Dear Gerry,
I ran the same TE amplifier in my OSCAR rig and powered it with
two (2) Astron 50 Amp regulated supplies in parallel.
The wiring was so critical that if I didn't completely parallel the
D.C. Power cabling with exactly the same lengths of cable
to each of the power supplies, one power supply would end up
drawing ten amperes more than the other one.
For your car, the best choice would be welding cable. You may purchase
welding cable at a welding supply or at somewhere like Graybar Electric.
For 100 average peak amperes you should figure on A.W.G. size number
two WELD cable for the loop distance run of sixteen feet in your car.
Weld cable has many fine strands of copper versus "stranded" cable that
has
fewer, and is less flexible than welding cable. True welding cable has
soft Neoprene insulation. This means that your connection to the battery
and to the amplifier terminals should be done with Burndy-type crimp
lugs,
tin-plated for the amplifier and lead-plated for the battery connection.
These too
are common items at Graybar. The lugs need to be adequately sized,
meaning that
the lug should be for #2 FLEX not #2 STR, and the hole through the lug
should be
1/4 inch for the TE terminals and I believe 3/8ths inch for the battery
terminal.
You will need to crimp the lug with an adequate crimper. Perhaps Graybar
might
rent you the correct tool. The crimp should see the entire length of
copper pushed
up as far as it can go into the lug barrel, perhaps pursuaded by a light
tap with a
mallet. Be sure to use some No-Ox-Id "A" (Special) grease in the strands
before
pushing on the lugs, and burnish the battery terminals and lugs with
Scotchbrite
to get a shiny metallic appearance.
Remember, at that size wire diameter, the battery amperage is capable of
vaporizing
the copper ends you're dealing with. Tape up free cable ends until you're
ready to
conect them, and perhaps color-code the lug ends of the rubber cable with
red and black tape
to remind you of the polarity.
Good luck, Gerry
Hal
|