bought a kicker and have some ?'s

If those are really 2879's, they're the smallest I've seen. Usually 2879's are good sized. Or maybe those are some big ### caps you have in there. Those look more to me like SD1446's....

If you want to run an amp with your 98 VHP (not that you need one unless you just wanna be a super trucker) I suggest a straight 6 pill amp.

Also make sure your alternator, battery, etc are adequate, as the bigger the amp, the more power she draws. Your 98 VHP already draws some juice, hence why it comes with the 8 gauge wire that must be hooked directly to the trucks battery.

 

OK I know a bit about radios but not nearly as much about amp design. But as far as I know a "straight 8" generally means that your radio would be driving the transistors. This would make it a so called high drive amp. I cannot really see that well from the pix but from what I can see, I do believe the fellow that says it's a 2 X 6 is correct. (#### eyes ain't so good anymore either!)

Reverse mod IS bad but not necessarily harmful. But it almost definitely means reduced performance. OK some preliminary steps.

Take SWR reading with amp out of circuit.
It should be real good since you want to run some serious watts. I would try my best to tune th3 antenna until you reach 1:1.2
Put the amp inline and check SWR while transmitting at full power maybe 1.8 to 1.9 would be OK
Remember SWR is a function of power reflected back to the amp/transmitter. More power out means more power reflected. High SWR's + High power = quickly fried equipment.

SWR's not what you want or expect? Points to check:
Jumpers
Cable ends
Grounding of the antenna system
Grounding of equipment

Fist thing I would check is with all those watts, is your vehicle providing enough amps to drive that box? If you have a true gauge and not an idiot light it's easy enough. Key up with the amp hooked up and on at full power. Does the gauge drop drastically? Ooops, you'll be needing more amps. This can be achieved through several methods. A larger rated alternator, special brackets and multiple alternators or a device called a maul. You might also need multiple batteries. Unfortunately these solutions are not cheap or easy.

I personally DONT recommend the maul. These are expensive and only store and forward power. Almost like a super capacitor. Extended transmissions will cause issues. A single high capacity alternator will simply go in place of the one you have now. You may need one custom wound depending on the actual output of that amp. This can be costly. There are a number of guys out there who will weld you a bracket to add another alternator but with the cost of new pulleys belts, etc., you really won't save anything over the custom wound alternator.

If you don't have an amp gauge: Try keying the radio with the amp on at full power, with the lights on, at night. Do the lights drastically dim almost go out? Again not enough amps are available.

OK if this is the problem and you don't want or can't do major surgery on the vehicle (surprisingly most trucking outfits won't support butchering their truck for your amp to work, LOL!)
don't despair. If you have a real high power box there you could sell it to one of those rabid CBer's on channel six that can never get enough power. Seriously if it has that much power... You could pocket enough cash to buy a nice 150 to 250 watt amp that should work with many stock altefrnators and have enough money left to buy me a few beers! Even more than a few, LOL!

Not a lack of amps? Keep reading:

I mentioned the antenna, is it a high quality setup? What is the wattage rating? Cheap antennas
suck eggs when you attempt to run a lot of RF through them. They almost are never able to perform well at their stated watt rating either.

OK so your SWR's are in line? Do you have the capability to turn down the watts on your radio? Has it been peaked or a power upgrade (like a MOSFET or SC1969) been performed? If so that could be a problem. Many amps have a narrow tolerance for the amount of watts fed into them. Turn the watts down, or see if you can borrow a radio with a variable output. Start at the lowest power and work your way up. Do you ever see a speaking. Even a tiny bit of forward swing will sound nice in the distance.

Good Luck and let us know how you make out.

 

that is a 2x4 and should only require 1 watt or less carrier with no more than 25 watts pep drive

 

I admit I am NOT an electronics engineer... Wish I was. My expertise, limited in RF as I am really a computer electronic tech, is in circuit repair. From the picture. how can you tell it's a 2X4 and not a straight 6 (i.e.) high drive or any other configuration? Appreciate any info you can give.


I went to school for business, a waste of my time. Had I gone for electronics/engineering I would have been happier. Leaned enough on my own to "bluff" my way into a job as a bench tech repairing computer components. That was many years ago before it became more economical to throw away bad parts and plug in new ones. Have always been deficient in circuit design, but it fascinates me .

 

if you look at the stage to the left you'll notice the difference in the size of the output transformer and there are a few other give aways so that being said the amp should be capable of around 1000 watts with a 1 watt carrrier and no mor than 25 to 30 watts pep drive on AM/cb mode and if you're a ssb nut keep the drive down to 10 or less to prevent thermal runaway.

oh and it does have a crude bias circuit to the drive stage only

 

What this guy said.

 

Thank You.... Am currently sitting home on my ##### much of the time due to a work accident that mangled my hand. Have lots of time to read. Any suggestions on some books that I could educate myself with on this subject? Especially interested in RF circuits. I have done lots of mods and tuning over the years, but always following others instructions. Would love to know a bit more about the what and why of it...