Specifications

GENERAL INSTALLATIONPROCEDURE
1
SystemDesign
Thesuccessofanycarstereosystemreliesonseveralfactors,suchasthesystemdesign,executionoftheinstallation,andsystemsetup.Please
rememberthatanysystemisonlyasgoodasitsweakestlink.
Pleaserememberthathigherpowersystemsarenotnecessarilyusefulpurelyforhighsoundpressurelevels,butalsotoestablishaheadroomcapability,to
reproducemusicalpeakscleanlywithoutdistortion.Lowerpoweramplifierswillclipearlierthantheirmorepowerfulcousins,andcauseloudspeakerfailurewhen
overdriven,duetotheharmonicsgeneratedbyaclippedsignal,thusoverheatingvoicecoils.
Amplifiersshouldbemountedwiththefinsrunninghorizontallyforbestconvectioncooling,tominimizeoverheating.PurchasethebestqualityRCA cablesyoucan
afford,forreliabilityandlessenginenoiseinterferenceintheaudiosystem.
General:
Powerandgroundconnections :
TIP:
Safeconnectionsequence:
Powerupthesystem:
RunthewiringsothatRCA cablesareatleast18“ awayfrompowerandspeakercables.KeepRCA cablesawayfromelectricaldevicesinthevehiclethatcancause
electricalnoise,suchaselectricfuelpumps,emissioncontrolmodulesandotheron-boardelectronicmodules.
UseasufficientgaugepowercableandgroundcableusingthechartbelowasreferencetowhatsizewireyourequireMostamplifiersrequireatleast4gaugepower
wire.Inamultiamplifiersystem,addthetotalvalueofthemanufacturerecommendedfusingtogetyourtotalsystemamperage.Someapplicationsmayrequire
multiplerunsofpowerwiretomeetthesystemrequirements.Inmultiamplifiersystemsitisadvisabletomountalargeenoughfuserightatthebattery,andrunone
ormultiple+12voltpowercablestoafuseddistributionblockneartheamplifiers.Itisthenasimplemattertoconnectthe+12voltterminalofeachamplifiertothe
distributionblock.Duringthisprocess,pleaseensurethatthemainpowerfuseisremovedtoavoidshortingtheelectricalsystem. Themainfusemustbewithin12” of
thevehiclesbattery.
Groundeachamplifierwithasshortagroundleadaspossibledirectlytothevehiclechassisusingatleast4gaugewireorequivalenttothesizeoftheamplifiers’
powerwire.Useagrounddistributionblock,ifyouwish,butitisextremelyimportanttokeepthemaingroundleadfromthisdistributionblocktothechassisasshort
aspossible,notmorethan12“. Thegroundconnectionintegritytothechassisisveryimportant,andthebestwaytoachieveagood,solidelectricalandmechanical
contactistousealargeroundcrimplug,crimpedandsolderedtothegroundcable. Thenextstepistoscrapethepaintoffthevehiclechassis,slightlylargerthan
thegroundlug,attheconnectionpoint.Drillaclearanceholeinthechassis,thesamesizeasthelughole,anduseabolt,springwasherandnuttosecurelyfasten
thegroundlug.Usepetroleumjellytocoatthebolt/lugconnection,topreventoxidizationwithtime.
Usethesameapproachwheninstallingheadunits,equalizersoranyaudioequipmentforthatmatter-runshortindividualgroundsfromeachpiecedirectlyto
thevehiclechassis,tominimizegroundloopsandsystemnoise. Allpower,groundandspeakerconnectionsshouldbecrimpedandsolderedforreliability.Makesure
thatnoneofthecableinsulationcanchafeagainstexposedmetalinthevehicle,causingshortcircuitstothechassis.
Afterallcablesarerun,connectspeakerwirestothespeakersandamplifiers,thenrunandpluginRCA cables.Next,connectallpower,ground,andremoteturnon
leads.Nowconnectall+12voltcablestotheamplifier/sanddistributionblocksandfuseholders.Finally,connectthemain+12voltcabletothebattery,withthemain
fuseremoved,andwearealmostreadytopowerupthesystem.
Thefollowingproceduremayseemlikeoverkill,butthereisnothingmorefrustratingwhenturningonasystemforthefirsttime,anditdoesnotworkproperly
immediately.
First,makesuretheheadunitisoff,andturnalllevelcontrolstominimum(counterclockwise),includingtheheadunitvolumecontrol.Setallequalizersto0dB(no
boost),andallcrossoverfrequencycontrolsatapproximatefrequencies,asrecommendedbytheloudspeakermanufacturer.Setallinputselectorandcrossover
switchesasrequiredfortheapplication.Removeallamplifierfuses,andinsertthemainfuseatthebattery.Ifthefusedoesnotblow,youcaninsertthefuseinoneof
theamplifiers,andwearereadytoturnonthesystem. Turntheheaduniton,insertaCD,orselectaradiostation,andincreasetheheadunitvolumecontrol.Ifthe
systemsoundsfine,turnofftheheadunit,andinstallfusesintheremainingamplifiers,onebyone,tillthecompletesystemispoweredupandfunctioningproperly.
(seethefeaturesmatrixonpage7forpropergaugecablesperamplifier)
NOTE:ThisMatrixisageneralrule
ofthumb.Pleaserefertothe
manufacturersspecific
requirements.Specifications
canbefoundonpage7.
7-10ft. 10-13ft. 13-16ft.
16-19ft. 19-22ft. 22-28ft.
SYSTEM
AMPERAGE
35-50
50-65
68-85
85-105
105-125
125-150
8
6
4
4
4
2
6
4
4
2
2
0
4
4
2
2
0
0
4
4
2
2
0
0
4
4
2
2
0
0
4
2
0
0
0
0
WIRELENGTH
WIREGAUGE
Installation
WOOD
ItishighlyrecommendedthattheamplifierbemountedtoaboardofMDForothersolid
structureusingthe4mountingscrewsprovided. Avoidmountingthe
amplifiertometalasthiscanintroducenoiseandotherunwantedissues.Whenmounting
theamplifier,ensurethatitismountedHORIZONTALLY,asshowninthediagramabove,for
optimalheatdissipation.Mountingamplifierstospeakerenclosuresisnotrecommendedas
thiscancausedamagetotheamplifiercomponents.Whenchoosingalocationfor
mountingtheamplifier,ensurethatyoucheckforclearancefromwires,gastank,electrical
devicesandbrakelinesetc.