Did You Know That Changing A Wallplate Can Help Make Your Music Or Tv Picture?

I know nothing about car stereos, but I had a crazy thought the other day and figured someone here on this board would know home electrical stuff and also car stereo (electrical) stuff.... so here goes....



How difficult would it be to "rig up" a car stereo (or, actually, an in-dash video player/receiver) in a house, hardwired in?



I assume (admittedly, without researching) that the foremost issue is that car power is DC, so the first problem would be getting a transformer to take 110VAC to whatever the stereo required in DC, right?



As far as speakers - are car speakers and home speakers essentially the same, as far as the signal sent to them from the receiver/amp/radio? Or are they a different capacity (resistance ohms or something)? Could you use home speakers (say, small in-ceiling type speakers, like you typically see sold for home theater surround usage) with a car stereo?



Finally, do these systems typically have standard audio and video inputs in the rear (component, composite, S-video, headphone-jack type plug)? I know they typically have an "aux" input on the front (for video game systems, iPods, MP3 players, and whatnot) but do they have connections on the back where it would be out of view when permanently connected (for connection from the satellite box)?



I had this crazy idea that I would love to install one of those car stereos with the slide-out, pop-up TV screen into my bathroom, and have the sound wired to ceiling speakers. If I built a cabinet with a mounting frame that would hold it in place, could this work? I am not looking for some high-end sound system that will blow me away and rock the house, nor do I care about a beautiful HD picture on the TV... I just want to have a small TV and a radio/audio receiver at the vanity area that I could hear with the shower running or whatever, and car systems like this are way less expensive than buying a small LCD TV and a stereo receiver (plus I can't find a receiver small enough). Plus, you would get the added benefit of the TV "disappearing" when not in use. 



Obviously, this would take some rigging - transformers and all - but can anyone clue me in on the feasibility?
      

I have a wall outlet I exposed recently. It was meant originally to supply an in-wall air conditioner (long since removed). The outlet is clearly a 120V, 20A fixture. The romex supplying it, however, has been marked in indelible ink by the installer: "220" on both sides of the wire sheath. The wire is 12/2 with ground. What did he mean by this? Could this really a 220V (or 240V) receptacle? Is that possible, using 12/2 and a standard 120V outlet? How do I verify what I've got?



All I want to do is relocate the box and replace the fixture, but the 220 notation sort of threw me. Does anybody have an idea what's going on here?



I appreciate your help. I'm new here, so please try not to smack the rookie around too much.
      

I have 2" grey pvc conduit running from my basement underneath a patio and terminating vertically from the ground a few feet past the edge of the patio (in the dirt).  I want to install an outlet on the stone wall at the edge of this patio.  I do not know how to properly return the wire from that open 2" vertical conduit back to the wall a few feet away.  I assume I need a junction box on the existing conduit, but can't find one with a 2" inlet.  I would like to keep the connections buried if possible, return with a smaller conduit to the wall and up to a mounted outlet box (weatherproof).  Any suggestions about how to manage the conduit connections from the vertical pipe?



Tom
      

Hi all

I'm renovating a rental home I bought. It has the original 90 year old fuse panel  and I'd like to replace it with a modern panelboard. Here's a picture of the current setup:







I'd like to demo the inset fuse box cabinet and then mount a new panel on the wall to the left.

The service conduit goes inside the stucco into the building. I'd like to cut it, put in junction box, and a sweep and extend the service to the left to the new panel



I called our electric co. to get the power disconnected and strangely the rep told me "Oh, people usually just work on it hot". Is this true/feasible??



Your advice is appreciated
      

I'm building a whole house everything system. It is a sixteen zone system with full AV distribution, 9 security cameras, about 70 speakers, ten 9.1 surround sound amplifiers, 6 PCs, KVMs, loads of networking gear, two dss, bluray, roku, squeezebox, NVR server, NVR viewer, etc. There are air conditioners in the Liebert MCR racks. The headend contains three 42U racks. Two of the racks are for AV equipment and the third rack is for the PC equipment.



Here is a detailed list of all the equipment and their electrical needs:



http://dl.dropbox.com/u/70589/MillerPlan.xls



You will see two tabs on the spreadsheet: Equipment and Cabinets. These contain very detailed information on all the devices going into the three racks. You will see that I specified 14 electrical circuits.



I have already purchased all the equipment except for the "APC UPS 280 watts" and "Furman power conditioners". If anybody experienced with residential systems with requirements like this could give me feedback on the electrical requirements and my proposed design it would be great, all feedback is welcome!
      

Help!  We decided to raise the ceiling in our kitchen for some new taller cabinets. We have 30" cabinets with a 7' drop ceiling. By taking out the drop ceiling we can go to an 8' ceiling with 36" cabinets.  We just had the ceiling taken out and now I see I got a problem!



This is a 2 story home, the wall in question is a load bearing wall (runs through the center of the house) The main breaker panel is in this wall (the panel opening is in the adjacent family room)



As you can see in the photos I cannot extend the wall up because all of the home wiring is in the way!  I expected I might have to run longer wires but not this. 



Some ideas we've thought about...

notch the double 2x4s (not sure how much I need to notch or allowed to)



build a cove (box) and leave the wires like they are (might be an eyesore in our new kitchen)



put up a large crown moulding along the entire wall (would be the only crown moulding in the house)



extend the ceiling up 6-7" instead of 12" (should leave enough room for wire to stay)



I'm leaning to the notching option if I can find a way to reinforce that section.



Any ideas?



thanks!
      

I am renting a house and the strangest things have been happening since shortly after moving in.  I am full of static but not in a way that I shock myself as one would normally think - it just raises my hair to a point of unmanageability and is turning it to straw.



I also am hearing little "clicks" from the wall outlets, moreso now than ever.  It seems to affect me with soundwaves (long story) and I am so full of anxiety all the time now that I cannot live with my Mother any longer.  I have recently acquired extra-sensitive hearing (don't know how or why) and because she won't wear her teeth, she whistles when speaking and puts me into huge startle mode.  She is 87 and it's a trying situation anyway, but my symtoms have made it impossible for us to get along now.



As I sit at my computer, I hear a noise in the wall, then hear a hissing/buzzing sound from the computer and am wondering if my proximity to it is only adding to everything else going on here.  The house was remodeled awhile back but someone told me it appears as if they did a good job where electrical is concerned.  Could it be I am attracting curents for some reason?  I don't even know if this is humanly possible but I am in dire need of help and cannot afford an electrition to go through the entire house.



Please, any help would greatly be appreciated!
      

Hi,



Forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere - a cursory check didn't

bring up an answer, but maybe I didn't search on the right thing...



I've got to replace a baseboard heater that was located under a receptacle.



I was first thinking this is covered by the "grandfather" clause, but a bit more checking has me confused - it looks like maybe the NEC doesn't specifically prohibit this (maybe they do in the newest code book), but pretty much all manufacturers now seem to specifically say not to do this, so it would seem to be prohibited.



So what do you do?  Here's a couple of pics of where I have to put this unit:



http://www.rkgphotos.com/recent_stuf...er_corner2.jpg

http://www.rkgphotos.com/recent_stuf...er_corner1.jpg



a 1500W unit is what should go here.  just pulling the receptacle/putting on a cover plate means there's gonna be more than 12 feet between receptacles along this wall.



Its also complicated by this being both an outside wall and a common element so I didn't want to butcher it up completely.



It seemed like I could: 1) use 2 heaters with a gap under the receptacle (though the spacing kind of sucks for this), 2)pull the receptacle, put on a cover plate and forget about it (practically not a problem but violates the 12 foot rule), 3) use the receptacle box as a J box and run a line down to where the heater is and use one of those funky receptacles you mount to one end of the heater, or 4)??



Anyway, suggestions/observations would be greatly appreciated.



Thanks,

rkg

(Richard George)
      

In a previous thread (Wire suitable for underwater usage), I enquired about what cord types would be suitable for underwater usage because I was building a submersible fishing light to attract baitfish.  Well, the light is done, and the bulb "farthest away" from the battery is by far the brightest in the chain (I hesitate to say chain since they are wired in parallel). 



Attached image "photo 1" is a picture of the light I made.  Notice the bulb all the way to the left is far brighter than the rest.



All bulbs used are the same spec, and look like this:



To wire the bulbs, I cut the flange off with a Dremel tool so that they would fit in the tube.  Two pair of them have their terminals soldered together (neg to neg, pos to pos...that's the "gap" you see in the lighting), and the first bulb in line is upside down, with it's terminals facing the incoming wiring.  The first bulb receives the wiring from the main line, then hookup wire is used to jump from those terminals to the next set, etc. 



There IS one anomaly with the final/far left bulb.  When I was cutting off the flange, I accidentally cut too far on that piece, basically severing the terminals from the bulb.  So, when wiring it into the circuit, I had to improvise and soldered the hookup wire directly into the solder points located on the bulb itself (instead of the underside).  Hopefully you can see what I'm talking about in attached "photo 2."



I have no idea why this anomaly would make the bulb brighter though.  Can anyone think of any other reason the bulb would be brighter?  Unfortunately, I cannot do any readings on the individual bulbs because I did not notice this until everything was soldered into place and the lamp sealed/waterproofed).
      

I am renovating my modest home's living room, but, since the walls and ceiling are basically stripped bare, I would like to consider "toys and luxuries" which would need to be wired in upfront here, such as ipad syncing controls for stereo or lighting, decent built-in speaker systems, etc.  What kinds of devices are contemporary homes incorporating nowadays?  I am not super-nerdy, but a couple "gee whiz" devices might be fun to have!   Suggestions?   Thanks in advance.