O Connector for Earth Wire

[Final Maxim]

anyone got a link to where i can buy a large O connecter to go on the end of my earth cable for my amp? i want it running to a seatbelt mount but instead of wrapping bare wire around the bolt i want to put the wire into a connecter then slot the O onto the bolt and bolt it down, but i dunno the name for it.

also what amp fuse should i use for the live cable? 30? 60?

cheers

 

[Gary-Clio]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_nkw=earth+crimp
have a look on that page mate and i have used a 30 amp one for years with no problems

 

[sbridgey]

I think you will get the O-ring from a trade/DIY place like screwfix.

For the fuse what wattage does your amp do? RMS that is.

 

[Final Maxim]

500rms amp

cheers for link

need one of these but £3? f**k that! i can buy a full amp wiring kit for £8! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Earth-Rin...46?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item20c2e39086

ill keep it bare wired til i stumble across one lol

 

[sbridgey]

I think you will need a 50 AMP fuse, I am no electrician though. My working out is 500w / 12v = 41.6 amps.

 

[Gary-Clio]

i know but was just to show you what they were named lol..

 

[Dink]

what size is your earth cable? and how big do you need the hole?

also your fuse should match your cable size (the fuse protects the cable and not the amp)

 

[Final Maxim]

i just hooked something up on the fly as i just wanted to test it was all working ok, which it was, so i was using some speaker cable for the earth, so im just gonna keep that i think, its semi thick stuff, 8 gauge i think.

i bought one of these http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/alpine-swr1223d.html in a custom enclosure (needs carpeting)

and one of these http://www.motorspeed.com/Fli-1000m...-Amp-For-Powering-Su/cat/1/sub/3/product/3740

got them both for £70 which i think was alright

just gotta find someway of mounting my amp now as my sub enclosure barely fits in, nearly touching my parcel shelf. and on one side of the sub is my battery, so think im gonna have to mount it on the other side unless i move the speaker terminals and drill new holes, which i dont really wanna do

also, is there a guide somewhere on how to tune your system? as atm, my sub sounded good, but my front speakers were distorting. i tried messing with the headunit but cant find any balance/front/rear stuff in the menu's?

 

[Dink]

i doubt very much it's 8 gauge if its speaker cable

it should be the same size as your positive cable

 

[Dink]

also if that's the exact model you have your going to have issues

as the amp and sub are not a good match

 

[Final Maxim]

what kind of issues?

 

[dave_rudabar]

what size is your earth cable? and how big do you need the hole?

also your fuse should match your cable size (the fuse protects the cable and not the amp)

That is incorrect advice.

The power cable must be rated higher than the amplifier requires, but the fuse should be matched as close to the amp's maximum requirement.
In this case, the fuse then protects both cable & amplifier together.


To the OP - you won't have 8AWG speaker cable, it'd be about 8mm[SUP]2[/SUP]. CSA - which would be huge...

 

[sbridgey]

That is incorrect advice.

The power cable must be rated higher than the amplifier requires, but the fuse should be matched as close to the amp's maximum requirement.
In this case, the fuse then protects both cable & amplifier together.


To the OP - you won't have 8AWG speaker cable, it'd be about 8mm[SUP]2[/SUP]. CSA - which would be huge...

Apparently he is an electrician according to his profile anyway...


I have just wired an amp into my brothers van, I believe we used 9 gauge cable, which is almost as thick as 8 gauge.

 

[Final Maxim]

oh right, no idea where i got 8gauge from then haha

can you shed some light on why the sub would encounter problems with amp?

its a dual 2ohm sub, so am i right in thinking it would run only at 250rms? or would it run the full 500rms at 2ohms?

im a complete novice and no idea what any of that means btw

 

[Dink]

i didn't give bad advice at all

the fuse is there to protect the cable and that's it. the fuse is not anywhere near fast enough to protect any amp

he didn't ask for power cable size as he already has this and was looking for a fuse for it.

also 8 awg is basically 10mm2 and not really that big

yeah dual 2 ohm is going to give you either 1 or 4 ohms. so yeah only 250wRMS out of the amp

 

[Final Maxim]

so would be best to get a new amp eventually thats 500rms 4ohm? or am i right in thinking its better to go for a slightly more powerful amp and turn it down slightly?

any cheap amp reccomendations? just single channel

 

[Dink]

yeah it might be an idea to look for an amp that is able to take a 1 ohm load with an output above 750wRMS

depends on what you call cheap tbh

caraudiosecurity do ex-demo amps so have a browse there for a deal

 

[Final Maxim]

http://caraudiosecurity.com/shop/product/products_id/7456.html

£190, ouch

1200rms though so i could turn it down a bit. just reading up on forums and watching youtube vids and these subs happily push 1000rms? do manufacturers label them under powered then?

i think ill run my 250rms one til it either blows up or i stumble accross a better one for a cheaper price

 

[Final Maxim]

wouldnt this suffice? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-Face...6?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item564a0ac19e

or one of these? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SOUNDSTOR...3?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item3cbb586a11

looking for something under £150(max)

 

[Dink]

lol i paid £500 second hand for my jl amp many moons ago :clown:

yeah you can set the gain lower so it doesn't output quite so much

most speakers will take more than their rated power as long as it's a clean signal.

just be careful with your current amp and not ask too much from it at 4 ohms as it wont be the bit that dies.

 

[Dink]

the second one might work but never heard of the company so i'd steer clear imho

 

[Final Maxim]

jesus, haha

alright.

next question.

on the back of the amp, i got;

a switch that says bass boost and 3 settings (its on the left setting atm but i dunno what the settings are as they are scratched off, except middle one which says 13db (i think))

a dial SUBSONIC 16hz-80hz (currently set at 1/4 turn)

a dial PHASE 0 degrees - 180 degrees which is set to 0 degrees (off)

a dial LPF 25hz - 250hz (currently set at 1/4 turn)

a dial GAIN MIN - MAX (currently set at a 1/4 turn)


what should i set these at? i have no idea what ANY of them mean.

 

[Dink]

do you know what the port tuning frequency is of your box? as the subsonic should be set just below that

phase should be set so it sounds best i.e in phase with the rest of the speakers

LPF. a good place to start is always 80Hz and go from there

Gain. it's the one that needs to be right.

for gain what i do (might be right might be wrong) is

temporary disconnect sub

get a song you like to listen to but needs to be loud (i.e not quite compared to other songs at same volume on head unit)

set head unit up how you like it to sound(imho as flat as possible with a hpf on the speakers) then turn it up until the speakers start to distort then turn it down 2 (i.e from 24 down to 22)

then reconnect sub with the amp set with above settings but gain on min

then turn head unit on and turn it up to where you had it after you turned it down 2

then SLOWLY turn up the gain until the sub starts to distort then nudge the gain down until it goes and then a little more

and that is a basic way of how to set it up imho

 

[Final Maxim]

awesome, cheers mate

and no idea of port tuning frequency. its a custom made box made to alpine spec

lastly, box needs carpeting. would i just buy the stuff on a roll and glue it with spray adhesive or is there another glue thats better?

 

[Dink]

ah well it could be anything then lol

the carpet it just for looks so whatever to glue it on with what ever works