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On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 14:28:57 -0700, Keyboard In The Wilderness wrote:
I looked up my lighter circuit and it is 8 amps -- so 8 x 12 = 96 Watts -- at 50% or so efficiency -- should handle a 45 watt radio -- but that is pushing it to say nothing of stray noise that may be introduced and a possible voltage drop. Also the cigarette lighter may go thru the ignition switching. That was my thinking. As a note, I was just talking to a buddy of mine with an Excursion. His "lighter plug" is actually labeled "accessory plug" and had a 20A fuse in it from the factory. That tool replaced it with a 30A fuse so he could run his inverter rated at 25A. We won't discuss that call any further. Somehow on all my cars I find a grommet that lets me get thru the firewall without drilling. That's good to know. I'll have to poke around a bit more and see what I can find in my 2002 Impala. I did have real good luck this afternoon on my '97 Silverado 2500. The previous owner had already run 12g through the firewall, so I had a hole to work with. I rewired it primarily because I wasn't sure what he had done - it was a bit confusing. Anyway, on the Silverado there are two "taps" - basically large studs - along side of the fuse box. Each stud is hot and fused right in the box with a 30A fuse. I made up a couple of cables and ran these right into the cab using the existing hole. Found a good ground spot right on the firewall, so it's nice and short as well! Both cables are about 5' in length. Of course while these studs look stock (the fuse box cover actually is molded to fit right over them) they might not be, so if you happen to have a Silverado and don't see these studs don't blame me! I'm sure the Impala won't be quite as easy. -- John LeMay kc2kth Senior Technical Manager NJMC | http://www.njmc.com | Phone 732-557-4848 Specializing in Microsoft and Unix based solutions |
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 14:50:52 -0700, Keyboard In The Wilderness wrote:
Just looked up the current draw of an ICOM IC-2100H -- tis 12 Amperes on 50W transmit. Their IC- V8000 draws 15 Amperes at 75 Watts transmit. I wouldn't connect either of these radios to the cigarette lighter plug. I looked at my Yaesu 5100. It has 12A fuses, but my power supply reports it's only drawing about 6A on "high". My Diamond meter reports it's only putting out about 20W on high on 2M, and a bit less on 70cm. Obviously both of these numbers are suspect since I haven't had either device calibrated, but I think I'm safe in this case. Now when my new Yaesu 8800 gets here next week I'll have another data point to check both the power supply and power meter against. -- John LeMay kc2kth Senior Technical Manager NJMC | http://www.njmc.com | Phone 732-557-4848 Specializing in Microsoft and Unix based solutions |
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 14:50:52 -0700, Keyboard In The Wilderness wrote:
Just looked up the current draw of an ICOM IC-2100H -- tis 12 Amperes on 50W transmit. Their IC- V8000 draws 15 Amperes at 75 Watts transmit. I wouldn't connect either of these radios to the cigarette lighter plug. I looked at my Yaesu 5100. It has 12A fuses, but my power supply reports it's only drawing about 6A on "high". My Diamond meter reports it's only putting out about 20W on high on 2M, and a bit less on 70cm. Obviously both of these numbers are suspect since I haven't had either device calibrated, but I think I'm safe in this case. Now when my new Yaesu 8800 gets here next week I'll have another data point to check both the power supply and power meter against. -- John LeMay kc2kth Senior Technical Manager NJMC | http://www.njmc.com | Phone 732-557-4848 Specializing in Microsoft and Unix based solutions |
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 18:13:44 -0400, John LeMay
wrote: On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 14:28:57 -0700, Keyboard In The Wilderness wrote: Somehow on all my cars I find a grommet that lets me get thru the firewall without drilling. That's good to know. I'll have to poke around a bit more and see what I can find in my 2002 Impala. I did have real good luck this afternoon on my '97 Silverado 2500. The previous owner had already run 12g through the firewall, so I had a hole to work with. I rewired it primarily because I wasn't sure what he had done - it was a bit confusing. Car stereo places and installers are sometimes a good resource for this sort of thing, as they need the same type of feedthrough. Happy trails, Gary (net.yogi.bear) ------------------------------------------------ at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom |
On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 18:13:44 -0400, John LeMay
wrote: On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 14:28:57 -0700, Keyboard In The Wilderness wrote: Somehow on all my cars I find a grommet that lets me get thru the firewall without drilling. That's good to know. I'll have to poke around a bit more and see what I can find in my 2002 Impala. I did have real good luck this afternoon on my '97 Silverado 2500. The previous owner had already run 12g through the firewall, so I had a hole to work with. I rewired it primarily because I wasn't sure what he had done - it was a bit confusing. Car stereo places and installers are sometimes a good resource for this sort of thing, as they need the same type of feedthrough. Happy trails, Gary (net.yogi.bear) ------------------------------------------------ at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom |
John,
Well, I use a Power Station (12vdc battery pack) in my car. I mounted my Yaesu FT-1500M to it, put the charging cord into the cigarette lighter, and it works fine. Plus, I can remove the battery pack and rig within 60 seconds for theft deterence. I run the rig up to 50 watts out but generally at 25. 73s, Evan |
John,
Well, I use a Power Station (12vdc battery pack) in my car. I mounted my Yaesu FT-1500M to it, put the charging cord into the cigarette lighter, and it works fine. Plus, I can remove the battery pack and rig within 60 seconds for theft deterence. I run the rig up to 50 watts out but generally at 25. 73s, Evan |
Somehow on all my cars I find a grommet that lets me get thru the firewall without drilling. One choice I've resorted to on a number of installations in sedans is to locate where the major cable bundle on the driver's side firewall goes through. It is usually embedded in a very large rubber seal. I usually can take a sharp flat bladed screwdriver and poke a hold in this rubber, being careful not to hit the cables in the center bundle. Poking a #14 black and red wires through this new slot is not difficult and usually provides adequate power from the battery to most dash mounted radios and other equipment. Ed |
Somehow on all my cars I find a grommet that lets me get thru the firewall without drilling. One choice I've resorted to on a number of installations in sedans is to locate where the major cable bundle on the driver's side firewall goes through. It is usually embedded in a very large rubber seal. I usually can take a sharp flat bladed screwdriver and poke a hold in this rubber, being careful not to hit the cables in the center bundle. Poking a #14 black and red wires through this new slot is not difficult and usually provides adequate power from the battery to most dash mounted radios and other equipment. Ed |
I wonder how one might be able to use a 1-3 farad capacitor to operate a 100
watt HF radio with better regulation and higher average current on SSB.. The big audio amps use this technique effectively. "Keyboard In The Wilderness" wrote in message news:nhL%a.4824$S_.966@fed1read01... John FYI -- from a recommended book: Mobile power. It is tempting to use the cigarette lighter plug for 12 Volts to power the mobile radio and this may work for low power units, but it is always best to run two heavy gage wires through the firewall and directly to the battery via fuses in both lines. Don't use the chassis as a ground return, ground loop problems and noise pickup may occur, run both + and - lines to the battery. FM mobile transceivers with 50 W of output power can draw up to 10-12 Amperes of current at 12 Volts. Most cigarette lighter plugs cannot handle these high currents. Operating a 50 W mobile transceiver from the cigarette lighter plug may cause permanent damage to vehicle's electrical system, and can also be a fire hazard. You can probably operate a 6 W handheld transceiver from the cigarette lighter plug, but not a higher wattage radio. ============================================ "John LeMay" wrote in message ... I recently purchased a used rig and along with it came a nice cigar lighter adapter that terminated in two "lugs" with screw on caps for attaching the power cable of the rig. There is no cord on this adapter itself. Anyone know where I can find a couple more of these? They seem ideal for running moderate powered mobile rigs ( 50W ). thanks! -- John LeMay kc2kth Senior Technical Manager NJMC | http://www.njmc.com | Phone 732-557-4848 Specializing in Microsoft and Unix based solutions |
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