With out engine running 12.5 volts. With engine. Runing holds 14 volts
With connex 3300 an Texas star Dx 500 I've seen as low as12.3 on long keys
My truck is. A 1999 Ford superduty 2 1000 cold cranking amp batterys
I'm. Runing 10 / 2 house wire for power wire. Would it be benifical to upgrade to 4 gauge
Do you guys think that would help the voltage drop
the reason you see voltage drop is the alternator outputs a higher voltage than the nominal battery voltage.
the smaller voltage drop between 12.5v and 12.3v is due to the battery discharging high current relatively quickly, same thing causes you to have to push start when you've been listening to the in car hifi too long or had the heating on without the engine ticking over. when the engine is running the alternator NOT the battery is supplying the juice.
so yeah beefing up the alternator might work as long as you leave the engine running during tx, but it will do nothing positive if you are tx'ing with the engine off.
no high power linear user sits for any length of time with the engine off, unless he's keen on pushing his car or is parked at the top of a hill.
stiffer wire won't make much difference either when the engine is off, your voltage drop between battery and amp is minimal anyway, 0.2v, not a huge amount,
stiffer wire might help when the engine is running, but again it depends if the alternator is putting out 14v. or slightly more and your measuring it at the lossy end, if you measure it at 14v right at the alternator and at the amp during tx it tells you you ain't having much voltage drop with your current wiring.
a good guide for wiring is too use wire capable of carrying at least twice the current you are using/requiring, keep it as short as possible, and fuse it at the battery end for safety, use the best quality connectors/fuse holders/fuses you can find, my favourite is the gold plated AGU in car hifi types.
when you cut corners at high power levels many problems can occur.
here's a link to a guys web page with a good insight
how the alternator/battery system works, well worth reading if you intend running high power:
www.bcae1.com/charging.htm
