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Non - Specific
Truck Audio
A battery just for the audio
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[QUOTE="TANK'S 250, post: 202251, member: 78"] Ummm...you are kinda right....but slightly more wrong....especially for what the OP wants... .....you might want to study up a little bit... ...I'll go with Steve Meade's advice on capacitors.....he seems to build tiny audio systems...LOL "Holy Cow there's a bunch of mis-information in this thread about caps. Caps work - period. But how? Simple . . . capacitors do TWO things: 1. Store charge 2. Oppose changes in voltage Now, both of those things sound mighty nice to me. To understand how a cap benefits a car audio system, one has to first understand that there are TWO separate voltage plateaus available in an automobile: 1. A 1 Farad capacitor can store and release 72 Joules (watt*second) of energy at 12 Volts. 2. Said capacitor can charge and discharge hundreds of times faster than an automitive battery of any kind. 3. Capacitors present nearly no load to a properly set up charging system. 4. Automotive batteries require 7 to 10 amps of current EACH to allow charge to flow into them. 5. Capacitors work GREAT for every day street systems. 6. The benefits or capacitors are negated in SPL competitions. 1. Running - With the alternator charging, voltages will typically be from 13.8 to 14.4 VDC 2. Not running - With the alternator IDLE, voltages will typically be from 12.0 to 12.6 VDC I'll take the higher of the two any day. For UNREGULATED amps, this allows them to draw MORE current therby making more power. For REGULATED amps, this allows them to draw LESS current to make their rated power. Either way, it's a WIN for you. So, how do we ensure the higher of the two? Again, simple. With the vehicle running, consider the DELTA between what the alternator can make and what the nominal voltage the batteries can provide is. For this example, lets assume 14.4 VDC - 12.6 VDC = 1.8 VDC. When we exceed the current output capability of the alternator, it's voltage output is compromised. In some cases, heavy demands of amplifiers can far exceed the current capability of the alternator, leaving us with only the reserve of current within the battery. But, car batteries weren't intended to power amplifiers . . . they were intended to start cars [Battery = Load with vehicle running.] A really fresh car battery can do this for a while, but given that we're exceeding the output capability of the alternator, it's charge isn't getting replenished quickly enough - need about 13.0 VDC minimum to allow charge to flow back into the battery. A properly sized capacitor will change the rules. With the vehicle running, it stores charge at the higher voltage plateau - 14.4 Volts. As the amplifiers demand current, it will flow from the place of least resistance . . . Ohm's Law tells us that happens to be the place with the highest voltage. That will be in order: 1. The capacitor (closest) 2. The alternator 3. The battery Ideally, you've selected the correct size capacitor for your system's needs. And . . . that "30F" cap that sells for $59 in a blue velvet box with chrome and a big blue LED readout is just a glorified volt meter These devices have ZERO benefit. There is a reason why quality capacitors cost money, and ours are no exception. These are the facts: For best results, I recommend locating capacitors within a foot of the amplifier - as in, no more than 12 inches of wire between the capacitor and the amplifier. The further away from the amp they are, the less of a benefit they offer. That's why caps are used in all the SPL vehicles. Do caps work? Of course, they have a place and a purpose. It is using the product correctly. But the disdain for caps stems not from not knowing its proper function, but rather they are sold and advertised as a save all for systems merely so shops can make money at a ridiculous mark up. Thinking they are completely useless is balanced out by those who think they are the end all. There is fact a point where current and output exceed the point where capacitance is an effective option: be it cost effective, space effective, and current effective" . [/QUOTE]
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