Welcome This page will be dedicated to those who need a lil help in getting those Big mobile rigs to PUNCH out the watts they are looking for!!
The first step in getting the watts that your looking for is to make sure that you have enough amperage or (FIRE) to develop your goal point.
Current is very important in the fact that volts x amps = watts
therefore without the proper fire you will never achieve your goal point. One of the most over looked things ive noticed people do wrong in their install is to twist the wires together between the amp and the source THIS IS BAD!!So dont do it. First of all it is not possible to get a good firm connection between the two points or I should say a proper connection that is. Depending on the size of wire that you are using this can be done properly two ways one is with the right size wire nut for the smaller gauges and to use a split bolt connector for the other larger sizes
this is a copper device commonly found at your local electrical supply store or hardware store if your not sure what they are just ask for them by name im sure that one of the sales people in the department will surely know.The reason this is so important is the current that is passed between these points is what will be feeding your amp remember what you are trying to accomplish and this should become clear as a bell to you that you must deliver as much to the amp as possible. Not always an easy job to do. First of all DC has a bad loss problem when its must travel a good long distance such as sometimes 20 feet or so in some vehicles ive seen people run the wire all around many different ways to finally reach the point of destination witch is a very bad mistake to make. I guess they thought that this was pretty or some thing well maybe to them it was but,this will rob you of many precious amps along the way do to the fact that distance will greatly reduce the amount of current that finally winds up at the end of the line. NOW that we have that out of the way it should be obvious to you that the best route is the SHORTEST path possible OK,using the proper gauge of wire for the job.
Now ..Wire the type of wire that you use is equally important in the fact that stranded wire will carry much more and deliever current a lot better than solid wire when using DC or battery power.A good example of this would be welding cable maybe 4 gauge or so depending on what your running.I recomend at least 4 gauge or larger for any amp over the size of a 4 pill usually the next step is 8 pills or more but,this is not important as long as you have enough pathway for your fire to make it home you will get a better result out of the install.By the way the more strands in the wire the better. Ive found that usally the local stereo shops carry this type of wire if you want the nice looking stuff that is color coded,(red and black)However if you are carful about things and want to save a little money go get some welding cable and a handful of the proper sized copper lugs this will be to your benefit in the long run!
CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR LINEAR AMPLIFIER
CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR LINEAR AMPLIFIER
1. Make sure your antenna will handle the rated power of your amp. This means no 'through the glass, cellular look alikes' or $5.00 special antennas!
2. A three foot patch cord usually works best between the radio and amp. If you use another length it may affect your swr at the radio. If a longer patch is needed use a length such as 6ft/9ft/12ft/15ft
3. You must have an SWR reading of 1.5 or less with the amp off.
Of course lower is better!Check it!!
4. IMPORTANT! Use large enough wire for your power leads, and connect them directly to the battery. Red wire to the positive post and Black wire to the negative post. Another fuse at the battery is recommended. Use a fuse of the same value as supplied with the amp. For keydown amps the use of a fuse will cause some amperage loss.
5. Do not overdrive the amplifier, they are designed for 4watts AM deadkey and 12 watts peak power, but will sound much cleaner with a little less input. Amps with the High Drive (HD) designation are rated for 10 watts in, but actually sound cleanest if you run 7 watts or less.
AMPS UP TO 100 WATTS... USE #12 AWG WIRE FOR POWER LEADS.
020-100 watts use #12 awg wire
100-250 watts use # 10 awg wire
250-350 watts use # 8 awg wire
400-500 watts use # 6 awg wire
500-650 watts use #4 awg wire
We recommend RG-8X coax cable or larger with soldered connectors, crimp type connectors have a tendency to fail and could cause you amp an early death.
Be sure you allow room around your amp for air circulation, without sufficient circulation for cooling. excessive heat will destroy the amp!
I f your SWR is low, and under normal operating conditions you will get years of service from your amp. Amplifiers will commonly cause interference on phones and televisions when run on a base station. So it is recommended that you install a low pass TVI filter if interference becomes a problem.
