Stealth's New Mk6

[Stealth TDI]

In support of today's bicycling event:

75 gallons of water (15 inside the car), 200 lbs of ice, and three tables to hold the water coolers at various rest stops...

This morning's ride across a ferry...

I scraped the deck a little when I left the ship. I'm glad the ramp wasn't inclined very much.

I estimate my cargo to have been ~850 lbs, which is slightly overweight for the 500-lb spring pair I swapped onto the trailer (850 lbs plus estimated weight of the trailer at 350 lbs = 1200 lbs). I need to get the trailer weighed empty so I can be certain in the future. The springs were still arched, with the suspension settling only one-inch after loading everything, and the trailer rode well.

Scott

 

[croppz]

Liking the car man, same color as mine. Silver is a great color for daily drivers haha. Only thing I wish I did when I got my 13 was search harder for a premium package with the sunroof/sound system. But for the price I paid and the mileage mine had, couldnt pass it up.

Following this thread for sure!

 

[Stealth TDI]

I decided I wanted a subwoofer system with more flexibility and power than what the Fender Premium Audio system is giving me. I'm working on the upgrade now and hope to have some news within the next 10 days.

Scott

 

[hskrdu]

Nice! I can't even seem to fix a single speaker in our Mk IV Jetta!

 

[Stealth TDI]

Hello,

The subwoofer system is done, with the exception of a few very minor tweaks to come such as a smaller sub-volume knob and better battery connection. Details can be seen here. This post will be the Clif's Notes version:

The original plan for the box was to fit in the spare tire well with the amplifier. Here's the box before carpet...

Here's the carpeted box with the amp positioned...

In the wheel well...

Here's the power distribution panel...

Later, I decided to move the amp...

In addition to powering the amp and trailer lighting circuit, I also finally connected my pure sine voltage inverter...

The subwoofer sounds GREAT! The Fender subwoofer is advertised as 8-inches; however, the actual cone is only 6.3 inches. My 10-inch subwoofer is 50% larger with a cone of 9.5-inches. The new depth of sound is wonderful. I have a knob in the front of the car that can adjust sub-bass from "a little sub-bass" to "way-too-much sub-bass."

I've already tried to mount the knob in the blank button above. However, it cannot fit. I made a smaller version of the knob's mounting panel for a cleaner look.

Here's the thing: Now that I've completed the groundwork for power distribution, installing a dual-band ham radio would be a snap! I said I don't miss ham radio. But I still sort of want one in the car. If I get one, I'll stick with a very small dual-band antenna.

Scott

 

[compu_85]

All the space under the front seats sure is nice for mounting new devices!

-J

 

[Stealth TDI]

Hello,

I made the leap and mounted one of the ham radios from my Mk3:

It's larger than a micro-transceiver, but it's not terrible. Being an all-band/all-mode radio, it's far more radio than I'm currently using. I said I wouldn't add a ham radio to this car. My new line is "I won't add an HF antenna to this car." Watch me wind up with a gigantic screwdriver antenna mounted to my hitch! HAHA!

The microphone is mounted to the passenger side of the center console (lower right of the photo), the remote speaker is behind the navi, and the transceiver body is in the spare tire well with the subwoofer (may be a temporary location).

My current antenna is a very small dual-bander on a trunk lip mount that functions about as good as an HT antenna:

I'm awaiting an NMO cable that'll let me mount one of my old 1/2-wave antennas. That should improve my signal strength a bit. I'm not shooting for maximum efficiency... just enough to be useful.

Scott

 

[Stealth TDI]

Hello,

I've made some progress in improving my mobile radio station. My transceiver is currently at the manufacturer for repair. While it's gone, I decided to do some bonding:

I'll tackle the exhaust bonding when I have more time. I'm going to take some measurements during an oil change this weekend.

I finally made my move to punch a hole in the trunk lid for a permanent antenna mount. I took the car to a communications shop where techs have quality tools and do this stuff every day. Here's the result:

For now, I have this cap in place until I finish up the wiring. I may paint it Reflex Silver to blend better for when I have no antenna mounted...

Here's the underside...

The tech did a really good job of getting that connector in behind that small cavity between the sandwiched sheet metal. The mount is directly above those two oval holes. I didn't have him route or terminate the cable because I want to install a choke, route the cable stealth-like, and then cut the cable to custom length.

I'll be putting the plugs back into place once I have the choke positioned. If all goes well, the coax will be completely concealed. It's coming together nicely.

Here's the trunk lid with a 1/2-wave dual-band antenna mounted:

My transceiver should return on Tuesday. I'll be back on the air just in time for a drive to CT next weekend.

Scott

 

[Matt-98AHU]

Congrats on the new cars, Scott!

I wasn't a fan of the Mk6 Jetta sedan when they first came out. The styling has grown on me a lot. And it really helped when they finally starting selling the TDI trim level cars with the independent rear suspension from the factory. I've ridden/driven in enough of the beam axle Mk6 sedans to know I don't like it. Doesn't torsion like the old axles, either. Not a great ride.

The independent rear is fantastic, though. Nice interiors in these cars as well, especially when you're used to a mk3!

Always liked your gadget mods and how cleanly you install them. Cool stuff as always.

 

[tomo366]

Congrats on the new cars, Scott!

I wasn't a fan of the Mk6 Jetta sedan when they first came out. The styling has grown on me a lot. And it really helped when they finally starting selling the TDI trim level cars with the independent rear suspension from the factory. I've ridden/driven in enough of the beam axle Mk6 sedans to know I don't like it. Doesn't torsion like the old axles, either. Not a great ride.

The independent rear is fantastic, though. Nice interiors in these cars as well, especially when you're used to a mk3!

Always liked your gadget mods and how cleanly you install them. Cool stuff as always.

agreed love mine sweet car!

 

[Stealth TDI]

Got the radio back from Yaesu on Tuesday. It sounds great! I made a mounting panel and then spent last night installing the final piece:

The transceiver body is grounded to a factory grounding stud from this bolt that's electrically connected to the mounting bracket:

There's no trace of coax once the trunk lid trim panel is in place:

Time to hit the road and make some contacts!

Scott

 

[rocketeer928]

What part of CT did you drive to? We moved from CT to IL for a required job change. Miss New England. Always enjoy reading what you've done with your TDIs.

 

[Stealth TDI]

We drove to Danbury. Here's a thread about the FE I achieved during the trip: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=458208

 

[rocketeer928]

Danbury is where I used to work (23+ year until laid off last year) and we lived in Newtown just east of there.

 

[tomo366]

Danbury is where I used to work (23+ year until laid off last year) and we lived in Newtown just east of there.

wow....bad stuff happening there a few years ago...

 

[Stealth TDI]

Hello,

The unusually warm weather gave me a chance to address a new creaking coming from the tools/supplies that I now carry. I've had some jute for a while and finally took the opportunity to install some:

I expect the adhesive to be dry enough to reload the tire well tomorrow morning.

[edit] Following morning... everything fits even better now that I don't need to wrap items in carpet to prevent vibration... [/edit]

Scott

 

[Stealth TDI]

Just sharing a couple of morning photos taken in my city ...

Scott

 

[compu_85]

The trees sure are lovely this time of year

 

[Stealth TDI]

Hello,

I forgot to share my latest update to my ham radio station. I decided to pursue a digital radio (in addition to the radio shown above) and opted to get an Icom ID-5100A D-STAR radio. The display is huge, but I found a place that gives me a great view of the readout without blocking much airflow from the vent:

It's held by this bracket that I slide between the trim panels for the AC and dash...

The microphone hangs alongside the other one while the speakers are moved to inside the center console:

The transceiver body is piggybacked to the existing unit. This photo shows the power, RF, and speaker wires as they leave the top of the units:

This photo shows the two CAT5 and two 6P6C RJ11 cables leaving the bottom of the units, heading to the front of the car for the microphones and remote displays:

It doesn't look it in the photo above, but there's actually about an inch between the two units and another inch between the 857D and the mounting panel...

The taller antenna shown above was stolen yesterday in broad daylight at a busy store. A thief just casually unscrewed it and kept walking. So I'm currently using an even larger model that I had available:

I'll replace the stolen model soon. This one is torqued-down pretty tight and shouldn't come up without tools or a lot more effort. I'm planning to build and mount a "DV Mega" to use with my mobile hotspot so I can use D-STAR without a nearby repeater. It will give me A LOT of flexibility. The only thing left after this is to buy an HF antenna so I can get back to talking with skywaves.

Admittedly, I don't have an antenna for the 857D just yet. I'm trying to decide whether I want to duplex both radios to the same antenna or go for a screwdriver antenna. I'm still scheming.

Thanks for Looking,

Scott

 

[speed185187]

Very nice setup.

 

[agxster]

Great setup, good to see you're back in the radio game.

 

[Stealth TDI]

Thanks, guys! I'm on the verge of ordering a Raspberry Pi3 to build a DV Mega that'll give me the ability to use the D-STAR system from anywhere with 3G/4G access.

 

[Stealth TDI]

My DV Mega build is done. I'm still awaiting a shorter antenna and a different case. But it works:

Using my smartphone as an Internet gateway, the DV Mega allows me to use my ID-5100A (or a future D-STAR HT) to access the D-STAR network from anywhere with 3G/4G access. I've even maintained long-distance radio contacts while traveling through a tunnel under water.

I will eventually hide this tiny gadget someplace out of sight once it's completely configured. Learn more about the DV Mega at http://www.dvmega.auria.nl/.

Scott

 

[agxster]

That's cool, so you can leave the D-star at home with the Pi, and then use your phone to control the radio over the Internet?

 

[Stealth TDI]

No. The Pi is in the car full time and connects to the Internet via my phone's hotspot when it's present. I use RF commands from the radio to control the Pi remotely. I have nothing in the house that's used for D-STAR. The Pi doesn't even connect to my home WiFi.

 

[Stealth TDI]

Refueled it for the last time on Veteran's Day:

Then I drove to Chester, VA to pick up this beauty:

I'll bring the Mk6 home next weekend, remove the electronics and trailer hitch. Then I'll park it while I await a buyback date. Bittersweet...

 

[hskrdu]

I like the GTI- love the plaid. Why PA instead of VA?
How much was the Westy pop top? Looks nice.

 

[Stealth TDI]

Read again. I went to Priority VW in Chester VA. I went there because a Reflex Silver manual transmission Sport seems to be a bit of a unicorn in this area. This car had been sitting at their dealership for a while, but I didn't want to risk it being gone when my Jetta finally goes back to VW. There's no telling when this exact combination will be here again... or there could be dozens of them on the roads next month. HAHA!

No idea how much the Westy was. No price listed.

 

[hskrdu]

Will you set up a radio suite in the GTI?

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Nice looking GTI, Scott, but I have to say I'm disappointed to see you leave the TDI community for your daily driver. At least you still have your A3 and your wife's Jetta (at least for now). I'll be interested to see if you find the GTI as versatile as you've made your Jetta, and what MPGs you get.