I'm running power wire for my ft2800 and my pc68xl. I was going to run 14gauge for the 68, but didnt know what size to run for the 2800. this will be going in mobile. what size would you guys use? and would the 14gauge be enough for the 68? thanks
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what size wire?
- Thread starter bluestallion
- Start date
I'm a firm believer in large wire for power handling. 'Too large' isn't going to hurt anything, where 'too small' certainly can/will.
I don't think 14 gauge wire is large enough for either of those radios, but that depends on how long of a run that will have to be. If both will be going into the same vehicle, why not combine the longer runs in to one, then branch off from a much shorter distance? It also provides a means of adding things later without an additional power run. So how large? As large as you can manage. I would consider 8 gauge as a minimum, but I would also be planning for a few of those 'extra' gadgets in the future. I'd much rather have too much than not enough. One way of guessing about the size of wire is to at least double the size of whatever size wire the radio comes with, if the run is a short one. I figure a short run is one of five feet or less. Doubling that size again for each additional five feet is a very good idea.
Is that 'over building'? A little bit, but not as much as you might think.
- 'Doc
I don't think 14 gauge wire is large enough for either of those radios, but that depends on how long of a run that will have to be. If both will be going into the same vehicle, why not combine the longer runs in to one, then branch off from a much shorter distance? It also provides a means of adding things later without an additional power run. So how large? As large as you can manage. I would consider 8 gauge as a minimum, but I would also be planning for a few of those 'extra' gadgets in the future. I'd much rather have too much than not enough. One way of guessing about the size of wire is to at least double the size of whatever size wire the radio comes with, if the run is a short one. I figure a short run is one of five feet or less. Doubling that size again for each additional five feet is a very good idea.
Is that 'over building'? A little bit, but not as much as you might think.
- 'Doc
While Doc is certainly correct about "more is better" when it comes to wire size, I can't see why 14 ga. won't be OK for either radio. The FT-2800 is rated for only 10 amps and that is certainly fine for 14 ga. IF the run is not very long.That's roughly equivalent to running a normal HF radio at 20-25 amps off the supplied 10 ga. cable when you look at amps versus wire size. As for the PC-68XL which is rated for only 2.2 amps, the 14 ga is much more than adequate and almost any length.
Save your self some time and rework just 10 gauge and limit line loss and this depends on the construction of the wire used, typically the more and smaller strands in a bundle the better or less line loss you're gonna encounter.
Make sure to run a - and + lead, using a chassis's path back to the battery is not a good install.
Yea i always run my - side back to the battery. I always seem to have less motor noise that way.