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Ws 420 Eq Mounting


h2ojunkie

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Just got my 420EQ and would like to get ideas on where some of you guys have mounted it. Also if anyine has made any "custom" bezels,mounting plates ect.. for under dash. Previous owner had theirs mounted semi-vertical on left side of driver cockpit on the carpeted wall near left leg, but I'm worried that it may get get bumped by drivers leg moving in and out of seat. Just under dash presents issue of sufficient glass edge top get screws into for mounts and kinda gets in the way of steering assy arm that runs horizontal to dash under there. Any ideas,pics ect... would be appreciated. Here is pic of my dash area I'm looking to mount it.

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Here is mine. Is an AudioControl vs WS but should be around the same size. I used King Strarboard for the box. I wanted something that would protect the unit from the elements.

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The hole on the top is so I could adjust the output gains.

Kris

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Kris, that is nice looking box you made. Any issues with folks bumping it gettting in and out of the seat? I'm tempted to just go with one of the face plates but worry about water/moisture getting in the unit as we don't always leave the water because of some rain. Anyone had any issues with that? Justin at WS advised trying to mount it where will see as little water as possible. I like the idea of the box Kris made just not the room it could take up. I may consider moving the stereo remote mounted over in the right side to the left of steering wheel and put the EQ on the right side in the corner.

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Here's one I made for an AudioControl, it also mounts my main power switch for my amps, EQ and Bluetooth (no HU). I just had it water jetted out of alum and covered it with factory vinyl. I did add some HDPE around the bottom and side to thicken it up.

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Instals look good guys,arrpeciate the input. However, I have gotten conflicting reports on how much water exsposure these can take. Spoke to a couple of installers at shops and all say to mount it where it will see as little or no exsposure to water whatsoever. One shop said they have replaced at least 6 in last two years due to water damage, mostly rain issues so I am thinking partial enclosure under dash to keep water from getting down down and into front knobs or on top of unit. Like I mentioned, we have been known to wait out many a rain storm to get great water after it clears out and I don't want to have to buy another one and have system down due to water damage.. If fact, one dealer who is a huge WS told me he has seen a few total system wipeouts due to the EQ fail and voltage spikes to amps and stereo all got fried.

That said, I think I'm going to take my time and come up with something maybe like Kris did in his. Might even look into a fiberglass enclosure with a dome shape that might look nice under there.

On another note, Fman, how in the world is it that your Ipod holder does not get broken in that spot? I don't think mine would last mounted there :)

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If you want to go low budget here is how I did it, it is tucked up tight and out of the way, have never hit my knee on it.... seems to be pretty functional.

What did you use to mount it up that tight?

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Edited by Hentz
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I think your right on about not getting the EQ wet. But lets face it, there is a lot more equipment in, under & next to the dash that can't get wet. Same goes for all the equipment under the passenger side. Protecting one item is not going to get you very far. I have thrown a towel or something over the dash to protect it all.

With my previous boat we used to carry high pressure water filled fire extinguishers, water ballons, a launcher & 2 liter bottles to fill the balloons. Water fights were a riot & we used to do it a lot. But the boat got SOAKED when that happened. I had the stereo in a similar cover as Kris & still lost a stereo or two when they got wet.

Calabria used to make a small Sunbrella cover that looped under the steering wheel & then snapped down over the top of the dash & protected everything, even the stereo in their case. I always thought it was a pretty cool way to get the job done. I wish I could find a picture of one to show off.

Instals look good guys,arrpeciate the input. However, I have gotten conflicting reports on how much water exsposure these can take. Spoke to a couple of installers at shops and all say to mount it where it will see as little or no exsposure to water whatsoever. One shop said they have replaced at least 6 in last two years due to water damage, mostly rain issues so I am thinking partial enclosure under dash to keep water from getting down down and into front knobs or on top of unit. Like I mentioned, we have been known to wait out many a rain storm to get great water after it clears out and I don't want to have to buy another one and have system down due to water damage.. If fact, one dealer who is a huge WS told me he has seen a few total system wipeouts due to the EQ fail and voltage spikes to amps and stereo all got fried.

That said, I think I'm going to take my time and come up with something maybe like Kris did in his. Might even look into a fiberglass enclosure with a dome shape that might look nice under there.

On another note, Fman, how in the world is it that your Ipod holder does not get broken in that spot? I don't think mine would last mounted there :)

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Bill you are right there. Are you saying you would not worry about water on the EQ? I have been ouit there fabing a box (cardboard) around the flip up shield assy I bought and it just seems it will keep most everything out. I set it back a little so if water runs down dash it would not drip onto the EQ but should if anything hit the splash shield and drip down from there. If I mount it from the side into the carpeted wall and support it from above somehow it should work. Not super crazy about it being there but my gut tells me to go the extra mile with it. My steering assy gets in the way with just about any scenerio I put in there so... just trying to do it right but not overkill it either. Do you think the box Kris built looks okay? I have mixed feelings now that I have put the fab set up in there,tried diff angles ect... just don't know if I like it alot. With the flip up cover ya gotta reach into the box some to get to knobs, ify on that as well. Decisions, decisions.....

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I'm saying that protecting the EQ is fine. But it's not enough. If the stereo gets wet, you run the risk of having the same result. If the gauges get wet, they fog up or stop working altogether. If the switches get wet they corrode & have connection issues. I'm certainly not saying don't protect the EQ. And Kris's looks fine.

I have mine mounted on the right side with no cover & it's never been wet (gave up water fights with this boat). The only time I've ever been at risk is if it rained when we were out camping. I have always put the boat cover on. Or put up the bimini. Or throw a towel over the dash. It's these times that I thought the Calabria dash cover would come in handy.

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Thanks Ronnie but I looked at that one and another brand Dual today, not so good quality and door flips up. Poorly made to say the least. But thanks tho.

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That is the extreme but I have seen them mounted in Malibus before. :whistle:

I remember a few on here mounting their systems in the glovebox to stay dry.

A couple of years ago down river we had several Malibus all surfing in the same area. We had two boats lose their HU's after getting surf waves over the windshield. They both had their HUs under the flip up arm rest. I expect if they had EQs mounted open on the dash they would have lost them too.

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Dang, that had to be some wicked wave action. I see alot of you guys have them "exposed", open front to see rain ect... No issues? Kinda makes me want to go with the nice faceplate shown above and try to mount it under dash but back far enough that the water can't drip onto it. Like I said, we rarely run away from the rain, we throw a tarp over the tower, chill till it stops then we get all the glass cause everyone else went in. So after past experience with some stereo failures,I'm trying to get this right....I think :dontknow:

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I live on the lake. Rarely more than 10 mins from the house in the boat. If it rains I go home and put it in a covered slip. Don't like to be the tallest thing on the lake when it's lightening... :whistle:

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I have mine mounted in the same place Hentz has his mounted, and I've seen many installs done that way. No issues so far here and I can tell you I won't be losing any sleep over it getting wet. I got caught in one of the worst thunderstorms I've ever seen last year over the 4th of July in DC (big whitecaps and 80+mph gusts recorded at the airport 2 miles from us). Literally stuck on the river with a boat full of people. You know it's bad when a boat full of active adults start to hand out life jackets, and there's a 25 year old curled in a ball on the floor behind you crying, scared for her ilfe as we circle under a bridge. My boat got soaked, but my 420 didn't get wet at all. It probably didn't hurt I was trying to keep the boat facing the wind/rain/waves. Had we been docked with no time to cover the boat, I probably would've thrown a towel over the steering wheel. Either way, even after having a soaked boat, I'm not worried about my 420 getting wet in it's current location.

In my last boat, I mounted my 420 in the battery compartment (underside of the glove-box). I painted a piece of finished plywood black and glued it to the underside of the glove-box, then screwed the 420 into that. Realistically if you have an ipod or head unit, you shouldn't be adjusting the 420 all that often anyhow. In this case, the microphone could still reach the drivers seat and I liked the fact that nobody could try to re-tune my system.

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If I was going to fabricate something from scratch I might do or at least consider the following.

Full enclosures are bulky.

A cover really has to recede into the enclosure rather than flip up or down so again that is bulky.

If you get caught by surprise by a roller with the cover open there is no guarantee of protection.

You would want the EQ set back from the face of the dash a bit, fairly tight up under the dash and still very accessable.

The adjustment pots accessed from the top of the chassis are typically a vulnerable point of water entry. So you would make sure they are sealed.

You would mount the EQ underdash to a flat HDPE panel that would provide a full overhead shield for the EQ and extend enough at the rear to provide mounting for cable strain reliefs.

You could create a permanent and partial turn down at and in front of the face of the EQ that would act as a drip rail extension to stop the flow of water. It might only cover the top one-quarter or one-third of the controls to provide protection while still having full functionality. You know what the controls do so you don't need to see 100 percent of the nomenclature.

Or, a thinner smoked acrylic or solid black ABS shield could fold up against the HDPE panel front overhang and just behind a protruding drip rail with a delicate piano hinge and magnetic latches. The parts of this mechanism wouldn't have to show. You could also do a nice but limited dimension cosmetic trim panel along the sides and below with no top to provide for the folding shield.

All of this could be done in a very compact structure, provide decent water protection and for the most part have a normal appearance.

David

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If you guys are seeing enough water at the dash to kill an eq I think you have a lot bigger issues to worry about. Take a look at all the fancy screens, mux switches rocker switches etc. They aren't sealed. If the eq goes dead I'd be more worried about getting home.

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I haven't hit a knee on mine nor has anyone else that has driven the boat. I wanted something where the cover retracted into the housing and didn't stick out when opened. The EQ is a lot smaller (thinner) than the opening in the face plate and if I would have taken a bit more time I could have included a nice storage compartment above or below the EQ. I just made a face plate to mount the EQ in the center because it was easier. I mounted the EQ in the housing far enough forward that the knobs are very easy to access, the housing doesn't hinder the knobs. I wanted it in the left of the steering wheel so it would be easy to access when not driving or for passengers while driving. My son drives a lot so I like being able to access the EQ from the passenger seat. We have been out in the rain many times and had no issues with water in the EQ. I have to say some of these other options look a lot cooler. There was a thread a while back that had an amazing carbon fiber mount.

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Thanks alot for all the input and pics guys. I have fabed mount plates and the flip cover box from cardboard and we are debating all options,looks ect...

Dave, you are on the same wavelength as we are. We came up with idea like you mentioned to cause any water from rain that may drip from running down dash to run down under steering wheel via a bead of silicone strip onn edge so won't have to woory bout water dripping onto EQ. We like the EQ up under dash some and ahve fabed some mounts to keep it reachable so looks like we are ready to cut some stuff today and hope to get in mounted and hooked up this weekend. (Have a few other projects and visitors so can't use up all my time on this project today) I will take some pics and post up results. Again, sincerly appreciate all the input.

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