Helix + Rockford Fosgate + Ham Radio

[StealthGTI]

Hello,

I figure this is as good a place to introduce myself as any other. My car is mostly stock, so not worth it to start a "build thread." Instead, I'll share the subwoofer and ham projects that I just finished.

[edit]
The project has grown since this initial post. See the latest configuration in Post #67. Here is a list of components that currently make up this package:

AUDIO
VW Helix Sound System
Audio Control LC2i Signal Converter/Processor
Rockford Fosgate Power T500X1BR 500-watt Mono Amplifier
Rockford Fosgate Power T1S1-10 10-inch Shallow-Mount Subwoofer
Rockford Fosgate PLC-2 Remote Punch Level Control

COMMUNICATIONS
Icom ID-5100A D-STAR VHF/UHF FM/Digital Transceiver
Yaesu FT-891 11-Band All-Mode HF Transceiver
Yaesu FT-857D 13-Band All-Mode HF/VHF/UHF Transceiver
Midland MXT-275 MicroMobile 15W GMRS Transceiver
Kenwood TK-981 906 MHz FM Transceiver
WeBoost Drive OTR Cellular Signal Booster
Raspberry Pi DV-Mega D-STAR Access Point
Electro-Magwave NMO Combination Mount w/GPS Antenna
Diamond NR770HBNMO or Tram 1181 Multi-band Antenna
Yaesu ATAS-120A Automatic Tuning Antenna System
Scorpion SA-680BW Mobile HF Antenna
Comet Diplexers

POWER DISTRIBUTION
X2Power SLI48AGMDP Premium Group 48/H6 AGM Battery
Bussman 100-amp Circuit Breaker at Battery
Stinger 4-gauge OFC Wiring to Trunk
Bussman 200-amp Circuit Breaker on Elex Panel
APRS World APO3 Voltage-Controlled Switch
Stinger Fuse Block
N8XJK Super Booster 40-amp Voltage Regulator
Blue Sea Systems Fuse Block
KnuKonceptz Bassik Ground Block
Bussman 70-Amp Circuit Breaker
Wagan 400-watt Pure Sine Wave Voltage Inverter
[/edit]

The factory floor panel sits in its intended location, but it's removed for this photo...

Bass control knob is under the parking brake lever...

I still have a spare tire; I cut the retaining "bolt" shorter for more speaker clearance. This is an upgrade from my original P3 sub...

This system is actually a marriage between the Helix upgrade and my own subwoofer concoction. In short, I'm running the factory head unit into a 5-channel amp with DSP and feeding my own subwoofer system with the subwoofer output of the Helix amp. The result is 50Wx4 RMS plus 500W for the sub. It sounds really good! I'm hoping to get on the Helix dongle rental list so I can ensure I'm on the right contour.

I have more details shared at https://stealthgti.com/my-gti/electronics-suite/


I also installed my ham radio setup:

Overview...

Display...

Transceiver body...

More details at https://stealthgti.com/my-gti/communications/

Scott

 

[ProjectDD]

Looks great. I need to get around and build a box like this for my helix setup so that I can reinstall my spare tire.

 

[flipflp]

First thing, thanks for sharing this info and for the blog posts as well. I've thought hard about doing the same thing using the Helix sub output. You are a beast for finding out about that ATX 12+ extension, that makes this WAY easy and keeps everything unmodified and clean.

The LC2i with accubass is going to add some good extension to the system for sure, but BOY are you in for a surprise when you program the Helix. The biggest improvement for me by MILES was the sub response and tightness. I can imagine it'll really wake up your setup! It becomes apparent in some songs with real deep bass rolls that the factory headunit bass cut off + the smaller helix drivers don't do much for sub bass as well.

 

[StealthGTI]

Thanks for the comments. The prospect of getting an improvement from the dongle sounds great! I sent an PM to get on the list last week, but I'm still in limbo. I don't have much to say these days, but I figured I should introduce myself so that the dongle list owner knows that I'm a real person and not some troll who's trying to pull a scam. I used to have another website at StealthTDI.com. I've been loving VW's for a long time! This is my first GTI.

 

[MonkeyMD]

Looks great. Does it ever clip with the cover on from amp overheating. Used to have that problem on a previous car.
May be a Texas heat thing though.

 

[StealthGTI]

Thanks! The car hasn't been subjected to any sort of heat yet. I bought it in November. I also don't play my music terribly loud. If I do, it's only for a few minutes... very easy on the amp. I do feel the amp after some play and it feels warm, but not hot. I'll check it again when the outside temps warm up. I may find a way to add forced ventilation to the amp. Not sure how just yet.

 

[hal]

Very nice and concealed! Thank you very much for sharing all the valuable details.

Mounting the sub this way to fire into the cabin should sound better than mounting it upside down where it fires downwards. Especially when you use a shallow mount sub with limited capabilities.

I have a kicker cvt 12 with a mounting depth of 4-3/8" (11.1cm) and I wonder if I will be able to fit it in a similar box. According to specs it's 22mm more than the RF sub you used so if I use the same measurements you did I should still have about 13mm clearance between the sub and the bolt.

 

[StealthGTI]

Thanks for the comments, Hal.

There were a few reasons I went this direction:

1) Concealment - Since sub-bass is non-directional, it doesn't really matter where the woofer points as long as it's free to move air. My system is only 500W RMS and can still provide me with far more bass than I prefer. It won't win a sound-off, but it gives me what I want. I'm old enough to want the music for myself, not everyone else.

2) Box volume - My particular subwoofer needs a box volume of at least 0.4 cubic feet. Had I not gone crazy with the power distribution, ham radio, and voltage inverter, I would have had plenty of room for a larger box. Since I limited myself on the footprint of the box, that meant I had to maximize its height and leave no room for a speaker to protrude from the top. My box is ~0.5 cubic feet.

3) Box height - My first test fit of a box was a total of four inches tall (10.2cm). That's 3/4" (1.9cm) for the base board, 3/4" (1.9cm) for the top board, and then 2.5" (6.4cm) for the side pieces. The fit was perfect... until I added carpet. With carpet, the trunk floor would no longer click into place as it did stock. I built another box using 2.25-inch (5.7cm) sides. Now the height is perfect with carpet.

4) Speaker clearance - My speaker's mounting depth is 3.5" (8.9cm). With the short box sides, I had to use a 3/4" (1.9cm) spacer to achieve 3.75" (9.5cm) of mounting depth, leaving about 1/4" (6mm) for the voicecoil cooling vent. Although I have another 7/8" (2.2cm) to spare for the bolt, I really wouldn't gain more clearance for a top-firing woofer because I'd need a 3/4" (1.9cm) bottom piece to seal up the box. BUT, I could use another spacer to mount a deeper downward-firing sub, taking me right to the bolt. However, I don't need to.

5) Cargo support (accidental discovery) - When I first got the car, I needed to transport a small, 85-lb (38-kg) safe. I had left the trunk floor in the upper position, thinking nothing of it. When I went to unload the safe, I saw that the cargo floor had shifted and fell into its lower position on one side. That showed me that it's not made to support a load. I like my car to be very functional. Now that I have a large, flat surface that's perfectly beneath the floor, I can lay anything back there and know that it's supported. It's very firm! I can carry a heavy tool box or just a bunch of junk:

That's all I can think of for now regarding my choice of box.

Thanks again,

Scott

 

[paulkromz]

loving the ingenuity!

 

[Diggs24]

Nice work!

 

[StealthGTI]

Hello,

Thanks for the comments. I finally received my Breedlove antenna mount. I was torn between painting it black or color-matching it to the car. I decided to color-match, but decided I didn't like it. I changed to a black antenna base today:

I like it better. Someone asked if it was a magnetic mount. I guess it looks like one... just with no wire. I think most people don't even notice it.

I was mildly concerned about a nagging error message that might appear on the cluster as a result of the sharkfin being unplugged. But that hasn't been a problem so far. I see an error on the MIB2 if I select Sirius (which I never do) and there's a message if I select GPS for the time sync. My CarNet module is showing a red LED, but I can learn to ignore that about as fast as I learned to ignore the green one.

I still have some minor interference issues to sort out. Regardless, the transceiver/antenna works. My first contact was on D-STAR with a woman in Manchester, England. I'll do a few more tests during my commute.

Scott

 

[BlueHen]

Thanks for the comments. The prospect of getting an improvement from the dongle sounds great! I sent an PM to get on the list last week, but I'm still in limbo. I don't have much to say these days, but I figured I should introduce myself so that the dongle list owner knows that I'm a real person and not some troll who's trying to pull a scam. I have another website at StealthTDI.com. I've been loving VW's for a long time! This is my first GTI.

Scott, you don't know me, but I saw your car (the TDI - A3 Jetta IIRC?) at several meets in the Mid-Atlantic. I forget which, maybe Impex? I'm Blue_Hen_TDI on TDI Club. Great to see you here and now in a GTI.

I'm also a fairly new (about two years now) ham licensee. I don't have a radio in my GTI; only my 4Runner (a Yaesu FTM-400DR). I like to listen, but rarely talk. I catch the W3VPR repeater in AA County MD for traffic and general BS every morning.

Your skills are impressive. I'm jealous. Welcome aboard here!

 

[Bäsemödel]

dude... that install is alarmingly clean... super well done!

 

[StealthGTI]

BlueHen - I do remember you. We've run into each other at a couple of Impex gatherings. Didn't you also watch my daughter at the Boston TDI Fest while I troubleshot a turbo problem? Thanks for the welcome and comments.

BaseModel - Thanks for the comments! Believe it or not, I'm really close to adding even more to that panel. There's a small part that hasn't been stuffed full yet.

 

[BlueHen]

BlueHen - I do remember you. We've run into each other at a couple of Impex gatherings. Didn't you also watch my daughter at the Boston TDI Fest while I troubleshot a turbo problem? Thanks for the welcome and comments.

It may have been Ho5G? Ive been to a couple of meets at PeterV's, but didn't make it to Boston TDIFest. I'm in federal procurement and have never been able to attend a Fest due to fiscal year-end closeout in Aug/Sept.