Thinking about buying an amp... Help?

all you need then is this and is biased in case you have the notion to start up with ssb, biasing is a small electrical charge applied to the base junction of the output transistor for the purpose of turning on the output transistor prior to being modulated with a ssb signal, the details for this is complicated and there are many choices of brands out there but these are reliable amps

forget the st button as will most likely not carry the load required to act as a remote switch for the amp, just order the remote switch kit for that amp

 

Anything over 50-100W peak is going to need a direct hookup to the battery. You're not going to be running a 350-600W amp with a tap out of the fuse block. Yep. your "huge amperage draw".

As far as Class A/AB/B/C/D amplifiers, the difference is in their mode of operation. Class A amps have the lowest distortion, and are the least efficient. Class D amps are used in RF applications where signal fidelity isn't important.

 

The quality of most of the cb/10m amps for sale out here is questionable at best. Depending on what you buy, you will have to run either a 10 or 8 gage power wire from the battery to the cab. A better option for most is to get a decent export radio with a built in amp.

 

I have been told by a few respectable cb shops that anything over 200 watts is causing problems with new trucks ecm not sure I'd want to take that chance with a company truck (note that is hearsay not fact take from it what you want)

 

They make plenty of export radios that are doing well over 100 watts I like the stryker 497 hpc or if you don't want an export a cobra 29 with the rxf75 can swing 80 watts if installed correctly

 

FYI, current motor vehicle industry guidelines are to protect vehicle electronics against a local transmitter of 110W. It doesn't matter if the transmitter is in your vehicle or sitting next to you.

The reason for 110W is because a lot of commercial/police radios are 110W.