DB20-G

[WSGL345]

I recently set up this in my car plugging into cigarette adapter. With car running voltage on transceiver shows 14.1 volts. When i shut engine off it drops down to 12 volts and after a few minutes there is not enough power to transmit. Battery is only a year or so old; wondering if this is normal and if I wiring directly to battery might not be better?

[Socalgmrs]

Wiring to the battery is always better but this sounds like an issue with the power adaptor not always being hot.  Many power ports and cig lighters turn off when the key is turned off.  Have you actually measured your battery or the port with a meter?   

[WRYZ926]

22 minutes ago, WSGL345 said:

I recently set up this in my car plugging into cigarette adapter. With car running voltage on transceiver shows 14.1 volts. When i shut engine off it drops down to 12 volts and after a few minutes there is not enough power to transmit. Battery is only a year or so old; wondering if this is normal and if I wiring directly to battery might not be better?

How old is your vehicle? Newer vehicles will shut the accessory port off after a few minutes. That is only one possibility.

Also newer vehicles with the battery monitoring system will actually shut off circuits if it detects a low voltage from the battery. I don't remember off hand what the voltage cutoff is. So yet another possibility.

For newer vehicles it is best practice to wire the radio positive wire directly to the battery and the ground wire directly to a chassis ground due to the battery monitor system and all of the computer modules onboard.

[WSHH887]

Far from an expert, but with the vehicle running you are likely reading the alternator output.  Turn off the car you only see the battery voltage.  But anytime you reduce the wring and connections you reduce voltage drop.  A properly sized wire connected directly to the battery with an appropriate inline fuse would be better.

[amaff]

Agreed. Could definitely be a battery monitoring system that shuts things down before it gets too low if it's a newer car, or it could be a battery on the way out.

[WRYS709]

15 hours ago, WSGL345 said:

I recently set up this in my car plugging into cigarette adapter…

Which car?

The cigarette lighter plug on a 20 watt radio is a great feature and should only be removed as a last resort.  For example, in addition to plugging in to my cigarette lighter port in my car, I can plug into the port on my Jackery Explorer 300 for portable/emergency use.

Some cars will turn off the electricity to the cigarette lighter port when the ignition is turned off, but many have an "auxiliary" port that is always powered.

My EV's port is turned off, but it is easy to power it back on again, when parked.

My advice is don't remove what is a great feature of this radio (cigarette lighter plug) and at the end of the day, if you want to connect directly to your battery, get something like this adapter from Powerwerx

 

[WRNU354]

 

9 hours ago, WRYS709 said:

Which car?

The cigarette lighter plug on a 20 watt radio is a great feature and should only be removed as a last resort.  For example, in addition to plugging in to my cigarette lighter port in my car, I can plug into the port on my Jackery Explorer 300 for portable/emergency use.

I agree. I picked my mobile/base 20w and 25w radios partly because their current draw is within the limits of an auxiliary power outlet.

When I driving I plug into my front auxiliary power outlet and when stationary on nice days I can plug the radio into the rear one with the hatch open.

For emergency and campsite use I have the lesser Jackery 250 which is adequate,  but I wish I had the USB-C  and extra capacity of your 300!

As flexible as the auxiliary power plug & outlet are, I wanted the ability switch out different length DC cables and different terminations.

To achieve this my radios have a short fused DC power pigtail terminated in a T-connector.

I made up mating cables:

For mobile use I have one short and one longer DC power cable each terminated in an auxiliary power plug

For home use have a very short cable terminating in lugs so I can connect directly to the rear posts of by DC power supply.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SteveShannon]

11 hours ago, WRYS709 said:

My advice is don't remove what is a great feature of this radio (cigarette lighter plug) and at the end of the day, if you want to connect directly to your battery, get something like this adapter from Powerwerx

I agree in principle but very slightly disagree in practice.  Instead of buying that adapter I would recommend cutting the cable between the radio and the cigarette lighter plug and installing a pair of PowerPoles. The only reason I suggest that this is better is because the PowerPoles are much less current limiting than the cigarette lighter plug and can be mated directly to almost any kind of power storage device. 
Your way is easier. My way is a slightly better long term solution (in my opinion ) and less expensive if you have the tool and PowerPoles. 

[WSEZ864]

11 hours ago, SteveShannon said:

I agree in principle but very slightly disagree in practice.  Instead of buying that adapter I would recommend cutting the cable between the radio and the cigarette lighter plug and installing a pair of PowerPoles. The only reason I suggest that this is better is because the PowerPoles are much less current limiting than the cigarette lighter plug and can be mated directly to almost any kind of power storage device. 
Your way is easier. My way is a slightly better long term solution (in my opinion ) and less expensive if you have the tool and PowerPoles. 

"Hello, my name is Ed and I have a PowerPole addiction."

[WRYS709]

14 hours ago, WRNU354 said:

For emergency and campsite use I have the lesser Jackery 250 which is adequate,  but I wish I had the USB-C  and extra capacity of your 300!

Nice to know I picked the right model: it was an impulse buy, on Black Friday in 2023!