Lawn Mower Car Stereo

[Monos_Lykos]

I am having trouble with a stereo system my father had installed on his modified Cub Cadet garden-tractor. To answer the initial questions, he rebuilt it to look like a train and drives it for fairs and birthdays. Now here is the issue I am having. Installed is a Pioneer DEH-1600 connected to a Roadgear RGCA100 2Ch 80W amp and Roadmaster RS900 400W speakers. At 45% volume or less, the sound is not bad but anything more than that becomes distorted beyond recognition. I double checked the impedance of the amp and the speakers and I checked the stereo's output power to make sure I wasn't overpowering the amp but everything seems ok. I simply cannot figure out why we cannot get good sound out of it above 50% volume. Does anyone have any ideas???

There was a previous stereo installed (I don't know what kind) but he burned it out after a couple of years so the tractor IS capable of handling a stereo but I am stumped as to why its current setup is not working quite right.

Steven

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[CRXBMPN 5,000+ posts]

i'd have to say the word Roadgear tells you what your problem is...

but thats just my guess.

 

[CRXBMPN 5,000+ posts]

or maybe you have the LOUD button on the Pioneer on?

edit, or maybe you have no bass cutoff so all the lows are going to your speakers causing the massive distortion... sounds like what happens to most of my friends who have lower end decks with no high pass crossovers and they turn it up.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

your amps and speakers ****, and makes sure the bass isnt maxed out

 

[Monos_Lykos]

Well, as you can imagine, the tractor is not completely enclosed like a car. Hence it is suseptable to rain and humidity. That being the case, we do not want a high dollar system that will fry at the first unexpected rainshower.

Steven

 

[ultimate157 5,000+ posts]

so get Marine gear.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

so buy some cheap used stuff, but get rid of the roadgear and roadmaster

 

[lilmaniac2 5,000+ posts]

For your best results I would look into PA horns for loudness. they are stupid effecient and don't need a ton of power. also most are water proof.

 

[Monos_Lykos]

That's an interesting idea... I think I know where I could a ahold of some PA horns... Thanks!

Steven

 

[operationcougar 10+ year member]

i dont know but i can tell how bad it sounds by the people are paying attention, either that or there is a brake dancing polar bear/ great white shark posse rollin up behind you

 

[kovemaster559 5,000+ posts]

That's an interesting idea... I think I know where I could a ahold of some PA horns... Thanks!
Steven

x2

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

you shouldn't need an amp with the PA Horns they will work off the Radio power so that should clean up the sound....

 

[SSS 18734 5,000+ posts]

You're using bottom of the barrel speakers and amplifiers. Don't expect good sound at high volumes. How are they mounted?

Also, it is possible the high pass filter is set too low or your gains are simply set too high.

 

[kovemaster559 5,000+ posts]

i got a hell of an amp for sale young feller! pm me Nlgga

 

[Monos_Lykos]

You're using bottom of the barrel speakers and amplifiers. Don't expect good sound at high volumes. How are they mounted?
Also, it is possible the high pass filter is set too low or your gains are simply set too high.

We have played with the gains for quite a while with little marked improvement but in answer to your question, the speakers are mounted inside the hood on either side of the cross.

But yes, they are low quality. That decision was born from the cost of having to go through speakers. You see, the tractor rattles quite a bit and is usually exposed to the elements. Getting expensive equipment is asking for punishment. Audio fidelity is not a huge issue either since it is a very loud tractor to boot. That is why we need the loudness, to overpower the noise of the tractor but the system in it now is awful.

We did experiment with a PA horn and the results are promising but I have a concern. I have heard (forgive me if I am promoting a myth because I simply do not know) that if only one channel of a car stereo is hooked up, that you can burn out the stereo. If this is the case, would I need to hook in two PA horns, one to each channel? Also, if this is true, could I get away with using a dummy load on one of the channels or would that cause issues having a mismatched load on either channel?

Steven