Loud & Low 8th Gen Civic UBL #2

[scooter99]

Also, here are some pics of the shop at my new house. Measures about 9'6" deep by 15' wide. Not a bad little shop!

I'm pretty sure at some point I'l have it all gutted and put my own workbench etc in there.

This is the RV access that is in front of it. From the fence to the edge of the concrete is 38 feet long. We had talked about putting an iron fence and gate there, to keep the dogs out of that area. So if that happens we'll put it where the gravel meets the concrete. The concrete area is about 15 wide by 24 feet deep. That will be my working area. I'm going to see about building a cover for it so I can work in all weather. In due time of course!

Right now I have about 200' of fence to rebuild, a 70' x 2' wall to build out of landscaping blocks, and a double gate and single man gate to build, all before we even move in. The next week or so are going to be busy! To say the least!

but stay tuned!

[scooter99]

Ok so unfortunately i was out sick from work yesterday. Really should probably be home today, except I had a reason to come in. NO silly's not work! This! A little package!!

Well what the heck could it possibly be? What am I still waiting for that this could maybe be?

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muahahahahahahahahahahah

Rockford Fosgate 360.3 processor

Size comparison with my car key

Man she's so sexy! A lot sexier in person then by picture!

So for those of you who don't know, I've decided to nix the head unit all together and just go processor and tablet and phone. I am trying to sell the head unit (Pioneer DEH-X9500BHS) but I may just hold onto it and put it in my truck. When I bought it it was $10 more and I had to pay tax on it (thanks California), making it $228.00. Well now it's going for $199. So I may end up taking too much of a loss on it.

That being said, one of the things I wanted to do with the Processor, was run both my tablet and my phone off the bluetooth capabilities on the processor. I emailed Rockford Fosgate and asked them some questions. Basically what I was hoping it would do was by using the presets on the processor, connect and disconnect to the phone and tablet by turning to the different preset. So if I was on my main preset 1 being the tablet and it was connected, and I switched to preset 2 for the phone to stream pandora, radio, spotify, etc, that it would disconnect from the tablet and connect to the phone automatically. But I got an email back from fosgate saying that it wouldn't do that and that I would have to disconnect and connect them manually via the devices.

So my other option is this. Not using the bluetooth at all and getting the best possible signal out of the units. We'll the tablet has a dock that I've utilized in the dash already that has an HDMI output. The S3 that I have has a docking station out there as well, that also utilizes the HDMI out. I bought this converter a while back, Octava 1x2 Distribution Amplifier that converts the HDMI into 2 more HDMI ports for screens I plan on using later on in the back, but it also converts to analog RCA and Optical Toslink Digital signals.

Now how am I going to put two HDMI cables into one HDMI port? Simple. This little beauty right here! Octava 3x1 HDMI Switch This will allow me to insert both HDMI docking cables into the switch. It has an auto scanning feature, so when the HDMI cable is powered up, it will sense it and switch to that port. How will I get around this or make this work? Simple. On each, the tablet and the phone, power cables I'll put a switch inline with them. HDMI needs a power source to operate. So what I will do is when I want to listen to pandora or streaming from the phone, I'll switch the tablet dock power off, and the phone power on. That will activate the switch and change ports. Then I will go into the 1x2 amplifier, with one HDMI cable out of the switch module, and then I have the option of using analog, or even better signal, optical toslink. I'll be using the toslink.

Not sure if that makes sense to you all, but the only other way to do it is to root my phone to allow for wifi hotspot on it, and I don't really have the nerve to do that and risk bricking my phone. I also thought about Bluetooth one and not the other, but I'm not sure if I'm going to do that or not.

The other issue is, these Octava units have a wall power adapter, and I need to some how convert that to 12v. I'm not sure how to do that other than to get a power converter but I also understand those cause issues with noise in the system. So if I can avoid that I'd like to. I'm open to any suggestions. Both units specs are this:

9vDC/500ma on the 3x1 switch

5vDC/2.5a on the 1x2 distribution amp

So there will be much more on this.

Also my last battery should be here tomorrow, although I'll be out of town. But that will be the final piece to the puzzle.

And I've decided while I love the 4th order design, this just isn't the car to have it in. I have to go the way of functionality and go with a ported enclosure instead. It's just the best route to go.

So much more to come, stay tuned, and thanks for checking in!

[scooter99]

Apparently I didn't update this as well as the other thread. So I'll get to that.

So, onto some good news, or better news anyway. I did get in the D4700 while I was in San Diego. So that's the final piece to the puzzle, or it is until I decide if I need a second battery in back now to replace the lost D6500.

To give you an idea of where we're moving, it's about a 30 minute drive to the other side of Sacramento from my current house. So when I left Sunday morning I had forgotten my power nozzle for the hose to wash off the sidewalk when I was done. So I stopped at the Home Depot close to the new house. Well, when I came outside, I found my truck smoking from the engine bay. Popped open the hood real quick to find flames coming from the Gen 2 alternator! Sorry didn't stop to take pics! So I ran into the Depot yelling "my truck is on fire, I need a fire extinguisher to which the retards said they're on aisle 1. So I said back no not one to buy I need an extinguisher now, my truck is on fire now! Same thing, So I sprinted across the store, yes sprinted, to Aisle 1 where the customer service guy saw me running asking me what the problem was and I said the same thing to him. He runs me down to the extinguishers and grabs one, and before he has time to ask me or tell me anything I ripped it out of his hand tearing it apart as I sprinted across the store to put the fire out in my truck. Fucking idiots!

So anyway, when all was said and done this was the damage!




Called the fire department to make sure all was good, which they were cool about things. Said I did great, and did exactly what I should've done. Probably saved my truck and the store as well as the cars next to me. No thanks to the Home Depot idiots!


So what happened you ask? Well I'm guessing one of two things in multiple combinations. First off it's the Gen 2 Alternator that is in the truck. I've talked about this before in my truck log. They were known to cause fires, and while I was planing to do the build in it before when we were talking about selling the car, I was going to change it out to a 3g or 3rd generation alternator, for safety and for higher power. Well I didn't do it. So that combined with the two D6500s in there, I'm guessing was just too much for the alt. But things could've been so very much worse.

Three consecutive days prior, I was in there and lowes for an hour at least each time getting materials for the fence. Could've gone up then. Could've happened at my house where it's parked right next to my bedroom. Could've happened on the freeway where I had no access to an extinguisher, or with my kids or family in the truck. So I'm lucky. Very very very lucky. It's at the shop now and I'm waiting to hear about the cost of fixing it. It's actually at an electrical shop to see what more damage it caused other than surface. Surface is a few air hoses, the alt of course, all the power wires to the vehicle on that side, and the harness to the alt. i did loose one of the D6500's. Well not lost cause it still works, but I don't trust it. Check it out.

One on the right is good, left is damaged.


Closeup of it.


I'll email XS and see what they say about it. But I'm almost sure it can't be used.

Anyway, so that's all the surface damage as well as a little paint discoloration on the hood. But, I don't know if there was any damage to the computer or anything like that. So that's why the electrical shop has it. We also have to decide if the cost is going to be worth it. We've sunk a ton of money into getting it back to good and nice running, and I still have the lift to put on it etc. So I'm gonna fight to keep it. I'm sure I can do most of the work to fix it, I just want to make sure it's not done any damage internally to the electronics of the system. So I'll wait to see what the estimate is.

Then the Niners lost the SuperBowl, which just topped off a shitty day!

I'll get some pics of the fence done when I get back there. I was there yesterday to finish cleaning up, but forgot to take pics of the fence.

Came home to this on the front porch yesterday!

It's actually smaller than I was expecting. WOOT!

Also got my truck back yesterday, so now we can commence project "Move the Scooter99's" today! WOOHOO!!!

That's about it! Gotta get back to packing!

[scooter99]

Oh yes, I forgot about this one:

Ok so a couple of things going on. It's been a busy damn week and weekend! I can't seem to get out from under the "black cloud" but I'm trying to stay positive because it can't possibly stay like this forever.

So let's start with the the car. So I'm home sick Tuesday and Wednesday, on top of the truck fire on Sunday. Ya know enough is enough already! Monday night felt like absolute shit! Tuesday no better but Tuesday night was starting to feel a little better. Woke up Wendesday not feeling so great and decided to take another day off, but still had to take my kids to school. My 8 year old, Brynn, went to go get in the car on her normal side (passenger rear) and yelled out "daddy there's a big dent in your door"! So I walk around the car to see this shit!

Size comparison to my finger

So I was like WTF!!!!????!!!! My alarm never went off, I didn't notice it the night before, so I don't know what happened. Then she says "oh no look at that dad"! I look up and find this shit! One more layer of cloud!

Here are some more pics of it, basically the only thing holding it together was the tint on the rear window and the heater strips on the glass.

Inside shots

So now I have no second vehicle cause my truck is at the shop getting fixed, and my wife has already left for work! I ended up borrowing my grandmother's car, who lives about a mile from me, so I could take them to school cause as I backed out of the driveway I could hear the window flexing, and I don't have any bass yet!

So I call my insurance company and file my claim, and the glass guy comes out that afternoon and fixes it.

Taking it out

ready for new glass

and fixed

Well in the meantime I found out that there were other areas that had been hit by folks and about 7 cars had gotten hit that night before. But we couldn't figure out what had caused it until I stepped on this!

Checked the dent in the door, and it was a perfect fit!

Never found the second one, but it's there somewhere I'm sure. Anyway, looks like they were using a sling shot or wrist rocket or something. Punk asses! I'd love to catch them in the act! Grab em and break my back window again with their forehead!

So I still need to get the rear window retinted and figure out what to do with the dent. But in the meantime it's back on the road.

Truck will be ready Thursday or Friday. That's a good thing! Right now it's really needed! So that's some good news!

Then today I was finishing setting the posts for my gate, and I dig some serious post holes for these bad boys! 6" x 6" x 8' posts and 12 x 12 x 26 holes for them. I'm hanging a 4' man gate on one side of one, and then other side of it will hold a 6' portion of a 12' double gate. The other post has the actual fence and the second portion of the double gate. These babies aren't going anywhere!

So anyway, I ran out of concrete, so I had to go get some! Obviously I had no truck, so I had to use the car!

No load

load, 300 lbs of concrete and about 50lbs of paint and other stuff. Plus my daughter in the back seat.

She was ridin low!!! Kinda liked the look! Really makes me think about hydraulics or bags for sure! Plus the fact that as low as I am, I have to raise it up a bit cause I scrape now going into my new garage cause the driveway is so steep. So hydro's or bags would allow me to raise up to park it, and then drop down to drive it! Mmmmmmmmmmmm

That's the other thing, I think it's time for some new wheels! These are damaged and I'm kind of tired of them. I want some more business, black still cause I think the black on this color gets it done, but I want more business to the wheel. Just tired of the simplicity of the 6 spoke look. Suggestions, I'm listening!

My daughter had to get in the mix! Sittin low but she can still get under the bumper! My fat ass cant! LMAO!

I think that's about it. I have a box design, I have a trunk design, I am ready to go, and I just need to get this damn move done! I wanna get started already!

Thanks for checking in!

Still haven't gotten the window tinted, which sux btw! But I'll get on it! That's really it this time! LOL

[scooter99]

Ok so a lot has happened since the last update. We've moved and there has been some other things going on. I didn't post them all in here so as to keep this UBL about the audio portion of the civic. Things are starting to slowly happen and the build is slowly getting under way. I may be biting off more than I can chew with this one, but I'm going to just go for it anyway. If it works out, the design will definitely turn some heads. Here goes.

First is the car in it's rightful place, in front of my new shop! It was like it was built for her to sit there in front of it!!! I can't get it in backwards cause of the height at the transition between the grass and the gravel. It's just too tall to go in backwards and for now it has to be that. I'm hoping that in the very near future I'll be pouring some concrete strips or even a driveway. At that time I'll be able to put her in backwards and have the trunk to the shop. Ok shop pics!

There's actually a good amount of room in front there without the trash can and saw horses there.

And her ass in the air ready for work!

[scooter99]

Now for some real work updates! Yes I got it started finally. Had a couple hours to get some work done yesterday on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. So I decided to utilize it to get some fiberglass work done. I'll hold onto the secret for now, but you can see the work and wonder for a while. It'll be revealed shortly though, don't worry. Can't keep it secret forever, and when it starts to develop you'll figure it out and see.

So I got the area cleaned up and ready for some foil and tape.

A little bit later, I had an aztec type design and some plastic coverings!

Got some supplies set up, running low on most of it.

Then I cut out some chop and got it in place. I was pretty low on this and thought I was going to have to use some cloth, but it worked out ok.

Time to get some wax on it so it'll come off later!

Then obviously I wasn't able to take pics while I was glassing. But here's the first layer.

Corners

So that's all I had a chance to do last night. I was around dinner time by now, and I had to get dinner ready cause the wife was taking care of a friend who went to the emergency room. Plus I only have about a quart of resin left. SO I'll have to pick up some supplies tonight so I can get another couple layers on it. I need to get it out of my car so I can have the car to drive for tomorrow. It's too expensive to drive the truck.

So more soon. At least this much. I bought some foam board also to do a mock up in front. I'll get to that later when I've got this part done.

To hear all the behind the scenes talk and chatter, check out my build log in the signature below. Thanks for tuning in, much more to come!

[scooter99]

Second layer added tonight. Went and got more resin and brushes etc, but they had no chop mat so cloth is what I had. So that's what I used. Here we go!

So we'll see if it dries in enough time to pull it out tonight!

Stay tuned for more soon!

[scooter99]

So I was able to pull it out last night and after 2 layers it's pretty stout. It's not meant to be structural, so I'm probably good at these two layers. but I may add a third if I decide it needs a bit more.

I still won't give it away yet, you'll just have to be patient and wait for the next few updates, but I promise you this...................it'll be well worth the wait! I should have some more to show in the next couple of days.

If you want to chat about this or hear all the behind the scenes talk, check out my build log linked in my signature. Thanks for checking in!

[scooter99]

Not much of an update. I started doing some stuff with the fiberglass last night but I wasn't happy with it so I scrapped the pics.

I did, however, get this in today!

Also have another goodie coming next week too. Although I don't wanna reveal that yet.

I may go out and re tackle the glass pan today. Don't have much in the way of energy though. SO we'll see.

Thanks for checking in!

[scooter99]

So I left off last time with pulling the fiberglass shell out of the car, and it was next time to clean it up and get things ready to build on it. It came out pretty easily, thanks to the foil I put down!

Then I peeled the foil and tape off. Most of it anyway, cause some of the tape lifted up and the resin got under it. But that's what happens sometimes.

Next I just trimmed off the excess mat that was hanging off. I'll trim it with the grinder later to get a nice square edge.

NOW FOR SOME SEXY TIME!

Had to make a panel for the amps to sit on. This isn't the amp panel, just a template for them so I can get some looking and setting done. Then I'll transfer them to 1/2" birch.