# Dodge Ram: 2 15's... 8cu ft vented...2600w... oh and a motorized amp rack ;-)



## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Just finished this one. The owner has been a great client of mine for over a decade now. The job went way over budget, but it's all good especially considering he's a veteran and I respect that greatly!

On to the pics!

The owner gave me permission to completely remove the rear seats in favor for some *BIG BASS* I removed the middle sealt belt bracket via drilling so it can be welded back into place if ever needed.







Then it was time to start on the large vented enclosure for the two custom built 15" subs:


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)




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## damonryoung (Mar 23, 2012)

In like Flynn!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

The vents will be loaded out through the bottom of the enclosure.... you'll see in detail later on


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## REGULARCAB (Sep 26, 2013)

Bam! Been a while since ive seen a balls to the wall install like this. Post faster!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Here's the beginnings of the motorized amp rack. I wanted a nice clean look where the actuator and mechanisms would not be visible. This was more of a challenge than I had originally anticipated :blush:


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## chithead (Mar 19, 2008)

Rub a dub subbed


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)




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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)




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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Subscribed since I rock a 2011 Ram CC...


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Thanks guys.... I'll have more pics in the morning. I can barely keep my eye open:worried:


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

BAD


ASS


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## REGULARCAB (Sep 26, 2013)

simplicityinsound said:


> BAD
> 
> 
> ASS


most definitely!


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## win1 (Sep 27, 2008)

Sub'd


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## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

Pics? Pics? We want VIDEO!!!!! Amp rack, Amp rack, amp rack (everyone join me..)..

haha.. looking good, can't wait to see that thing moving!!


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## [email protected] (Nov 7, 2010)

Pics? Pics? We want VIDEO!!!!! Amp rack, Amp rack, amp rack (everyone join me..)..

haha.. looking good, can't wait to see that thing moving!!


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## phemps (Oct 18, 2013)

This looks like its gonna be sick


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

DDDAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!

Very nice work, Shawn!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> Pics? Pics? We want VIDEO!!!!! Amp rack, Amp rack, amp rack (everyone join me..)..
> 
> haha.. looking good, can't wait to see that thing moving!!


Ha! Thanks! I'll get a video of it for sure. I just couldn't stay awake any longer last night lol.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Niebur3 said:


> DDDAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!
> 
> Very nice work, Shawn!


Thanks Jerry!!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Ok more pics yo!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)




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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Plexi for the led stirps.... This was done 8:00 at night under the light of a single 60w light bulb 10ft over head lol





I love flocking 









Reduce Reuse Recylce


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

I think it's the biggest single piece I've ever wrapped... not much for contours though so it wasn't too bad


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## simplicityinsound (Feb 2, 2007)

do you hibernate in the winter up there? if so, wanna come build stuff in cali?  haha thats lookin great man...and i can see good pre-planning going into it as well. keep going! moar!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Here you can see where the vents are loaded into the floor of the truck.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

simplicityinsound said:


> do you hibernate in the winter up there? if so, wanna come build stuff in cali?  haha thats lookin great man...and i can see good pre-planning going into it as well. keep going! moar!


:laugh::laugh:

Dude... it would be so nice to work with such great installers as you and Joe! Alas, I don't think I'm really cut out for the Cali life style:blush:


The fam and I are moving to Va. in the summer though. Hopefully I can get something rolling down that way. I don't know, we'll see I guess.


Thanks a bunch for the kind words Bing!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

So since I used a single actuator (to try and keep costs down) I knew I had to stabilize the amp rack in some way.

Here was my first attempt, which I "thought" was a pretty nifty idea with using telescoping aluminum tubing. However, in order for it to work porperly the tubes have to line up absolutely perfectly or else it's going to bind up (of course). Well when I installed female tube (inside the rack), I apparently was off with alignment just ever so slightly and it caused the amp rack to bind up during lift  Since the tube was already adheared into place, I was pretty much stuck and I had to scrap the idea. It "would" have been sweet since you would not have seen ANY of the motorized mechanisms for a super clean look. Well there wasn't much I could do about it so in the end I went with the traditional sliding rails and installed them on the back of the amp rack. It worked like a champ and it still isn't bad asthetically since the only way you can see the rails is through the back window which is tinted fairly dark anyway.... so not too bad.

Here's what didn't work lol









And finally, what *DID* work


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Getting down to the final pieces...













Red & White led theme


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Here's a couple pics of the subs I built for him.... Here's the full thread if anyone is interested: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...-rebuilding-some-15-beasts-d.html#post1985766


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Good shot of the down firing port: 



Box bolted down using the stock rear seat mounting threads:


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## reithi (Mar 29, 2012)

Your design creativity and attention to detail are inspiring.

The sub box is a piece of art. Can't wait to see what's up your sleeve with the sub box ports...and of course the remainder of the build.

Keep the photos rolling ?




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Ok so I was extremely pressed for time towardst the end of this build, and I didn't take as many pics as I would have liked so we'll have to pretty much jump right to the finished product:


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)




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## knever3 (Mar 9, 2009)

Wow awesome!


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## robolop (Mar 10, 2008)

Beautiful millwork.
What the motorisation concerned, simple and well.


Awesome cool buld, dude.


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## jayhawkblk (May 29, 2007)

That is serious right there. Let's see the front stage.


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## Kevin K (Feb 11, 2013)

nice work


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## bigbubba (Mar 23, 2011)

Wow Shawn, that looks amazing! Your attention to detail is mind boggling.


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## edouble101 (Dec 9, 2010)

Phenomenal!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Thank you very much guys!!! 

Here are a couple quick vids of the amp rack:


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## Coppertone (Oct 4, 2011)

Excellent work, but you know that already lol.


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## sydmonster (Oct 5, 2009)

so cool.... we don't get to see much motorisation anymore. FKn sweet, plus vinyl, flock, plexi etc,... cool indeed.


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## 69Voltage (Jul 30, 2013)

Wow! Nice work.


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## REGULARCAB (Sep 26, 2013)

I was wondering how you were going to go about the slides. My first though was oooh something will bind. Are those just heavy duty drawer slides you used?

Sick install btw!


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

That is sooooo sweet. It has an old school flair but with new techniques. Absolutely stunning. You Sir do REALLY good work.


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## strong*I*bumpin (Oct 3, 2005)

OMG!….just amazing bro


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## robolop (Mar 10, 2008)




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## IBcivic (Jan 6, 2009)

wow....just wow!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

Thank you Thank you Thank you guys!! 



REGULARCAB said:


> I was wondering how you were going to go about the slides. My first though was oooh something will bind. Are those just heavy duty drawer slides you used?
> 
> Sick install btw!


Not sure if the drawer slides are really "heavy duty" or not. They're just plain jane slides that you can get right at Lowes  The actuator does all the work, and the slides just need to prevent the rack from rocking.



Niebur3 said:


> That is sooooo sweet. It has an old school flair but with new techniques. Absolutely stunning. You Sir do REALLY good work.


Thanks Jerry! 



strong*I*bumpin said:


> OMG!….just amazing bro


HaHa! Thanks buddy!



robolop said:


>


Coming from the guy who has one of the best installs I've ever seen, that means a lot to me 

Thank you sir!


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## fniess3 (Aug 19, 2013)

Like many others said, WOW!

The attention to detail and craftsmanship are absolutely beautiful. I love the Rockford LED plexi, and the use of the RAM symbol. Also, its nice that the fuse block is easily accessible. The tribal RF is not my cup of tea, but the whole build is so beautiful that it is well overshadowed.

Very very nice work!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

fniess3 said:


> Like many others said, WOW!
> 
> The attention to detail and craftsmanship are absolutely beautiful. I love the Rockford LED plexi, and the use of the RAM symbol. Also, its nice that the fuse block is easily accessible. The tribal RF is not my cup of tea, but the whole build is so beautiful that it is well overshadowed.
> 
> Very very nice work!


Thanks a bunch!!


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## bigdwiz (Oct 7, 2010)

Yet another fantastic install! I'm gonna work on getting you Accord video up within the next week. I'll hit you up about it. :thumbsup:


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

bigdwiz said:


> Yet another fantastic install! I'm gonna work on getting you Accord video up within the next week. I'll hit you up about it. :thumbsup:


Thanks buddy!!


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## vwguy383 (Dec 4, 2008)

The installs that I have seen of yours are amazing! Love the mix of old school equipment and some new stuff too! I first saw your wifes RF install and thought that look sweet! So sweet it made me start to look at OS rockford stuff. And I never really cared for it (SS is more my favorite!) 

The big question thought to me is, HOW DID IT SOUND????

Thanks
Justind


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## Chris659 (Sep 23, 2013)

Wow! Looks fantastic! 

Great attention to detail and I know your customer will be extremely happy! I can see why he has been a customer of yours for so long.


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## mr.metoo (Feb 20, 2010)

Love everything about this build, great attention to detail.


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## LBaudio (Jan 9, 2009)

very very nice work, great attention to details, nicely executed


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## Chaos (Oct 27, 2005)

That is very cool.


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## sirbOOm (Jan 24, 2013)

So would you say this is more of an SQ install? 

Nice work!


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## MUGWUMP (Jan 29, 2012)

shawnk said:


> So since I used a single actuator (to try and keep costs down) I knew I had to stabilize the amp rack in some way.
> 
> Here was my first attempt, which I "thought" was a pretty nifty idea with using telescoping aluminum tubing. However, in order for it to work porperly the tubes have to line up absolutely perfectly or else it's going to bind up (of course). Well when I installed female tube (inside the rack), I apparently was off with alignment just ever so slightly and it caused the amp rack to bind up during lift  Since the tube was already adheared into place, I was pretty much stuck and I had to scrap the idea. It "would" have been sweet since you would not have seen ANY of the motorized mechanisms for a super clean look. Well there wasn't much I could do about it so in the end I went with the traditional sliding rails and installed them on the back of the amp rack. It worked like a champ and it still isn't bad asthetically since the only way you can see the rails is through the back window which is tinted fairly dark anyway.... so not too bad.
> 
> ...


Nice!

I was going to suggest using some nice ball bearing drawer slides.

One other thing. Grab a book like this and start thinking out of the box. You can mount that actuator horizontally with a simple pivot hooked up to your original aluminum "guilde rails" or whatever you want to call them.

Amazon.com: 507 Mechanical Movements: Mechanisms and Devices eBook: Henry T. Brown: Kindle Store

I'm sure there's a better book that illustrates simple to complex movements so you don't have to wrap your head around them. Just thumb through the pages to start the wheels turning to find something simple that works.

Guys like Archimedes did all the homework a couple thousand years ago


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

vwguy383 said:


> The installs that I have seen of yours are amazing! Love the mix of old school equipment and some new stuff too! I first saw your wifes RF install and thought that look sweet! So sweet it made me start to look at OS rockford stuff. And I never really cared for it (SS is more my favorite!)
> 
> The big question thought to me is, HOW DID IT SOUND????
> 
> ...


Thanks for the kind words!

I've done some repair work on the old Soundstream amps. They are very nice, high quality gear. 

I grew up in rural Maine, and the nearest car audio dealer (in the nearest city) from me was still nearly an hour away. RF was their signature brand and was "the" brand to have for a "real" system in our area  Unfortunately, there really wasn't anything else to choose from unless you wanted to travel nearly 3 hours for other options  So that's really where my love for RF comes from. It's certainly not because I think they're the best of the best from the old school era. It's really just about nostalgia for me

"HOW DOES IT SOUND???"

Good! Loud, deep, smooth.... It's a lot of cone area right behind your head. It does a great job of shaking you up a bit if you want it to :laugh:

Obviously this isn't an SQ install lol. It's what I like to call a "street slammer". Hey, we've all been there before right!? He just has some Infinity coax's in the doors (for the time being). They keep up surprisingly well with the T6004 on them.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

MUGWUMP said:


> Nice!
> 
> I was going to suggest using some nice ball bearing drawer slides.
> 
> ...




I knew the ball bearing sliders would've worked in the end. I was trying to "think outside the box" at first. I don't mind though. The best way to learn is from your own mistakes imo 

Thanks for the link... I know there are all sorts of funky ways to execute motorization, but in this particular situation I had the room to keep it as simple as possible. Which I really needed to do considering the install was way over budget right from the get go :blush:


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## BlueAc (May 19, 2007)

Nice work... What part of Va are u moving to?


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

BlueAc said:


> Nice work... What part of Va are u moving to?


Thanks..

We're looking from Williamsburg to Chesapeake since I have family in that general area. We've been to and around the Chesapeake area a few times now. We haven't been to Williamsburg yet other than directly to Bush Gardens, but I keep hearing great things about that particular area so it's definitely a possibility.


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## stylngle2003 (Nov 2, 2012)

Very awesome build. I love the flocking job, and the faux-kerfing. are those dowels cut in half?

if you extend your search a few miles east of Wburg to the New Kent area, there are tons of houses available. It doesn't really add any appreciable distance between you and family.

Excited that such a top-notch installer is going to be <an hour away from me!


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## tintbox (Oct 25, 2008)

Killer install.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

stylngle2003 said:


> Very awesome build. I love the flocking job, and the faux-kerfing. are those dowels cut in half?
> 
> if you extend your search a few miles east of Wburg to the New Kent area, there are tons of houses available. It doesn't really add any appreciable distance between you and family.
> 
> Excited that such a top-notch installer is going to be <an hour away from me!


Thank you, and again big thanks to everyone for all of the comments! Much appreciated! 


Thanks for the tip! I'll look into that area as well. We'll have to meet up sometime once the fam and I are all settled in.


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## Datsubishi (Jan 9, 2012)

Always enjoy your builds. Simple, yet complex. If that makes any sense. Awesome work!


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## focused313 (Apr 19, 2012)

There is something so sexy to me about unbranded subwoofers.

The plexi, the box design, the shapes, the leds, the...everything. I love it. I can't afford it, but geeesh I wish I could. Love the motorization. I'd pay guys just to be able to learn stuff like this.


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## mklett33 (Dec 7, 2009)

I hate that step! 

End product turned out awesome! Very cool motorization.


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

focused313 said:


> There is something so sexy to me about unbranded subwoofers.
> 
> The plexi, the box design, the shapes, the leds, the...everything. I love it. I can't afford it, but geeesh I wish I could. Love the motorization. I'd pay guys just to be able to learn stuff like this.



Great!! I'm opening an install school soon!

*HAHAHAHA... yeah right... jk*

Anyway... thanks for the props man


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

mklett33 said:


> I hate that step!
> 
> End product turned out awesome! Very cool motorization.


Yeah?? Personally, it's one of my favorite techniques

Thanks Mark! Keep the videos rolln'


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## liljohn30 (Jan 11, 2012)

what did you do in the front doors,i wanna fiberglass mine but am lackn skillz so i need to find someone to do 2 sets of boston pros in each front door....


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## joshquade (Nov 28, 2013)

Looks awesome man!


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

rad bro 

cant wait for you to move next door...


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

req said:


> rad bro
> 
> cant wait for you to move next door...


Thanks Andy,

We might make a trip down there in February :surprised:


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## The Dude (Mar 24, 2007)

fantastic job!


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## shawnk (Jan 11, 2010)

The Dude said:


> fantastic job!


Thanks "Dude"


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## req (Aug 4, 2007)

shawnk said:


> Thanks Andy,
> 
> We might make a trip down there in February :surprised:


we will have to meet up and watch the movie theater or go out or something!


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## DarrellM1969 (Jul 9, 2017)

Awesome job!!! We need a video to hear it


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

:inout:


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