[bars] Cigarette lighter malfunction.

[Geoffrey Feldman]

Modern “Cigarette Lighter” connectors are not like the ones we lit cigarettes with.  They are really “Accessory connectors” in that old style.   They are intended for such things as cell phone chargers etc.  I would look up in your vehicles manual to find out how much wattage your car provides and how much your rig requires.   A radio that transmits 50 watts probably uses 100 watts while transmitting.  Even the old cigarette lighters only drew current for a few seconds, not many minutes as a radio does during transmit.

 

It’s also possible that the antenna is not properly installed, and RF got into the power line. This is an obscure theory though.  That the internal fuse didn’t blow is interesting though.  All of this does go to a key point:  A Ham Radio is not “normal equipment”.   During transmit, it’s drawing more current than most other accessories and it’s producing an electrical field that most car designers do not anticipate.

 

Given how much electronics are in modern cars – I am nervous about connecting a mobile radio to the cars electrical system. Many people do without happenstance but it makes me nervous. I use a Bioenno battery for power of my mobile rig. This has a huge advantage in that I can do my Ham thing without the engine running and without running down the car’s battery should I want to start the car again.

 

W1GCF / Geoff

 

 

From: bars <bars-bounces at w1hh.org> On Behalf Of Joanne Dolan
Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2023 4:22 PM
To: Joanne Dolan <dolans.family at gmail.com>; BARS Reflector <BARS at w1hh.org>
Subject: [bars] Cigarette lighter malfunction.

 

It got so hot that the plastic melted and the soldered joint disconnected from the metal but the fuses still good.

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