11-08-2010, 03:56 PM
tetters Wrote:Ahhh...so that's why you suggested using them in my last sound install thread! I'll make that change. I need all the room I can get in there. To clarify, I run the common wire (blue) off the F5/F6 outputs correct?
I did try to get everything in the cab but it wasn't happening. LED, Capacitor, and speaker with the baffle. It is a lot to cram in there.
Actually, I've confused the AT board with the KT and BW boards, which have LED-level function outputs... the AT board has 1.5V F5/F6 outputs.
No, the common goes to the 1.5V common (on the same side of the board as the speaker connections, but run the cathode (-ve, or short lead) of the LED's to the F5 and F6 outputs - they're putting out 1.5V rather than 15. I used the factory-installed GOW bulbs in the cab, and mounted 1.5V bulbs in the headlight rather than replacing them with LEDs.
When I did the SW9's, I cut the leads on the capacitor very short so that I could strap it under the decoder board just above the front gear tower. I removed the crew and the seats, modified the cab floor to act as the baffle, and sealed up the cab with canopy cement to act as a sealed enclosure.
In your case, if you're going to leave the speaker where it is, I would look at making a baffle that seals to the box over the frame, and try to seal up the rest of the shell as best you can. The more airtight you can make the space behind the speaker, the more air you'll pressurize, and the better your sound performance.
I have had good luck with the Micro Tsunami's, but you have to keep in mind that a) they're only 3/4 amp decoders, b) they generate a lot of heat, and c) they don't have any extra function outputs, just headlight/reverse light. In most HO instances, the thin AT boards are more easily mounted under a hood, have extra low-voltage outputs for LED's, don't have the heat issues and support a higher current draw. If I am doing an Athearn or some other application with 1.5 GOW bulbs, I'll use the GN board, since the headlight outputs are set for 1.5v.