Lighting

Gaming Bus Customization for Local Entertainment Service

August 5, 2022 By JOey Knapp

The folks at Game Zone gave us a call about converting the van that they tow their gaming trailer with into a gaming bus. We had them stop by Pinnacle Autosound with the bus so we could take a look at it. What they had was an empty bus. The scope of the project would include TV mounts, wiring, upholstery, bench fabrication, lighting and installation of all the parts. While it was a huge project, we hate to turn down a challenge, so we booked an appointment for the bus.

Preparation for Building

Once we had the bus at our shop, the first thing we had to do was prepare it for the work we needed to do. The floor had many metal parts bolted through it, for previous seating. Those all had to be removed. The bus also once had a power lift gate for a wheelchair. Many pieces of this system, mechanical and wiring, were still in the bus. We spent hours going through the wiring systems and removing the parts that were associated with the lift mechanism. This not only would make our upcoming wiring work easier, it would also make it easier for anyone servicing the bus in the future.

The AC for the bus previously was in the rear of the bus and was now going to be in the center on top of the roof. There were wires, cables and hoses associated with that system that we removed. Again, the goal was to remove any parts that were not needed to simplify what was left. We were going to be adding plenty of our own wires, so we wanted everything to be able to be as organized as possible.

With all the old parts removed, we gave the interior a good cleaning and prepared to work our magic!

Gaming Bus Design

The concept for this bus was to have 6 independent gaming zones. There would be 2 rows of benches with monitors mounted at angles above the benches. The person sitting on the bench would look above the people sitting in front of them to see the monitor they would be playing on. To provide the players with audio, a pair of speakers were to be located in the tops of the benches, so the players would hear the sound for their monitors right at ear level. The idea was to get the speakers close enough to the gamers, so they didn’t need to be turned up so loud that the sounds all of the different games blended together. In addition to the video and audio, we were also adding lighting below the monitors and in the storage areas in the benches.

Miles of Wires

Because of all the different lighting and audio-video zones, this build was going to require a LOT of wiring and cables. We started by running the wires that would go behind the monitor mounting plates. This included the speaker wires, HDMI cables and the power wiring for the USB charging ports and lighting. These cables were neatly routed and secured in the factory wiring loops found along the perimeter of the roof. Some of the wires were routed to the future gaming console rack, and others to the front overhead storage area. We made sure to label all the wires we were running on both ends, so when it was time for all the connections, there would be no questions on what went where.

Overbuilt Monitor Mounts

The two 2×12’s will provide a solid foundation for mounting the large monitors.

The 2×12’s were painted black to blend in with the bus.

The metal brackets were primed and painted with industrial grade metal paint.

The metal brackets were cut, welded and drilled for mounting the 2×12’s.

The first 2×12 was mounted and the brackets for the next board were being installed.

The bus owner’s concept of having the monitors over the heads of the gamers was a great one, it maximizes the usable space in the bus. What wouldn’t be great, however, would be one of those monitors falling on some young gamer’s head! We wanted to make sure no one got hurt while in the care of the Game Zone so we made sure that our design for securing the monitors was over the top. We knew we would need some adjustability in where the mounting brackets would be positioned so we wanted to build in as much flexibility as possible. What we planned out was a 2×12 on each side that would be mounted with steel brackets we would fabricate. The brackets would give us numerous mounting points to make sure that the 2×12’s, and monitors they would eventually hold, were solid. We were thankful that there was a lot of exposed metal framing on the sides and top of the bus. These points gave us very secure mounting locations to bolt the brackets to. Once we had the brackets all bolted in, we were able to screw in the 2×12’s. To help hide any parts of it that might be seen after the monitors were installed, we painted the 2×12’s with a flat black paint.

Benches, Lots of Benches

Every now and then we are smart enough to realize that sometimes its ok to ask for help. In the instance of the benches for this bus, we happened to have a moment of enlightenment and realized we should get some help. We enlisted the help of a trusted friend with a cabinet making background to construct the benches for us. This would free up our time to focus on other parts of the bus. We worked together with the bus owner to come up with a design for the benches that would fit all the criteria, then handed off the plans to our friend.

We designed the benches to be in six pieces. This made the most sense for not only construction, installation and transportation, but also for the natural layout of the seating. The top of each bench would have two speakers and a USB charging port, to charge the controllers. We also made room at the top of each bench for two storage pockets, for convenient storage of game controllers. When drawing out the plans for the benches we noticed a big area of space under the seating area. After a brief chat with the bus owner, we learned that having a space where gamers could put their personal effects would be a bonus. So, we turned the bottom space into a storage area!

In addition to benches, we would also need a cabinet to house all of the game consoles, audio amplifier, etc. Once again, we were smart enough to ask for help and tapped our cabinet friend in for another round of fabrication. The goal was for the cabinet to serve its purpose and disappear in the bus. To that end, we planned for it to be completely black.

Upholstery

The start of the upholstery process was to cover the roof.

Each of the six benches were covered with the blue and black vinyl.

With the upholstery complete, the pieces could now come together.

At this point we had all of the fabrication complete and parts ready for the next step. The next step was to begin the process of upholstering pieces in and out of the bus. When it was brought to us, the roof of the bus was shiny white. This would not go well with our goal of pushing the focus to the screens and ambient lighting. In order to change the color, and also help a bit with reflected noise, we used a low nap black carpet to cover the roof. This would help make it disappear, and also help the bus to be not quite so loud inside.

The next parts we had to cover were the long “walls” of the bus. We had created two long panels that would fill the space between the top of the benches and the bottom of the monitor support beams. To blacken them, and help with reflected sounds, we once again went with our black carpet.

The next to the last thing to be upholstered was the floor of the gaming bus. The color scheme for the interior was blue and black, so to define the walking space, we chose blue as the color for the floor. The carpet was glued down using a commercial grade adhesive, for long term durability.

Our final upholstery project was to cover the benches. We had outsourced the fabrication and upholstery of the bench cushions, but the benches themselves were something we chose to tackle. The cushions were going to be two-tone, with a blue stripe at the top of the backrest cushions, and the rest of that cushion and the bottom cushion being black. In keeping with that theme, we upholstered the tops of the benches in blue vinyl. This would complete the blue lines when looking down the length of the bus. The bottoms of the bench faces were upholstered in a black vinyl. Finishing off the bench upholstery was the inside floor of the bench storage areas. These were upholstered in the same blue carpet that we used on the bus floor.

Gaming Bus Assembly!

All the work we had done so far led to the final stage of the project, assembly! We first loaded in all of the benches into the gaming bus. Then they were fastened together with bolts. The whole bench assemblies were then carefully aligned and bolted through the floor. After the benches were installed, we then installed the side “walls” of the bus. These were fastened into wood pockets we had created on the back of the benches. The tops were screwed into the monitor support beams.

Now that the bench assemblies were in place, we could install all of the mounts for the monitors. Having the benches in place allowed us to properly align the brackets for maximum headroom of the players. We had researched the various mounts available and chose a mount that would securely hold the monitors, while allowing for adjustment, and removal for servicing. These brackets were installed into the 2×12 support beams with large lag bolts, to ensure they would stay in place.

With those items checked off our list, we were then able to install the cabinet that would house the gaming consoles. This was bolted the floor and secured to the side of the benches. We routed all the wires from the monitors and speakers into this cabinet.

Final Wiring and Lighting

The lighting power supply and controller fit nicely in the front overhead wiring area.

A lighting controller was added giving the owner control over the flexible RGB LED lighting.

A USB charging port was added between the speakers, for charging the wireless controllers.

Lighting was added to the under seat storage areas.

The pieces were all in place, it was time for more wiring. We started the final wiring process with installing the speakers and USB ports in the tops of the benches. Rockford Fosgate Punch series coaxial speakers were chosen for their great sound, efficiency and rugged grille.

Our next step was to move on to the lighting. We added RGB lighting strips to the inside of each of the storage compartments under the seats. We also added strips along the monitor support beams, these lights would shine down below the monitors and “paint” the bus walls with color. The wiring for the lighting went to the front top storage compartment. There we installed a power supply and lighting controller. The final part of the lighting was to install the controller plate. This piece has a rotary knob that allows the user to adjust color, brightness and lighting patterns.

The bus owner was going to be in charge of installing all the game consoles in the cabinet. Our task in the cabinet was to route the power strips, organize the HDMI cables and install the audio amplifier and wire it up. The twelve-channel audio amplifier provides audio output to each of the six pair of Rockford Fosgate speakers, giving each station its own stereo sound. Independent volume controls on the amplifier allow the owner to tweak the audio settings for each zone.

Monitor Installation and Logo

The cabinet was pre-wired and ready for game consoles.

The rear fuse panel was cleaned up with this cover that features an acrylic sign.

The perimeter lighting on the Game Zone sign was the finishing touch this project needed.

One of the most exciting parts of the build was the installation of the monitors. Up to this point, the bus still didn’t look very complete inside. Adding the huge 55-inch monitors to the bus threw in a big heap of WOW factor. We were finally able to stand back and look at how awesome all of the pieces came together. One final piece we added at the very end was a cosmetic trim panel to cover over the breaker box in the rear of the bus, over the emergency exit door. We made a trapezoidal shaped cover that finished that area for a much cleaner look. We didn’t want to waste that extra space, so we took the opportunity to create a two-color acrylic sign on our CNC laser to add some branding to the interior of the bus. The final touch for the logo was some RGB LED perimeter lighting.

Gaming Bus Completion

If you have read some of our other build posts, you will notice that this project was much larger than our typical job. We had the gaming bus for about 2 weeks of intense work. More time was spent planning out the layout and wiring. In the end it was all worth it. We had radically transformed a shell of bus into killer gaming machine! The owner of the bus was thrilled with the work we had done and couldn’t wait to get it on the road and full of gamers. Normally we end our build logos suggesting if you want similar work done to call us or email us. For a project such as this one, though, please bring your bus by.

Rockford Fosgate Marine Audio System for Blackwood Boat

July 15, 2022 By JOey Knapp

The owner of this Blackwood boat came to Pinnacle Autosound looking for a stereo system that was as powerful as his boat. We have worked on plenty of boats so we knew what to recommend to the client to give him the audio system he desired. What we designed for the client was a full Rockford Fosgate marine audio system. He was happy with our discussion and booked the appointment.

All About the Canopy

Any number of colors can be selected with the Rockford Fosgate lighting app.

The Rockford Fosgate tower speakers feature beefy mounting brackets.

The bow side of the canopy got a pair of coaxials and a pair of tower speaker installed into it.

The stern side of the canopy was a mirror of the bow side.

We like that the tower speakers light up on the front and rear of the pod.

We talked to the client about a few options of where speakers could be placed in the boat, and ultimately decided the best route was to focus on the canopy. There were already four speakers in the canopy, that we knew we would replace. The client wanted more output than those four speakers could give him, so we added two more pairs. Since the canopy did not have places to mount four more speakers, we turned to the Rockford Fosgate tower speakers. Rockford Fosgate offers some mini-tower speakers that were perfect for adding more speakers in less space. We were able to utilize the bars and brackets on the canopy to mount the mini-tower speakers. A pair was added firing forward, and a pair was added pointing to the stern. These tower speakers, in conjunction with the canopy speakers would give the client plenty of sound anywhere in, or out of, the boat. All that was left to round out the system was to add some bass.

All About that Bass

The combination of all the lighting on the canopy speakers gave uniform color coverage to the whole boat.

We were able to fit the subwoofers in underneath the rear seating.

The client talked us into installing his lighting bar while we were working on the audio upgrades.

The canopy of a boat is a very poor place to try and add bass. The physical space available, as well as the poor sonics of the location for subwoofers had us look other places. What we found was a location below the stern mounted seats. This location was on the boundary of the boat, which typically works out well. We were able to fit two 10″ Rockford Fosgate marine subwoofers in this location. The last thing we had to do was install, wire, and setup the Rockford Fosgate marine amplifiers and lighting controller.

Client Loved his Rockford Fosgate Marine Audio Setup

This boat ended up being just what the client wanted, loud and clear. With all of the speakers being up on the canopy, it was easy to hear the boat from a great distance (we like to do a “walk test” outside of our bays to see how the sound projects). After a short demo for the client, he was in love with his Rockford Fosgate marine audio system. If it is time to upgrade or start with a new stereo system for your boat, stop by with it, we will take a look at it and discuss options with you. You can also contact us online to setup an appointment.

Ford Raptor Stereo System Upgrade

July 1, 2022 By JOey Knapp

The Ford Raptor is an awesome bit of engineering. Take one of the most popular Ford Trunks and pump it full of steroids and you have a Raptor! It is unfortunate, however, that the team at Ford didn’t design an audio system that was as awesome as the truck itself. Luckily, this is where Pinnacle Autosound comes in! A local client contacted us about upgrading her son’s Ford Raptor stereo system. She was very knowledgeable on mobile electronics, so it was a pleasure to work with her to design the perfect system for her son’s truck.

Speaker Upgrade

The front door speaker adapters were cut on our laser.

The speaker were installed behind the factory door panels.

The JL Audio C3 speaker was mounted as a coaxial speaker in the rear doors.

The client is a long-time fan of JL Audio, so we leaned heavily on that brand for this stereo system. For the front and rear doors, we used the JL Audio C3 speakers to form the foundation for great sound in this Raptor. The C3 speaker is unique in that it can be installed as either a component set or a coaxial speaker. This is fortunate for this Raptor, because we needed a component set for the front doors and a coaxial for the rear doors. The JL Audio C3 speakers were the perfect fit for each set of doors! To adapt the factory 5×7′ speaker to the JL Audio 6.5″ we used our laser to cut acrylic adapter plates. In the rear doors we used an aftermarket speaker adapter and topped it off with a bit of sound deadening material.

Amplifiers and Integration Processor Installation

We pre-wired much of the wiring on the amplifier mounting plate.

We carefully laid out the gear on the amp board to make sure they all fit.

We made a custom plate for the remote bass knob.

To power the speakers and subwoofers in the truck we used two different JL Audio amplifiers. The amplifiers and additional electronics were mounted to a custom board that we constructed to go behind the rear seats. The board mounts using factory mounting points on the back wall of the truck. Powering the speakers is an RD400/4 amplifier. The JL Audio RD amplifiers provide the client with incredible value and great sound. Providing the 1000 watts we needed for the subwoofers is a JL Audio JD1000/1 amplifier. This amp provides plenty of clean power in a small footprint chassis.
Because the client wanted to keep the factory source unit, we used a NAV-TV Zen interface to obtain a clean audio signal. The Zen interface takes the factory digital signal and provides a clean analog output that we used to feed signal to the amplifiers.
The final piece of electronics that are mounted to the board are the passive crossovers for the JL Audio C3 speakers. To make future servicing easier we custom lasered plastic labels to designate the front and rear, left and right crossovers. To give the client’s son complete control over the subwoofer amplifier, we mounted a JL Audio remote bass knob to the left of the steering wheel. We added a custom lasered labeling plate beneath the knob.

Custom Subwoofer Enclosure

The enclosure was loaded with the subwoofers and ready to be installed.

The enclosure lighting and speaker wiring was wired with a quick release plug, in case the enclosure needed to be removed.

The enclosure was finished with a combination of carpet, vinyl and acrylic trim pieces.

Laser-etched accent panels flank the center Raptor logo.

The laser etched piece of acrylic was also lit with LED RGB lighting.

The Raptor logo was lit and accent lighting was added at the bottom of the enclosure.

Bass for this system is a pair of JL Audio 10Tw3 subwoofers. These are some of JL Audio’s best “thin” subwoofers. We have used many of these subwoofers over the years to fit in the tight spaces that modern trucks present us with. In addition to being a shallow-mount subwoofers, these winners also take very little airspace for their enclosure. A home run for trucks! The client didn’t want just a plain carpeted enclosure for her son, and that was music to our ears! We used a combination of laser cut acrylic pieces and LED lighting to really set this enclosure apart.

Ford Raptor Stereo Upgrade Success

As with all our installations, after the equipment was installed and the vehicle cleaned, we set the controls on the amplifiers to maximize the output of the stereo system. This truck was designed to sound incredible, and it didn’t disappoint. The client loved the way the truck sounded, and enjoyed the impressive amount of bass it had, she couldn’t wait to share it with her son. We have worked on hundreds of trucks, so we know how to make them sound great. If you have a truck and are interested in upgrading the sound in it, stop by or contact us online.

Strobe Lights and Storage Box Lighting For Local RAM Truck

June 10, 2022 By JOey Knapp

We here at Pinnacle Autosound have been installing mobile electronics in vehicles for many, many years. One of the products that we have seen evolve for the better over the years is strobe lights. We often install these lights on work trucks that have to be parked roadside. In the past the strobe light kits consisted of glass bulbs that had to be hardwired to a central box. The bulbs were fragile and not the most reliable. These days the kits have been replaced with LED bulbs. These offer much greater lifespan and more installation options. We recently had the opportunity to install an LED strobe light kit and some LED lighting in a local plumbing company’s work truck.

Front and Rear Strobe Lights

Our normal layout for strobe lights is to do 2 pair of them in the front grille and 2 more in the rear. We used this same plan for this RAM truck. The front grille strobes were installed in a staggered pattern, to ensure maximum light distribution. In the rear we installed two low profile strobe lights at the top of the bumper, just above the vehicle lights. We wired the lights to a switch within easy reach of the driver, and also added a button that allows the strobe light patterns to be adjusted.

Storage Box Lighting

The second request from the client was to add some lighting to his storage boxes in the truck bed. He said it was difficult to see them as the daylight diminished. To help light up the boxes we installed 2 LED strip lights on the backside sides of each box. The LED strips flood the storage areas with light allowing easy viewing of the entire compartment. All the wiring for the LED strips was completely secured and routed out of the way of any moving parts or storage areas.

Strobe Lights and Lighting at Pinnacle Autosound

We are happy to see glass strobe lights, and neon lighting being replaced with safer LED options. Thanks to these improvements this client will be able to get thousands of hours of life from his new lighting upgrades. If you need some emergency lighting for your vehicle, contact us online or give us a call today.

Chevrolet Silverado JL Audio Bass Upgrade

April 11, 2022 By JOey Knapp

A repeat client contacted us about adding some bass to his wife’s Chevrolet Silverado. After discussing a few options with him, we came up with the perfect solution. A pair of JL Audio 10Tw3 subwoofers and a 750 watt Rockford Fosgate amplifier would give his wife all the bass she could want.

Rockford Fosgate Subwoofer Amplifier

To power the JL Audio subwoofers we chose the Rockford Fosgate R2 750 watt amplifier. While officially labeled as a 750 watt amplifier, this powerhouse actually packs over 900 watts in a small footprint. The amplifier was tucked away under the driver’s seat.

JL Audio Bass Upgrade

To maximize the amount of bass we could fit under the rear seat of the client’s wife’s truck, we looked to one of our favorite subwoofers, the JL Audio 10tw3. The JL Audio 10tw3 subwoofer offers all the performance of a full sized traditional subwoofer in a profile that is a little more than 3″ deep. The shallow mounting depth, small enclosure requirements and great power handling all make for a subwoofer that is nearly perfect. It’s no wonder it is our go-to truck subwoofer.

Custom Subwoofer Enclosure

With the gear selected, it was time to build the enclosure for the subwoofer. We headed into our woodshop to construct a sealed enclosure with the subwoofers in a down firing orientation. Firing the subwoofers down not only offers them a bit of protection, but also provides some sonic benefits, as well. We noticed that the truck had some pink accents on it, so we decided to take that theme and run with it. When the enclosure was fabricated, we used our laser to cut a 1/4″ MDF template that was glued on the enclosure. The template was then blended into the enclosure with body filler. The template formed a pocket for a custom acrylic insert. We used our laser again to cut a 1/4″ black acrylic insert for the pocket. We set the laser to cut “Silverado” just deep enough to cut through the protective paper on the acrylic, and then used that as a mask. With the letters peeled out, we primed and painted the acylic with pink paint that was a perfect match to the other accents on the truck.

Underbody and Interior RGB LED Lighting

The final request for the client was for us to add some RGB LED lighting to the underside of the truck as well as the interior. We used one of our premium LED Glow kits that gives the client smartphone control of the lighting. Another thing that makes this kit special is that LED’s are addressable. Normal kits offer just the ability to change to a single color at a time. This premium kit has LED’s that can be programmed to change to multiple colors, as well chase and form patterns. An added benefit of the interior lighting is that the rear lighting also helped illuminate the front of the new enclosure.

Chevrolet Silverado Bass and Lighting Upgrade

With all the work done it was time to return the truck to the client. Both the client and his wife were thrilled with the way the upgrades sounded, the added details on the enclosure and the lighting on the truck. We were happy that they trusted us to help fulfill their goals for the Silverado. If you would like to know more about Chevrolet Silverado upgrades or other truck options, give us a call or email us.

Stereo and Lighting Upgrade for Lake City Alumacraft Boat

March 10, 2021 By JOey Knapp Leave a Comment

The owner of Sound Line Design, the home theatre company that we share our building with, recently asked the Pinnacle Autosound team to upgrade the stereo and lighting on his 2019 Alumacraft boat. He wanted to listen to music and needed a nice, bright light for docking and navigating once it was dark. We inspected the vessel and came up with a plan that would deliver the features he wanted.

Alumacraft Marine Stereo Upgrade

The client was blown away by the output of the JL Audio M6-880 speakers.

Once the plate was cut out on our laser, we used it as a template for cutting out the switch holes.

The new acrylic trim plate helps integrate all the new pieces into the dash.

The audio system we designed for the boat is simple but uses high-quality components to ensure that it will sound great. We started with a JL Audio MediaMaster MM100s-BE digital media receiver as the source. Our team cut a custom trim panel for the radio out of HDPE plastic using our CNC laser. We added openings for a few switches and the remote control for the Power Pole shallow water anchoring system. We included the Alumacraft logo in the panel for a little extra flair.

The output of the MediaMaster feeds for a four-channel JL Audio MX280/4 amplifier. This amplifier is rated to produce 50 watts of power per channel. We wired the amp in what’s known as a bridged configuration to power a single pair of speakers. Wired this way, the amp will provide as much as 140 watts to each driver.

We mounted a set of JL Audio M6-880X-S-GmTi 8.8-inch coaxial speakers on either side of the center console helm. These speakers are a two-way design with a large 1.25-inch tweeter. They not only sound great, but their large size allows them to produce impressive amounts of bass.

Marine Lighting Solution

With the stereo system buttoned-up, we turned our focus to adding the lighting our neighbor wanted. We suggested one of the Radiance-Series LED light bars from Rigid Industries. This 20-inch bar produces more than 7,100 lumens of output to ensure safe navigation as the sun sets. We mounted the light on top of the tubular aluminum frame around the windshield. To keep things neat and tidy, all the wiring is run through the frame. The left-most switch beside the radio controls the light bar.

We also added a pair of drink holder pockets to the top of the console so he could keep beverages safe and secure while on the water.

Lake City’s Best Marine Stereo Systems

With the stereo system dialed-in and the light bar aimed properly, we let our neighbor know his Alumacraft was ready to go! He loved the way the stereo sounded and was amazed by the cool trim around the radio. The light bar was exactly what he wanted. If you are interested in upgrading the stereo or lighting on your boat, drop by Pinnacle Autosound in Lake City or send our team an email using our online contact form.

Flats Boat Audio System for Local Marine Repair Business Owner

February 15, 2019 By JOey Knapp Leave a Comment

The owner of a Lake City marine repair business recently stopped by to talk about upgrading the audio system in his flats boat. He currently had a radio and speakers in the boat, but their performance was anemic. We talked about possible speaker upgrades, a new radio and adding and amplifier. We always like to mention the benefits of adding a subwoofer too, which the client seemed open to. Happy with the discussion, the client setup a time to drop his boat off.

Radio Replacement

The Kenwood radio provides the clients with numerous audio sources.

The addition of the waterproof cover will ensure the radio lasts for years.

The first step to building a great audio system in this boat was to upgrade the radio. For this project we used a Kenwood marine radio. The radio will give the client the ability to not only play CD’s, listen to the radio, play audio from a USB drive but also to stream audio from his phone via Bluetooth. While the radio is a marine radio and designed to survive life on a boat, we added an additional bit of protection with installation of a waterproof radio cover.

Speaker Upgrades

The rings were machined in our fabrication room.

The stepped adapter rings look great and help fit the speakers into the larger holes.

A pair of JL speaker was installed in the rear of the boat.

The front of the boat receive a pair of speakers and a single subwoofer.

This boat is going to look and sound great day and night.

The most important part of this job was providing the client with crystal clear music and high volume levels. Our go-to speaker for this sort of project is the JL Audio MX marine coaxial speaker. Fulfilling a request for some lighting from the client’s wife was easy with the addition of the LED illuminated series of JL Audio MX speakers. These speakers have the great JL Audio sound and also feature blue LED lighting. Adding the lighting required a bit more work because we also have to run not only speaker wires, but also lighting wires, to each speaker. The lighting for the speakers was powered by an unused rocker switch that we repurposed for the lighting.

After the speaker and lighting wiring was done it was time to install the speakers. Unfortunately we found that the off-brand speakers the client previously had in the boat were a bit larger than the new JL Audio speakers. To fit the new speakers in the old holes we made custom adapters out of marine-grade HDPE plastic. The rings were machined to give the JL Audio speakers a larger lip. The center of the ring was recessed to allow for the speaker to fit down in it, for a cleaner look. Finally the outer edge of the ring was chamfered for a more finished shape. We mounted the speakers into the adapter rings using stainless steel hardware.

Subwoofer Addition

When the client dropped off the boat with us it was with the understanding that we would research options for a subwoofer. After looking around the boat while we were working on it, we found that a single 10″ JL Audio marine subwoofer would fit in the very center of the front storage area. The client agreed to this spot, so we began the work to mount it. Normally if the fiberglass is thin in the areas we plan on mounting subwoofers, we will make an additional support baffle. The fiberglass in this area of the boat, though, was plenty thick for mounting the subwoofer.

JL Audio Amplifier

Powering the whole system is a JL Audio MX series 4 channel amplifier. This little amp offers an impressive amount of power in a small package. We fabricated a mounting plate for the amplifier using the HDPE. This plate was attached to the side of the console using existing mounting holes for another piece.

Great-Sounding Boat Audio

Once the equipment was mounted and all the wiring was tidied up, it was time to set the level adjustments and crossovers on the amplifier. When we first powered on the system we were blown away. For the modest amount of equipment this boat had, it sounded incredible! When the client’s wife picked it up, she too thought it sounded great. If it is time to get that boat of yours ready for the water, give us here at Pinnacle Autosound a call or contact us here.

Lake City Clients Gets Harley-Davidson LED Lighting Upgrades

February 13, 2017 By JOey Knapp Leave a Comment

Two separate Lake City clients recently came to Pinnacle Autosound to add some LED Lighting to their Harley-Davidson motorcycles. We were installing a lighting system on one of the Harleys, when another of our regular clients stopped by. He saw the lighting upgrades and decided he needed them for his bike too! He left to get his bike and bring it back for us to work on.

Harley-Davidson Lighting Upgrades for Two Bikes

Both of these Harley-Davidson’s got the same LED lighting system. The system is specifically designed for use on motorcycles, so you know it is ruggedly built. Our technician was very careful when removing any of the seats or body panels. We take great care of every vehicle we work on. The lighting system secures to the bike with an automotive-grade double stick tape. This ensures the lights stay mounted securely, but also allow removal, if necessary. We soldered the electrical connections on the bikes, for the utmost in reliability. We also protected any exposed wires with loom tubing. This treatment also helped them to blend in with the factory wiring. The wiring was then secured to the bike parts with wire-ties. It takes extra time to route all the wires so they are hidden, but the extra time is worth it. When we finished the installations, none of the wiring was visible on the bikes. Both bikes looked like they did when their owner’s dropped them off. Until the lights were switched on. Our lighting system uses a wireless remote control. The control not only turns the system on and off, but also allows the clients to adjust the color of the lighting system. Any color is possible, thanks to the red, blue, green combination of lights.

We Specialize in Motorcycle Lighting and Audio

If you own an Harley-Davidson, or some other motorcycle, and are interested in getting some lighting upgrades, stop by or contact us here. Don’t forget, we also offer awesome motorcycle audio systems too!