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Sept 29, 2013 16:27:53 GMT
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Being a cheapskate, I've put a subwoofer meant for using with a computer in my car.
As soon as you put the power on, if it's turned up beyond half volume it goes wub-wub-wub. It's far less pronounced when you put on music without much bass. Is there an obvious cause for this? It happens with or without the engine on.
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" East bound and down, loaded up and truckin' "
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Sept 29, 2013 16:32:32 GMT
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Skrillex?
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Sept 29, 2013 16:52:53 GMT
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Last Edit: Sept 29, 2013 16:53:35 GMT by welshpug
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Sept 29, 2013 22:05:02 GMT
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Are you sure you haven't got the music on? That sounds similar to the hard house and trance I used to listen to...:-))
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Sept 29, 2013 22:08:17 GMT
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But seriously though, how have you powered a computer subwoofer in a car? are you using an inverter or something?
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MattE
Part of things
Posts: 214
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Are you using RCA leads or taking the feed from the speakers? Have you ran the power lead and RCA lead down the same side if the car? Is the earth lead the same gauge as the power lead? If your taking the feed from your speakers and have run power and RCA`s down the same side and your earth lead is a diffrent gauge from the power than thats half your problem.
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I would say 99% of the problem is the fact you are using an unsuitable subwoofer that isn't made to be used for loud music in a car set up.
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Oct 11, 2013 18:54:01 GMT
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But seriously though, how have you powered a computer subwoofer in a car? are you using an inverter or something? Quite a few computer peripherals use 12v DC either "natively" or if you take out the AC mains converter. My PC subwoofer will run off a car battery, having as it does a 12v input as well as a 3 pin mains plug.
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Oct 11, 2013 19:09:25 GMT
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They do, but they are designed to run from clean regulated 12v, not the mega noisy 11-15v car environment so a lot of stuff doesn't work well or last long.
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Oct 12, 2013 22:54:00 GMT
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I would say 99% of the problem is the fact you are using an unsuitable subwoofer that isn't made to be used for loud music in a car set up. Probably. But using one meant to work in a car would have cost me more than £5! Are you using RCA leads or taking the feed from the speakers? Have you ran the power lead and RCA lead down the same side if the car? Is the earth lead the same gauge as the power lead? If your taking the feed from your speakers and have run power and RCA`s down the same side and your earth lead is a diffrent gauge from the power than thats half your problem. RCA feed from the subwoofer output on the stereo, power feed and earth are the same gauge running alongside the speaker wire. I should have remembered from reading Max Power 20 years ago that you should always keep the power and signal wires well away from each other (that's where most of my 'ICE' knowledge comes from!). They do, but they are designed to run from clean regulated 12v, not the mega noisy 11-15v car environment so a lot of stuff doesn't work well or last long. I suspected it might be something like that. So either I stump up some extra cash for something meant to work in a car, or live with it. Or, I could play music which drowns it out. Thanks for the replies; I think I'll just turn it up until I don't notice it anymore!
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" East bound and down, loaded up and truckin' "
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g40jon
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,569
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Oct 12, 2013 23:45:22 GMT
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So am I right in thinking you are using the pc subwoofers on board amplifier? You could knock up a simple voltage regulator for not much at all, add a decent size capacitor to smooth the dc supply and it'll be pretty stable. A lot of cheap home electronics often use power supplies which are a million miles away from being regulated. I suspect your biggest issue is speaker size. Most computer subs use really small drivers, often smaller than 6". Fine at home, but in a car road noise will soon drown out the bass, result being that you turn it up a bit more and the speaker will start chuffing, if it is in a ported enclosure, which I suspect it will be. I tried a 6" sub out of an old surround sound kit as a temp measure after my old jl audio sub fell to bits. It really wasn't up to the job (I was only using the sub an running it off a regular car audio amp.)
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