wiring for amp

[Lafitte]

Can I run wire from truck battery(Ram 2500 diesel ) directly to RM KL203P ? OR --Can I use the cigarette lighter plug to run amp ? New to all this --last cb was in 1970's.
Many more questions to come.

[MDYoungblood]

I would not use the cigarette lighter plug for an amplifier, always best to run a wire from the battery positive with a fuse somewhere inline before going through the firewall, negative wire can be inside to a good ground position. I like to ground the case of the amp as well.

3's

Greg

[Lafitte]

Thanks for the reply MDY

[MDYoungblood]

I like going larger on wire runs, here is a chart that might help,

The fuse at the battery should only be a size larger than the one at the amp so if the amp has a 10A fuse then use a 15A at the battery.

3's

Greg

[Lafitte]

Good news
Found a cb shop that can modify Uniden 980 to work with RL KM203P
Will travel there (71 mi) when i get amp next week.
Thanks for the tips on wiring. Have wired truck already.
Got to talk with a couple people today , so my setup works.
To be continued .......

[jessejamesdallas]

Agree with MDY...never try and run a Amp off the cigarette lighter plug...always go straight to the battery.

[Lafitte]

OK
Got the wiring ran with inline fuse and SAE connector.
Now waiting on amp to be delivered and then a trip to CB shop for a de-tune.
Set SWR today with wilson 1000 --- all good.
Power on unit logged about 3 watts . Can I use like this or take to radio shop ?

[MDYoungblood]

The radio is probably only aligned at 3w +/- out of the box, the meter is not that accurate either,10%+/-. Your 980 is not a powerhouse, swing might go up to 10+w if no one had fingers in it. To me I would say run it that way and skip the de-tuning. That little 203 you might see 65w RMS on 3w, remember it is not a powerhouse either.

3's

Greg

[Bozo]

I would not use the cigarette lighter plug for an amplifier, always best to run a wire from the battery positive with a fuse somewhere inline before going through the firewall, negative wire can be inside to a good ground position. I like to ground the case of the amp as well.

3's

Greg

Agreed... If you ground inside the vehicle... Make sure it's grounded to the frame of the truck. Usually you can find a good ground under the door jam. Make sure to ground to frame. That small of amp can also ground directly to the battery also.

Just my 2 cents

[Lafitte]

Thanks for all the info !
That will save me 150 miles on my truck !

[jessejamesdallas]

Never been a fan of "de-tuning" ANYTHING!

Just make sure your SWR is LOW, and let'er swing.

[gunner121]

See what the amp is keying up at for a carrier. That will tell you if you need a lower carrier. You don't want that amp keying more than 20 watts.

[Lafitte]

Help !
May have screwed up . Ran set up for a few days with the trx/ant leads switched on back of amp. Radio still receives and amp lights up. Is either screwed up? Cant get any traffic to respond way out here in the country.

[MDYoungblood]

Help !
May have screwed up . Ran set up for a few days with the trx/ant leads switched on back of amp. Radio still receives and amp lights up. Is either screwed up? Cant get any traffic to respond way out here in the country.

Hooking the coaxes up backwards might have blown out the keying circuit/relay, the pre-amp is a separate circuit from the amplifier itself. Only way to tell is with a watt meter.

3's

Greg

[Lafitte]

OK, Thanks
Will order another short coax to hookup all at once. Just have the one between radio and amp.

[jessejamesdallas]

OK, Thanks
Will order another short coax to hookup all at once. Just have the one between radio and amp.

Well...if that little RM KL203P is toast, just chunk it and buy another one...See them all the time on the auction site around 60 bucks (+shipping)) Probably cost more than that to send it off and have it repaired...

[Lafitte]

Yes , you're right
Hope it tests out after amazon delivers cable.....
We'll see ...

[Lafitte]

Hooked up meter,
And got a full reading on AM. Full upper scale in 100w position
Got a message received about 10 miles on AM /ch 19.(using amp).
However meter won't register on USB/LSB .
???

[Lost Ram]

You need to talk into the mic to get a reading on the meter in SSB. Tests without audio need to be done in AM, FM, or CW.

[Lafitte]

Thanks LostRam !
What I don't know would fill a bucket !