How best to wire in 12VDC accessories, Like Ham Radio.

[agordon117]

A 5kW 12V AC inverter is pretty big and expensive. The most cost-effective solution may be to have one (or two or 3) lead acid batteries in the truck to have the CCA to run the winch. You can keep them on a trickle charge but need to be really careful about venting them. Aside from the flammability of the gases of the gasses coming out, the corrosive nature over time can be ugly. And these probably need to be classic car batteries, not SLA or others, to be able to get the CCA needed.

I wasn't suggesting getting an inverter, more so that 240V winches would likely have to be used. Which, I realize isn't a thing that exists in this way yet, those are made to be fixed in place in a workshop somewhere. But, with the right kind of mounting plates and length of cable, anything is possible. If the demand is there, one of the offroading winch manufacturers will make it.

There are USB air compressors now and that's what you want to look at. USB-C can put out a fair amount of power. That's what the Cybertruck's charger is expected to be. And of course 120V is available. Just carry a little 3gal compressor and tank with you, so much faster!

The compressor I had in mind draws 26-35A at 12v. That's not in the same universe as usb c at 65w, but would definitely be able to run on 120v if an inverter was used (or it natively ran 120v). This, again, isn't a need that has ever really existed. Where a vehicle has no 12v, but plenty of 120v available. I'm hoping the tesla option has similar power to this one. It takes a lot to fill these big tires even with the ARB twin compressor I'm talking about. But it's also not in the same size class as a 3 gal compressor. It would easily fit under the bed, where a 3 gal compressor is quite large.

For the serious off-roader, I think that I can easily see a vault in the back bed, maybe custom to fit around the spare, to carry things like the batteries and the winch.

Isn't that part of the fun? Making a vehicle your own? There are a number of third-party manufacturers that would probably love to get some ideas of products to make.

Yeah, definitely will be interesting to see what companies start coming up with. Or what people come up with on their own in the meantime due to lack of options at present. I'm definitely no stranger to having to develop things myself due to lack of existing options.

And, to be clear, I'm not knocking the 48v system, it just creates challenges that have to be understood when thinking about adding powered accessories. I probably won't put a winch on my own cybertruck, but maybe some auxiliary lights that don't stick up off of the roof, air compressor, stuff like that.

Sponsored

 

[Seagrave7]

Looks like an RC had both a StarLink Antenna and CB antenna somehow mounted up top.

 

[ideaXfactory]

I'd probably go ahead and use a small 12v gel cell or lithium UTV battery. That would isolate the winch voltage from the truck system and not take much room. My UTV winch setup is like that and it is very powerful.

 

[Crissa]

A 5kW 12V AC inverter is pretty big and expensive. The most cost-effective solution may be to have one (or two or 3) lead acid batteries in the truck to have the CCA to run the winch. You can keep them on a trickle charge but need to be really careful about venting them. Aside from the flammability of the gases of the gasses coming out, the corrosive nature over time can be ugly. And these probably need to be classic car batteries, not SLA or others, to be able to get the CCA needed.

There are pre-built LFP packs that emulate the old lead-acid... And while expensive, their prices crashed over the last year.

If anyone is doing battery 12v anything, I'd say look at drop-in LFP replacements that have integrated BMS.

I swapped my car battery to a Dakota Lithium with integrated BMS, heat blanket, and low/high voltage cutoff and it's worked keen, even when I was up in the deep freeze Portland got this year.

You can get them in lots of sizes, more and more. I swapped out an UPS with one - the added BMS and LFP meant I didn't get a Wh upgrade like my car did, but it should last alot longer than any sealed-lead-acid. UL compliant, even.

-Crissa

PS: And it's always good to have 'backup' systems use their own batteries, anyhow.

 

[tmeyer3]

Currently using this with good success: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CWWM7DS5
Running ham on it now.

 

[Paul Scott]

I've started thinking about the 48V voltage system. I intend to run a 50W mobile Ham Radio in my CT. So now I have some head scratching as to how to do it. For those not familiar with Ham Radio, there are several Radio "Bands" that we use. The long distance guys do HF bands (High Frequency). All the electrical Hash that any EV puts out, will likely make that type of use "iffy" at best. But I would mainly be doing UHF/VHF bands. These can often handle the hash. But the issue for me will be all the radios out there are 12VDC. I see they make Buck Converters that can convert 48VDC to 12VDC. And they are quite cheap. I've seen models that can handle 10A at 12V on the output (120Watts) for $20. But how likely are we to be able to just tap into the 48V wiring? This is something Winches would have to deal with as well.

The other way to do this is to use the USB-C ports inside the cab. I'm surprised they are only 60W. But most Mobile radios are 50Watt. I wonder if we'll be able to find USB-C to 12VDC adapters?

Here is what I came up with.

This plugs in under the dashboard to the OBD port. provides two USB-A connectors for power

XMSJSIY Car OBD USB Charger Power Adapter DC12‑24V Dual USB Charger Socket with Digital Display USB 30W Fast Charging QC2.0 QC3.0 Charger for Vehicles

https://a.co/d/7VkRwAp

A 5" USB cable to get the port up behind the dashboard to hide it.

USB to USB Cable [13cm 5 inch],USB 3.0 Male to Male Type A to Type A Double Sided USB Cord for Data Transfer Compatible for Hard Drive, Laptop, DVD Player, TV, USB 3.0 Hub, Monitor and More

https://a.co/d/9dVLVC4

You could go with a longer USB cable and plug directly into the icoms micro usb port. I am trying to find something similar to the USB Buddy 2 that will convert the USB power to Andreson Power Poles so I can use the 2mm power port to run it.

 

[Woodrick]

Here is what I came up with.

This plugs in under the dashboard to the OBD port. provides two USB-A connectors for power

XMSJSIY Car OBD USB Charger Power Adapter DC12‑24V Dual USB Charger Socket with Digital Display USB 30W Fast Charging QC2.0 QC3.0 Charger for Vehicles

https://a.co/d/7VkRwAp

A 5" USB cable to get the port up behind the dashboard to hide it.

USB to USB Cable [13cm 5 inch],USB 3.0 Male to Male Type A to Type A Double Sided USB Cord for Data Transfer Compatible for Hard Drive, Laptop, DVD Player, TV, USB 3.0 Hub, Monitor and More

https://a.co/d/9dVLVC4

You could go with a longer USB cable and plug directly into the icoms micro usb port. I am trying to find something similar to the USB Buddy 2 that will convert the USB power to Andreson Power Poles so I can use the 2mm power port to run it.

How much power is the ODB port rated for?

 

[Paul Scott]

According to the OBD spec it’s capable out putting about 48 W. The cyber truck may go as high as 72-84 W because I’m reading 14.5 V and the spec says 4 A but I read most can do 6A.

 

[Woodrick]

According to the OBD spec it’s capable out putting about 48 W. The cyber truck may go as high as 72-84 W because I’m reading 14.5 V and the spec says 4 A but I read most can do 6A.

And it appears that your USB adapter is limited to 30W, so high power on most radios (a 25W radio uses more than 25W) is going to be out of reach.

And be careful, when Tesla shuts down a port for over-current, it shuts down and I'm not sure what else may be using that power draw.

Also, many Tesla ports require the power to be removed when the car is shut down. The fact that the radio shuts down when the power is removed usually is not enough, the circuit has to go open.

 

[area51]

Well, if the CT ends up putting out "all the electrical hash that any EV puts out" it's going to affect your 2m rig, too. Not just HF.

The good news is that that old chestnut about EV's being electrically noisy is certainly not true across the board. I can't speak to other vehicles, but my 2022 Model 3 LR AWD is very clean from an RFI perspective. I run a 50-watt VHF/UHF radio in it without any problems.

I expect the CT to be every bit as clean.

As for how to power any 12v devices, a 120v inverter would work.

New to ham radio and studying for a general license. Curious which radio you’re running in your M3 and also interested in the OPs question regarding cybertruck power.

 

[Jager]

New to ham radio and studying for a general license. Curious which radio you’re running in your M3 and also interested in the OPs question regarding cybertruck power.

Good luck with the General ticket. That will open up many additional opportunities for you!

I'm running an Icom ID-5100 as my mobile VHF/UHF rig. Had it in my Model 3 for a couple years, running to a mag mount antenna on the trunk lid. After picking up the Cybertruck last year - and since that's now my primary vehicle - I moved the Icom to the truck. The ID-5100 runs to a Tram Browning through-glass antenna (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AIOHPUA?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1), mounted above the passenger-side rear seat. The rig itself, along with a conventional 12v power supply (plugged into the rear cabin 120v outlet) sits on the floor in the rear, basically up under the front passenger seat. The head unit is mounted to the front of the large console structure up front, and is positioned just under the vehicle display.

I was originally dismissive of how well a through-glass antenna might work, but have found it to be roughly on par with the mag mount. And it certainly solves a bunch of coax routing challenges.

73, Jeff K4EI

 

[area51]

Good luck with the General ticket. That will open up many additional opportunities for you!

I'm running an Icom ID-5100 as my mobile VHF/UHF rig. Had it in my Model 3 for a couple years, running to a mag mount antenna on the trunk lid. After picking up the Cybertruck last year - and since that's now my primary vehicle - I moved the Icom to the truck. The ID-5100 runs to a Tram Browning through-glass antenna (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AIOHPUA?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1), mounted above the passenger-side rear seat. The rig itself, along with a conventional 12v power supply (plugged into the rear cabin 120v outlet) sits on the floor in the rear, basically up under the front passenger seat. The head unit is mounted to the front of the large console structure up front, and is positioned just under the vehicle display.

I was originally dismissive of how well a through-glass antenna might work, but have found it to be roughly on par with the mag mount. And it certainly solves a bunch of coax routing challenges.

73, Jeff K4EI

Awesome. What power supply are you using?

 

[Jager]

Awesome. What power supply are you using?

I'm using a relabeled (and slightly cheaper, but no longer available) version of this:
https://powerwerx.com/ss30dv-deskto...Hlr5IF1Vw8ZwA2Jf0WRccI9DJdU46St91rjiWOuhhG607

Sponsored