what would you do??

[IRACEMYCOPCAR]

well im kinda fighting with myself right now on what to do, first ill begin by saying that ive always wanted a general lee and a decent size amp. however i didnt have the money for that at first so i ended up getting a Uniden pc78ltw which now has a full peak and tune a new meter light (LED), talkback and a connex echo board, ive heard other drivers say that it sounds great and had LOUD audio(most dont believe its a barefoot uniden and claim its a big radio) but it just doesnt have any balls to back it up (swings 21watts) i also know id get virtually nothing for it if i sold it.

I drive a big rig, im not really into talking on any channels other than the standard 40cb channels which i use for info. and talking to other drivers going down the road, what I AM interested in is LOUD CLEAN sound that can be heard and be able to hear others.

I run company trucks so i cant do any wiring to the batterys, this limits me greatly on what amp or radio i can use. I was thinking of getting the general lee but i dont think i will gain anything really for the money(feature wise) except for a couple of watts,

so now im thinking of going with a 1 or 2 pill but it needs to be small enough to run without going straight to the battery but yet giving me some more power than i have now, what would you guys do??? im confused???

Oh and if you are wondering im running a wilson fiberglass antenna with a 1.3 swr (gotta keep it simple or it gets stolen at the truckstop)

[Phaze91460]

First off, this is a loaded question or questions. Everyone has an opinion.

Here is mine.

The radio you have would have to be retuned for an amp. Amps require lower dead keys ( the amount of wattage generated when you key down but dont talk.) so that radio would need to dead key 2-4 watts.

Second issue, The general lee has duel finals and have a power output at more than double what you havenow. More importantly, if you have then tuned and aligned at Radio Active or Sparkys you will get audio that is clearer and will go further than a power level would make you think it could. General Lees can be tuned for an amp as well.

Third, Yes amps do require more power and hassle to hook up and operate. Some companys wont allow you to run extra wiring for an amp. Amps will not run off a cigarette outlet. Radios like the Connex 4600 turbo and the Galaxy 95T2 have built in amps and can put out around 150-180 watts because of the built in amp. Those do require heavyer power cables than a cigarette outlet but could come from the fuse panel.

Forth, Stay away from fiberglass if you can. Not the best in the area of mobile antennas ( although some would disagree ). A wilson trucker 2000 or 5000 would work better. and realy you can get a Monkey Made MM9 Trucker ( I think thats the number ) for about what you can get 2 junk antennas for.

[IRACEMYCOPCAR]

First off, this is a loaded question or questions.
The radio you have would have to be retuned for an amp. Amps require lower dead keys ( the amount of wattage generated when you key down but dont talk.) so that radio would need to dead key 2-4 watts.

Yes i realise i would have to go and get my dead key turned down

Second issue, The general lee has duel finals and have a power output at more than double what you havenow. More importantly, if you have then tuned and aligned at Radio Active or Sparkys you will get audio that is clearer and will go further than a power level would make you think it could. General Lees can be tuned for an amp as well.

Exactly the reason i need more power, everone in the truckstop with a GL,Connex,galaxy etc... can walk on me, i have decent sounding audio but anyone with a duel final radio can key all over me

Third, Yes amps do require more power and hassle to hook up and operate. Some companys wont allow you to run extra wiring for an amp. Amps will not run off a cigarette outlet. Radios like the Connex 4600 turbo and the Galaxy 95T2 have built in amps and can put out around 150-180 watts because of the built in amp. Those do require heavyer power cables than a cigarette outlet but could come from the fuse panel.

ive been looking at the east coast 2 pill and 3 pill boxes.

Forth, Stay away from fiberglass if you can. Not the best in the area of mobile antennas ( although some would disagree ). A wilson trucker 2000 or 5000 would work better. and realy you can get a Monkey Made MM9 Trucker ( I think thats the number ) for about what you can get 2 junk antennas for.

Like i said i have a wilson fiberglass antenna, i have 2 reasons for running one, the first has to do with the type of truck i drive and where its mounted, and the second is so it doesnt attract attention (coil antennas SCREAM steal me!!!), ive seen too many truckers in the truckstop in the morning buying new antennas because theirs was stolen while they were sleeping.

[ToolBox]

Do you swap trucks or is that primarily your truck? If you swap out, I would say get a radio with a built in amp.. Or build you a box with your radio on top and an amp inside and have it set up with some quick terminals on the cables... Like said above either way you go you won't be able to run them off the lighter plug. If you have to stick with a glass antenna, get a Wilson or Evernhardt that you can tune. JMHO.

I love my SWP General Lee with the Dave Made M80, but I already want more power

[Phaze91460]

Like i said i have a wilson fiberglass antenna, i have 2 reasons for running one, the first has to do with the type of truck i drive and where its mounted, and the second is so it doesnt attract attention (coil antennas SCREAM steal me!!!), ive seen too many truckers in the truckstop in the morning buying new antennas because theirs was stolen while they were sleeping.

Mores the pity there for sure. Fiberglass is has so much less performance than others ( Which is why no one wants to steel them ) which is why I recommended others. But, as the saying goes, you gata do what ya gata do !

[231]

Fiberglass is has so much less performance than others ( Which is why no one wants to steel them ) which is why I recommended others. But, as the saying goes, you gata do what ya gata do !

As Phase mentioned earlier, not all would agree with this. I happen to be one of them.

I know for a fact my Tigers will perform way better than any of my Wilson Trucker series...hands down. Hell, even my 4' TSM Superflex works better than they do. I've not tried the Silverload, but to me they scream, "We are merely trying to compete with the POS Firestiks." Friend of mine compared the 3' Silverload to the 3' TSM Tiger, and the Tiger won by 1/2 S-unit. He also compared the Silverload to the Firestik II and the Silverload won out...but I can't remember by how much.

Personally, I find my SS antenna's (Wilson's, MB-2, 102" SS whip) pick up considerably more electrical noise...which for me is a big deal. There are some main power towers not far from where we live that I have to drive parallel to for miles, effectively cutting off my ears when I run my SS antennas. Not so with the c0pper wound fiberglass antennas. I will admit though that the SS antennas perform excellent! So I'm a strong believer in both. I just don't happen to follow the philosphy that all Fiberglass antennas are alike...no matter what anyone says. I've tried the majority of them out there, too.

Just a little of my experience.

[IRACEMYCOPCAR]

so now im still at square 1, ive looked at a couple of amps but i cant decide on one, ive looked at the texas star/palomar type and also eastcoast/fatboy/davemade type boxes, and i see wattage ratings but other than that its all greek to me i dont have a clue which one has better transistors or which one draws more current etc..

what i need is to get the most power without going to the batterys, so i need to find out if i can run a small amp of if i can run a radio like a connex 4300/4600turbo etc.. basicly i need UNDER 30A of current draw from either the radio or amp/radio combination and the most output power.

[IRACEMYCOPCAR]

so now im still at square 1, ive looked at a couple of amps but i cant decide on one, ive looked at the texas star/palomar type and also eastcoast/fatboy/davemade type boxes, and i see wattage ratings but other than that its all greek to me i dont have a clue which one has better transistors or which one draws more current etc..

what i need is to get the most power without going to the batterys, so i need to find out if i can run a small amp of if i can run a radio like a connex 4300/4600turbo etc.. basicly i need UNDER 30A of current draw from either the radio or amp/radio combination and the most output power.

[King Mudduck]

Connex 4600 turbo will run just fine if you connect the power to one of the big hot lines that supply power to your fuse panel and then your ground wire to the seat frame. I used my 95T like that in a Freight liner century with no problems and still showed the same amount of power that it did if the power was straight to the battery. If you want a good antenna that does not say steel me then go with a Wilson silver load. They are great antennas and don't attract attention like the big coil antennas.

Believe it or not with the same setup i used to get my name called on the super bowl a lot. I'm not talking someone would get beck to me in the same state is was. No i mean all across the country especially if i were in the mid west. those boys could not believe that i was talking on a 95T and nothing else.

[Duck Commander]

you should be able to find a power block under your dash somewhere that comes directly from the battery and hook to that and then your not going to the battery that way. That is how we have my brothers amp hooked up in his 2002 9900i International and it works great it is located right behind the glove box door.