UPDATED: How-to build an "Audio Pipe" for your ATV/UTV

[thunderstruck]

Said I was going to update this, so here it is. This guide has more pics, more info on other amps, and is hopefully a lot easier to read.

An "audio pipe" is basically just a small amplifier and a pair of 6-1/2" speakers housed in 6" PVC pipe. You can mount it to your ATV, UTV, golf cart, boat, whatever. Just plug it in to a 12 volt outlet and connect your MP3 player to it... BAM! You have plenty of music wherever you go.

Parts needed to build:

• Several feet of 6" PVC pipe. Schedule 40 is thicker, but SDR-35 is cheaper and easier to find. Use whatever you prefer, I used SDR-35.
• Two 90 degree 6" PVC elbows.
• PVC glue and primer
• Clear RTV silicone adhesive/sealant
• Scrap wood to mount the amp inside the pipe.
• An amplifier that will fit inside the pipe, see below for some known options.
• A pair of 6-3/4" speakers. 6-1/2" speakers will work as long as they can also fit 6-3/4" locations. Marine-rated is highly recommended, I personally use Polk Audio db651 coaxials.
• A SPST Toggle Switch (Single Pole Single Throw) to mute the amp.
• Marine-grade Locking Cigarette Lighter Plug
• A stereo 3.5mm-to-RCA cable, or
  • You can also use a Bluetooth receiver, such as the marine-rated Fusion MS-BT100, to connect to your music device wirelessly.
• Several feet of wire, 16 or 14 gauge will be fine for power, while 18 gauge will be great for the speakers.
• Several rubber grommets to pass wiring through the pipe and to cushion the amp
• Screws as necessary to mount the amp and assemble the elbows.
• Finally, if your ATV doesn't already have a 12 volt outlet, you will also need a Marine-grade Cigarette Lighter Socket

Materials needed to paint:

• Wax & Grease remover solvent
• 220-grit sandpaper (you can also use 400 and 600 grit if you want a very smooth finish)
• Your choice of spray paint. I used Duplicolor's Truck Bed Coating, it looks great and has held up perfectly.

All of the electronic parts can be easy found online at websites such as Amazon, eBay, and Parts-Express.com. The paint materials can be bought at an auto parts store like NAPA. Everything else can be bought at your local hardware store (or found lying around your garage/shop.)

Choosing an amplifier
Finding an amp is a bit tricky because it needs to fit inside of the 6" pipe. There are a few options that I know of:

• I used the Sure Electronics TK2050 amp board. It has been holding up great, sounds excellent and plenty powerful. Unfortunately, this version is no longer being produced.
• There is a new version of the Sure TK2050 available through Parts Express, but it is less robust and requires soldering.
• The new Pioneer PRS-D800. It's pricey, but it's likely the most powerful amp you'll be able to fit into your pipe. You'll need beefier power wires to use it!
• Boss Audio and SoundStorm make several small "200 watt" 2-channel amps. From what I hear, they are a tight fit, but work fine.
• Several people have supposedly had luck with the Mitzu "500 watt" motorcycle amps on eBay. You are not going to get anywhere near 500 watts with it though. Pyle also makes similar amps.
• Kemo M034N, you will need one per channel. I don't know very much about these, the nice thing is they are sealed in epoxy.
• Pyramid PB440X - I used to have this amp. Sounded great and fairly powerful, unfortunately it was a piece of shit. Between me and a friend, we had four defective ones in about a year. Use only as a last resort.

Before you begin, make sure you test your amp and speakers! Set your amp's gain while you're at it.

Beginning the build

1. Measure your ATV's rack to determine how much pipe you need between the two elbows. Keep in mind that about 3" of pipe will fit into each elbow.
2. Cut the PVC pipe to length, I used a reciprocating saw with a long finetooth blade.
3. Cut two 3" long rings out of the leftover pipe. Glue these rings into one end of each elbow.
4. If any of the pipe is sticking out from the elbows, cut it off. The pipe needs to sit flush with the elbow.
5. Determine where you want to run the wires through and mount the toggle switch. Drill the holes for the wires and toggle switch.

Painting the pipe

1. Start by putting the pieces together (don't glue them, obviously). Wipe down the entire pipe with wax & grease cleaner.
2. Sand the pipe well with 220-grit sandpaper. You can move up to 400 and 600 if you want a very smooth finish.
3. Remove the sanding dust by washing the pipe with mild soap and water. Rinse and then dry.
4. Plug the holes and then paint the pipe.
5. Once the paint has dried, unplug the holes and take apart the pieces.

Finishing the build

1. Now that that's done, push a rubber grommet into the hole for the wires. Run your audio cable (if using one) and power wire through it
2. Using your wood (lol), build a platform for your amp to rest on while inside the pipe.
3. Secure the amp to the wooden platform, use rubber grommets to cushion the amp. If using a Bluetooth device, mount it now too.
   1. Wiring the amp
   2. Connect all power wires, speaker wires, and audio cables to your amp as directed by it's instructions.
   3. I suggest you connect your power wire directly to the amp, and only use the toggle switch to control the remote turn-on input on the amp. This will prevent popping noises when the amp is un-muted.
   4. If you are using a Bluetooth module, the choice is yours if you want to connect it directly to power or through the switch. If you wire it through the switch, the Bluetooth device will disconnect whenever you mute the amp.
4. Slide the amp and wooden platform into the pipe. Run a few screws through the bottom of the pipe and into the wood.
5. Mount the toggle switch in it hole, then run the speaker wires out the pipe and through the elbows.
6. Glue only one of the elbows onto the pipe, preferably the side you will likely not have to remove to access the toggle switch, RCA inputs, etc.
7. Smear a light coat of waterproof grease in the other elbow to help repel water and make it easier to remove the elbow in case you have to later. Push it onto the pipe and line it up with the other elbow that you glued. Use a small set screw to keep the elbow from moving.
8. Hold a speaker to the ends of each elbow and mark the four mounting holes. Drill pilot holes for each mounting screw.
9. Apply silicone sealant to the ends of each elbow.
10. Connect the speaker wires to the speakers, and then screw them down to the elbows.
11. Connect your power wires to the cigarette lighter plug.
12. Strap the pipe down to your ATV rack and plug everything in. You're done!

Here are some pics of my setup.

The amp, Sure Electronics TK2050

The speakers, Polk Audio db651

The receiver, Fusion MS-BT100

Finally, here are some pics of the first audio pipe I built. It had Pioneer speakers and a Pyramid amp.

Before paint

 

[Zembonez]

That's pretty cool. Probably sounds pretty good too.

 

[thunderstruck]

Good enough for its purpose.

 

[Darkanion]

Good write-up! It looks good, too!

 

[Texas Jim]

That's pretty neat....

 

[thunderstruck]

Built a stereo console for my dad's John Deere Gator as well...

 

[dietz4ibanez]

Dang! Not bad! Good work! How have you been?

 

[thunderstruck]

Work sucks, money's tight, but I'm doing good.

Yeah I think it came out great considering we built it with mostly scrap parts. We only had to buy the speakers, antenna, rollbar clamps, and auxiliary input adapter for this build.



Sent from my Nintendo 64

 

[dietz4ibanez]

I need to build one for my quad "before" we go riding again!

 

[thunderstruck]

Before you do that, I did find two more amps that should fit in the pipe. The Power Acoustik RZ2-1300D and Massive Audio NX2.

They pack a lot more punch than the amp I use but that does mean giving up just being able to plug the thing into any cigarette lighter socket.

I guess if mine goes out, I'll try out the NX2.