Help needed for a BIG mobile setup

[Outta_Kontrol]

OK guys here's what I want to do , what or how will I need to do it .

I have a Galaxy DX99
Texas Start 500
191 Chevy pickup

I want to install a MF-1000
Transistors: 10 X 2SC2879
Amp Draw (max): 200
Driver required: MF-200 or MF-240 (optional)
Driven Power (RMS): 1000 Watts
Driven Power (PEP): 2000 Watts
Dimensions: H 5 1/4" X L 14 1/4" X W 13 1/2"


Would my radio run this amp ?

I don't fully understand the Driven power statement , do I need 1000w amp to drive this MF-1000 amp ?

What about power source , another alt and batery ?

What kind of antenna ?

[linx]

Maybe I can help a little. That MF-1000 is a great amp. I would keep the radio as it's a good radio, but sell the Texas Star. The amp you are wanting to buy does not have a driver built in. The radio by itself is not enough power to power the amp. I'd sell the Texas Star, and buy a nice little 1x2 or strait 2 pill and drive the MF-1000 with that. The Texas Star would be too much drive into the MF-1000 and you'd not only sound like crap, but you'd kill the MF-1000. The most watts that radio will do is probably around 45-50w whereas the 1x2 would probably top out around 350-400w PEP. The cool thing about the driver is you can just run the driver by itself, then when you need it, you can flip on the big amp and drop the maul!

As far as power, the best method is to get a secondary alternator. That amp alone is going to have a surge of up to 200amps, and probably near 100amps constant power drain. You could upgrade your existing alternator, but the advantage of a secondary alternator is the ability to turn the voltage up on the secondary without damaging any other electronics in your truck, or the trucks wiring system. On newer cars, it would also kill the computer system. Adding batteries always helps, but batteries alone won't help in your situation. So, it's going to cost a bit to buy a secondary alternator, a voltage regulator, and a bracket.

Lastly, you asked what kind of antenna. My personal favorite, and the favorite among the majority of CBRT is the Predator 10k. It will handle the power you are wanting to throw at it. You can hard mount it, or mag mount it. Hard mounting it with a power puck is the best way to do it, but mag mounting is the easier way of doing it.

[drdx]

Good info Linx. You could low drive that 500, but most would just do a 1x2 or whatever and be done. Now, let's hear about the BIG part, it sounds like you have the drivers sorted out. Oh wait, you're probably not in Tx. -drdx

[Outta_Kontrol]

Ok the Galaxy 99 will work .

TS 500 won't work , why ? Becasue of the issues with using the variable part of the amp ? I can't set it at the correct wattage to drive the MF-1000 ?

I have a monkey made laying around would that antenna be as equal as the antenna you posted linx ?

If I install a 200 amp powermaster alt in my truck with 2 cca Interstate batteries would that do the trick for me combined wiith the 200 amp alt as a secondary alt ?

Thanx for the input so far Linx

[drdx]

I can say that I use a tx star to drive my big box and it sounds good, but I'm a little odd that way. On your alternator deal, I know you asked linx, but I'd run the vehicle, radio, and driver amp on the main alternator and run the 10 pill on the 200 amp one alone. The 2nd one, of course, will be on its own circuit and have its own battery(s). If you're really wanting to maximize it, get an external regulator for the extra alternator so you can run the voltage up a little, and have a 12/6 or a 2x8v battery setup to handle it. -drdx

[Outta_Kontrol]

Ok i'll pedal the TS amp and get a small driver .

drdx I don't understand what you mean by this ,

If you're really wanting to maximize it, get an external regulator for the extra alternator so you can run the voltage up a little, and have a 12/6 or a 2x8v battery setup to handle it.

Could you please xcuse my ignorance and explain a little more in depth . Thanx

[rayray1963]

What he is saying is that Class C amp can be over volt-ed to 20 volts to produce more watts. It won't last as long but you can "Basically" double your output, 16 volts seem to be a good place to run more volts through one, you would use the external voltage regulator to adjust the volts to the amps.

The battery setup he is talking about is a 12 volt battey plus 6 volt battery = 18 volts and could be turned down via the regulator to less, or 2 batteries at 8 volts = 16 volts. Hope that helps.

Ray

[drdx]

Thanks Rayray, yeah, what he said. You can increase the voltage when you run a class c amp (think non tx star, they are ab amps) and increase power within limits. Tx Star amps don't like being overvolted, so run your tx star on the vehicle's stock voltage and if you feel brave, run your 10 pill on a higher voltage setup. If I were you, don't worry about the voltage topic and get it running, then step into that later if you like. Some never do the volting deal, I never have, but it is always on the drawing board with me as something down the road maybe. Running the tx star as a driver is fine, just watch the amperage you're putting into that 10 pill, I think that's what linx was meaning. Both will work and some would argue that the tx star may put a cleaner signal into you bigger amp, so don't get in a hurry to sell the tx star. Why not try the tx star out first, then sell it if it doesn't give you the right results? If that big amp takes up to 400w drive, that's about what the 500 will do with average drive levels on am.

I don't know about others, but I like having a big driver that I keep cranked back. That way, if your big box croaks, you still have a good amount of wattage, in the form of that driver cranked up, that you can run so you're not in the mud while the big box is at the shop. Hopefully that never happens, but I like to be prepared. -drdx

[Outta_Kontrol]

Ok i'm getting it about the batteries and voltage issue . So a 200 amp alt and a good high cca battery on it's own circuit would be fine for the 10 pill and use the system I have in the truck now to drive the TS amp and support the trucks system , correct ?

I'm not to concerned in overvolting the 10 pill unless what I put together does'nt drop the maul then it's back to the drawing board

[wegarrett]

personally my opinion....

if your going to run that 99v into a amp.....
I would (notice i would) sell the TS get me a DaveMade, Fatboy, whathavya
i prefer DaveMade myself 2x8 2 pill section being 2879's and you dont have to worry
about 2 diffrent amps in your truck, or you could sell all your stuff and get a 8 pill
and a 3 pill, combined with a PC68 and slap em hard......I actually have a DaveMade 12
pill im looking to sell just because its too big for my power supply for the home base
wanting to sell it and get me a AC base amp....amp is jamming man,with a 1x2 driver
you'll see 13-1400bird rms out with a 1x4 driver and the 12 on 17 volts you'll get
1750 bird rms thats 4935 bird pep watts...... $825 shipped and she is yours

[jessejamesdallas]

Geeeeeee......

That Texas Star would make a great driver for a 10-pill. I run basically the same driver (4x2879) into my 8-pill, and see close to 2000w. With that 10-pill you should see more like 2200w's, using that 99...

But. Your going to need one of two things to make it work.

Either a second alternator, or a 200w Motor Maul, and a couple more battery's minimum.

If you go the second alternator route, then use your 200 amp alternator just to power the 10-pill, and have two or three battery's just for the 10-pill.

Your driver amp (the TS 500) and the radio would both be wire to the trucks electrical system, like it is now. Which would leave the 10-pill with its own electrical system (the second alternator)
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OR. Get a 200amp Motor Maul and two battery's.(go this route, and you can use just the alternator you have now, to power everything)

A 200 amp alternator will just barley have enough juice to run a 10-pill, but you should be OK...In other words, you wouldn't really be able to go any larger, unless you up-grade to a larger alternator, or add a third.

If the TS 500 you have is a variable, then all you would have to do, is adjust the power on the TS till you have about a 200-300w DK, when the 10-pill is turned on. (You could probably even go with a 400w DK, and be OK. That would most likely be with the TS turned all the way up)

I have been running this set-up in my Suburban for over 5 years, with no problem...
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[Outta_Kontrol]

Jesse thanx for the helpful info , you think I should go with a little bigger alt than a 200 amp ? I wanna run the 10 pill at it's max from time to time without a major meltdown . Did you fab up a bracket to hold your second alt or purchase one from somewhere ? How big are your batteries and are you running the 8 pill volted ot straight 12 v ?

[jessejamesdallas]

Jesse thanx for the helpful info , you think I should go with a little bigger alt than a 200 amp ? I wanna run the 10 pill at it's max from time to time without a major meltdown . Did you fab up a bracket to hold your second alt or purchase one from somewhere ? How big are your batteries and are you running the 8 pill volted ot straight 12 v ?

A 10 pill needs right @ 200amps to run it. So your fine with a 200 amp alt. (a 12-pill needs if I remember correctly needs 220amps)

On my Suburban, Both of those alternators are rated @ 200 amp's. But really, the main amp that runs the truck I could have gotten away with the stock alt, but since I already had the 200, I used it anyway.

All I did, was bolt just one side of the factory alt to its mounting bracket, then tilted the thing up...Then the second alternator, (the one on the right side of the pic) has the mounting holes located @ 12 O'Clock, and 6 O'Clock, so a I bolted down the bottom to the factory bracket, and used a short piece of metal on the top to secure the two alt's together.

I also had to add a pulley for the belt to go around, where the factory alt mounts to the bracket...also needed a longer belt...

There are two battery's under the hood because that was from a different set-up I was running once, but really now, only the one is all I need, but figured since I already had the sucker in there, may as well leave it!

I have a battery box in the back of the burb with 3 battery's in it, just for the 8 pill. (could probably have got away with just 2...but again, I already had 3! so why not use them!) :D

Now in the past, I have tried a 16v set-up, and a 18v set-up, but kept having problems with the voltage regulators wanting to let the alternators charge too high...So now I just have everything on a 12v set-up, and charging around 14.3v's...

14v system seems to me to be allot more stable, and If I just want more Power, then I just go with Bigger Box's but stay @ 14v's...Right now thou, with the set-up I have now, I could probably get away with moving up to a 12 pill, but a 16 pill would require either adding another alternator, or finding one that puts out 320 amps...(which would be Mega $$$)
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