Globecar Modifications

[Blue Knight]

Not sure - we only have a little 6m one!

I've got a feeling Karen that the 600 and 640 are exactly the same layout until you reach the rear new area.

I've see the pics of the Summit 600 which is currently on sale at SMC and I honestly can't see any differences between the two vans.

 

[Blue Knight]

Hi John @Neckender

Nicky has her finger hovering over the purchase button for a Necvox ANT-536 Digital FreeView TV Aerial but may I ask how it works please; i.e. do you simply attach it to the roof and then plug the supplied cable into the back of the Avtex or is there more to it.

TIA,

Andrew

 

[Neckender]

@Blue Knight as you say above it comes with a pretty long cable and I’ve shortened mine but this voids the warranty.
Since I posted about this aerial there has been the odd place that we’ve had no reception and the flying saucer fitted by SMC has worked somewhat.
Other times the Necvox has worked far better than the flying saucer, on our other Motorhomes the roof aerial with the telescopic arm never failed but this means drilling a fair hole through the roof.

John.

 

[Blue Knight]

@Blue Knight as you say above it comes with a pretty long cable and I’ve shortened mine but this voids the warranty.
Since I posted about this aerial there has been the odd place that we’ve had no reception and the flying saucer fitted by SMC has worked somewhat.
Other times the Necvox has worked far better than the flying saucer, on our other Motorhomes the roof aerial with the telescopic arm never failed but this means drilling a fair hole through the roof.

John.

Thanks John, our other MoHo aerials have always been successful, like you say, so I'll have a think of how we are going to crack this one.

That said, the aerial is only £38 so I suppose it's worth a punt.

Thanks again,

Andrew

(We'll take a selection of DVDs just in case )

 

[gerry mcg]

i have an avtex STH3000 aeriel but i find it a bit of a faff (the sucker keeps falling off) and tricky to align. how reliable / easy is the Necvox antennae in relation to the Avtex one? any experience

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Neckender]

i have an avtex STH3000 aeriel but i find it a bit of a faff (the sucker keeps falling off) and tricky to align. how reliable / easy is the Necvox antennae in relation to the Avtex one? any experience

Hi Gerry the Necovox is magnetic and I just open the roof light and stick it on the roof and the magnet is quite powerful.

John.

 

[gerry mcg]

Hi Gerry the Necovox is magnetic and I just open the roof light and stick it on the roof and the magnet is quite powerful.

John.

And how is it for picking up TV signal? The Avtex one needs to be aligned with the transmitter ( and horizontal or vertical polarisation aligned)

 

[Wombles]

And how is it for picking up TV signal? The Avtex one needs to be aligned with the transmitter ( and horizontal or vertical polarisation aligned)

We had the Avtex one & changed to Necvox aerial as smaller to store & when tried it picked up as many stations as the Avtex so quite impressed so far

 

[Blue Knight]

We had the Avtex one & changed to Necvox aerial as smaller to store & when tried it picked up as many stations as the Avtex so quite impressed so far

Do you keep the aerial permantly on the roof Karen or do you store it in the van and position it when you arrive at your site.

 

[Neckender]

store it in the van and position it when you arrive at your site.

@Blue Knight as above.

John.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Wombles]

Do you keep the aerial permantly on the roof Karen or do you store it in the van and position it when you arrive at your site.

Stores easily in one of the cupboards then will just use it as & when but usually too busy on rallies & meets to watch much tv!

 

[Blue Knight]

I've now put the extra electronic bits in the cab albeit I have four more wires to connect behind the dash for the 2nd CCTV screen and the CB.

I've hardwired the Satnav to the lower front screen and the Tyrepal is immediately to the front of the Sat (Note: The Tyrepal lead is hard wired but it's not always connected to the unit as it's only for charging when the battery is low - in accordance with the destructions).

I've also moved the USB to the left side of the dash and have replaced the 12v socket with an extendable CB mic. The 12v socket is now behind the cup holder plastic panel.

The bottom pic shows the VB dials, 2 x CCTV screens, Tyrepal unit, Sat nav, dashcam and Thunderpole CB.

I still haven't fitted the 5th and 6th PIR camera units but I'll do that when it's a wee bit warmer, perhaps June

That's all the mods for today.

Andrew

 

[Blue Knight]

I wouldn't call it a huge aerial ..........

 

[Blue Knight]

@Neckender

John, I placed the aerial on the front of the van, just above the windscreen, and using a cheap Logik TV I managed to get 120 DTV channels and 40 x radio. I'm really pleased with that.

A good recommendation by you and we only paid £35 delivered after Nicky submitted a cheeky eBay offer.

 

[CamperSue]

While we're talking technology, what wifi system do you folks use? 4G has improved immensely up in the Highlands but once we get inside and close the blinds, we lose much of the signal on our phones. I am considering a mobile broadband device with sim card that i will use to broadcast wifi inside the van. I am sure that i will also need an external antenna so am considering a magnetic one which I would use like the tv antenna discussed - on the roof while parked up with cable coming inside via the roof vent.
Any recommendations/warnings for a device and antenna?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Neckender]

@CamperSue this is what I use, I’ve even kicked Virgin in touch and use the same at home.
Bought from motorhome WiFi, and I buy a separate 3G sim.

John.

4G Window Antenna, MiFi & Mag Mount

£ 179.99

 

[CamperSue]

@CamperSue this is what I use, I’ve even kicked Virgin in touch and use the same at home.
Bought from motorhome WiFi, and I buy a separate 3G sim.

John.

4G Window Antenna, MiFi & Mag Mount

£ 179.99

Thanks @Neckender , I am off to have a look.

 

[CamperSue]

Was wiring in some led light strips (pics later after I have tidied up the mess). Interesting that when I opened the 12V junction box in the cupboard above the dining table, there were a number of extra cables. The white cable is the power bar below the cabinet for the spotlight and one or two of the incoming lines is the original overhead light above the dining table. I had solar installed by the dealer but I didn't think anything would need to feed in here.

Any ideas about what the other wires are - and what could use the green wires ? ​

 

[Neckender]

On ours Sue the browns were neutral and the blues are live, I took the green wires for earths but I’m not sure.

John,

 

[CamperSue]

On ours Sue the browns were neutral and the blues are live, I took the green wires for earths but I’m not sure.

John,

John,
Yes, I figured out the brown and blue - funnily they wired the 12V power bar the other way, but it doesn't matter anyway.
That makes sense for the green wires since we use green/yellow for earth. I'm a electrics newbie but did wire up some things to the junction boxes in the bedroom cupboards and I don't recall seeing any green wires. So are they just using this a box as a convenient place to put a ground for future use ?

Note to self:
Must find a Electrics for Dummies book instead of asking so many stupid questions on public forums.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Blue Knight]

@CamperSue

Hi Sue, I don't know your system layout as mine is the H-line but IMO you should test the green line first using a voltmeter as it may turn out to be a secondary power line.

 

[Blue Knight]

Sue, make sure that you test the wires in different power conditions:

1. When the ignition is off and the hab system is off.
2. Hab system on and ignition off.
3. Ignition on and hab off.

You will then be able to ascertain which of the wires is permanent live and which is the auxiliary power and under what conditions it goes live.

........this is assuming that it's a second power line.

Good luck,

Andrew

 

[CamperSue]

Thanks Andrew,
Tomorrow's challenge will be to master the multimeter.

 

[Blue Knight]

I sealed the gap in the upper windscreen today. It looks like a factory fitted part so I'm happy with the result.

I also took the opportunity to lag the pipework under the van using 4m of 22mm pipe lagging. (I used this for the windscreen too by cutting two seperate 1m x 13mm strips).

The pipe diameter is actually 28mm but I used 22mm lagging pipe so that the very top of the pipe remains uncovered. If the pipes were to freeze (unlikely) then full lagging would help retain the cold in the pipes hence the reason why I've kept the top surface uncovered; i.e. for defrosting purposes.

One more job ticked off.

 

[Blue Knight]

Thanks Andrew,
Tomorrow's challenge will be to master the multimeter.

Any luck with the green wire

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[CazPaul]

I sealed the gap in the upper windscreen today. It looks like a factory fitted part so I'm happy with the result.

I also took the opportunity to lag the pipework under the van using 4m of 22mm pipe lagging. (I used this for the windscreen too by cutting two seperate 1m x 13mm strips).

The pipe diameter is actually 28mm but I used 22mm lagging pipe so that the very top of the pipe remains uncovered. If the pipes were to freeze (unlikely) then full lagging would help retain the cold in the pipes hence the reason why I've kept the top surface uncovered; i.e. for defrosting purposes.

One more job ticked off.

View attachment 274113

View attachment 274114

View attachment 274115

I am surprised there are that many exposed water pipes underneath Andrew, on a Globecar.

 

[CamperSue]

Any luck with the green wire

Got distracted today making my internal silver screens. The 12V inline on/off switch arrived today so will get back to electrics in the next few days.

 

[Neckender]

I am surprised there are that many exposed water pipes underneath Andrew, on a Globecar.

I think Andrew has lagged his waste pipes as there’s no other pipework under our Campscout or any other model as far as I’m aware.

John.

 

[Blue Knight]

I am surprised there are that many exposed water pipes underneath Andrew, on a Globecar.

I quite like it to be honest Paul as if something goes wrong then I can replace them in 5-minutes. I've insulated anything which enters the van just to give it an extra level of protection.

That said, all of the supply lines are sandwiched in the double floor so it's just the waste water pipes that are external to the van. I'm going to add some winterised panels to the waste tank but only to the sides and to the ground-side.

Its a nice van to work on and the internal water pipes are really easy to inspect and replace if needed (unlike some vans which are really crappy to repair when something goes wonky with the water lines).

When are you getting your PVC

 

[Blue Knight]

I think Andrew has lagged his waste pipes as there’s no other pipework under our Campscout or any other model as far as I’m aware.

John.

It's becoming ever more apparent John just how many differences exist between the D-Line and H-Line factory models.

The H-line models could almost be a totally different brand of van if it wasn't for the name on the back door.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}