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Multimeter readings


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Thuan 
Copper - Posts: 88
Copper spacespace
Joined: May 20, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: November 17, 2004 at 6:26 PM / IP Logged  

I've been having problems troubleshooting my setup. I can't seem to figure out what's causing my low power. Here's my setup: Alpine CDA-7998, (4) 4" MB Quart RKC110, Soundstream VGA800.5 amp, (1) JL 12w6v2.

Can someone tell me if anything I did below was carried out wrong?

Checked sub VC using multimeter in ohm mode....it read 2ohms.

Checked RCA's output at HU in ACv mode...it read 1.2v for each plug, shouldn't it be higher because they're suppose to be 4v preouts? Or is that 4v combined output per pair of preouts? My subwoofer preout reads 1.2v only if I turn the subwoofer phase 0 degrees to +15...if I turn it down to 0 it reads .2v. So does that mean it has to be at +15 to achieve the 4v Alpine rated them at? Is there something wrong with my HU?

I popped in a new test CD I made the other night to try to set my gains....my amp should put out 400x1 @ 2 ohms...my sub is wired in parallel so it's impedance is 2ohms...so I took the square root of 800 which is 28.28v....that was what I was trying to match. I popped in a 50hz track and turned my HU to 3/4 of it's max....checked the ACv reading from the sub speaker output of the amplifier...it read 44v...changed the track over to a 100hz track and the reading went down to 6.3v.  What's going on here?

As for my coaxials....the amp is rated at 50x4 @ 4 ohms...so I took the square root of 200 which is 14.14v...I hooked up the multimeter and it read 19v per channel. Isn't that a little high?

When setting gains I should turn the subwoofer volume on the deck all the way down to 0 shouldn't I? If I have it at 0 then I would have to turn the gain on my amp all the way up to only get 24.4v. The thing that has me stumped is howcome my voltage readings are nowhere close to each other at different frequencies?

Please point out what I did wrong or if anything is wrong with my system. Thanks.

Thuan
flynntech 
Copper - Posts: 275
Copper spacespace
Joined: April 15, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: November 17, 2004 at 7:16 PM / IP Logged  

The sound signal is an AC signal continously changing in frequencies and amplitudes.

You will not see the same AC voltages all of the time. The coil's impedence depends on the frequency of the signal applied.

Enough of the electrical engineering...how does it sound?

Thuan 
Copper - Posts: 88
Copper spacespace
Joined: May 20, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: November 17, 2004 at 7:47 PM / IP Logged  

So how do people check amplifier rms and set gains using a multimeter?

It doesn't make sense to me why the multimeter reads 44v (968w rms) @ 50hz and with the exact same gain setting and HU volume it reads 6v (18w rms) @ 100hz.

Low bass.

Thuan
uthinkuknoaudio 
Silver - Posts: 760
Silver spacespace
Joined: October 08, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: November 17, 2004 at 8:05 PM / IP Logged  
Check out your dealer on that Soundstream amp and see what he has to say about it. It could be an installation error. I take it your running the amp in tri mode?
"I don't play games. I play Nakamichi and that for real yo" - Probably some japanese kid said this in the early 80's trying to sell stereo out of his trunk lol.
Thuan 
Copper - Posts: 88
Copper spacespace
Joined: May 20, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: November 17, 2004 at 8:24 PM / IP Logged  
I bought the amp on Ebay...I contacted them and they said they'll replace it for me but I want to make sure it's actually the product that is damaged and not just my head...they seem real honest and helpful so I don't want to send back a perfectly fine product. What's tri mode?
Thuan
uthinkuknoaudio 
Silver - Posts: 760
Silver spacespace
Joined: October 08, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: November 17, 2004 at 8:29 PM / IP Logged  

Is it a five channel amp? Tri mode exists in 2 and 4 channel amps, exceptions to everything though ... Let me know . By the way, Replace it regardless, start off with the new if its for free ... oops, i just remembered, nothing in this world is free (Except laughing at people who buy Pyle audio)

"I don't play games. I play Nakamichi and that for real yo" - Probably some japanese kid said this in the early 80's trying to sell stereo out of his trunk lol.
Thuan 
Copper - Posts: 88
Copper spacespace
Joined: May 20, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: November 18, 2004 at 12:30 AM / IP Logged  

Yes, its a 5 channel amp.

I just wanted to make sure that it's actually the amp that is at fault and not me. (It's going to cost me to ship) so I just want to be positive and not waste my money and the sellers time if it's not needed. How should I check it? Thanks.

Thuan
DYohn 
Moderator - Posts: 10,741
Moderator spaceThis member has made a donation to the12volt.com. Click here for more info.spaceThis member has been recognized as an authority in Electrical Theory. Click here for more info.spaceThis member has been recognized as an authority in Mobile Audio and Video. Click here for more info.spacespace
Joined: April 22, 2003
Location: Arizona, United States
Posted: November 18, 2004 at 8:21 AM / IP Logged  
Where is your crossover set?
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Thuan 
Copper - Posts: 88
Copper spacespace
Joined: May 20, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: November 18, 2004 at 4:36 PM / IP Logged  

100hz for sub and 250hz for coaxials.

Is my HU okay? Are those the correct readings for preouts?

Thuan
stevdart 
Platinum - Posts: 5,816
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Joined: January 24, 2004
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Posted: November 18, 2004 at 5:13 PM / IP Logged  

The deck manual.  Try this:  with sub amp gain set all the way down, read AC output voltage at the amp's sub speaker terminals.  The deck should provide 4 volts input and you should read just about that with a proper test tone at about 50 Hz and 100 Hz.  I can't tell by reading through this overly-complicated manual, but I think the sub control might be an attenuator control and not a boost control.  If 0 setting is the lowest point of the control, then the sub output might be severely attenuated.  Try adjusting that control on the deck to a higher level until you read 4 volts at the amp.  Then adjust amp gain to get the desired output voltage.

The sub output of the deck should be set to Stereo, which is the factory default setting.  The signals will become Mono at the amp.  You can also play with this setting to find the best results.

And, as you were told in the thread about this subject you posted earlier...when you are not using a verifiable true quality test tone recording, the results you find may not be accurate.

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
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