Radioddity DB20-G for Vehicle&Home Use?

[WSFJ540]

Thinking about buying a Radioddity DB20-G GMRS Mobile and was wondering if it could do double duty - used in my vehicle (cigarette lighter) and in my house as a base station. Would something like an AC to DC Converter 110V to 12V 5A 60W Car Cigarette Lighter Adapter work for inside the house? Has anyone done this before and could share some tips or tricks?

[WRYZ926]

You can find power supplies on Amazon that put out the correct 13.8v DC and have a 10 amp accessory port (cigarette lighter) that will work fine for a 20 watt radio. I suggest buying a 30 amp power supply just incase you ever decide to get a 50 watt radio to use as a base station.  

Here is one example: 13.8V 30A Bench Power Supply, Analog DC Power Supply with Cigarette Plug, Ham Radio Regulated Switching Power Supply, Noise Offset Control I know its a generic brand, but that exact power supply is sold under various names and has a good reputation.

One thing to remember is that most, if not all, power supplies are marketed at their peak power output. The continuous power output is between 75 and 80 percent of that. SO a 30 amp power supply is really only good for 22-24 amps of continuous use. A 20 amp power supply is good for 14-16 amps continuous and a 15 amp power supply is good for 10-12 amps continuous.

[Socalgmrs]

20 minutes ago, WSFJ540 said:

Thinking about buying a Radioddity DB20-G GMRS Mobile and was wondering if it could do double duty - used in my vehicle (cigarette lighter) and in my house as a base station. Would something like an AC to DC Converter 110V to 12V 5A 60W Car Cigarette Lighter Adapter work for inside the house? Has anyone done this before and could share some tips or tricks?

Many people have done that yes.   You need at min a 30amp power supply for a 50w radio as a general rule so 20amp or more for a 20w radio will be fine.  All or most radios people use as base station radios are mobile radios. 
also keep in mind the antenna and coax are where the money should be spent.   The radio is the least part of the equation.  Personally I’d leave the radio in the car/truck and get the house set up with a good antenna and coax and just adapt it to an HT untill you can purchase a radio for the house.  A 5w radio with good coax and antenna can send out around 70watts.  With out the hassle of swapping the radio in and out of the car/truck. 

[BoxCar]

The 60W power supply is good for receiving only. You'll need at least 96W to transmit but a 240 to 360W will be much better. I'll also recommend 2 antennas, one for the car with the other for the house.

[WSFJ540]

4 minutes ago, Socalgmrs said:

Many people have done that yes.   You need at min a 30amp power supply for a 50w radio as a general rule so 20amp or more for a 20w radio will be fine.  All or most radios people use as base station radios are mobile radios. 

Ugh, math is not my strong suit.  So I am guessing the (basic) cigarette lighter adapter ones listed on Amazon, like AC to DC Converter 12V 5A 60W 100-240V to 12V Car Cigarette Lighter Socket AC/DC Power Adapter Power Supply, is not going to cut it.  Something more substantial then will be needed.  Any recommendations or pointers?

[WSFJ540]

5 minutes ago, BoxCar said:

The 60W power supply is good for receiving only. You'll need at least 96W to transmit but a 240 to 360W will be much better. I'll also recommend 2 antennas, one for the car with the other for the house.

Definitely will be doing two separate antennas.  Any suggestions for a modest priced adapter that would match the needs of the DB-20G?

[BoxCar]

Almost any power supply putting out 10A (12oW) will do for that radio. For a 50W radio, you'll need 15A up to 20A (180-240W).

[BoxCar]

Any antenna that has an SO-239 connector. You'll also need coax between your radio and the antenna. Look for coax labeled as LMR-400 or equivalent. DO NOT USE RG-8 and its variants.

[Socalgmrs]

The general rule fallowed by people that don’t like to have minimal amps is 15amp for a 20w radio and 30amps for a 40-50w radio.   The advertised amps is always over exaggerated by the manufacturers.   
 

 

but again don’t skimp on the antenna and coax.  It’s the most important thing.  My first home set up with an 80amp power supply, $130 20w radio lmr400 and a 712efc antenna will do 200miles.   And costs less than $400 all in. My neighbor dropped $450 on a 50w radio and skimped on the co-ax and antenna and doesn’t get 10miles down the road.  

[WSFJ540]

So maybe something like the Pyramid PS14KX Bench Power Supply AC-to-DC Power Converter (12 Amp) would be sufficient for the DB20-G?  

Technical Specs:

• Amperage: 12.0 AMP (Constant), 14.0 AMP (Surge)
• Connectors/Hardwire Terminals: Red Positive (+), Black Negative (-)
• Power Output: 13.8V DC

[BoxCar]

That will work, but I'd future-proof and go with a 25-30A model instead.

[WRYZ926]

3 minutes ago, Socalgmrs said:

Wow that’s an expensive one. My 80amp only costs $98.  It’s been powering 3 radios and led lights for years.  And it’s perfectly clean power 

I don't suggest that you look at the prices of a good linear power supply then. And yes a linear power supply will always provide cleaner power than any solid state power supply.

[BoxCar]

2 minutes ago, Socalgmrs said:

Wow that’s an expensive one. My 80amp only costs $98.  It’s been powering 3 radios and led lights for years.  And it’s perfectly clean power 

You know, you are very annoying bragging about what you have without providing any information regarding brands or where to find equivalents. Just what brand is your "80A supply," where did it come from, and, what' the current cost. Try saying something truly useful for a change.

[WSFJ540]

28 minutes ago, Socalgmrs said:

Personally I’d leave the radio in the car/truck and get the house set up with a good antenna and coax and just adapt it to an HT untill you can purchase a radio for the house. 

I'll need to think about this some more - thanks for the perspective.

[WRYS709]

Good choice of Radio: I have two - one for the car and one for the shack.

I will leave out my selection of power supply, as I find the prior discussion confusing and I do not have wide experience in the power supply area.

I have a $19 mag mount on my car and a Comet CX-333 on my roof

This radio outperforms the Yaesu FT-857d when it comes to FM.

[SteveShannon]

12 hours ago, WSFJ540 said:

Thinking about buying a Radioddity DB20-G GMRS Mobile and was wondering if it could do double duty - used in my vehicle (cigarette lighter) and in my house as a base station. Would something like an AC to DC Converter 110V to 12V 5A 60W Car Cigarette Lighter Adapter work for inside the house? Has anyone done this before and could share some tips or tricks?

Yes, your idea of moving the radio between your vehicle and your house is sound, but I would recommend a larger power supply.  The manual recommends at least 10 amp output. My experience using a lower current power supply indicates that the 5 amp power supply you asked about would be underpowered.

I have tried using a 45 year old Cobra CB linear power supply (pictured below) for my DB20G.  It’s listed at 13.8 volts, but only 3 amps output.  It will run all day long if I stay at medium power output (10 watts) on the radio but it doesn’t have enough continuous current carrying capacity if I switch to high power output (20 watts output).  After a half minute or so the power supply thermal circuit breaker opens up. Then I have to wait for a minute or so for the thermal to reset.

As @BoxCar said, a decent 10 amp power supply is sufficient unless you intend to someday get a 50 watt output GMRS radio or even a 100 watt output ham radio. A typical ham radio power supply for a modern 100 watt output ham radio doesn’t need to be rated higher than 30-35 amps.  I never see my ham radio use more than 23 amps at 100 watt output, but I also have chargers for my handhelds and my antenna tuner connected to the power supply and having a higher output rating may keep the fan from running more frequently. You definitely don’t need an 80 amp power supply, but if you have one already there’s nothing wrong with using it.

@WRYZ926 didn’t steer you wrong either.  A decent linear power supply is generally electrically (RF noise) quieter than a switch mode power supply, but there are very quiet switch mode power supplies made by Samlex or Astron.  Linear power supplies are heavy. There are cheaper ones for both linear and switch mode as well, but they often are RF noisy.  In fact some of them have an adjustment so you can tune the RF noise to a frequency that doesn’t bother your radio.

One of the members here really likes the Meanwell power supplies on Amazon.  They’re made for server or medical equipment usage, and they reportedly put out very clean power.  I wouldn’t hesitate to use one.  They are very attractively priced.  Just be sure to get 13.8 volt DC output and at least 10 amperes of current.  

The antenna and coax for a home installation are very important as well.  The type of cable really depends on the length your installation needs.  It’s generally not wrong to go with better cable or a higher antenna, but if you’re only running 10 feet and your budget is already maxed out and you already have RG8x, use it, at least until you can afford something better.  Similarly, higher gain antennas are usually better for reaching out further, but only in certain directions.  If you’re in very hilly terrain a lower gain antenna might work better for you. A Midland MXTA26, on a magnetic mount stuck to a steel cookie sheet outside of your attic window can work well enough while you’re learning.

Most importantly, have fun. Try different things.

 

 

[WSFJ540]

I was watching NotARubicon's video review of the Radioddity DB20-G and in that he is using a Jackery Explorer 1000 to power the radio.  Looking at the specs, the Jackery is showing a 12v/10a output.  That Jackery unit is pretty expensive because of it's capacity, but that got me wondering what about smaller capacity portable power units.  I noticed another portable power option in some other video, the Bluetti EB32, which also puts out the similar numbers of 12v/10a with a 120w max output. 

Would this work as an adequate home base power supply for the DB20-G?  My thinking is that having this portable power supply could do daily duty as a radio power supply, and then as a portable power option whenever traveling/camping/etc. 

[SteveShannon]

31 minutes ago, WSFJ540 said:

I was watching NotARubicon's video review of the Radioddity DB20-G and in that he is using a Jackery Explorer 1000 to power the radio.  Looking at the specs, the Jackery is showing a 12v/10a output.  That Jackery unit is pretty expensive because of it's capacity, but that got me wondering what about smaller capacity portable power units.  I noticed another portable power option in some other video, the Bluetti EB32, which also puts out the similar numbers of 12v/10a with a 120w max output. 

Would this work as an adequate home base power supply for the DB20-G?  My thinking is that having this portable power supply could do daily duty as a radio power supply, and then as a portable power option whenever traveling/camping/etc. 

Just get a lifepo battery, put it in a plastic anmmo box and wire power poles to it.  Don’t make it harder than needed. Get whatever capacity you want.

[BoxCar]

1 hour ago, SteveShannon said:

Just get a lifepo battery, put it in a plastic anmmo box and wire power poles to it.  Don’t make it harder than needed. Get whatever capacity you want.

As Steve says, but there's more to it than just getting a battery. You'll need a charger for the battery, something like Amazon.com: 14.6V 10A LiFePO4 Battery Charger Special for 12V LiFePO4 Battery, Trickle Charger for Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery, Battery Maintainer, Built-in Safety Protections, Support Fast Charging : Automotive along with the crimp tools for the connectors. You'll need a couple of crimp on connectors for the battery. They'll need to be .250 inches wide for an F1 tab. Quicksilver Radio will sell you a premade power pole connector for the battery box Play-Series™ Powerpole Mount.

 

[WRYS709]

3 hours ago, WSFJ540 said:

I was watching NotARubicon's video review of the Radioddity DB20-G and in that he is using a Jackery Explorer 1000 to power the radio.  Looking at the specs, the Jackery is showing a 12v/10a output.  That Jackery unit is pretty expensive because of it's capacity, but that got me wondering what about smaller capacity portable power units.  I noticed another portable power option in some other video, the Bluetti EB32, which also puts out the similar numbers of 12v/10a with a 120w max output. 

Would this work as an adequate home base power supply for the DB20-G?  My thinking is that having this portable power supply could do daily duty as a radio power supply, and then as a portable power option whenever traveling/camping/etc. 

I easily power my DB20-G with my Jackery Explorer 300.

I do have a 120v AC to 12v DC main power supply for longer term use. It is the JetStream JTPS32MAB, which I purchased years ago from the old HRO that was located nearby in those days.

[Socalgmrs]

5 minutes ago, BoxCar said:

Almost any power supply putting out 10A (12oW) will do for that radio. For a 50W radio, you'll need 15A up to 20A (180-240W).

Any antenna?  What a joke. 

[Socalgmrs]

2 minutes ago, WRYZ926 said:

You can find power supplies on Amazon that put out the correct 13.8v DC and have a 10 amp accessory port (cigarette lighter) that will work fine for a 20 watt radio. I suggest buying a 30 amp power supply just incase you ever decide to get a 50 watt radio to use as a base station.  

Here is one example: 13.8V 30A Bench Power Supply, Analog DC Power Supply with Cigarette Plug, Ham Radio Regulated Switching Power Supply, Noise Offset Control I know its a generic brand, but that exact power supply is sold under various names and has a good reputation.

One thing to remember is that most, if not all, power supplies are marketed at their peak power output. The continuous power output is between 75 and 80 percent of that. SO a 20 amp power supply is really only good for 22-24 amps of continuous use.

Wow that’s an expensive one. My 80amp only costs $98.  It’s been powering 3 radios and led lights for years.  And it’s perfectly clean power