Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
mike mike is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 14
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

I bought a car radio/cd player.
Vr-3 VRCD400-SDU
I'd like to leave it powered and use it's on/off switch
to turn it on/off.
But the darn thing draws 1/4 AMP when it's turned off.
With my driving habits, I'm gonna have a perpetual dead battery.

Of course, this doesen't show up on the spec sheet.
I sent a note to customer service, but I don't expect a rational
reply from them. Is this a common problem?

When I take it back and go looking for a better one, how do I find out
without buying it? I have a clamp-on current probe, maybe I'll
sneak behind the demo panel...;-)

Thanks, mike
  #2   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
KU40 KU40 is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?


your radio will draw some current so that it can keep your settings.
But I'm not sure how much that would be, 1/4 amp seems like too much.
but I don't know.

where is the main +12v power wire hooked up to? did you test on that
wire or the acc. wire (aka- red or yellow)?


--
KU40
  #3   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
GregS GregS is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 527
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

In article , KU40 wrote:

your radio will draw some current so that it can keep your settings.
But I'm not sure how much that would be, 1/4 amp seems like too much.
but I don't know.

where is the main +12v power wire hooked up to? did you test on that
wire or the acc. wire (aka- red or yellow)?


If its a 1/4 amp fuse, thats Ok. One should like to have less than 10-20 ma
max draw from the battery for any great length of time. Even that is hard on a
battery if it sits for a week or two. Radio settings should be in the microamp
range.

greg
  #4   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
Matt Ion Matt Ion is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 420
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

mike wrote:
I bought a car radio/cd player.
Vr-3 VRCD400-SDU
I'd like to leave it powered and use it's on/off switch
to turn it on/off.
But the darn thing draws 1/4 AMP when it's turned off.


Where are you measuring this?

Of course, this doesen't show up on the spec sheet.


Of course not. A deck's idle current isn't generally a concern to people.

I sent a note to customer service, but I don't expect a rational
reply from them. Is this a common problem?


What, not expecting a rational reply from customer service? Far TOO common, alas.

When I take it back and go looking for a better one, how do I find out
without buying it? I have a clamp-on current probe, maybe I'll
sneak behind the demo panel...;-)


I don't think you'll find anything particularly "better", unless your specific
deck actually has something wrong with it. The only thing it needs to draw
current for when off is the memory backup, and that will be mostly the same for
any deck (although personally, I don't know why they even bother anymore - they
solved the problem with shuttle decks years ago).
  #5   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
mike mike is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 14
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

Matt Ion wrote:
mike wrote:

I bought a car radio/cd player.
Vr-3 VRCD400-SDU
I'd like to leave it powered and use it's on/off switch
to turn it on/off.
But the darn thing draws 1/4 AMP when it's turned off.



Where are you measuring this?


It's on the bench using a power supply.
The yellow backup wire draws essentially zero. The PS meter
has only 1mA resolution and I've not bothered to measure any more
precicely than ~zero mA.
The Red power wire is the one consuming 230mA.
Speakers are disconnected, output from PreOut to amplified speakers.
System draws 800mA or so average playing a mp3 CD.
230mA when switched off sounds excessive.

Of course, this doesen't show up on the spec sheet.



Of course not. A deck's idle current isn't generally a concern to people.

I sent a note to customer service, but I don't expect a rational
reply from them. Is this a common problem?



What, not expecting a rational reply from customer service? Far TOO
common, alas.

When I take it back and go looking for a better one, how do I find out
without buying it? I have a clamp-on current probe, maybe I'll
sneak behind the demo panel...;-)



I don't think you'll find anything particularly "better", unless your
specific deck actually has something wrong with it. The only thing it
needs to draw current for when off is the memory backup, and that will
be mostly the same for any deck (although personally, I don't know why
they even bother anymore - they solved the problem with shuttle decks
years ago).


Well, that was my quesiton. Is 1/4A when off typical?

mike


  #6   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
Matt Ion Matt Ion is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 420
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

mike wrote:

Where are you measuring this?



It's on the bench using a power supply.
The yellow backup wire draws essentially zero. The PS meter
has only 1mA resolution and I've not bothered to measure any more
precicely than ~zero mA.
The Red power wire is the one consuming 230mA.
Speakers are disconnected, output from PreOut to amplified speakers.
System draws 800mA or so average playing a mp3 CD.
230mA when switched off sounds excessive.


It does indeed...

I don't think you'll find anything particularly "better", unless your
specific deck actually has something wrong with it. The only thing it
needs to draw current for when off is the memory backup, and that will
be mostly the same for any deck (although personally, I don't know why
they even bother anymore - they solved the problem with shuttle decks
years ago).



Well, that was my quesiton. Is 1/4A when off typical?


I'd tend to think not... but then I've never measured a deck's idle current.
  #7   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
Chad Wahls Chad Wahls is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 35
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?


"Matt Ion" wrote in message
news:PFIhh.496825$1T2.457808@pd7urf2no...
mike wrote:

Where are you measuring this?



It's on the bench using a power supply.
The yellow backup wire draws essentially zero. The PS meter
has only 1mA resolution and I've not bothered to measure any more
precicely than ~zero mA.
The Red power wire is the one consuming 230mA.
Speakers are disconnected, output from PreOut to amplified speakers.
System draws 800mA or so average playing a mp3 CD.
230mA when switched off sounds excessive.


It does indeed...

I don't think you'll find anything particularly "better", unless your
specific deck actually has something wrong with it. The only thing it
needs to draw current for when off is the memory backup, and that will
be mostly the same for any deck (although personally, I don't know why
they even bother anymore - they solved the problem with shuttle decks
years ago).



Well, that was my quesiton. Is 1/4A when off typical?


I'd tend to think not... but then I've never measured a deck's idle
current.


But the red wire is switched so it's no problemo right?

Chad


  #8   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
mike mike is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 14
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

Chad Wahls wrote:
"Matt Ion" wrote in message
news:PFIhh.496825$1T2.457808@pd7urf2no...

mike wrote:


Where are you measuring this?


It's on the bench using a power supply.
The yellow backup wire draws essentially zero. The PS meter
has only 1mA resolution and I've not bothered to measure any more
precicely than ~zero mA.
The Red power wire is the one consuming 230mA.
Speakers are disconnected, output from PreOut to amplified speakers.
System draws 800mA or so average playing a mp3 CD.
230mA when switched off sounds excessive.


It does indeed...


I don't think you'll find anything particularly "better", unless your
specific deck actually has something wrong with it. The only thing it
needs to draw current for when off is the memory backup, and that will
be mostly the same for any deck (although personally, I don't know why
they even bother anymore - they solved the problem with shuttle decks
years ago).


Well, that was my quesiton. Is 1/4A when off typical?


I'd tend to think not... but then I've never measured a deck's idle
current.



But the red wire is switched so it's no problemo right?

Chad


Well...

The red wire is switched if you swtich it. I wasn't gonna.

But that's not the only issue. That much current drain when off, is a
serious design error. Yes, vendors sometimes do stupid things, but
you'd expect I'd not be the only one with an issue.

My "conclusion" is that mine's broke and current is going somewhere it
shouldn't...like
a leaky output amplifier. It's more likely to get worse than better.
It's a walmart special, so good luck getting parts.

I really like the radio. And it was cheap.

Looks like my options are down to piling test equipment into the truck
and driving way across town to test another one in the parking lot.
Be just my luck to get one with low drain but CD drive issues. It's
always something...

mike
  #9   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
Matt Ion Matt Ion is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 420
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

mike wrote:
Chad Wahls wrote:

"Matt Ion" wrote in message
news:PFIhh.496825$1T2.457808@pd7urf2no...

mike wrote:


Where are you measuring this?



It's on the bench using a power supply.
The yellow backup wire draws essentially zero. The PS meter
has only 1mA resolution and I've not bothered to measure any more
precicely than ~zero mA.
The Red power wire is the one consuming 230mA.
Speakers are disconnected, output from PreOut to amplified speakers.
System draws 800mA or so average playing a mp3 CD.
230mA when switched off sounds excessive.


It does indeed...


I don't think you'll find anything particularly "better", unless
your specific deck actually has something wrong with it. The only
thing it needs to draw current for when off is the memory backup,
and that will be mostly the same for any deck (although personally,
I don't know why they even bother anymore - they solved the problem
with shuttle decks years ago).



Well, that was my quesiton. Is 1/4A when off typical?


I'd tend to think not... but then I've never measured a deck's idle
current.




But the red wire is switched so it's no problemo right?

Chad

Well...

The red wire is switched if you swtich it. I wasn't gonna.

But that's not the only issue. That much current drain when off, is a
serious design error. Yes, vendors sometimes do stupid things, but
you'd expect I'd not be the only one with an issue.


In retrospect (and considering Chad's post), I don't think it is a "design
error". Standard car deck design provides for that lead to only be hooked up to
switched power, so idle current isn't a consideration.

My "conclusion" is that mine's broke and current is going somewhere it
shouldn't...like
a leaky output amplifier. It's more likely to get worse than better.
It's a walmart special, so good luck getting parts.

I really like the radio. And it was cheap.


So, go back to Walmart and trade it in for another unit of the same model. If
your measurements are repeated, then it's probably due to the design of the
deck. If not, then that one unit was faulty.

I suspect you'll find the former to be the case, and again, I suspect you'll
find it to be the case with most decks you try. You are, after all, attempting
to wire the deck up in a manner it's not designed for.
  #10   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
mike mike is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 14
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

Matt Ion wrote:
mike wrote:

Chad Wahls wrote:

"Matt Ion" wrote in message
news:PFIhh.496825$1T2.457808@pd7urf2no...

mike wrote:


Where are you measuring this?




It's on the bench using a power supply.
The yellow backup wire draws essentially zero. The PS meter
has only 1mA resolution and I've not bothered to measure any more
precicely than ~zero mA.
The Red power wire is the one consuming 230mA.
Speakers are disconnected, output from PreOut to amplified speakers.
System draws 800mA or so average playing a mp3 CD.
230mA when switched off sounds excessive.



It does indeed...


I don't think you'll find anything particularly "better", unless
your specific deck actually has something wrong with it. The only
thing it needs to draw current for when off is the memory backup,
and that will be mostly the same for any deck (although
personally, I don't know why they even bother anymore - they
solved the problem with shuttle decks years ago).




Well, that was my quesiton. Is 1/4A when off typical?



I'd tend to think not... but then I've never measured a deck's idle
current.




But the red wire is switched so it's no problemo right?

Chad

Well...

The red wire is switched if you swtich it. I wasn't gonna.

But that's not the only issue. That much current drain when off, is a
serious design error. Yes, vendors sometimes do stupid things, but
you'd expect I'd not be the only one with an issue.



In retrospect (and considering Chad's post), I don't think it is a
"design error". Standard car deck design provides for that lead to only
be hooked up to switched power, so idle current isn't a consideration.

My "conclusion" is that mine's broke and current is going somewhere it
shouldn't...like
a leaky output amplifier. It's more likely to get worse than better.
It's a walmart special, so good luck getting parts.

I really like the radio. And it was cheap.



So, go back to Walmart and trade it in for another unit of the same
model. If your measurements are repeated, then it's probably due to the
design of the deck. If not, then that one unit was faulty.

I suspect you'll find the former to be the case, and again, I suspect
you'll find it to be the case with most decks you try. You are, after
all, attempting to wire the deck up in a manner it's not designed for.


I phoned customer service. After a consultation with "engineering"
they decided that the deck shouldn't draw that much current.

A wasted afternoon and tank of gas later, I sit here with a brand new
instance with the same problem.
Guess I'm forced to switch the power externally.

I be an engineer by trade. This would never have passed my design review.
The thing has a power wire to run the necessary memory stuff.
The whole reason for an onboard power switch is so you can turn it OFF!!!!

Yet it still draws 1/4 of the operating power when OFF!!!!

It's not an on/off switch...it's an on/runyourbatterydown switch.

BAD DESIGN
Rant off.
Otherwise cool radio.
mike


  #11   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
Matt Ion Matt Ion is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 420
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

mike wrote:
Matt Ion wrote:

mike wrote:

Chad Wahls wrote:

"Matt Ion" wrote in message
news:PFIhh.496825$1T2.457808@pd7urf2no...

mike wrote:


Where are you measuring this?





It's on the bench using a power supply.
The yellow backup wire draws essentially zero. The PS meter
has only 1mA resolution and I've not bothered to measure any more
precicely than ~zero mA.
The Red power wire is the one consuming 230mA.
Speakers are disconnected, output from PreOut to amplified speakers.
System draws 800mA or so average playing a mp3 CD.
230mA when switched off sounds excessive.




It does indeed...


I don't think you'll find anything particularly "better", unless
your specific deck actually has something wrong with it. The
only thing it needs to draw current for when off is the memory
backup, and that will be mostly the same for any deck (although
personally, I don't know why they even bother anymore - they
solved the problem with shuttle decks years ago).





Well, that was my quesiton. Is 1/4A when off typical?




I'd tend to think not... but then I've never measured a deck's idle
current.





But the red wire is switched so it's no problemo right?

Chad

Well...

The red wire is switched if you swtich it. I wasn't gonna.

But that's not the only issue. That much current drain when off, is
a serious design error. Yes, vendors sometimes do stupid things, but
you'd expect I'd not be the only one with an issue.




In retrospect (and considering Chad's post), I don't think it is a
"design error". Standard car deck design provides for that lead to
only be hooked up to switched power, so idle current isn't a
consideration.

My "conclusion" is that mine's broke and current is going somewhere
it shouldn't...like
a leaky output amplifier. It's more likely to get worse than better.
It's a walmart special, so good luck getting parts.

I really like the radio. And it was cheap.




So, go back to Walmart and trade it in for another unit of the same
model. If your measurements are repeated, then it's probably due to
the design of the deck. If not, then that one unit was faulty.

I suspect you'll find the former to be the case, and again, I suspect
you'll find it to be the case with most decks you try. You are, after
all, attempting to wire the deck up in a manner it's not designed for.



I phoned customer service. After a consultation with "engineering"
they decided that the deck shouldn't draw that much current.

A wasted afternoon and tank of gas later, I sit here with a brand new
instance with the same problem.
Guess I'm forced to switch the power externally.

I be an engineer by trade. This would never have passed my design review.
The thing has a power wire to run the necessary memory stuff.
The whole reason for an onboard power switch is so you can turn it OFF!!!!

Yet it still draws 1/4 of the operating power when OFF!!!!

It's not an on/off switch...it's an on/runyourbatterydown switch.

BAD DESIGN
Rant off.
Otherwise cool radio.
mike


Actually, just about all car decks are DESIGNED to be powered on and off with
the Accessory switch (or in some cases, Ignition). This harkens back to the
very early days of mechanically-tuned car radios, where backup/memory constant
feeds weren't necessary. With very few exceptions, THE RED LEAD IS SIMPLY NOT
INTENDED TO BE HOOKED TO A CONSTANT POWER SOURCE.

Think about the alternative: the radio is designed so that you can turn off the
car, get out, lock the door, walk away... and the radio is still turned on,
running your battery down. Whether you're just scatterbrained and leave it
blaring, or had it muted or turned down and forgot it was turned on, THIS would
be entirely unacceptable and a MUCH faster way to run down your battery.

So basically ALL decks are designed to operate ONLY on switched power. The
addition of the memory lead is only a very recent addition.
  #12   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
mike mike is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 14
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

Matt Ion wrote:
mike wrote:

Matt Ion wrote:

mike wrote:

Chad Wahls wrote:

"Matt Ion" wrote in message
news:PFIhh.496825$1T2.457808@pd7urf2no...

mike wrote:


Where are you measuring this?






It's on the bench using a power supply.
The yellow backup wire draws essentially zero. The PS meter
has only 1mA resolution and I've not bothered to measure any more
precicely than ~zero mA.
The Red power wire is the one consuming 230mA.
Speakers are disconnected, output from PreOut to amplified speakers.
System draws 800mA or so average playing a mp3 CD.
230mA when switched off sounds excessive.





It does indeed...


I don't think you'll find anything particularly "better", unless
your specific deck actually has something wrong with it. The
only thing it needs to draw current for when off is the memory
backup, and that will be mostly the same for any deck (although
personally, I don't know why they even bother anymore - they
solved the problem with shuttle decks years ago).






Well, that was my quesiton. Is 1/4A when off typical?





I'd tend to think not... but then I've never measured a deck's
idle current.






But the red wire is switched so it's no problemo right?

Chad

Well...

The red wire is switched if you swtich it. I wasn't gonna.

But that's not the only issue. That much current drain when off, is
a serious design error. Yes, vendors sometimes do stupid things,
but you'd expect I'd not be the only one with an issue.




In retrospect (and considering Chad's post), I don't think it is a
"design error". Standard car deck design provides for that lead to
only be hooked up to switched power, so idle current isn't a
consideration.

My "conclusion" is that mine's broke and current is going somewhere
it shouldn't...like
a leaky output amplifier. It's more likely to get worse than better.
It's a walmart special, so good luck getting parts.

I really like the radio. And it was cheap.




So, go back to Walmart and trade it in for another unit of the same
model. If your measurements are repeated, then it's probably due to
the design of the deck. If not, then that one unit was faulty.

I suspect you'll find the former to be the case, and again, I suspect
you'll find it to be the case with most decks you try. You are,
after all, attempting to wire the deck up in a manner it's not
designed for.




I phoned customer service. After a consultation with "engineering"
they decided that the deck shouldn't draw that much current.

A wasted afternoon and tank of gas later, I sit here with a brand new
instance with the same problem.
Guess I'm forced to switch the power externally.

I be an engineer by trade. This would never have passed my design
review.
The thing has a power wire to run the necessary memory stuff.
The whole reason for an onboard power switch is so you can turn it
OFF!!!!

Yet it still draws 1/4 of the operating power when OFF!!!!

It's not an on/off switch...it's an on/runyourbatterydown switch.

BAD DESIGN
Rant off.
Otherwise cool radio.
mike



Actually, just about all car decks are DESIGNED to be powered on and off
with the Accessory switch (or in some cases, Ignition). This harkens
back to the very early days of mechanically-tuned car radios, where
backup/memory constant feeds weren't necessary. With very few
exceptions, THE RED LEAD IS SIMPLY NOT INTENDED TO BE HOOKED TO A
CONSTANT POWER SOURCE.

Think about the alternative: the radio is designed so that you can turn
off the car, get out, lock the door, walk away... and the radio is still
turned on, running your battery down. Whether you're just
scatterbrained and leave it blaring, or had it muted or turned down and
forgot it was turned on, THIS would be entirely unacceptable and a MUCH
faster way to run down your battery.

So basically ALL decks are designed to operate ONLY on switched power.
The addition of the memory lead is only a very recent addition.

BAD design.
Try putting it in your motorhome where there ain't no switch.
Just cause they are all bad designs, don't make 'em good.
But we saved a nickel on a FET WoooooHoooo!!!
Most interesting part is that the vendor "engineering dept" didn't think
it should work that way.
  #13   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
GregS GregS is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 527
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

In article Bmpih.504157$1T2.223044@pd7urf2no, Matt Ion wrote:
mike wrote:
Matt Ion wrote:

mike wrote:

Chad Wahls wrote:

"Matt Ion" wrote in message
news:PFIhh.496825$1T2.457808@pd7urf2no...

mike wrote:


Where are you measuring this?





It's on the bench using a power supply.
The yellow backup wire draws essentially zero. The PS meter
has only 1mA resolution and I've not bothered to measure any more
precicely than ~zero mA.
The Red power wire is the one consuming 230mA.
Speakers are disconnected, output from PreOut to amplified speakers.
System draws 800mA or so average playing a mp3 CD.
230mA when switched off sounds excessive.




It does indeed...


I don't think you'll find anything particularly "better", unless
your specific deck actually has something wrong with it. The
only thing it needs to draw current for when off is the memory
backup, and that will be mostly the same for any deck (although
personally, I don't know why they even bother anymore - they
solved the problem with shuttle decks years ago).





Well, that was my quesiton. Is 1/4A when off typical?




I'd tend to think not... but then I've never measured a deck's idle
current.





But the red wire is switched so it's no problemo right?

Chad

Well...

The red wire is switched if you swtich it. I wasn't gonna.

But that's not the only issue. That much current drain when off, is
a serious design error. Yes, vendors sometimes do stupid things, but
you'd expect I'd not be the only one with an issue.



In retrospect (and considering Chad's post), I don't think it is a
"design error". Standard car deck design provides for that lead to
only be hooked up to switched power, so idle current isn't a
consideration.

My "conclusion" is that mine's broke and current is going somewhere
it shouldn't...like
a leaky output amplifier. It's more likely to get worse than better.
It's a walmart special, so good luck getting parts.

I really like the radio. And it was cheap.



So, go back to Walmart and trade it in for another unit of the same
model. If your measurements are repeated, then it's probably due to
the design of the deck. If not, then that one unit was faulty.

I suspect you'll find the former to be the case, and again, I suspect
you'll find it to be the case with most decks you try. You are, after
all, attempting to wire the deck up in a manner it's not designed for.



I phoned customer service. After a consultation with "engineering"
they decided that the deck shouldn't draw that much current.

A wasted afternoon and tank of gas later, I sit here with a brand new
instance with the same problem.
Guess I'm forced to switch the power externally.

I be an engineer by trade. This would never have passed my design review.
The thing has a power wire to run the necessary memory stuff.
The whole reason for an onboard power switch is so you can turn it OFF!!!!

Yet it still draws 1/4 of the operating power when OFF!!!!

It's not an on/off switch...it's an on/runyourbatterydown switch.

BAD DESIGN
Rant off.
Otherwise cool radio.
mike


Actually, just about all car decks are DESIGNED to be powered on and off with
the Accessory switch (or in some cases, Ignition). This harkens back to the
very early days of mechanically-tuned car radios, where backup/memory constant
feeds weren't necessary. With very few exceptions, THE RED LEAD IS SIMPLY NOT
INTENDED TO BE HOOKED TO A CONSTANT POWER SOURCE.

Think about the alternative: the radio is designed so that you can turn off the

car, get out, lock the door, walk away... and the radio is still turned on,
running your battery down. Whether you're just scatterbrained and leave it
blaring, or had it muted or turned down and forgot it was turned on, THIS would

be entirely unacceptable and a MUCH faster way to run down your battery.

So basically ALL decks are designed to operate ONLY on switched power. The
addition of the memory lead is only a very recent addition.


I didn't even think of that. Yes, the "ON" idle current should be much higher
than the maximum off current I recommended comming into the the memory and
clock circuits.

In my Z car, the power amp when switched off by the HU, stll draws about 30-40
ma. and that casuses me problems.

greg

  #14   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
D.Kreft D.Kreft is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 296
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

On Dec 20, 9:56 pm, Matt Ion wrote:

Think about the alternative: the radio is designed so that you can turn off the
car, get out, lock the door, walk away... and the radio is still turned on,
running your battery down. Whether you're just scatterbrained and leave it
blaring, or had it muted or turned down and forgot it was turned on, THIS would
be entirely unacceptable and a MUCH faster way to run down your battery.


Way back when I had my Accord with the system in it, I wired my radio
through a relay controlled by my VSE Derringer/2 alarm so I could turn
it on and off at will remotely. It proved to be lots of fun--I would
walk up to my car and hit:

Button 1: disarm the alarm
Button 2: turn the stereo on
Button 1+2: pop my driver's door open [1]

By the time my door was opened, the music was already playing. It was
pretty cool for a beat-up 12-year-old car.

Another fun trick I used to play was to put in some obnoxious bass
"music" like D.J. Magic Mike (http://www.amazon.com/o/asin/B000000FX1)
or Nemesis (http://www.answers.com/topic/to-hell-and-back-rap-album) at
full undistored volume and turn the system off with the remote and park
the car in the grocery store parking lot. I'd then sit at the front of
the store and wait until people got really close to the car and then
turn the system on. When the bass started hitting and the sheet metal
and wiper on the hatch went nuts, it really freaked people out,
especially when they looked inside and saw nobody in there. A few
adventerous older people would even step in for a closer look, at which
point I would pop the door open...which always sent them scurrying.

Ahh, I miss those days.

So, Matt, as you can see...having your head unit wired to a "constant"
+12V can be a good thing. :-) It's also nice to be able to turn the
engine off and pull the key out of the ignition and listen to the
stereo without the constant *ding* *ding* *ding* *ding* *ding* *ding*
of the "hey-stupid-your-key-is-in-the-ignition-and-the-door-is-open"
chime. :-)

-dan

[1] I had a bad battery so I had to push-start my car until I got a new
battery. The easiest way to push-start a car is in its lowest
gear--reverse. I got good at it--I could start that sucker in about 10'
of space. Once, while at a gas station I push-started my car backwards
and the door caught the concrete pole next to the pumps and bent it
backwards. After banging it back into shape, unlatching the door would
result in it literally jumping open a few inches. :-)

  #15   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
Matt Ion Matt Ion is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 420
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

D.Kreft wrote:

So, Matt, as you can see...having your head unit wired to a "constant"
+12V can be a good thing. :-) It's also nice to be able to turn the
engine off and pull the key out of the ignition and listen to the
stereo without the constant *ding* *ding* *ding* *ding* *ding* *ding*
of the "hey-stupid-your-key-is-in-the-ignition-and-the-door-is-open"
chime. :-)


Never said it wasn't... just noting that what mike is trying to do is "abnormal"
from the standard design and usage, and when you use things in a way they're not
designed to work, you alone bear the consequences for anything untoward.

I'd be surprised if "engineers" HAVEN'T thought about the current drain on the
accessory lead while a deck is off... but I can guarantee you for almost all of
them, it's not a design PRIORITY, because in 99.9% of normal installations, it's
not a factor.

Another thing to consider: the on/off button on most decks is not a hard switch
- it's a soft switch that requires a small amount of power to its own circuit to
sense the button being pressed, that COULD account for the current draw measured
on the accessory lead when off. With this particular design, if that current
wasn't being drawn from the accessory lead, it would have to be drawn from the
constant lead, and when wired up *normally* it would draw the same excessive
amount of current ALL THE TIME, most of which would be unncessary, since it
won't turn on anyway.

Personally, I've never delved that deeply into deck design... just speculation
on WHY a deck would potentially have that kind of idle draw when turned "off"
(and really, anything with a "soft" power switch isn't being turned off, it's
being put into a "standby" mode). I think mike's just bitter because it doesn't
work the way he wants it to.



  #16   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
GregS GregS is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 527
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

In article . com, "D.Kreft" wrote:
On Dec 20, 9:56 pm, Matt Ion wrote:

Think about the alternative: the radio is designed so that you can turn off

the
car, get out, lock the door, walk away... and the radio is still turned on,
running your battery down. Whether you're just scatterbrained and leave it
blaring, or had it muted or turned down and forgot it was turned on, THIS

would
be entirely unacceptable and a MUCH faster way to run down your battery.


Way back when I had my Accord with the system in it, I wired my radio
through a relay controlled by my VSE Derringer/2 alarm so I could turn
it on and off at will remotely. It proved to be lots of fun--I would
walk up to my car and hit:

Button 1: disarm the alarm
Button 2: turn the stereo on
Button 1+2: pop my driver's door open [1]

By the time my door was opened, the music was already playing. It was
pretty cool for a beat-up 12-year-old car.

Another fun trick I used to play was to put in some obnoxious bass
"music" like D.J. Magic Mike (http://www.amazon.com/o/asin/B000000FX1)
or Nemesis (http://www.answers.com/topic/to-hell-and-back-rap-album) at
full undistored volume and turn the system off with the remote and park
the car in the grocery store parking lot. I'd then sit at the front of
the store and wait until people got really close to the car and then
turn the system on. When the bass started hitting and the sheet metal
and wiper on the hatch went nuts, it really freaked people out,
especially when they looked inside and saw nobody in there. A few
adventerous older people would even step in for a closer look, at which
point I would pop the door open...which always sent them scurrying.

Ahh, I miss those days.

So, Matt, as you can see...having your head unit wired to a "constant"
+12V can be a good thing. :-) It's also nice to be able to turn the
engine off and pull the key out of the ignition and listen to the
stereo without the constant *ding* *ding* *ding* *ding* *ding* *ding*
of the "hey-stupid-your-key-is-in-the-ignition-and-the-door-is-open"
chime. :-)


My truck has remote start. That also enables the accessories, and it also
turns on the headlights.

The other day I wanted to charge it up a bit since I don't use it much
anymore. It running while I'm in the house. A few minuites later I heard this
loud bass noise from one of the neighbor kids. Well I thought it was one one
the bass kids, I was lookng out into the neighborhood. I then remembered my
truck has been having a problem with the muting circuit. I had the volume
full blast, then the muting circuit started to work properly and let out at
full volume. I ran out , quickly opened the door and turned down the volume.
One of the stupid neighbor kids, sure, right.

greg
  #17   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
D.Kreft D.Kreft is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 296
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

On Dec 21, 9:47 am, Matt Ion wrote:

Another thing to consider: the on/off button on most decks is not a hard switch
- it's a soft switch that requires a small amount of power to its own circuit to
sense the button being pressed, that COULD account for the current draw measured
on the accessory lead when off. With this particular design, if that current
wasn't being drawn from the accessory lead, it would have to be drawn from the
constant lead, and when wired up *normally* it would draw the same excessive
amount of current ALL THE TIME, most of which would be unncessary, since it
won't turn on anyway.


That's a *very* astute observation, Matt. I hadn't thought about
that--but it makes perfect sense.

-dan

  #18   Report Post  
Posted to rec.audio.car
Matt Ion Matt Ion is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 420
Default Radio Draws 1/4 AMP when OFF!! is this right?

D.Kreft wrote:
On Dec 21, 9:47 am, Matt Ion wrote:


Another thing to consider: the on/off button on most decks is not a hard switch
- it's a soft switch that requires a small amount of power to its own circuit to
sense the button being pressed, that COULD account for the current draw measured
on the accessory lead when off. With this particular design, if that current
wasn't being drawn from the accessory lead, it would have to be drawn from the
constant lead, and when wired up *normally* it would draw the same excessive
amount of current ALL THE TIME, most of which would be unncessary, since it
won't turn on anyway.



That's a *very* astute observation, Matt. I hadn't thought about
that--but it makes perfect sense.


I have my moments
Reply
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
How to connect MP3 player to factory radio??? [email protected] Car Audio 1 April 22nd 06 12:23 AM
Excel 1991 Radio replacement govi Car Audio 1 February 17th 06 08:58 AM
Delco Radio Modification Kostja Car Audio 1 July 24th 04 03:39 PM
FS: misc books... Mark Oppat Marketplace 0 January 7th 04 08:04 AM
Radio wiring - HELP!! BrownLF Car Audio 0 September 16th 03 06:21 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:09 AM.

Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 AudioBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Audio and hi-fi"