Login or register:
Login:
Password:
Register!


Imageserver Favorite:


Portfolio Galleries:
Animals
Architecture
Flowers
Landscape
People
Wildlife

Recent Subjects:
Landout
5-inch sky robot
Vacuum printing
e-bike
Farnsworth Fusor


Search:


Resources:
ImageServer

Friends:
Jon Sullivan
Mark Blair


New Articles:

Southern California Glider Landout Database
Soaring
5-Inch Sky Robot
FDM in Vacuum
Gin
Books
Hacktastic e-bike
Farnsworth Fusor
Land Anchor
Turchickentato
Bowmaking
Custom Discovery Roof Rack
August, 2012 - Sierra Backpacking
July 22nd, 2012 - Hiking in Santa Barbara
July 15th, 2012 - Valley of Fire
May 5th, 2012 - Afton Canyon
April 28th, 2012 - Devils Playground
Alpine Tripod
Convict Creek Trail
January 2012 - Mustangs
January 3rd, 2012 - Heart Lake
August 7th, 2011 - Kelso Dunes
August 5th, 2011 - Lundy Canyon Hike
August 2011, Mammoth Archery
Birds in the garden
June 4th, 2011 - San Gorgonio
May 29th, 2011 - Sequoia National Forest
April 23rd, 2011 - Living Desert
April 2nd, 2011 - Death Valley
March 8th, 2011 - Mountain Palm Springs
February 13th, 2011 - Iron Smelt
Blacksmithing
November 13th, 2010 - Mojave
October, 2010 - Mammoth
Android
September, 2010 - Mammoth
September, 2010 - Duck Lake Trail Backpacking
Red
Iron bloom forging
August 28th, 2010 - Mt. San Jacinto
OSM Import: US Designated Wilderness
July 25th, 2010 - Mojave Mustangs
July 17th, 2010 - Mojave Exploration
Bloomery furnace iron smelting
Open Street Map: Mojave Project
June 13th, 2010 - Mojave
June 6th, 2010 - El Cajon Trails
Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Carrizo Gorge
March 28th, 2010 - Salton Sea
March 21st, 2010 - South Main Divide
March 13th, 2010 - Anza Borrego Wildflowers
March 7th, 2010 - CSULB Japanese Garden
February 2010 - Mammoth
GeoRSS
AISlib
OpenStreetMap
Dakota and Asha Celebrate Christmas, 2009
November 21st, 2009 - Mojave Road
November 14th, 2009 - Anza Borrego
Exploring The East Mojave: The Afton Canyon Area
Broken flex plate
Remote Image Serving
Astro/night photography in Inyo National Forest
Wild Mustang Sightings
RSS
September 26th, 2009 - Night Photography In Frazier Park
Whiskey
Brandy
August 15th, 2009 - Catalina dive trip
Astrophotography
Sensornet
January 24th, 2009 - Mojave Exploration
July 2008 Mammoth Vacation
AIS
President Barack Obama!
Rachel Maddow
Big Geek
Barack Obama
April 12th, 2008 - Wildflowers and Landmarks
My Grandfather's Alfa Romeo Spider
March 8th, 2008 - Carrizo Plain
Bridge To Nowhere
High Availability
October 20th, 2007 - Big Bear Camping
October 22nd, 2007 - Fire
Scottish Highlands, Aug 7th, 2006
Scottish Highlands, Aug 6th, 2006
August 5th, 2007 - Duck Lake Trail
May 26th, 2007 - Kelso Dunes
Culloden Battlefield, Aug 5th, 2006
May 20th, 2006 - Irwindale Renaissance Faire
Edinburgh, Aug 4th, 2006
The Clifs of Moher, Aug 3rd, 2006
The Burren, Aug 2nd, 2006
Bunratty Castle, Aug 1st, 2006
May 5th, 2007 - Mojave
Truck Audio/Data Network
2007 - Master Bath Remodel
Centrum: Exit
The Ring of Kerry, Jul 31st, 2006
Nikon D200
Victory in 2006!
Blarney and Killarney, Jul 30th, 2006
Dublin and Cork, Jul 29th, 2006
Dublin, Jul 27th & 28th, 2006
Married!
What Can I Do?
April 30th, 2006 - Anza Borrego
New desktop: Intel 805 D
Macro Photography
Jan 7th and 14th, 2006 - Hiking
Whiting Ranch Hiking
Engaged!
Digital Photography with Linux
September 5th, 2005 - Living Desert
August 19th, 2005 - Mammoth
Hiking and Photography
July 30th, 2005 - Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary
Nikon D70
Death, Fright and Photography
Mmmmmm Eggs
MythTV
Inova T4
May 14th, 2005 - Red Rock
April 2nd, 2005 - Death Valley
Count Every Vote Act of 2005
Image Archiving
Linear Logic ScanGuage
Gentoo Linux
November 6, 2004 - Mojave
Super Tuesday, 2004
John Kerry
Kayaking
Irish Stew
ImageServer
Ireland, 2004
Canon A80 Camera
Jul 25, 2004 - Death Valley
Chronic Hiccups
May 4th, 2004
Landscaping - My Front Slope
Stump Pullin' Yeeee Haw!
Feb 22nd, 2004
Feb 16th, 2004
PostgreSQL Logfile Analysis
Spam
Mountains? Desert? Jan 30th, 2004
Jan 28th, 2004
Encryption
Ceiling Cargo Basket
Front Bumper Version 2
Asha
Exide Orbitals
Land Rover Valve Jobs
Spirits
The Matrix: Revolutions
Halloween 2003
Greg Davis CDL Linkage
Ouzo
Democracy
Mom's Turkey Gravy
Grandma's Guacamole
Top Nodes
Julian Pie Company
DeCSS
The KB1DIG 2-meter Halo Antenna
Incomming searches
Gardening is hard!
Aug 13th, 2003
SQL and Perl
Cancun 2003
Jul 9th, 2003
Aprs intelegence
Jun 17th, 2003
Some People's Comments
Dakota is a silly dog
The Matrix: Reloaded
Chris' Stage Bottle Harness
April 23rd, 2003
Cracked Radiator!
Black Wednesday
DVD Burning Under Linux
My Satellite Phone
Wind!
My Near-Death Experience
Laser Cannon Revival
Front Bumper, Version 2
SpamAssassin
The Critters
Dakota
Milton
KPC 3 Plus and HTX-252
My House
Moving, moving moving...
Mobile 1
Portola Hills
New new house
Suse Linux
Database images
In Truck Dr. Pepper
My Favorite Toilet
Kelso Dunes
Desert Trips
Ifulmuh
Late Thoughts: Dr. Pepper Cooler
265/75-R16 Tires on a DII
Linux
George W. Bush
Rants
Driving
Reservations
Horses Sep 14 2002
Obsession
August 17th Yukon Dives
Less notifications
My Custom Front Bumper
Bracketless, Renamable Links
Discreet Winch
Welding
Jul 28 2002 Day Trip
My Firewall
Jedi Group, my T1 and money
A Bumperless Discovery!
My Custom Rear Bumper
Vanessa's 24th Birthday
Jun 30th Dive to Long Beach Canyon
PHP/PostgreSQL String Quoting
Tonsillectomy, Uvulaectomy and Turbinite Reduction
Searching functionality
240 Watt CO2 Laser Cannon
My Workspace
Dr. Pepper
The Tulsa Rib Company
The quality of hard disks these days
Email notification of articles
Email notification of comments
erikburrows.com source code
User Bios
User Preferences
Login feature
Renisance Faire Jun 9, 2002
Computers hate me, and it is mutual.
Star Wars Sucks!
Horses, Jun 1, 2002
Land Rover Mileage
Insomnia, Robin goes evil.
100 Watt Diode Laser Test Firing 1
Amateur Radio
The Matrix
2001: A Space Odyssey
TDI Deco Class
Horses, Apr 30, 2002
APRS
Movies
Blackbird
My Truck Batteries
My Truck
Vasquez Rocks
The Zope Bible
PSK31
Mojave Apr-12-2002
100 Watt Diode Laser
The New www.erikburrows.com
Hunter the Kitty
Horses
Geeks
Yukon May-13-2001
Computers
Matts Desert Pics
Mojave Feb-10-2001
Mojave Apr-01-2001
Programming Languages
Ironage Jul-4-2001
Mojave Jan-27-2001
Ironage Feb-03-2001
Mojave Jun-09-2001
SCUBA
Jedi Group
Truck Audio/Data Network   -   2007/04/27Viewed 134 times this month, last update: 2007/04/27


My Truck has two power networks, one installed by the factory, an additional power distribution network installed by me, and now I'm working on an audio/data network. The idea is to interconnect all of the audio and added data-aware devices with a system of USB soundcards and serial adapters. In that way, all audio and data devices will be accessible from a built-in computer or, until that's installed, a laptop via a single USB cable:



Once all the devices are connected to the computer, I'll need a way to utilize the devices in some convenient manor. (As opposed to writing a single monolithic custom application) In order to do this, I've found a good collection of software:

With this collection of software, plus a couple of blocks I'll write custom in GNU Radio (A VOX block, and a block to interface to the radio control CAT protocol), I'll be able to easily connect almost anything to anything else, with the possibilities I'm currently interested in:

  • Using KPSK to do PSK31 work, with VOX and CAT GNU Radio blocks to trigger PTT
  • Using JACK, GNU Radio and the VOX module to patch voice between my HAM radio and my Globalstar satellite phone
  • Using the GPS, and CAT to tune in local HAM relays from a database, as I drive around.
  • Using my truck's stereo system to play music from the computer, but interrupt when a signal comes over the HAM radio
  • Gateway APRS packets from the 2 meter frequency to the HF frequencies.
  • Gateway APRS packets from radio to the internet via the satellite phone
  • Using GNU Radio to play with odd, new and custom modulation schemes.

The hard parts are getting the audio circuits matched properly, and wiring/mounting everything in a clean way. Today I managed to transmit my voice from an FRS handheld, through my FT-817 HAM radio, through my Globalstar phone, and to my cell phone! The reverse direction is more difficult, as I need to get/build an amplifier circuit and the VOX module for GNU radio. I need to figure out JACK too, but with those pieces, I'll also have a fully functional PSK31 setup. Neat!

Comments:
Hosscat (2007-05-28): This is going to be an amazing set-up! I'd like to talk to you if you had some time to spare. I'm in the process of designing (at least trying to) a power distribution network. Nothing fancy basically run an air compressor, CB (haven't taken my HAM test yet -- still studying) lights, Digital Scanner, GPS, and a 400 watt power inverter. Keep up the good work!

Erik (2007-05-29): Feel free to comment here or email me at erik@erikburrows.com. I found using a fuse box from a junked jeep works well, but you need to be careful about getting the right setup. The one I used had some funky fuses, which made my setup more complex.

Hosscat (2007-05-29): Thanks. OK the vehicle is a '94 Suburban, UAV (Ultimate Allterrain Vehicle)So the first thing that sticks out in my mind is running wires clear to the back of the vehicle. It's roughly 10'-12' from the front batterie(s) to the compartment that I'm currently welding to cover the air compressor and soon to be fuse box. I was thinking of using 16ga wire for that far of a run - what's your take on it? Secondly, not all the acc (CB, Digital Scanner, Air Compressor, GPS, 2 Hella 55w Lights, 4 small "cat eye" lights, and a 400w power inverter) will be running at once on this circut, but I would like to make it capable of doing so if need be. The only thing different that I'm planning on doing is eventually mounting a 12"x12" solar panel on the front of the roof rack to charge the batteries - I do a lot of hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, etc.. and sometimes I won't turn the vehicle on for a day or two during that time though I'll run the CB, scanner or maybe the power inverter, basically trying to make the rig as self sufficient as possible aside from fuel. With all that in mind what are your intial thoughts? also I'd like to see pics of your Adio/Data network when your done. I'm curious to see it. keep up the good work.

Erik (2007-05-30): Hosscat, if you're going to run a wire from your batteries to a power distribution point (as apposed to connecting all loads directly to the battery), 16ga wire will not be sufficient. Check out this page for wire-amp capacity: http://www.powerstream.com/Wire_Size.htm

You'll want to estimate your total amp draw by adding up all the toys you'll want to plug in. The air compressor especially will draw a lot of power.

My application didn't draw too much power normally, but I also wanted to be able to put in extra batteries in the back, on a battery switch, so I ran a 00 gauge wire from the front two batteries through an 80 amp breaker, to the distribution block . I have some pictures of my whole setup here.

Hosscat (2007-05-30): Alright Erik, roughly without the air compressor it'll be around 70 amps - that's including the power inverter. I'm going to hold off on the air compressor and probably mount it under the hood directly to the batteries. Now do you think fuse relays are really needed. I've ran some light in the past without fuse relays but I'm slowly coming around to them. Once again thanks again for help.

Erik (2007-05-30): Well, for 70 amps, I'd think a 8 or 7 gauge positive wire should be sufficient. You should definitely fuse it at the battery end, in case something rubs through the insulation, and use at least an 8ga ground wire, bolted to the chassis somewhere protected from the elements. Fuses from there will protect the equipment, and with the fuse at the battery end your alternator and batteries will be protected. I use a circuit breaker instead of a fuse, even though it's more expensive, so I don't have to carry around spare 80 amp fuses. (Never had it blow anyway.) I got my breaker from an RV dealership.

permalink

Email me!


Erik Griffin Burrows and ErikBurrows.com are not responsible for any damage or loss caused by viewing this site, or actions taken as a result of reading any part of this site. Articles and comments on this site should not be taken as legal, medical, scientific, engineering, botanical, dietary or any other kind of professional direction. This site is not affiliated with any business institution.

You get the idea. This site is just another big pile of misinformed, uneducated, unsolicited opinion, and should be judged as no more truthful or accurate as anything else on the internet.

Don't Panic!