it up to speakers and everything but run it off of the electrical outlet in the house? what would i need to rig up so that i could avoid the whole car battery set up which would need a constant charging that would build up hydrogen gas and pose as a potential fire hazzard? if any of that made sense, i appreciate your help. If you are doing this to get stations you can't get on your AC radios, I"m told it won't work. I'm told car radios get such good reception because of the car itself, maybe because it forms a ground plane around the base of the antenna. If that is true, how well do the radios in Saturns work? They have all plastic bodies. A 13.8v base station power supply such as you would use for powering a mobile CB radio indoors, is all that's needed. You can also safely use a 12v battery, by using a sealed gel-type, such as is found as the backup supply in alarm panels and emergency lighting. I'm not sure that the groundplane argument holds up. On vehicles where the antenna is wing mounted, the groundplane is very lop-sided. Also, vehicle antennas tend to be electrically short for the frequencies concerned, and don't contain anything in the way of loading coils to address this, so end up being pretty inefficient things. Arfa Realize that the antenna is a relatively tuned device, which makes it more difficult to connect it ot a standard FM antenna. Other than that possible problem (which may not affect your installation at all) then Arfa's suggestion of a CB adapter is a good one. |
#7
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
On Thu, 17 May 2007 08:43:01 -0400, PeterD wrote:
On Thu, 17 May 2007 08:09:03 GMT, "Arfa Daily" wrote: "mm" wrote in message . .. On 16 May 2007 18:20:51 -0700, wrote: i was wondering if there was anyway possible to take a car stereo system and inbed it into lets say a wall and hook it up to speakers and everything but run it off of the electrical outlet in the house? what would i need to rig up so that i could avoid the whole car battery set up which would need a constant charging that would build up hydrogen gas and pose as a potential fire hazzard? if any of that made sense, i appreciate your help. If you are doing this to get stations you can't get on your AC radios, I"m told it won't work. I'm told car radios get such good reception because of the car itself, maybe because it forms a ground plane around the base of the antenna. If that is true, how well do the radios in Saturns work? They have all plastic bodies. A 13.8v base station power supply such as you would use for powering a mobile CB radio indoors, is all that's needed. You can also safely use a 12v battery, by using a sealed gel-type, such as is found as the backup supply in alarm panels and emergency lighting. I'm not sure that the groundplane argument holds up. On vehicles where the antenna is wing mounted, the groundplane is very lop-sided. Also, vehicle antennas tend to be electrically short for the frequencies concerned, and don't contain anything in the way of loading coils to address this, so end up being pretty inefficient things. Arfa Realize that the antenna is a relatively tuned device, which makes it more difficult to connect it ot a standard FM antenna. Other than that possible problem (which may not affect your installation at all) then Arfa's suggestion of a CB adapter is a good one. I live in Baltimore and there have been both AM and FM stations in WAshington which came in fine in my car, on two different radios of the same style, and on my friend's car radio. But badly if at all in the house. Over the years I've tried 10 or more table radios and 2 stereo tuners, some pretty expensive. One AM radio station WRC never came in at all in the house, and WAMU and WCSP will come in somehwat on some radios and won't at all on others (and price doesn't seem to matter. Some of the cheapest work the best) I wanted to take one of the car radios and build a cabinet for it, to hold it and the battery, and a small charger, but a friend who has worked in electronics said it wouldn't work as well in the house. Do you all think it would? If you are inclined to email me for some reason, remove NOPSAM :-) |
#8
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
"mm" wrote in message ... On Thu, 17 May 2007 08:43:01 -0400, PeterD wrote: On Thu, 17 May 2007 08:09:03 GMT, "Arfa Daily" wrote: "mm" wrote in message ... On 16 May 2007 18:20:51 -0700, wrote: i was wondering if there was anyway possible to take a car stereo system and inbed it into lets say a wall and hook it up to speakers and everything but run it off of the electrical outlet in the house? what would i need to rig up so that i could avoid the whole car battery set up which would need a constant charging that would build up hydrogen gas and pose as a potential fire hazzard? if any of that made sense, i appreciate your help. If you are doing this to get stations you can't get on your AC radios, I"m told it won't work. I'm told car radios get such good reception because of the car itself, maybe because it forms a ground plane around the base of the antenna. If that is true, how well do the radios in Saturns work? They have all plastic bodies. A 13.8v base station power supply such as you would use for powering a mobile CB radio indoors, is all that's needed. You can also safely use a 12v battery, by using a sealed gel-type, such as is found as the backup supply in alarm panels and emergency lighting. I'm not sure that the groundplane argument holds up. On vehicles where the antenna is wing mounted, the groundplane is very lop-sided. Also, vehicle antennas tend to be electrically short for the frequencies concerned, and don't contain anything in the way of loading coils to address this, so end up being pretty inefficient things. Arfa Realize that the antenna is a relatively tuned device, which makes it more difficult to connect it ot a standard FM antenna. Other than that possible problem (which may not affect your installation at all) then Arfa's suggestion of a CB adapter is a good one. I live in Baltimore and there have been both AM and FM stations in WAshington which came in fine in my car, on two different radios of the same style, and on my friend's car radio. But badly if at all in the house. Over the years I've tried 10 or more table radios and 2 stereo tuners, some pretty expensive. One AM radio station WRC never came in at all in the house, and WAMU and WCSP will come in somehwat on some radios and won't at all on others (and price doesn't seem to matter. Some of the cheapest work the best) I wanted to take one of the car radios and build a cabinet for it, to hold it and the battery, and a small charger, but a friend who has worked in electronics said it wouldn't work as well in the house. Do you all think it would? Is a rooftop antenna out of the question? What I'd do is lug a car battery into your livingroom, hook up the car radio and see if it works. Probably take less time than all the typing you've already done. Bear in mind that most car stereos are designed to drive 4-ohm car speakers not 8-ohm home speakers... for long-term life of the car unit you may want to use the line-out function if it has one into your home amp. Dave |
#9
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
"mm" wrote in message ... I live in Baltimore and there have been both AM and FM stations in WAshington which came in fine in my car, on two different radios of the same style, and on my friend's car radio. But badly if at all in the house. Over the years I've tried 10 or more table radios and 2 stereo tuners, some pretty expensive. One AM radio station WRC never came in at all in the house, and WAMU and WCSP will come in somehwat on some radios and won't at all on others (and price doesn't seem to matter. Some of the cheapest work the best) You need a better antenna, not a different radio. Can you mount a whip on the house? Radio Shack used to sell a suitable model. |
#10
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
In article ,
mm wrote: I wanted to take one of the car radios and build a cabinet for it, to hold it and the battery, and a small charger, but a friend who has worked in electronics said it wouldn't work as well in the house. Do you all think it would? It will depend on the type of building you are in - car aerials are usually in the open. ;-) But as said before - no need for a battery and charger unless you suffer from power cuts. You can buy mains power units designed for this purpose from RS etc. -- *On the other hand, you have different fingers* Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#11
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
"mm" wrote in message ... On Thu, 17 May 2007 08:43:01 -0400, PeterD wrote: On Thu, 17 May 2007 08:09:03 GMT, "Arfa Daily" wrote: "mm" wrote in message ... On 16 May 2007 18:20:51 -0700, wrote: i was wondering if there was anyway possible to take a car stereo system and inbed it into lets say a wall and hook it up to speakers and everything but run it off of the electrical outlet in the house? what would i need to rig up so that i could avoid the whole car battery set up which would need a constant charging that would build up hydrogen gas and pose as a potential fire hazzard? if any of that made sense, i appreciate your help. If you are doing this to get stations you can't get on your AC radios, I"m told it won't work. I'm told car radios get such good reception because of the car itself, maybe because it forms a ground plane around the base of the antenna. If that is true, how well do the radios in Saturns work? They have all plastic bodies. A 13.8v base station power supply such as you would use for powering a mobile CB radio indoors, is all that's needed. You can also safely use a 12v battery, by using a sealed gel-type, such as is found as the backup supply in alarm panels and emergency lighting. I'm not sure that the groundplane argument holds up. On vehicles where the antenna is wing mounted, the groundplane is very lop-sided. Also, vehicle antennas tend to be electrically short for the frequencies concerned, and don't contain anything in the way of loading coils to address this, so end up being pretty inefficient things. Arfa Realize that the antenna is a relatively tuned device, which makes it more difficult to connect it ot a standard FM antenna. Other than that possible problem (which may not affect your installation at all) then Arfa's suggestion of a CB adapter is a good one. I live in Baltimore and there have been both AM and FM stations in WAshington which came in fine in my car, on two different radios of the same style, and on my friend's car radio. But badly if at all in the house. Over the years I've tried 10 or more table radios and 2 stereo tuners, some pretty expensive. One AM radio station WRC never came in at all in the house, and WAMU and WCSP will come in somehwat on some radios and won't at all on others (and price doesn't seem to matter. Some of the cheapest work the best) I wanted to take one of the car radios and build a cabinet for it, to hold it and the battery, and a small charger, but a friend who has worked in electronics said it wouldn't work as well in the house. Do you all think it would? When I mend the things on the workshop bench, I just hang in any piece of wire that comes to hand, and get perfectly good stereo results on FM, and good reception on AM, so I don't see why you shouldn't get good results with a decent antenna outside. At the end of the day, apart from the ones with built in amps, as Dave pointed out, car antennas are just an electrically short metal rod at worst, and a crude untuned helical wound on fibreglass at best. Just one thing though. If you went for a genuine car antenna, and needed to extend the cable over the length that it's supplied with, you need to use a genuine ready made up extension for the job. Extending with any old coax that comes to hand, for some reason, just doesn't work, as I found out a few years back ... Arfa |
#12
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
"mm" wrote in message ... On 16 May 2007 18:20:51 -0700, wrote: i was wondering if there was anyway possible to take a car stereo system and inbed it into lets say a wall and hook it up to speakers and everything but run it off of the electrical outlet in the house? what would i need to rig up so that i could avoid the whole car battery set up which would need a constant charging that would build up hydrogen gas and pose as a potential fire hazzard? if any of that made sense, i appreciate your help. If you are doing this to get stations you can't get on your AC radios, I"m told it won't work. I'm told car radios get such good reception because of the car itself, maybe because it forms a ground plane around the base of the antenna. If that is true, how well do the radios in Saturns work? They have all plastic bodies. Would a simple aerial tuning unit enable someone to use a car radio with a long wire aerial or any aerial that happens to be on the roof or in the loft? Rudge |
#13
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
"Rudge" wrote in
o.uk: "mm" wrote in message ... On 16 May 2007 18:20:51 -0700, wrote: i was wondering if there was anyway possible to take a car stereo system and inbed it into lets say a wall and hook it up to speakers and everything but run it off of the electrical outlet in the house? what would i need to rig up so that i could avoid the whole car battery set up which would need a constant charging that would build up hydrogen gas and pose as a potential fire hazzard? if any of that made sense, i appreciate your help. If you are doing this to get stations you can't get on your AC radios, I"m told it won't work. I'm told car radios get such good reception because of the car itself, maybe because it forms a ground plane around the base of the antenna. If that is true, how well do the radios in Saturns work? They have all plastic bodies. No,Saturns have plastic panels over a steel chassis. Mostly on the sides,I believe the roof is still steel. Would a simple aerial tuning unit enable someone to use a car radio with a long wire aerial or any aerial that happens to be on the roof or in the loft? Rudge -- Jim Yanik jyanik at kua.net |
#14
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
On May 17, 5:47 am, mm wrote:
On 16 May 2007 18:20:51 -0700, wrote: i was wondering if there was anyway possible to take a car stereo system and inbed it into lets say a wall and hook it up to speakers and everything but run it off of the electrical outlet in the house? what would i need to rig up so that i could avoid the whole car battery set up which would need a constant charging that would build up hydrogen gas and pose as a potential fire hazzard? if any of that made sense, i appreciate your help. Talk about using a sledgehammer to crack nut. What an unnecessary lot of work. And almost certainly inferior to a domestic hi fi.... Just get a decent hi-fi tuner and a good external aerial (maybe some kind of amplifier would be useful if the reception is no good). Your signal depends to a large extent on the quality of the aerial so don't skimp on it. |
#15
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
In article ,
mm wrote: If you are doing this to get stations you can't get on your AC radios, I"m told it won't work. I'm told car radios get such good reception because of the car itself, maybe because it forms a ground plane around the base of the antenna. If that is true, how well do the radios in Saturns work? They have all plastic bodies. The main problem with plastic bodied cars is interference from the car ignition, etc. On others the engine is in a sort of Faraday cage. Hence the earthing straps you often see across the bonnet (hood) hinges. Although this is mainly for the benefit of others to prevent RFI to TVs etc. But it helps the car radio too. -- *Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all?" Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#16
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... In article , mm wrote: If you are doing this to get stations you can't get on your AC radios, I"m told it won't work. I'm told car radios get such good reception because of the car itself, maybe because it forms a ground plane around the base of the antenna. If that is true, how well do the radios in Saturns work? They have all plastic bodies. The main problem with plastic bodied cars is interference from the car ignition, etc. On others the engine is in a sort of Faraday cage. Hence the earthing straps you often see across the bonnet (hood) hinges. Although this is mainly for the benefit of others to prevent RFI to TVs etc. But it helps the car radio too. huh? there's plenty of holes around the engine so that it's not a faraday cage. most radios have some sort of filter for this. for that matter, my vette doesn't have any of these and the radio works in it. -- *Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all?" Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#17
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
In article , charlie
wrote: The main problem with plastic bodied cars is interference from the car ignition, etc. On others the engine is in a sort of Faraday cage. Hence the earthing straps you often see across the bonnet (hood) hinges. Although this is mainly for the benefit of others to prevent RFI to TVs etc. But it helps the car radio too. huh? there's plenty of holes around the engine so that it's not a faraday cage. A Faraday cage can be made of mesh. Doesn't have to be solid steel. most radios have some sort of filter for this. Some sort of, yes. But it's still better to stop interference getting to the aerial - especially for distant reception. for that matter, my vette doesn't have any of these and the radio works in it. I didn't say it wouldn't 'work' Only that it won't work as well as in a metal bodied car unless some form of alternative screening is used. -- *If horrific means to make horrible, does terrific mean to make terrible? Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#18
Posted to alt.home.repair,sci.electronics.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message ... In article , charlie wrote: The main problem with plastic bodied cars is interference from the car ignition, etc. On others the engine is in a sort of Faraday cage. Hence the earthing straps you often see across the bonnet (hood) hinges. Although this is mainly for the benefit of others to prevent RFI to TVs etc. But it helps the car radio too. huh? there's plenty of holes around the engine so that it's not a faraday cage. A Faraday cage can be made of mesh. Doesn't have to be solid steel. holes, as in multiple square feet. that's pretty loose mesh. faraday cage holes are sized to the wavelength of the frequencies that are to be blocked. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage "Cars and airplanes. When lightning strikes an airplane or a car the electric currents induced on it are forced to travel on the outer skin of the vehicle's body. Other signals such as cell phone signals penetrate the skin of cars and airplanes because the wavelength of the signal is significantly smaller than the holes present on the surface of the conductor (the windows)." to claim that the surrounding car body panels of a car engine is a faraday cage is just incorrect. faraday cages simply can't have holes or they leak the signals, making the cage be useless. a cage either is complete, and it works, or is incomplete, and doesn't work. in the latter case, if it doesn't work, why would manufacturers pay to engineer and make, and we have to pay to haul around forever, an incomplete cage? most radios have some sort of filter for this. Some sort of, yes. But it's still better to stop interference getting to the aerial - especially for distant reception. for that matter, my vette doesn't have any of these and the radio works in it. I didn't say it wouldn't 'work' Only that it won't work as well as in a metal bodied car unless some form of alternative screening is used. -- *If horrific means to make horrible, does terrific mean to make terrible? Dave Plowman London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. |
#19
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
This is a good idea, and not hard to do. Car radios have an edge over most
table-top radios since they always incorporate RF amplifiers to boost weak-signal conditions, and pack a lot of power for the small size they take up. And very cheap, if picked up at a yard sale. What you needis to understand which terminals on the radio itself are for +/- 12 volts, Right +/- speaker and Left+/- speaker leads. Low voltage so not a fire hazzard. Sound will be as good as you'd want if you've found a reasonable radio and good speakers. The ground-plane theory sounds reasonable until one realizes that the antenna length and car's metal chassis size are nowhere near the right dimensions needed for resembling an AM ground plane. wrote in message oups.com... i was wondering if there was anyway possible to take a car stereo system and inbed it into lets say a wall and hook it up to speakers and everything but run it off of the electrical outlet in the house? what would i need to rig up so that i could avoid the whole car battery set up which would need a constant charging that would build up hydrogen gas and pose as a potential fire hazzard? if any of that made sense, i appreciate your help. |
#20
Posted to alt.home.repair
|
|||
|
|||
car stereo
What you needis to understand which terminals on the radio itself are for +/- 12 volts, Right +/- speaker and Left+/- speaker leads. Low voltage so not a fire hazzard. Sound will be as good as you'd want if you've found a reasonable radio and good speakers. Not always as safe as you'd like. I've had a car radio set the dashboard on fire when the alternator was screwed up and spiking higher than the noise-suppression coil could cope with. |
Reply |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
ford car stereo | Electronics Repair | |||
Car Stereo | Electronics Repair | |||
OT car stereo | UK diy | |||
Kenwood Car stereo repair HELP!! | Electronics Repair |