You guys are a laugh. I feel like I'm watching a voting process on how to install a light bulb.

I'll second Jim's opinion of Radio Shack heat shrink. It stinks. NEVER buy the glssy stuff if you can avoid it. Never buy pre-cut tubing if you can avoid it. I've used 3M brand and a few other similar varieties that are excellent. They're all matte in appearance and are available in every colour you can think of. I buy from local electronic stores (each piece is at least a metre long) and it's cheaper than the cut packaged stuff at Radio Shack.

I've used a hair drier which worked fine - it's busted and gets un-naturally hot. But my favoourite thing to use is a small torch (normally used to light cigars).

But would I bother with heat shrink for this project? Maybe. But maybe not. When working with thick gauge AC wiring, I use Marrettes. The plastic caps (copper on the inside) that you twist onto your wires. Very secure.

Let us know when you've got pictures up somewhere Loren. Even if you're not done with writing up any description.

I'll be making my own enclosure from scratch using satin-finish aluminum (really excited about this because I've nearly finalized the design in my mind ) and I'll be powering the empeg with a power supply from an old drive chassis. I'll use a small adapter to fool it into home mode. I'm also going to throw in a pair of speakers and a small amplifier (courtesy of a set of decent PC speakers - this is cheaper in the end than building my own amplifier, which I also looked into). This way it will double as a component for my large system as well as a portable player - and most importantly, it's going to be my alarm clock. Haven't decided on the dimensions yet, but it will probably be 3" tall, 17-19" wide and 8-10" deep.

Bruno

Guys, shouldn't the green (ground) also be tied to the sled?

You guys are a laugh. I feel like I'm watching a voting process on how to install a light bulb.

Heh. Obsessed Anodized Aluminum Extrusion Man calls Kettle Black!

I've used 3M brand...

I Googled for "3M heat shrink" and lots of places selling on-line -- in the long lengths, too.

But my favoourite thing to use is a small torch (normally used to light cigars).

I used a butane mini-torch for a while. The good thing about a real heat gun like a Weller is that you can surround the work with heat and the tubing contracts evenly. I was using some fairly big diameters and lengths for a while (and the marine stuiff is loaded with glue), so it's possible to get trapped air pockets if the heating is spotty.

But would I bother with heat shrink for this project? Maybe. But maybe not. When working with thick gauge AC wiring, I use Marrettes. The plastic caps (copper on the inside) that you twist onto your wires. Very secure.

For stuff like the boat, it's not negotiable, but I like for car and whatnot because it protects and reinforces things if you are using terminals or lugs. Also, if you want the wire to lay a certain way, you can bend it, heat-shrink it, then hold it till it cools to help hold the shape.

Marrettes? Is that what i'd call wire nuts? Will those hold with stranded wire? Is this something different?

... and I'll be powering the empeg with a power supply from an old drive chassis.

I'll be interested to see that. I felt like using the OE brick with an extension cord stub was pretty cheesy. I went looking for a 12-13V power supply/transformer with terminal connectors, but didn't find any.

Back to fixing the black wire on that light bulb!

Marrettes? Is that what i'd call wire nuts?

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/electrical-wiring/part1/section-23.html

I'd never heard them called that before, either.

Alrighty, i wired it up loosely last night to test it and it worked perfectly. I cut the holes for the AC socket and the rocker switch. Tonight i'll mount the ethernet plug and serial port. The one i'm sorta stuck on are the RCA's. I Think i'm gonna buy some bare female terminals from good ol' rat shack since i believe i saw them in strips of 2x3. I'm gonna do this without shoe goo if it kills me! I've got a tube of it in the closet calling my name... but i've resisted thus far.

Ideally you'd wire connections directly from the docking unit to the RCA terminals on the back of your case. If you don't have an extra harness you don't mind modifying, then the best thing you can do is to use some adapters for the connection.

Since I don't plan on using a tuner module, I think I'm going to end up using some of its pins on the harness. I'll fit them with new wire (a delicate matter) and transplant them into the correct sockets for the audio (that part's easy).

Bruno

I want to straight mount the RCA Line outs to the back of the box, but i can't think of a clean way to mount them, so i figured i could just take some RCA patch cords, cut em in half, plug one end into the RCA outs from the sled, and solder the other to a female terminal on the back of the box.

Why would you want to rewire the harness when you've got RCA's coming out already?

I'd rewire the harness to avoid doing the connections you just mentioned. The less RCA-plug connections, the better. By rewiring, I'd have only one: the external used to connect the final piece of interconnect to the rest of your stereo system.

If we're speaking completely ideal situations, then I'd love to grab an extra harness connector and pins and make my own soldered connections. Then I wouldn't have to touch the current one at all, and I would be left with far fewer wires inside my case.

I'll be using RCA connectors that thread to the chassis as well. I didn't see these at Radio Shack on the weekend, but I know some of the electronics places around here have them.

Bruno

I have to go with Loren on this one. That's the way I'd do it. I'd leave the sled "pristine" and do a patch to a female panel on the back of the box.

If done carefully, you won't lose any audio quality in the patch, and the result is a sled that hasn't been altered and can eventually be re-sold or repurposed for a car installation.

rather than cut up a patch cord for this, i was planning a slightly different approach to the RCA connections. i'm sure you've seen the type of structured cabling wall plates from several vendors (hubbell, belkin, etc) that allow you to snap in small connector modules for cat 5, rca connectors, et al. there are also plates designed to screw into a standard electrical box and fit a "decora" style trim plate.

my plan was to use either the small snap-in modules, or perhaps the larger decora-style plates, mounted on the rear of the cabinet to provide both RCA and ethernet connections. no muss, no fuss, no shoe goo.

--dan.

Yeah... good idea. I went looking for those plates but decided it wasn't worth the trouble tracking them down, and i'm impatient. But that would definitely provide a super clean install. I just went to Rat Shack and picked up an Octal Phono Jack Board as they call it. Basically, it's got 8 female RCA connectors mounted on a black sheet of plastic with holes in the corners for bolting it down, and ready to solder. Cheap and perfect.

cool, that sounds just as good. i pick up those component jacks at home depot -- not exactly the cheapest place to get them, but since i seem to find myself in the store every 2-3 days, it certainly is handy.

--dan.

f done carefully, you won't lose any audio quality in the patch, and the result is a sled that hasn't been altered and can eventually be re-sold or repurposed for a car installation.


That was the main driver for doing mine the way that I did (just RCAs). I had an RCA panel for soldering and then decided it wouldn't look any cleaner. Rewire the harness?? Well, it's pretty delicate and I need to keep my modest soldering skills in mind. When it comes to hums and buzzes, better a few RCAs than a butchered rewiring and solder job.

I think you missed the part where I said that I can extract and reinsert pins from/into the sled connector without difficulty. What I'd like to get are some extra pins so I wouldn't have to use the ones I'm "temporarily" removing. I'm not planning to hack anything up, so everything will be able to go back to pristine stock.

Anyone interested in seeing about a group buy of connectors? I'd feel fine about making my box without using the car dock, but I'd love another connector.

Bruno

I was woundering if anyone knew what psu I could use that would convert AC to DC so that I can use the power from my docking sled without have to make something so that the empeg will slide into the wall plug. I looked around but the only thing I found locally was an AC to DC that had a car lighter slot to plug in dc stuff like that, It was also very expensive.

Thanks
-Greg

Small power supply used in computer or drive cases. A locall store has them for $10 Canadian (you'd still have to provide all the wiring and switch). I'm sure you should be able to find these online. Surplus and electronics stores are also good for this stuff. The added benefit is that you'll have both 12 and 5v output (for using some LEDs, etc..)

Bruno

Thats what I was thinking but the only ones I have around here are too big for my box. I'll look around.
Thanks

-Greg

Alrighty, it's done! I'm putting up the pictures at RioCar.org right now with a tiny write up. I think i'm gonna have to modify the AC plug holder i came up with, as it's not working solidly every time... but otherwise it came out sweet! I'll post a link as soon as the pics are done!