Update on the Power Inverter I installed

[David Maxwell]

I got the inverter to work (see previous thread) and I wanted to report the results:

PROS:

1. Excellent performance/Excellent sound!!

2. Volume level is generous (there is a limit)

3. No longer need to charge and place battery pack in trunk

4. My original Mopar 802 still works great and it's fun to just listen to that on occasion when they're having a jazz/swing night on one of the few remaining AM stations.

5. It was only $59

6. It was simple to install in spite of my unique problem created by my setup. Most people would not have any issues at all.

CONS:

1. Although volume level is generous, if I too push it really hard (hey, I get a little crazy now and then) it will cut out intermitantly (but that's cranking it pretty loud)

2. Cannot run laptop, cell phone, and I-Pod off power source. However, because I left the multi-plug setup intact, I can still throw a battery pack in the trunk and do any of those things.

3. I know there was a third con, but I just can't think of it right now. Must not have been that bad. LOL!

Hope that helps anyone considering this type of setup.

David

[eric wissing]

Dave, What Brand? and where did you get it? I would like to use my Sirius radio. I guess i would need for an Fm radio to. Would this power both? Thanks, Eric

[Normspeed]

Glad you got it kicking David. I'm real happy with mine, a different brand but still easy to install, puts out 6 amps and that's more than I need. I mainly run my XM boombox off it and sometimes I charge the cellphone.

[David Maxwell]

http://www.casmfg.com/Accessories.htm

They have some more info and contact info as well. Regarding running more than one item at a time, I would think this could be problematic, but I'm not expert. You should ask them directly.

Good luck!

Dave, What Brand? and where did you get it? I would like to use my Sirius radio. I guess i would need for an Fm radio to. Would this power both? Thanks, Eric

[eric wissing]

Dave, thanks

Eric

[James_Douglas]

David,

I have used those little can inverters in the best as has other folks I know. Some have had good luck with them and like myself some have not. Even when they work they get very hot. I don't think they have enough heat sink area.

I am planing on purchasing one of the following to be able to run cell phones and a laptop when on the road.

http://www.powerstream.com/dc6-12.htm

We will see how it holds up.

James

[Norm's Coupe]

David,

Glad to hear you got it going. That said, you could eliminate the battery pack in the trunk for the ipod and laptop, etc. if you wanted to. Pick up a rechargeable battery like this one. They come in various sizes. This one is a little thick, but you can buy other 12 volt batteries smaller. They come in about 6 inches long by about 1 inch wide about 4 inches high. You could place it inside the car or in the glove box and hook it up to whatever you want when you want. I have a small 6 volt battery just like it in the shop that I use for testing on the bench. To recharge it I use a small trickle charger that use to be an adapter for some small electronic thing that died sometime ago. Just changed the plug to fit the 6 volt battery terminals on the adapter to fit the terminals on battery. It will run small things like a radio for at least 12 to 24 hours.

No offense to those who like to haul and use computers and such in the car, but I still can't see why people want to lug that stuff around and use them in the car. To begin with you can't (or shouldn't be) use the laptop while you're driving down the road, and still pay attention to the road. Second place, I consider a computer a "work tool". I don't want to carry my work tools when out of the office. That's why I left the office, to get away from work. I sure don't want them around me when I'm out having fun or visiting people. Whatever information is on the laptop that I may want, I can look up when I get home. Nothing is that important to me that may be on a computer when I'm away from home or office. As for email, they're like a phone call and can also wait until I get home or in the office.

I've been to get togethers where someone brought pictures of their vacation, etc. to show others. That's ok, but some people bring their laptops with the pictures on it. Then if you want to look at them, everyone has to crowd around the small little monitor and squint to see the pictures. Would much rather look at snapshots that you can pass around the room than try to crowd around a small laptop. Half the time I won't even look at those pictures if they're on a laptop just for that reason.

Guess I'm just old fashioned like my P15 is.

[Don Coatney]

No offense to those who like to haul and use computers and such in the car' date=' but I still can't see why people want to lug that stuff around and use them in the car. [/quote']

Norm;

With GPS systems and computer map programs you can get close-ups of the moss on the trees and never get lost.

[Norm's Coupe]

Norm;

With GPS systems and computer map programs you can get close-ups of the moss on the trees and never get lost.

Don,

See no need for GPS to keep me from getting lost. That's because I've always planned my trip before I left home and know where I'm going. Actually, the only time I ever got lost in my life was when I did it on purpose. Still think the old fashioned paper map is better to have than a GPS. Example: You get lost, and at the same time the battery in your GPS dies. How will it tell you where you are if the battery is dead. With a paper map you can look to see your approximate location if you were paying attention to where you are going. And, if you have a compass, you can almost pin point it exactly. No batteries required for either. And, with no batteries in your GPS, you can still look to see which direction you're going by the moss, moon, stars or sun.

To me all this electronic computer stuff that's carried around is just gadgets. Like the new cell phone that AT&T and Apple are now selling for between 500 and $600. That will be the day when I buy a phone for that kind of money. If I'm out doing something I don't need to play games, listen to music or even talk on the phone, so why would I want one of those when I can buy one for under $50 for emergencies only. My wife's and I have a combined cell phone bill of about $12 per month, every month. The only time it went over $12 was on 9/11. She let one of her co workers use it to call one of their kids in NYC that day, and that was the only time it went over $12.

[eric wissing]

Norm, Did I see you in line waiting for the new Ipod? , I am just getting used to the idae of a cell phone. I had to be told many times that I was to leave it on or I wouldn't get calls. Eric

[Norm's Coupe]

Norm, Did I see you in line waiting for the new Ipod? , I am just getting used to the idae of a cell phone. I had to be told many times that I was to leave it on or I wouldn't get calls. Eric

Eric,

That wasn't me. Was probably my twin:) . Friend of ours who lives in Frankfort, KY even sent me a picture of him. It's the guy on this link. http://www.wtvq.com/midatlantic/tvq/authors.Bio.-content-midatlantic-tvq-authors-brad_james.html

The only cell phone we have is the one my wife carries. I had mine turned off many years ago in the late 90's. It's been on a shelf in the basement ever since. It's even one of those old bag phones. I don't even carry one myself anymore.

By the way, my wife never turns on her phone either, except if she wants to make a call. And that's really rare when she does that. We don't even have cable or dish TV. Just the free channels. Nothing much on TV anyway, so why pay for it.

[Don Coatney]

Eric' date='

That wasn't me. Was probably my twin:) . Friend of ours who lives in Frankfort, KY even sent me a picture of him. It's the guy on this link. [/quote']

Yep! Good likeness.

[Norm's Coupe]

Don,

According to our friends, the guys voice even sounds like me. Guess it's a good thing he's on the right side of the law. Otherwise, I could get in trouble and not know it.

[Don Coatney]

Everyone has a twin. My twin has the same name.

[eric wissing]

Don, you two have to be related!! What did your Daddy do? Traveling salesman?? Eric

[David Maxwell]

...drive with my CD player on very high volume for around 45 continuous minutes. I had no problems and excellent sound. I then checked the temperature of the inverter immediately after stopping my car. It was only slightly warm to the touch. I was able to grasp the entire inverter in my hand without any sensation above luke warm. So far, I'm very happy! Time will tell though.

[mikemaker]

I've been using an invertor like yours for 4 or 5 years now on my CD player in the P 15 and the only problem I've had is that I've been too lazy to figure out a way to not lose my presets and clock when I shut off the beater. I'm sure it's a simple fix, but I just never get around to it. If anyone knows the fix, let me know and I'll do it today as I have nothing to do until the fireworks start going off tonite.

[greg g]

Hey Mike and others, would a capacitor and a resister in the circuit power the memory after the invertor is shut off? Resistor to keep the capacitor fom discharging all at once? Also doesn't the memory rewuire very little power? Couldn't you power it with a nine volt drycell?

[Young Ed]

Mike I believe you have the same invertor I have. The company sells a memory keeper as an accesory. I've just not gotten around to ordering it.

[Ed Griffin]

Couldnt you just wire the inverter directly to the battery and just remember to turn off the radio when you leave the car or would the memory and/or the inverter still drain the battery?

[Tones52]

I thought it would be okay to add to David's thread. I had been wanting to add the 6-12 volt for charging my Iphone when needed or when using it for GPS or traffic navigation with the WAZE app.

 

In my searches for solutions I found Tod Fitch's page on one he built. I PM'd him about it and he was kind enough to tell me about his experiences and recommended the Custom Autosound one that is available from a number of sources. So, I went that route and am posting photos of how I mounted it in my '52 Plymouth.

 

I didn't want to drill holes for the accessory plug (Walmart $5) on my dash, so I used a couple of "L" brackets and the mounting points for the heater control panel. It has only been a couple of weeks but so far so good.

 

Tony

[Don Coatney]

David Maxwell raised the bar for most all P-15 upgrades and restorations. Have not heard from him in several years but glad you brought this thread back to the top.

[RodFru2u]

Nice Job on the install Tony, Now a days those 12 V power ports are so useful and needed.

[Tones52]

Thanks Rod. I forgot to mention that it was at the meet up at Jeff Balazs' wood shop a couple of months ago that convinced me to do this. I was so impressed with what Jeff had done with his truck that still maintained the 6 volt electrical system but added two types of inverters, one larger capaacity and a smaller one, to power his stereo system and digital windshield display speedometer. Attached is a snapshot I took of his interior work. Funny but I had previously seen photos of Jeff's truck on this forum but those photos do not do it justice.

 

Don, I am so appreciative to the moderators who maintain this site. Add to that appreciation to all the folks like David, Tod, yourself and so many others who have provided a wealth of information over the years that so help a novice like me.

 

For example, I had found a 2014 thread started by Jeff on the truck sub forum that had questions on the wiring of these Custom Autosound inverters and how is that they work on our positive ground cars. The two pages worth of posts on that thread helped me in confidently wiring up my set up.

 

So if there's a fellow novice out there who comes across this thread/post, use the search and advanced search functions. You'll not only likely an answer to your question but you'll lose yourself in a good way reading a lot of other interesting posts.

 

Tony

Edited April 18, 2016 by Tones52

[Jeff Balazs]

Hey I recognize that truck. I am finally getting some use from my stereo / Ipod combo. Had Rory Gallagher cranked up on the way home today. Man was he was the best. It is so true what they say about the good dying young. And I keep finding recordings by him that I don't already have.......so he really isn't dead after all.

 

Jeff