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Amp wire upgrade diy?

Limeybastard

Limeybastard

Active Member
May 29, 2017
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Shady Hills Massive, FL.
Anyone have a diy or how to for upgrading the texas star 500v power cords? I would like to fuse delete and use some 8 AWG welding cables I currently have .

Would a 80W chisel type soldering iron suit or would a solder gun be better?

Cheers.
 

Best way is to install a disconnect from the amps pigtail to the main power cable. Use Anderson power poles like the ones on your RCI2970N4. It's always good and convenient to have a quick disconnect near the amp/radio.

A 150/300 watt solder gun will heat the connectors and wire faster. Just fill the connectors with solder and slip the pre-tinned wire inside. I always solder electrical connectors because they can be reused as opposed to crimps.

These are the SB120 Series. They come in a kit with connectors for wire gauges 2, 4, and 6 but 8 will work fine if you solder them. These will handle 120 amps.
sb120-sb-series-120-amp-anderson-powerpole-kit_580.jpg
 
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fourstringburn said:
Best way is to install a disconnect from the amps pigtail to the main power cable. Use Anderson power poles like the ones on your RCI2970N4. It's always good and convenient to have a quick disconnect near the amp/radio.

A 150/300 watt solder gun will heat the connectors and wire faster. Just fill the connectors with solder and slip the pre-tinned wire inside. I always solder electrical connectors because they can be reused as opposed to crimps.

These are the SB120 Series. They come in a kit with connectors for wire gauges 2, 4, and 6 but 8 will work fine if you solder them. These will handle 120 amps.
sb120-sb-series-120-amp-anderson-powerpole-kit_580.jpg
Click to expand...

Hello Dear Fourstringburn, I hope you are having a great evening, cheers for that information. I think I will use the 8 AWG welding cable I have left over for the DX500V cord upgrade. I already made a nice ( to me ) quick disconnect for the 2970N4.

So would like advice on how to remove the existing chinsy 10 AWG on the DX500V and perhaps also bypass the dual glass fuses . Ill buy some sb50 black andersons. I think this is the one I used for the 2970N4 which it also came with. My concern is how much wattage is required to solder 8awg to the board on the amp? Im thinking 80W weller with chisel tip should be fine? I just dont want too much heat to damage pcb.

cheers,

Heres the one I made for the RCI.
 
fourstringburn said:
I have trouble sometimes with your English. What is "fuse delete" ?
Click to expand...

When I was researching, I came across some posts by a forum administrator, I forgot what his or her name was. But he mentioned its best to remove the dual fuse holders on the current revision of Texas Star amps. Since the spring loaded mechanism on them melts due to them being only rated at 15amps. So I figured , since I would like to upgrade the 10 AWG power cord to 8 AWG, I might as well also by pass the fuses. And use a fuse inline instead.
 
There is nothing wrong with a short piece of 10 gauge wire on the back of the amp. It was intended to have a disconnect or fuse attached to it, then you can run the necessary gauge on the other end. 10 gauge wire at short distances can run quite a bit of current. 10 gauge is rated at 100 amps at less than 3 ft. although that seems a bit of a stretch.

That is a lot of de-soldering to remove the stock power cables. So is it really necessary? An 80 watt gun and some solder wick or a desoldering tool will work but it is tedious and time consuming work.

Your RCI connector looks great. That's what I would do with your Texas star. Leave the pigtail and use the power poles on this amp. Those glass bubble fuses actually use the better glass fuse types, use them. I'm sure someone will argue my next statement which seems to be the norm, Your fuses should be at the end of the power cable near the power source. They don't really protect your amp Per Se, they protect the line from excessive power surge which can overheat the wire insulation and cause a fire.
 
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Limeybastard said:
When I was researching, I came across some posts by a forum administrator, I forgot what his or her name was. But he mentioned its best to remove the dual fuse holders on the current revision of Texas Star amps. Since the spring loaded mechanism on them melts due to them being only rated at 15amps. So I figured , since I would like to upgrade the 10 AWG power cord to 8 AWG, I might as well also by pass the fuses. And use a fuse inline instead.
Click to expand...
I agree, I heard that before. I was thinking your amp was similar to my TS 250 which just had a pigtail an in-line 30 amp fuse.Your thinking right...carry on!
 
Yeah I looked up the TS500 and that doesn't look like difficult job. Your 80 watt gun will be suffice. Sorry for any confusion. Here is a pic of the amp fuses bypassed.I would still stick with the 10 gauge pigtail.

modified-dx500.jpg
 
fourstringburn said:
There is nothing wrong with a short piece of 10 gauge wire on the back of the amp. It was intended to have a disconnect or fuse attached to it, then you can run the necessary gauge on the other end. 10 gauge wire at short distances can run quite a bit of current. 10 gauge is rated at 100 amps at less than 3 ft. although that seems a bit of a stretch.

That is a lot of de-soldering to remove the stock power cables. So is it really necessary? An 80 watt gun and some solder wick or a desoldering tool will work but it is tedious and time consuming work.

Your RCI connector looks great. That's what I would do with your Texas star. Leave the pigtail and use the power poles on this amp. Those glass bubble fuses actually use the better glass fuse types, use them. I'm sure someone will argue my next statement which seems to be the norm, Your fuses should be at the end of the power cable near the power source. They don't really protect your amp Per Se, they protect the line from excessive power surge which can overheat the wire insulation and cause a fire.
Click to expand...

You know what? I am with you on this one. Id rather not do anything if possible. But the 10AWG that is supplied is so short, I think about 6 inches? LOL
Perhaps I fell for the hype about power cord upgrade and fuse delete on the Texas Star improving it.

Temporarily, I extended the dx500v power cord using 8 awg. I needed some length to allow me to connect it to my 75a psu.

I was led to believe that fuses inline should be in one and/or two locations. One near the battery if the device is mobile,and also one near the radio to protect radio.

With this in mind, since Im connecting the the texas star to my psu as a home base, I was thinking perhaps having one inline fuse close to the amp only and bypass the glass fuses like some do.
 
I wouldn't bother with doing this. It Is for the guys that need to get every last watt out of an amplifier to be happy.

If you do this mod use a big fat soldering iron with a lot of mass. A big wide heavy duty tip is the most important thing. Even though the guns may be 100 watts or more the tip is just a flimsy piece of wire and does not have enough thermal mass for this kind of work.
 
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543_Dallas said:
I wouldn't bother with doing this. It Is for the guys that need to get every last watt out of an amplifier to be happy.

If you do this mod use a big fat soldering iron with a lot of mass. A big wide heavy duty tip is the most important thing. Even though the guns may be 100 watts or more the tip is just a flimsy piece of wire and does not have enough thermal mass for this kind of work.
Click to expand...

Cheers
 
That "that need to get every last watt out of an amplifier to be happy." thingy is a loosing proposition from the word go. Typically, if an amplifier is designed half-way right, the size of the power supply cable is the last thing that needs to be worried about. the devices inside that amplifier will give out before the power line gets hot. Wanna do it? So do it.
 
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Paul-W5lz said:
That "that need to get every last watt out of an amplifier to be happy." thingy is a loosing proposition from the word go. Typically, if an amplifier is designed half-way right, the size of the power supply cable is the last thing that needs to be worried about. the devices inside that amplifier will give out before the power line gets hot. Wanna do it? So do it.
Click to expand...

Im leaving it alone, in regards to changing the power cords. All I did was add 2ft of 8awg to the existing cord.

Cheers guys
 
Limeybastard said:
Anyone have a diy or how to for upgrading the texas star 500v power cords? I would like to fuse delete and use some 8 AWG welding cables I currently have .

Would a 80W chisel type soldering iron suit or would a solder gun be better?

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Here is my 8 gauge power wire upgrade with the fuse holders deleted. I used Marine grade fine strand cable ....... I also used a Craftsman 150 watt soldering gun ..... I have done about a dozen Texas Star 500's and about 6 Texas Star 350's this same way.... I then install a 75 amp Anderson Powerpole connector on the end.
I installed a MAXI FUSE holder in the positive power wire about 8 ~ 10 inches outside the chassis using a 60 amp MAXI FUSE in the TS 500, and a 30 ~ 40 amp in the 350's........
I like these Texas Star amplifiers. I have repaired several of them in the last couple of years. And I have communicated with Mike Hawkins, the Texas Star guru mechanic, and learned a lot from him.
 

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Ranch55 said:
Here is my 8 gauge power wire upgrade with the fuse holders deleted. I used Marine grade fine strand cable ....... I also used a Craftsman 150 watt soldering gun ..... I have done about a dozen Texas Star 500's and about 6 Texas Star 350's this same way.... I then install a 75 amp Anderson Powerpole connector on the end.
I installed a MAXI FUSE holder in the positive power wire about 8 ~ 10 inches outside the chassis using a 60 amp MAXI FUSE in the TS 500, and a 30 ~ 40 amp in the 350's........
I like these Texas Star amplifiers. I have repaired several of them in the last couple of years. And I have communicated with Mike Hawkins, the Texas Star guru mechanic, and learned a lot from him.
Click to expand...

Cheers. Did they ever mention why they used 10awg cord?
I currently extended the existing 10 gauge via soldering and heatshrink to 2 feet of regular stranded 8 awg.
I noticed you also upgraded the internal power cables also. My amp is currently set to pep at 400W tops . the current draw doesnt seem high either last i recall was about upper 20s to 30 amps at 13.9V.

Can you please explain the TS modulation meter and what it means? All i know is that its not good for the needle to hit past 10. Cheers
 

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