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Radio grounding

R

radioman24

Active Member
Jul 19, 2009
447
34
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I have the chance to buy a galaxy dx98vhp new for $350.00 now i am told these radio's have to be grounded well cause of the moody mosfet finals

i was also told from the seller he had this radio modded to do almost 600 watts, is this possible and to much for this radio to do?

so how would i ground the radio?its going in my 2000 pontiac grand prix gtp model.

Dan
 

600 watts from a VHP?!?
DON'T you dare believe it for a second!
NO chance!

I used to have a Galaxy 95T2; nearly the same radio...
Even if it can do 300 watts as legitimately as some have claimed; I wouldn't do it. Why? Because it would make the MOSFET's work in full overtime. Any device needs some clear headroom in order to operate w/o destroying itself. It won't take long before they snap, crackle, and pop if run at 'full tilt'! Better to run them at the stock settings. That is - if you want to keep it out of the shop for expensive repairs. For a few extra watts that no one could ever tell the difference from the receiving end - it doesn't make sense. Just not worth it...

As far as grounding in a car is concerned, run the radio +/- directly to the battery with some stranded 10 ga wire.

You didn't say what kind of antenna you are going to use yet - either...
 
Run a copper/braided ground wire from the radio's frame to the chassis/sheet metal of the car. Any metal that is connected/welded to part of the frame, that should work.

Maybe someone else can agree or disagree - agreeably..
 
thanks for the help rob, i had one of these before and had it tuned up and man it blew the mosfets twice sky high,lol than i was told they needed to be grounded well.
 
Just because of that "600 watts" thingy, I think I'd be a bit skeptical about anything claimed for that particular radio without seeing it work (and on my meter!). A little exaggeration can be expected. '600 watts' worth is a bit 'much' though. Hope you know the seller.
Grounding. I think if it won't work correctly with the normal grounding done in a typical (good) installation, there's some 'other' problem going on. There's nothing 'mysterious' or special about mosfets and grounding.
- 'Doc
 
sayint it does 3 times its power says to me its been set up by a hack so theres no telling what else he may have messed up doing it . i also would by something thats been pushed so hard , thats a hell of a lot of heat the electronics wernt designed for and will certianly shorten their lives .
 
well he said he bought it new, took it to a cb shop and had it moded now unless u can replace the mosfets with regular 2sc2879 finals it be alot of power to ask those mosfets to do, am i right?
 
radioman24 said:
well he said he bought it new, took it to a cb shop and had it moded now unless u can replace the mosfets with regular 2sc2879 finals it be alot of power to ask those mosfets to do, am i right?
Click to expand...

If the radio is still stock with the same mosfets it came with, it will NEVER do 600 watts. Impossible; physically impossible. If it had two 2SC2879's in it; it might go as far as 400 watts; but it would also sound like crap if it did.

If it had four 2SC2879's in it; it would do 600 watts. But it would never fit in that radio's case either. It is not just the transistors; but the other parts that make a linear work, like the relays and the large chokes needed. Not to mention, it would need a very large heat sink as well. Much larger than the one that comes with that radio. The heat sink that comes with that radio is barely able to handle the stock transistors - even when set to stock specifications.

I think the guy trying to sell it to you - is pulling your chain.
Think about it...
 
Robb said:
Run a copper/braided ground wire from the radio's frame to the chassis/sheet metal of the car. Any metal that is connected/welded to part of the frame, that should work.

Maybe someone else can agree or disagree - agreeably..
Click to expand...
Nah, I ain't going to disagree. I've done it. In a proper setup, it doesn't help/hinder too much, but in a bad set-up it can help tremendously.
 
okay well i was also thinking of either of these 3 radio's for my mobile unit.

1.magnum s9
2. superstar 158edx
3. rci 2970n2

any idea's? also if i pick number 1 or 2 what amp should i run?
 
radioman24 said:
okay well i was also thinking of either of these 3 radio's for my mobile unit.

1.magnum s9
2. superstar 158edx
3. rci 2970n2

any idea's? also if i pick number 1 or 2 what amp should i run?
Click to expand...

Any one of these radios is an excellent choice.
I'm fond of Magnum radios; that is no secret.

As far as an amp goes, a high-drive amp would be best. Like a Texas Star DX 500. That has four 2SC2879's and need about 30 watts in to work very well. It also works in SSB very well too. But it will require ~50 amps to run it proper. A DX 350 has two 2SC2879's and also likes 30 watts in and will run well that way.

If you put more input power into either of these amps - they will put out more - but sound like real crap. There are a lot of reasons not to overdrive an amp: heat, power consumption, poor audio - and splattering onto other adjacent frequencies. Like anything else you do, it takes some responsibility to do right.

I can't tell you not to run a linear - if you are going to anyway. I have a Texas Star DX 350 - and never use it. I have found that any radio that puts out between 50-100 watts will work very well when atmospheric conditions are right. Especially when using the best antenna you can buy and use.

The Wilson 1000 mag mount will work very well.
That was a real decent choice...
 

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