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Old 3rd Nov 2009, 2:05 pm   #4
Nickthedentist
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Oxford, UK.
Posts: 17,820
Default Re: Car 8 track advice!

I would recommend a regulated or stabilised 12v DC supply rated at about 2A or so. Maplin will have something suitable. If you use a CB supply, make sure you fuse it at about 2A as they can produce serious amounts of current if you have a short circuit somewhere.

You can sometimes tell whether it's -ve or +ve earth by looking for a biggish electrolytic capacitor inside. If its negative connection is connected to the chassis, then it's -ve earth and vice versa. I must say that "Mustang" sounds a bit American to me (but I know nothing about cars!) and they favoured +ve earth there, so do double check.

When you first power it up, it might be worth doing so with a car indicator bulb in series, so that if something goes horribly wrong, the bulb will absorb the current and light, rather than a cloud of smoke being emitted.

Could you post a picture of the unit, inside and out? This should enable us to tell whether it's got an inbuilt power amp or not.

N.
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