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[K0IFT]

I am buying a new Bronco Sport and it does have a 110V/150W outlet in the back. Can I run my FT-8800 from this outlet? I know there has a been a lot of talk about using the cigarette outlet but I'm not real keen on using that. I can keep the wiring for the radio in my Pilot if I can.

Thanks,

Terry-K0IFT

[K6AER]

The FT-8800 uses a maximum of 8.8 amps on transmit. With a switch mode 13.8 volt supply with 85% efficiency your total power draw would be 138 watts. Should work.

[K6AER]

I forgot to mention that the 12 volt to 120 volt inverter also has conversion efficiency. The real world wattage on transmit from the battery will be about 160 watts. It would be much better to run the radio directly off the 12 volt vehicle system.

[K0UA]

There is absolutely NO reason to ever run a 12 volt rig off of a 120 volt inverter circuit in an automobile. It is a very bad idea. Not just the conversion loss and running close to the inverters maximum specs, is the almost certainty of the inverter generating "hash" on the power supply of the rig. Don't do this. It is a very sketch idea.

[W4FID]

Is the Bronco outlet a true sine wave -- suitable for electronics and hash free -- or a modified sine or sawtooth or square wave suitable for lights and power tools? But why would you want to run the radio off the 120 VAC even if it is suitable for electronics and has enough wattage (you're close to the max which is a generally bad idea)? A fused suitable gage wire from the battery is a better way to go.

[SWMAN]

 The bad thing and most inconvenient thing for me would be that you have to drag around your power supply where ever you go. Your radio won’t run off of 120 volts by itself, you need a power supply.

[N7EKU]

Hi,

Likely the rear inverter has its own heavy duty 13.8V power leads.  Maybe you could tap into those?

73

[K6CPO]

There is absolutely NO reason to ever run a 12 volt rig off of a 120 volt inverter circuit in an automobile. It is a very bad idea. Not just the conversion loss and running close to the inverters maximum specs, is the almost certainty of the inverter generating "hash" on the power supply of the rig. Don't do this. It is a very sketch idea.

It strikes me as an unnecessary step to go from 12V through an inverter to a power supply generating 12V. Eliminate the inverter and power supply and just wire the radio directly to the vehicle battery.  Mobile radios are designed to work that way...

[K0IFT]

Thanks for all the replies. I may just end up transferring all of the radio from my Pilot to my new Bronco. There is a business that installs electronics in cars and one of the installers is familiar with ham radios, at least I hope he's still there.

Terry

[K0UA]

Mobile power cords are very easy to make from bulk cable, and a fuse holder and the correct connector to fit the radio. All readily available. I wouldn't pull a power cord out of one vehicle I intended to keep just to recover the power cord. If worse comes to worse you can always just buy another power cord. It is nearly always best to "think outside the box". Power cords are just accessories. They are not part of the radio. Not really.