Radio electrical question..

[sunstarjeep]

looking for info and others experience, I did not plan on doing any electrical for cost reasons, now I'm think I would like to have a radio in the galley. What would my options be for hooking up a battery, smallest possible straight to a car cd player set up in the back in.., no cost for an inventor then? Or just a boom box and use "D" batteries..., anyone have other ideas...? thanks

[jplock]

I don't plan on spending a lot of time inside, it is mostly for sleeping. I did get a little portable AM / FM radio. Mine is a woody so an external antena is not needed. I am going to use a 6 volt regulator hooked to my 12 volt trailer battery buss in my power panel. That will plug into the external DC auxilary power connector on the radio. The regulator is availabe from Radio Shack, and it is voltage adjustable from 0 to 12 VDC.
jplock

[asianflava]

I'd go the boombox route. It can be done but it's not worth the effort unless you already have the radio, battery, and speakers on hand.

We had one in the stereo shop I used to work at. We cobbled it together out of junk that was laying around. One difference was that we used a converter instead of a battery. We used it to check out radios that customers brought in and wanted installed. There is nothing worse than finding out that it doesn't work after it is installed and having to charge them for the labor.


If you just get a boombox, you can use it elsewhere. You may be able to pick up a used one for cheap.

[Micro469]

I don't plan on spending a lot of time inside, it is mostly for sleeping. I did get a little portable AM / FM radio. Mine is a woody so an external antena is not needed. I am going to use a 6 volt regulator hooked to my 12 volt trailer battery buss in my power panel. That will plug into the external DC auxilary power connector on the radio. The regulator is availabe from Radio Shack, and it is voltage adjustable from 0 to 12 VDC.
jplock

Why do you need a regulator to run a 12 volt car radio???

[Kevin A]

Why do you need a regulator to run a 12 volt car radio???

I'll hazard a guess that his portable am/fm radio runs on four 1.5 volt batteries and he is using the voltage regulator to supply 6 volts to the radio.

[jplock]

my radio is a portable 6volt radio. I will hook it to the 12 volt Battery. It has a lower current drain than a car radio.
jplock

[Micro469]

Why do you need a regulator to run a 12 volt car radio???

I'll hazard a guess that his portable am/fm radio runs on four 1.5 volt batteries and he is using the voltage regulator to supply 6 volts to the radio.

Oh... Yea...Wellll... Right..... Nobody said you have to be smart to build a teardrop..

[Micro469]

I don't plan on spending a lot of time inside, it is mostly for sleeping. I did get a little portable AM / FM radio. Mine is a woody so an external antena is not needed. I am going to use a 6 volt regulator hooked to my 12 volt trailer battery buss in my power panel. That will plug into the external DC auxilary power connector on the radio. The regulator is availabe from Radio Shack, and it is voltage adjustable from 0 to 12 VDC.
jplock

Jplock... Can you give us a short discription of your wiring???? Cause mine looks nowhere near as complicated as yours...

[dwgriff1]

Since there are few things I dislike more than some one else's noisy radio, I wanted to make sure I wasn't guilty!

I put in a small battery/windup radio. It is small and doesn't have terribly good sound, but is easily upgradable.

In time I'll put in a small system that will run off my iPod Shuffle. I don't have a 12v in my tear. I'd just as soon keep the radio on rechargables.

dave

[Nytewyng]

Some day soon Ill have one of these for my TD. I like the vintage look and since most campsites we go to have electric this will do just fine, Check out the web site they have some cool vintage look radios with cd palyers built in as well.

http://tinyurl.com/yybpn3

[jplock]

I have a 15 amp shore power breaker hooked to a Ground fault protector. there is a fuse block for the DC power, a digital voltmeter to monitor battery voltage, and a 30 amp ammeter to monitor current draw. There are also switches to switch on and off DC power from the trailer battery, or the car battery. If the trailer battery switch and the car battery switchare in the on position at the same time I can trickle charge the trailer battery off the cars electrical system. Also there is a small 375 watt inverter to suuply AC power off the trailer battery or the car electrical system. I am still in the process of getting it all to work. there is also a Deltran battery charger to charge the trailer battery when on shore power. This in a nut shell is what this panel does.
jplock

Front view of panel

[gyroguy]

This in a nut shell is what this panel does.

That's impressive!

I just put all my electrical stuff in the left side of the front closet. Sure like your panel better!

Are you an electrician by trade, or just a normal genius?

[Mary K]

Some day soon Ill have one of these for my TD. I like the vintage look and since most campsites we go to have electric this will do just fine, Check out the web site they have some cool vintage look radios with cd palyers built in as well.

http://tinyurl.com/yybpn3

Ooooooo, NICE!!!! Thanks for the linky!!!

Mk

[Tripmaker]

I don't plan on spending a lot of time inside, it is mostly for sleeping. I did get a little portable AM / FM radio. Mine is a woody so an external antena is not needed. I am going to use a 6 volt regulator hooked to my 12 volt trailer battery buss in my power panel. That will plug into the external DC auxilary power connector on the radio. The regulator is availabe from Radio Shack, and it is voltage adjustable from 0 to 12 VDC.
jplock

I saw a set up just like that in Huntsville, AL a while back. I believe it was on the space shuttle orbiter they had.

[jplock]

I am a telephone man by trade. Before that I worked 3 years for Seismograh Service Corporation wiring oil well logging trucks. I was doing a little bit of remenising of the days wiring trucks about 29 years ago. It may have been over kill but it was fun and a challenge.
jplock