Posted: 3/26/2013 8:11:45 PM EDT
| I am building some power supply lines for my radios and I want to use inline fuses. I know we use 13.8 amps, but the only fuses that I see that are close are 15 amp fuses. IS that what we use, or are there 13.8 amp fuses out there? |
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I don't think you can find a fuse that is exactly 13.8 amp rated.
Here's how a fuse is sized: the max amperage load plus a 10% surge factor. 13.8 X 1.10 = 1518 which tells me that a 15 amp fuse should be perfectly good for your power supply. AND keep in mind that fuses are rated in amps AND volts. EX: your power supply draws 13.8 amps at 120 VAC would take a different fuse that if it was a 12 VDC power source or different if it were a 240 VAC source. So not only do you need to know the full load amps, you also have to take into account the power source voltage. |
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No, you mean 13.8 VOLTS, not amps.
Most VHF rigs (about 50 watts) draw 12 amps or so, so you use a 15 amp fuse. Read the manual. It will tell you exactly that kind. Most HF rigs (about 100 watts) draw about 20-22 amps max, so you use a 25 or 30 amp fuse. Again, whatever the manual says. Buy extra fuses and keep them where you can find them. Some radios have internal fuses you may want to have a few spares for, too. |
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Thanks for the help, guys! EDIT: My FT-7900R and 897D are both rated at 13.8 VDC but my TenTec 555 Scout is rated at 13.5 VDC. Still the same situation for fuses? voltage doesnt matter, its all DC(think car battery). all that matters is the amps. It's AMPERAGE !!!!!!!! |
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which is what "amps" is short for and is used pretty much in every manual every made.
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Thanks for the help, guys! EDIT: My FT-7900R and 897D are both rated at 13.8 VDC but my TenTec 555 Scout is rated at 13.5 VDC. Still the same situation for fuses? voltage doesnt matter, its all DC(think car battery). all that matters is the amps. It's AMPERAGE !!!!!!!! |
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which is what "amps" is short for and is used pretty much in every manual every made.
Quoted:
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Thanks for the help, guys! EDIT: My FT-7900R and 897D are both rated at 13.8 VDC but my TenTec 555 Scout is rated at 13.5 VDC. Still the same situation for fuses? voltage doesnt matter, its all DC(think car battery). all that matters is the amps. It's AMPERAGE !!!!!!!! Amp is "An abbreviation for Ampere" Ampere is "A unit of electric current" Amperage is "The strength of an electric current expressed in amperes" Hearing "Amps" is like hearing "Clips" |
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which is what "amps" is short for and is used pretty much in every manual every made.
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Thanks for the help, guys! EDIT: My FT-7900R and 897D are both rated at 13.8 VDC but my TenTec 555 Scout is rated at 13.5 VDC. Still the same situation for fuses? voltage doesnt matter, its all DC(think car battery). all that matters is the amps. It's AMPERAGE !!!!!!!! Amp is "An abbreviation for Ampere" Ampere is "A unit of electric current" Amperage is "The strength of an electric current expressed in amperes" Hearing "Amps" is like hearing "Clips" check the owners manual for your radios, i bet they all say "amps" and no other name. 
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Amps is OK in the proper Context The circuit Draws 45 Amps (OK) A 45 Amps fuse is required (Not OK) Which one sounds correct? 1. "Voltage doesn't matter, all that matters is the amps" 2. "Voltage doesn't matter, all that matters is the Amperage" 3. "Voltage doesn't matter, What matters is the Amperage" Say it however you, but to me using Amps where Amperage should be used is like saying "Clips" instead of Magazines. Maybe I'm just old school I still use KC over kHz 
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Quoted: -- Snip -- Amps is OK in the proper Context. Amperage too is OK in the proper context. (As long as we're talking proper context, the word "context" is not a proper noun and should not be capitalized unless it is used at the beginning of a sentence. The circuit Draws 45 Amps (OK) The circuit draws 45 Amperage (Not OK) A 45 Amps fuse is required (Not OK) A 45 amp fuse is required (OK) Which one sounds correct? 1. "Voltage doesn't matter, all that matters is the amps" 2. "Voltage doesn't matter, all that matters is the Amperage" 3. "Voltage doesn't matter, What matters is the Amperage" 4. It ain't the volts, it's the amps that'll kill ya. Say it however you, but to me using Amps where Amperage should be used is like saying "Clips" instead of Magazines. I agree the two are not interchangeable, you watch a clip, you read a magazine. Maybe I'm just old school I still use KC over kHz Frequency is measured in Hertz not cycles, 1kHz is always 1000 cycles per second. 1000 cycles has no time frame associated with it, it may represent 1000 cycles in a 24 hour period which would be .011kHz. KC/sec. could be used but it is still not really correct. It's an Amp meter, not an Amperage meter. If you think KC old school then your really old, because kHz was taught when I got my MSEE about 40 years ago. |