Idea for hooking up radio in the truck. Need advice.

[falkor923]

8113 - have you tried giving the Chevy a few more RPM while keying? Many alternators make a fraction of rated output at idle.

 

[Robb]

Must you depend on using an amp?
Not much sport in that; like shooting fish in a barrel.

Or is it?

 

[8113 Northern MN]

In my local area ....yes. As I said earlier I live in a mining area. There are hundreds of literal mountains of pure iron ore rock and silica tailings with high concentration of metal ALL around me for 50+ miles. This creates extremely bad conditions when trying to talk locally on the CB when in the Mobile. At home I dont have to depend on an AMP nearly as much because of the height of my base antenna. When mobile though its a whole nother beast.

 

[Robb]

Then; why choose an antenna that is so-so - at best?

That 5/8 wave claim they made is bunk.

 

[falkor923]

With the firestik and the Palomar Star IV (500 watt?)

(4) 1446 Transistors IIRC ....Should NOT be pulling your truck that hard. And it is a wonderful amp for your intended use! 1446 is rated 70W.

 

[binrat]

You are driving a chevy?? what year????

 

[falkor923]

You are driving a chevy?? what year????

07 trailblazer

 

[8113 Northern MN]

Hmm, Yea i havent been inside the amp to see what transistors it uses. I just know I bought it advertised as a 500 watt maximum amp with Low Medium and High Settings. I occasionally run it at the 500 Watt mark when skip is super good and I wanna get on top of the east coasters in my way with contacting Europe lol. But in the vehicle Ive been running it on Low at around 200 Watts max and am seeing the severe dimming.

Robb, again, i chose this so-so antenna because it was available locally....was tuned out of the box and was relatively cheap. I dont wanna spend a lot on my mobile setup because I dont spend enough time mobile to justify the spending of more then the $29.99 I spent on this antenna lol.

binrat..yes i drive a 2007 Chevy trailblazer.

 

[Robb]

The SD1446 transistor @ 13.8v will produce about 75w/ea, and with four the amp will produce 300w. If you are seeing more than that; then you are definitely over driving them and anything above that 300w mark are merely watts that add distortion.

My whole point about the antenna is that it should be the first consideration and not the last one. Have you ever heard operators say: ". . . I'd rather have a $30 radio and a $100 antenna than a $100 radio and a $30 antenna."

Hey; I was a newbie at one time and had to learn all of this stuff - too . . .

 

[falkor923]

But in the vehicle Ive been running it on Low at around 200 Watts max and am seeing the severe dimming.

It'll swing 500 depending on drive- and meter used to measure lol...and when you key with no modulation, check to see if its dimming severely or just with audio. Also, this amp should only be pulling 35-45A peak....No way it should be killing the TB system unless there is another issue, like a tired battery or maybe not fully charged. If you are playing that stereo hard and running headlights, it's possible the battery could be soft even though you were driving.
Again- is all this dimming happening at idle or highway driving? If at idle, give it some steady rpm while keying to see if its better at higher rpm.

 

[8113 Northern MN]

Falkor, When i key up there is no dimming. Only when I start to talk into the mic. I NEVER run the stereo and the CB at the same time and in fact if I have the CB in the truck with me I disconnect the stereo system to connect the CB setup. My Trailblazer does in fact have headlights on at all times. I do however (when i remember) turn them off during the day.

Maybe ill bring my battery in tomorrow to see if its time for a new one. Its a few years old now and our winters are brutal on batteries.

 

[Robb]

OBTW - Each 1446 transistor needs no more than 5w/ea for proper driving. Soooo, 20w/peak for a 4 pill amp would be needed for a proper drive level. If your radio is exceeding 20w into the amp under any condition; then do not wonder why it is distorting. Doesn't matter if they are AM swing watts or SSB watts . . .

 

[binrat]

I have the 4foot Firestick going into a heavy duty mag mount with a spring between the mag and the antenna. Is there really that much of a difference between the Wilson and a Firestik?

Ok, now we know more about your set-up.
I would start with:
1 - ditching the firestik and get a trucker antenna (Wilson or Sirio) and ditch the spring.
2 - 8 gauge wire from your alternator to your battery.
3 - if your battery is done, super size it. tell the store what your plan is as well.
4 - cut back on your output on the radio while mobile when using the amp.

 

[8113 Northern MN]

Im wondering if Robb is reading another post and then replying to this one??

Anyway, Binrat: Gonna have the battery and alternator checked today. Also gonna check all ground wires to see if something is perhaps loose or not connected properly or maybe even corroded. Again, Im not gonna replace the antenna solely because I rarely use the mobile and dont wanna justify to the boss (wife) why I have spent more money on CB gear haha. My whole concern is the dimming of the lights and how I could minimize and/or prevent it.

On a side note....20 Watts is exactly what I am currently driving the AMP with.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

It is possible that the inverter/power supply combination is not able to provide the current necessary to the equipment and is in fact limiting the current because of being undersized for the job. If this is the case do not expect things to last long as overloaded electronics tend to object and sometimes in spectacular fashion.