Voltage drop/ multiple runs/ actual SPL loss??
 

I have been trying to design our new electrical system. I have some questions about voltage loss etc.

The voltage drop calculator shows that as we are right now, when we try to draw 200 amps from the front battery, we are losing 10.5% of the voltage by the time it hits the rear of the van and the amps.

- What is that equal to when it comes to SPL output? 10.5%??

The calculator does not have an option for adding a second run, I have been just halving the wire run distance to effectively add another run. Will that work properly?

So it says if I have 4 runs of 0/1 awg copper wire the voltage loss is less than 2%

So I guess the real question is....

What will we gain SPL wise ? Losing only < 2% instead of 10.5?

stop using a program to figure this out, that's step #1.

less voltage loss = more spl, but not as much as you think tho.

SPL output is dependant on many more factors than voltage loss.

Your voltage will affect the power output of your amp. An amp will put out more watts at 14V than it will at 12V. So instead, think about the different SPL at different wattage put out by your amp. I highly doubt the correlation will be proportional however.

I tried using my fingers and toes Yuli, all I came up with was half a bottle of jam..
I hear what your saying though, the math only works if you KNOW the numbers for ALL the variables. Thats pretty much impossible mathematically when I know f all about electricity :dunno: I'll get it eventually

LW - That make good sense...
Lets say the numbers are only approx anyhow..
If the Alt/battery can put out 14v under load at the battery, and I lose 1.5 volts through resistance going to the back of the van.
It would be approx. 12.5 at the amp.

So the lose would be whatever the approx. difference in output is between 14 and 12.5 v for each individual amp? Kinda anyhow

Thanks guys..If thats kinda it, I'm good.:thumbsup:



So depending on what each specific amp puts out at any given voltage you may gain

You're not gaining as much as you are lifting restriction ;)

ahhh yesss.. Important to make the distiction. :thumbsup:

for instance for me at 14.4v with a drop of 10.2v in the lanes gave me 153.4
fully charged up and batts sitting around 16.9 did a 156.4 with a drop down to 13.7.

3 db, wow!!! Thats explains why at the Barrie show I noticed that a few DB drag guys not wanting to run until the batts. got FULLY charged.:cheeky4:

you also gotta remember, he's talking about 14v vs. 17v and that some amps work much better with higher voltage, and some amps work better with more current.

i am going to guess you dont have an amp that needs that high of voltage.

actually the reason behind multiple wire runs is to allow the current to flow

can you go out to your car with a multimeter and while the car is off can you measure the voltage at the battery and then measure voltage at the end of the cables in the back. let us know what you get.

12.92v at the front battery posts
12.9v at the single rear kinetik 600 posts( the other amp and batt are not in right now)
12.89 at the amp terminals

We didn't test the front/back run ends unhooked before the second battery. wasn't sure if we should have or not.:dunno:

So, what am I looking at here ?

What the Alt charges the batt. to?
The batteries abilities?
The fact that there's no loss really?:eyes: Due tho the 2nd battery?:dunno:

Things change alot under load though don't they?

According the the manual the amps are 12-18v capable.
I searched for a while and couldn't find any mention of anyone who has actually ran them above 14.4

You will have to do it with a load, to check the actual voltage drop on your cables.

remove the cables from the amp and put a simple battery tester on. Ask a friend to measure the 3 points again (the best would be all at the same time) while you load the batteries. These testers normally apply 100A load.

http://www.afrema.com/ProductsImages...R%20BT-100.jpg

what amp are you running?

US amps xt2000d ,not the xt2000de , the older ones.

We were thinking that throwing more power( ie. a bigger $pricey$ amp:thumbsdow) was the way to go, but we soon realized that we would need to upgrade all the electrical anyhow.

Would be nice to see a big db gain without a new $1000 amp added onto the Alt/batt. etc budget.
There's been more than a few ppl that think we should be 5-10db higher than we are.:eyes:
If I pretend that we have the money right now to change ANYTHING but the amps....hows this dream sound?

- 2x kinetik 16v batt.

- 250 to 300 amp Alt that can charge above batteries properly

- multiple runs of 1/0

- strap the amps , although they are not strappable, using the $100 maxxlink thingy they would be. :thumbsup:

- run the two xt2000d's strapped from the 16v batteries on 3 - 12" 2ohm DVC's for a 1.33 load, so each amp sees 0.67 load

Fun dream... :p would it work?

We ran those amps full out with all we had at 1ohm for hours on end this summer, the ONLY time they even got warm , was on the 35deg. days !! :thumbsup:

Very nice, thanks for that info.. I'll need to find a few to do it though

lol listen

u dont need a 16v set up. most amps wont even work on 16+v set ups, my guess is that amp wont.

also, it is a 1200 watt amp, now much spl are you tryin to get out of it?

5-10 db's higher than what? not sure what u are doing now? low 140 i think?

here is how your money dream should go - new battery, more cables, termlab.

135db..:hah: :eyes:

Sooooo you're saying.. Stop getting so excited/simplicity is good ?

The goal is to 39.9 bassrace.

After some practice on a TL at Barrie(Thanks again DS) I can see why it a TL should be high on the list, but it never crossed my mind til you mentioned it. Pricey piece but worth it

Its one of those things, where I know things will get bigger and louder in time and I don't mind the wait.
What I don't want to do is buy any more gear I feel like replacing 6 months down the road.:dunno: thats how things go I guess:eyes:

If those amps can run .67 each at 12v I could still add more cone area (ie 1 more 12") on the same amps anyhow.

Thanks for humoring me bro:smokin:

any time.

i would say 145 db's on 1200 watt amp in a van is a loooooooooong shot.

if bass race all you want to do you might not need a termlab. there is a number of guys in Toronto who's probably let you practice on theirs.

i think money would be better spent on a couple of batteries and some cable.

i'd also sell that amp and get something in the 2500 watt range + more cone area.

I wouldn't say 145s too far. with my old crunch amp and the 2 12'' TFX's I was almost doing 44s in my van. maybe thats what you need, TFX's :dunno:

We actually have two of the xt' 2000ds. Just at this moment we only have one amp hooked up on a couple non competition worthy subs we had. We were kinda getting ready to tear stuff out again, but left something in just to have some music.

So wee should hit 145 with both 2 amps , 3 12's (now 2) and the elec. upgrade.... If we can do it right..lol
Something to work for..:smokin:

yah u should be able to do 145, but remember, 145 in a burp is not 139.9 bass race neccessarily. it is all frequency dependant.

normally i would suggest you pick one goal at a time - either 145 burp or 139.9 bass race.

Yeah...It'll be a bassracer. Thank guys