Please 'Boom' Responsibly As most of you have noticed, the noise ordinances have become much tougher lately. Most of this is due to idiots, yes IDIOTS, who drive through residential areas with their windows down while their system is playing at full power. To make things worse, the music they listen to has all sorts of foul language that's not suitable for small children, (who may be playing outside). There are even a few people, who are even beyond idiot status, that play their systems at full power through residential areas after 10:00 PM (when many people go to bed). I don't believe that this type of behavior is good for the industry. If the fines get too stiff, people will stop buying large systems. If this happens, more people will get out of car audio (who wants a mediocre system). People get interested in things because they're exciting. A deck and four 6.5" speakers are not going to interest many of the younger car audio enthusiasts. If car audio enthusiasts keep annoying more and more people, the fines will keep getting tougher. All of this will only reduce interest in the equipment that fuels the industry. If you want to listen to your system at full volume, get out on the highway where there's little chance of bothering anyone. When you get to a red light, turn it down. If the only thing attractive about you is your 'system', you have some work to do. Bottom line... Think about what you're doing. Think about other people. It's not the end of the world if you have to turn the volume down for a little while.

Linear Actuators:
Linear actuators are used to move things such as amp racks. They generally consist of a DC motor connected to a screw drive through a set of gears. The screw drive is set inside of a tube which also has screw threads along the inside of the tube. When the motor turns, the screw turns inside the tube and (since the screw is firmly attached to the housing the screw can not move) the tube is moved in or out (depending on the direction of the motor's rotation). To reverse the direction of the actuator, you simply reverse the polarity of the electrical connection on the actuator.

Actuator

Sample Wiring Diagram
This diagram shows a simple wiring diagram that will allow you to manually switch power in either direction of the actuator travel. The switch should be a 'momentary on' type of switch that has a spring to return it to the center 'off' position.

Wiring Diagram

Limit switches:
Some actuators have internal limit switches. These switches will stop the actuator from travelling outside of its design limits. These limit switches will NOT stop the actuator if whatever you're trying to move runs out of room/travel before the actuator reaches its maximum travel. If the moving pieces need to stop before the actuator reaches its limit of travel, you should add some safety/limit switches of your own. If the actuator has no limit switches, the actuator may try to spin the output shaft if it's driven past its design limits. You should always monitor the object(s) being moved when the actuator is activated. When building your system, keep in mind that linear actuators are easily capable of ripping apart amp racks or anything else that isn't properly designed.
Specifications:
Actuators are available in lengths of travel from just an inch or two (like the actuators used for electric locks) to 36 inches or more. They are also available in different voltage ranges but the 12 volt versions are generally used in car audio systems. They are also available in different 'weight' ratings from 50 pounds to more than 500 pounds. The 'weight' rating tells you how much force the actuator can safely produce.
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