Ammo can cb

[Jimma]

Post some pictures. Sounds like a cool idea.

 

[wilfreeman]

Just did a search - "Fat 50" is 12.5"L x 7.3"W x 8.8"H, "Tall 50" is 11"L x 6"W x 13"H, so the Fat 50 would probably suit my needs better for using a motorcycle battery, and the height would probably be just right too.

 

[wilfreeman]

I went ahead and mounted the radio to the inside of the glove box of my M38a1, ran the antenna cable through the factory hole in the back bottom part of the box, and drilled a hole in the very front bottom corner of the box for the mic cord to come out. I stuck the magnetic antenna to the top of the gas can and ran the cable down behind the rear seat, around the wheel well, behind the fuel tank filler and around the side of the kick panel into the glove box. I will have to figure out a way to make the battery stay in place also. That will do until I can agquire the correct box. BTW, the radio is still putting out - 7.75 hrs now - on that little battery!

 

[wilfreeman]

Here's one where I was trying the 2 batteries in the "regular 50 can". I think the Fat 50, being slightly wider and taller would fit the ATV battery (on the left) great, and the depth would be just right for the radio. The electric Jeep battery that I am using now is on the right.

 

[Rambling Wreck]

I went ahead and mounted the radio to the inside of the glove box of my M38a1, ran the antenna cable through the factory hole in the back bottom part of the box, and drilled a hole in the very front bottom corner of the box for the mic cord to come out. I stuck the magnetic antenna to the top of the gas can and ran the cable down behind the rear seat, around the wheel well, behind the fuel tank filler and around the side of the kick panel into the glove box. That will do until I can agquire the correct box.

You could always fabricate something up for it to be permanently mounted in the map/glove box. Then you wouldn't need a separate battery. A little more work on the front end but better for the long haul.

 

[wilfreeman]

That looks good! I don't think I really want a permanent mount though - I just did it that way until I can get the right ammo can to mount the setup in. Where have you go your stereo speakers mounted?

 

[Rambling Wreck]

That looks good! I don't think I really want a permanent mount though - I just did it that way until I can get the right ammo can to mount the setup in. Where have you go your stereo speakers mounted?

This is in my M35A3. I hung 4 of them from roof bracket and I mounted 2 subs in the bed. I also mount 2 PA's on the front and 2 PA's on the bed rails. You can check out my build thread (link in signature) for more info.

 

[wilfreeman]

Are you gonna have your A3 at the rally? I'll have to come by and check that out!

 

[Rambling Wreck]

I'll be there with the A3 from Thursday to Sunday.

 

[wilfreeman]

We'll be there Friday afternoon thru Sunday - wish it could be longer! I'm looking forward to putting some faces with these handles

 

[Kasper31]

Nice looking installs, just one question, Keep in mind that electronics make heat and you'll need to let some air in and or have a smell fan to help keep them cool. How are you keeping them cool?

 

[quickfarms]

Why not power the radio off of a 24 to 12 power converter rather than batteries if you are going to use it in a vehicle?

 

[islandguydon]

I am impressed with the ingenuity of the folks around here. Lots of good designs....!

 

[Kasper31]

As has been mentioned, you can use an inverter and when in the vehical use the truck for power and at the same time charge the 12 vdc battery. I use an inverter built by ASTRON a model no. N2412-24, this gives me 20 amp. of 12vdc power continus duty with 24amp intermittent usage. There is still a requirement for a small cooling fan to keep everything within operating limits.

 

[wilfreeman]

[QUOTEelectronics make heat and you'll need to let some air in and or have a smell fan to help keep them cool][/QUOTE]
Good point! I guess in an ammo can, it would need to have either cross ventilation across the cb, or have the top open for the heat to rise out of the can.

My plan was, since I am only going to have the cb and battery in the can, was to mount it at an angle from the bottom to the top (if that makes since). Mounted that way though, the speaker wouldn't be very loud. I might just mount it vertically, with the speaker facing out. I plan on seperating the can to have a compartment for the battery. I might have enough room to have a compartment between the battery and cb for cables and the mic.

Why not power the radio off of a 24 to 12 power converter rather than batteries if you are going to use it in a vehicle?

That will be a future mod for my M38a1 - I will have to order a 24-12v converter, as there are no electronics stores around here (2 Radio Shacks I went in didn't have them). I considered running just the cb off of 1 battery, but I don't feel lucky - I'd end up killing it! When I do the converter thing, I am going to run a wire to a small fuse block so that I can power more than one thing like an aux port for phone charging + a radio and cb.

The original intent was to make the cb portable in the ammo box, hence the internal battery - add a 2' whip antenna and you're good to go.

I'll have to do a search for the ASTRON - is it a converter or inverter?

 

[Rambling Wreck]

What you need is a voltage converter. Pyle makes some pretty good ones that you can buy off of amazon.com for less than $40.

 

[wilfreeman]

Yeah, I was just browsing ebay - found a bunch of them (most coming from Hong Kong). I'll have to check out Amazon tomorrow. Thanks All!