Need a Capacitor??
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Silver Member Username: LegacyaudioPost Number: 107 Registered: Feb-05 | i dont know all the specs on the car-- but.. worth a try anyway- Oldsmobile Delta 88-1997 all stock except for a Kenwood HU my brothers 16th bday is right around the corner-- me and my parents bought him a 12 in eclipse Ti powered by a kenwood KAC-9102D-- does about 800-900 wrms now the question is do u "think" we will need a new capacitor/alternator im hoping not but im not sure-- any opinions- i know that the car is huge engine wise v6 3.8 so it would presumably have a bigger battery/alternator-- im not sure if he will need one because for my system it was basically i was going to buy one anyways (alt/cap) also i dotn believe he will be getting any 6x9 so that wont be a factor although i dont think it would be anyway any help?? |
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Silver Member Username: HurleyblinkPost Number: 128 Registered: Mar-05 | that kenwood does maybe 500 watts rms, lol but i doubt it that u will need a cap, anyway a cap will not fix a charging problem, only way to fix this is a alternator upgrade. |
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Silver Member Username: LegacyaudioPost Number: 108 Registered: Feb-05 | well anyway-- if i get an amp that does up to 900 legitimate watts rms would i need a cap anyway im still kinda lost to what a capacitor does- ive heard it helps and ive heard its pointless |
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Silver Member Username: Addicted2bassMiami, Florida USA Post Number: 979 Registered: Nov-04 | no you wont need a cap..but i would invest in a alternator instead of a cap for your question about the cap. A capacitor will NOT: -make your system magically sound 10 times better.Many people believe that a capacitor adds NO real benefit to an audio system, and this is why you never see before and after demonstrations, or factory capacitor company vehicles at car shows. -Replace the need for a larger, high-output alternator and/or a deep-cycle battery or batteries. If your electrical system is inadequate, the ONLY way to fix this, and again I repeat, the ONLY WAY to fix this, is to replace the alternator if your voltage rails are sagging to below 12 volts while the car is running. This is the SOLE source of electrical current for your car when the motor is running. The car's battery is in parallel with the alternator, and while the battery will help to stablize voltage at 12VDC, the alternator puts out a higher voltage, and if your voltage rails are dropping to 12 volts, you're already overdrawing the alternator's capacities, and if your voltage rails sag to below 12 volts then you're also going beyond the abilities of the battery or batteries to stablize your voltages. Both of these symptoms will result in battery and alternator damage. A capacitor only masks these symptoms, in much the same way as regulating voltage to your headlights so they won't dim as bass hits, when voltages can fluctuate between 14.4VDC and 12VDC. When the motor is turned off, the battery then becomes your source of electricity. When the battery is run down, and when the capacitor(s) is/are depleted, the alternator has to work even harder in order to supply current to the car, the audio system, and also to recharge the capacitor(s) (which deplete more quickly) than they recharge) as well as recharge the car's battery(ies). If you plan to use the audio system for prolonged periods at high volumes with the car turned off (such as for SPL events) you'll want to use isolated deep cycle batteries dedicated to the audio system to avoid damage to the batteries, and damage to the speakers and equipment from clipping. So by adding a capacitor to try taking the place of a high-output alternator, you are actually causing more work for your alternator, and causing even more damage to that stock alternator. I got that from Glasswolf's web site |
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Silver Member Username: TboltCollipark, GA Post Number: 315 Registered: Dec-04 | Excellently put Glass lol. |
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Silver Member Username: LegacyaudioPost Number: 109 Registered: Feb-05 | ok and my other question is i was not the one ordering the sub-- and electronicgiant did not mention whether the ti 12 was 4ohms or 2 ohms-- will the kenwood amp work with it-- nto really looing to power the hell out of the sub-- just liked my 15 so bought him the 12 i appreciate the info on the cap-- how much do u tihnk an new alt would run? like 120$ and would a 140AMP do the trick??? |
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Silver Member Username: Mike_anthesCanton, SD USA Post Number: 240 Registered: Aug-04 | how big is yur current one... |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 8949 Registered: Dec-03 | HO alternators start at about $150-200 and go up from there.. plus cost to install. |
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Silver Member Username: LegacyaudioPost Number: 111 Registered: Feb-05 | i stopped by autozone today and they only had 3 different Alternators in stock for the car model-- 2 offbrand 140 Alt and a Gold Duralast Alternator that i think was 150AMP-- all the prices were under 140$ with free install im not sure what the 140 AMP means>???? |
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Bronze Member Username: BrynmPrince Albert, SK Canada Post Number: 49 Registered: Jul-05 | call a Olds dealer ask them what the rating on the stock alt. is the amp rating is just what it says, it's the amount of current in amps that the alternator can generate. At 900w rms at max volume you would draw a little over 60 amps. I'm guessing that 140-150 amps wuold be enough but depends on the car |
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Gold Member Username: Jonathan_fGA USA Post Number: 4371 Registered: May-04 | Richard Clark on capacitors: "ANYBODY come show me how one of these pieces of junk can actually help the power demands of a 12v system and i promise to go to IRAQ and stand in the center of Baghdad and curse Allah" |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 3803 Registered: Nov-04 | It's a shame that capacitors are made out to look bad. They are like every other electronic piece, it's helpfulness will depend on the application. Capacitors are not "pieces of junk". It is very useful in reducing the response time for peak current demands between the alternator and amplifier as well as filter AC ripple. |
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Gold Member Username: Suleman36Maryland U.S.A. Post Number: 1927 Registered: Feb-05 | ok guys, im having my system installed on wednesday. I have my current 85A stock alternator which is gonna be upgraded in 2 weeks to 180A HO alternator. Should i go ahead and let the installer install my 1 farad cap anyways to the sub amp. Should i bother even using a capacitor since im gonna be getting a HO alternator ? What to do ? |
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Silver Member Username: TboltCollipark, GA Post Number: 327 Registered: Dec-04 | How many watts would you be able to put using this alternator. Just curious  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem%26item%3D5793117192&category=14932 &sspagename=rvi:1:2v_home |
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Bronze Member Username: 02gsxrPost Number: 72 Registered: Jul-05 | I will also say that the first thing you should ever upgrade is the alternator. The alternator is the main source for power for your system and your car itself. Without the alternator, you wouldn't be driving very far. A battery as stated above will indeed increase your playing time while the vehicle is off. However it serve's another purpose. A battery also acts as a system reserve. Each alternator is rated at a certain peak output, rated in amps. Generally, a stock alternator is rated between 90 and 130 amps. Unfortunately, many aftermarket amps are rated at much more than that. So lets say you have a 100 amp alternator, but you have an amp with a 150 amp draw. This would mean that you have a 50 amp deficit. Your alternator will do its best to supply the full power, but it is only capable of producing 100 amps. The power needs to come from somewhere so your amp starts looking for the next available source. This would be your battery. Now, every battery on the market has a "reserve capacity rating". They are rated at minutes @ amps. So lets say you have one battery up front that is rated at 70 minutes at 25 amps. Like I said before in this example, your system is looking for an additional 50 amps. Therefore you have to do a little math. Since your battery is rated at 25 amps, and your amp is drawing 50 amps, you have to figure out what x equals when 70/25 = x/50. In this case it is very easy because it is exactly 2x the draw, x=35 minutes. In other cases you would take (a/b = c/d) a/d*b=c. Now, at that kind of draw, this means you have 35 minutes of reserve. So, what does this all mean? Since your alternator can not supply the full amperage, you start to draw from your battery (even while the car is running). At a reserve of 35 minutes, this would mean your battery would be dead after 35 minutes and your car would probably die because it has no power. Therefore, adding a second battery adds a lot more reserve allowing you to play your system much longer before your lights start to dim, and much longer before your car dies completely. Another upgrade that may be a big help is a battery isolator. To best explain this, I should probably explain how your charging system works. As most of us already know, electricity ALWAYS chooses the path of least resistance. As a battery charges it's internal resistance increases. Your alternator's voltage regulator will detect that your car's voltage is low and start to put out more power to charge the low battery. As this battery charges, it's resistance becomes higher so the power switches its path to the next area of lowest resistance. If there is no other path, your alternator will start to "idle" again. However, if you have a second battery which is also low, it will stop charging the front battery as soon as it's full and start to charge the 2nd battery because its internal resistance is lower. Now, with 2 batteries wired in parallel, your stereo has access to both batteries. Therefore it is going to drain both batteries. Like we stated before, your alternator is already devoting all of its power to the stereo, so it is not able to charge the 2 batteries when they become low, so again, your car will die eventually. A good fix for this problem is a battery isolator. This device limits your stereo to the 2nd battery only. So as your alternator is supplying your stereo and it begins to drain your battery, it is only able to take power from the back battery which is devoted to ONLY the stereo. This way, your main battery will never die from your stereo so your car will not die either. After the rear battery is dead your system may start to sound bad, but your alternator is not able to devote all of its power to the 2nd battery because the main battery has still maintained its power. Now that you understand the battery system, I you should understand the concept of your alternator, and should understand why it is the MOST important upgrade to your electrical system. It supplies the constant voltage needed. If you had a 150 amp alternator, you would never have to draw anything from your battery, and your lights would never dim because there would be no deficit. A cap is pretty much useless IMO, unless the rest of your charging system is already sufficient. If your car's voltage never shows a drop, you may show a VERY slight gain from a cap. A cap is basically there to maintain an exact voltage for your stereo. As different accessories turn on and off in your car (lights, heater blower, etc.), there may be slight voltage variations. These variations are very small (.1v - .2v). The capacitor is used to stabilize these small dips and spikes in voltage. Like I said, they are so subtle, that you won't even really hear the difference. A capacitor is basically a TINY battery that is able to charge/discharge all of it's stored power instantly. Infact it is so small that it would take appx. 1,000,000 Farads to supply enough power to run an amp for a few seconds! Therefore, it is not a good choice for dimming lights or voltage drops. |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 8963 Registered: Dec-03 | your commentary was mostly on spot, but one thing you missed mentioning is if you have a 100A stock alternator, it's 100A is mostly already used by the car's own systems.. onboard computers, wipers, lights, HVAC, lights and bells, heated seats, etc etc.. so if the amplifier needs 150A, you actually have a deficit much closer to 150A than 50A. The battery isolator is handy if again, you're running with the car off. The alternator still has to recharge all of the batteries connected to teh car, and again, when the alternator is drawn beyond it'slimits to the point the battery or batteries have to stabilize voltages, you're going to end up damaging things. Usually the alternator itself. oh and on this one.. " A capacitor is basically a TINY battery that is able to charge/discharge all of it's stored power instantly." that's not quite accurate, in that a capacitor takes longer to charge tahn to discharge, wherein lays a part of the problem with an overdrawn electrical system. The capacitor can discharge nearly instantly depending on how much current demand there is, and the voltage drop across the capacitor, but recharging a capacitor at 12 volts for 1Fd can take up to a couple of minutes easily. That's part of why they really just stress the charging system even mroe. I covered most of this on my site though, as it's also covere on bcae1.com |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 8966 Registered: Dec-03 | oh and a capacitor isn't like a battery in that a battery actually produces current through an electro-chemical reaction, whereas a capacitor can only store energy, then release it. big big difference there since a battery's voltage is determined by it's composition, and a capacitor's voltage is determined by the voltage of the battery or power supply to which it's connected. |
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Gold Member Username: Suleman36Maryland U.S.A. Post Number: 1932 Registered: Feb-05 | Should i go ahead and let the installer install my 1 farad cap anyways to the sub amp. Should i bother even using a capacitor since im gonna be getting a HO alternator ? |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 3806 Registered: Nov-04 | MO, if they're charging you to install the cap, then forget it. You can easily do it yourself. As stated above, a capacitor used correctly in the right environment, is beneficial. |
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Gold Member Username: Suleman36Maryland U.S.A. Post Number: 1934 Registered: Feb-05 | Good looking isaac, they might just install the 1 farad cap for free because i have done alot of business with them and just got a VIPER 5000 2 Way alarm installed yesterday there. THey are gonna finish the rest of the system on wednesday and custom fit my ID chamoleons on the doors and flush mount the tweeters and finish the door with vinyl so it blends well with the rest of the cars interior. Its gonna take wednesday and thursday beacause it has to dry or whatever until the next day. Getting that ppi a300.2 hooked up to the componant set and the crossfire amp to the jl 12w6v2's sealed. This should sound real good at the end because these guys are very good installers and have a good rep around here and they dont sell ID CXS componants but were like these are very nice speakers but were like its to big for your doors of my 95 montero. The chamoleons are like 7" i think so he will custom make me a enclosure on the door or somthing to make it sound optimum for imaging the sound right. Just wasnt sure if i should use a 1 farad cap to the crossfire amp or not until i get my HO alternator in about a week or so from excessiveamperage.com The crossfire vr1000d is 120A in fuse and the ppi a300.2 is 30A and i have 1/0 gauge with a 150 ANL fuse to wire it with. Stock alternator is 85 amps and the new one i ordered is 180 amp HO alternator which was the biggest he could do for the mitsu montero. Let me know if i should have the cap installed or if its even worth doing cause ive had that cap for 3 years now. Will it still work if its recharged and for how long. Thanks Isaac ps. i still have that Avalanche 15 but im waiting on the box to be built for it sealed 2.2 cuft. and have the Eclipse 15 coming also and run that off the eclipse DA7122 at 2 ohms for 1000 rms. I have alot of experimenting to do. But im sure i will be happy with the 2 12w6v2's for now since im going from a car sedan to a SUV. That should make a big differance in sound and spl wise due to the cabin gain. |
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Bronze Member Username: 02gsxrPost Number: 86 Registered: Jul-05 | Yes, I meant to include that about the car using some of the alternator's output. I wrote that at about 5 am. That was mainly for demonstration purposes so that it was easy to understand. As far as the cap goes, you are pretty far off. It does not take a minute to charge a 1 farad cap. When you first connect it to your charging system it does. However, this is because you are using a hefty resistor in series. This allows the cap to slowly charge so you don't get a HUGE spark. If you connected a completely discharged cap to your system without the resistor you would see a HUGE spark as the cap charged instantly. As far as not being like a battery, I would also dissagree with this. Your explaination is right, and I am not saying it isn't. What you are saying, is how it works in technical terms. What I am saying is in very literal terms for people to understand. A cap does the same thing as a battery (stores and supplies voltage), except that it holds a lot less and that it can release it instantly. A battery does NOT create it's own energy, it must be charged from an external power source. The same way a capacitor works. |
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Gold Member Username: InvainMichigan United States Post Number: 3425 Registered: Aug-04 | I have to agree with jon. If your speaking technically, batteries don't create energy. They simply store chemical energy. Batteries convert chemical energy into electrical energy. |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 8980 Registered: Dec-03 | "If your speaking technically, batteries don't create energy." show me something that creates energy and I'll give you a Nobel prize. I never said a battery creates energy. The battery is a power source. a capacitor is not. While I appreciate your overly simplified descriptions about how a battery is just like a capacitor, the problem is that your misinformation is what people keep buying into, and what I keep wasting so much of my time trying to correct. They don't understand electrical engineering, or even basic circuitry. They see "battery = capacitor!" and it sticks in their heads. Then they get the idea that a capacitor replaces the need for an alternator, and this whole nightmre starts over. My goal is to clearly put in peoples' minds that a capacitor serves NO purpose in stabilizing voltage rails. Period. And for the record, a capacitor still cannot charge as quickly as it discharges. Period. |
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Gold Member Username: InvainMichigan United States Post Number: 3427 Registered: Aug-04 | I know energy cannot be created or destroyed. My comment was sarcastic. Batteries are not like caps. |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 8987 Registered: Dec-03 | most of that was for jon's commentary, although I neglected to really differentiate. |
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Silver Member Username: Mikechec9Chicago/atlanta Post Number: 638 Registered: May-05 | not that glass needs any caveats or reducing of his well articulated explanation to rubble, but if we are going "over simplified" (to keep glass from hanging up his ecoustics forum hat forever) a cap is sort of like a kind of passive radiator sub vs a typical sub that is directly powered. while the connected sub relies on amps for power (like the battery relies on the alternator), the radiator relies on the initial sub's output to INDUCE its own subsequent movement. it does not produce movement (like current) on it's own (again, just the gist). caps have been marketed extremely well as a quick fix. and since most people want the quickest, least expensive solution, they will buy into whatever is being sold (i have done it in the past). it kind of reminds me of the extra stuff we sold at structure (i was just a broke kid at the time). they would have us sell the outfits and such, but then would force us to add on as many little extras (sox, boxers, etc) as we could. regardless of wether or not the customer needed it. kind of like the pops (sodas) at fastfood spots. no matter what kind of sale goes on, you can bet your bottom that that Coke is going to remain it's regular jacked up price. and your almost guranteed to buy one or include it in your purchase. |
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Bronze Member Username: PanamanianPanama cityPanama Post Number: 35 Registered: Aug-05 | GlassWolf, dont take it personal. PERIOD.... hehehe |
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Silver Member Username: Mikechec9Chicago/atlanta Post Number: 640 Registered: May-05 | by caveat, i meant piggyback. i.e., i agree with glass's explanation. i see my "rubble" was perhaps counterproductive afterall. lol. oh, well. |
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Silver Member Username: LettoMilwaukee, WI Post Number: 154 Registered: Jun-05 | The simple fact is... all three of you know what a capacitor is and does, just you all try and simplify it in different ways. In deciding if you need a cap, i'd say if you know how much current your amplifier draws, and you know that your alternator can handle it, however your lights still dim on occasion when the bass hits hard... that's what getting a capacitor will help fix. And that's one of the only applications in car audio (apart from huge SPL competition systems that most people asking about this wouldn't be doing anyway) that someone should use one for. |
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Bronze Member Username: PanamanianPanama cityPanama Post Number: 39 Registered: Aug-05 | LegacyAudio, dont be a moth3rfvck3r... just look what you have brought here.. (fight between members) damn you |
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Gold Member Username: SubfanaticKy Post Number: 4683 Registered: Dec-04 | glass owes me a nobel prize, i create energy lol |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 9001 Registered: Dec-03 | that's just hot air.. nobody's been able to harness it yet! I think we all pretty much agree here on how useful a cap is or isn't. that's what we're after.. so I think it's pretty much settled. Letto, the problem is when voltage rails sag, the capacitor's voltage follows that of the circuit.. so you're not going to get any help from the capacitor if the lights are dimming. what you will get is a smoothing filter from the capacitor that hides the symptoms, but the problem is still there. I've known a number of people who swore by a capacitor and how it stopped their dimming lights when bass hit.. for less than a year before their alternators went belly up and they had to upgrade the alternator, battery, and wiring as a result. It's really just a bandaid fix and for what you pay for a capacitor or three, you're better off buying the alternator at that point. |
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Bronze Member Username: 02gsxrPost Number: 96 Registered: Jul-05 | Quote: "My goal is to clearly put in peoples' minds that a capacitor serves NO purpose in stabilizing voltage rails. Period." What do you mean? That is exactly what a capacitor does. If there are small "ripples" in voltage (also refered to as noise) to your amplifiers for whatever reason, the capacitor absorb's spikes in the voltage, and supplies extra power when there is a deficit in voltage. I'm talking about extremely small voltage fluctuations here, like .1v. It does not however provide a continuous source of power for a circuit that does not have a large enough source to begin with, where a battery or bigger alternator come in. |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 3829 Registered: Nov-04 | Jon, most of the consumers have been brain washed by the shaddy marketing people on what a capacitors can do. They make it sound like it will fix any power problem in your car and improve audio SQ by 2x or more. This is why there's so much opposition when people like GW tries to explain the truth. Like I always said, I use my capacitor for 2 reasons in my car and it does them well. |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 9070 Registered: Dec-03 | jon: not once the alternator is overstressed to teh point that the car's battery can't even stabilize the voltage rails. at that point the capacitor isn't going to help. if the electrical system is sufficient to begin with, the lights won't dim, rails don't sag, and the cap is again, pointless for audio use. you disagree though, take up RC's challenge and win five grand. |
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Silver Member Username: Mikechec9Chicago/atlanta Post Number: 661 Registered: May-05 | not entiely pointless though, right? with regards to filtering AC ripple, the cap will still provide a more constant voltage as well as reduce current demands of the amplifier/subs. correct? i checked the esr on my 5farad. around .0009. i wonder how accurate that is. |
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Silver Member Username: ZacdavisBeloit, Wi Post Number: 210 Registered: Dec-03 | Glass, have to go with jon on this one. He isnt saying it will supply energy. He is, mearly stating a fact. Obviously you have a motive here. To discourage consumers, from buying capacitors for the wrong reasons. Saying they are useless in any situation is just flat out, not accurate. |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 3832 Registered: Nov-04 | Try this experiment. Attach the capacitor to a variable power supply. Connect a 12v light bulb for load. Now with DMM, monitor the voltage on the cap as you increase or decrease the volts on power supply. What do you think will happen? That should explain clearly, what the cap can and can not do. |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 9072 Registered: Dec-03 | overdraw the power supply till the voltage rails sag and try it again and see what happens. I've said, NUMEROUS TIMES FOR THE ILLITERATE, that capacitors filter AC ripple, and smooth spikes in current demand.. READ THE ARTICLE I REFERENCE AT LEAST A DOZEN TIMES A WEEK on here to see it. Jon has just spent the last week trying to find things to pick apart in my posts and I'm getting rather tired of it. Go find a new hobby. |
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Gold Member Username: Suleman36Maryland U.S.A. Post Number: 1941 Registered: Feb-05 | Capacitors are obvously made for a reason and then some for gimmicks. Ive decided to install my 1 farad cap to my 1000 watt sub amp until i install my HO alternator. Everything will be fine. I have found that a 1 farad cap like a rockford cap from 3 years ago worked well with my stock alternator when i kept my volume to a moderate level. If you blast your music with a stock alternator then you will more then likely need a HO Alternator if your pushing anywhere from 500 watts rms and up at a very loud volume with a sub. Just watch your volume levels and you should be ok. I think a cap can be affective if you dont abuse the volume knob with a stock alternator. I have found it to help but thats just me. |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 9076 Registered: Dec-03 | until someone walks off with Richard Clark's five grand, proving the usefulness of a capacitor, I'm standing by what I've always said, even before he offered the challenge. Everyone else is welcome to believe what tehy like. I'm getting tired of this thread anyway. It's turned into pedantic arguments over semantics. |
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Silver Member Username: LettoMilwaukee, WI Post Number: 173 Registered: Jun-05 | Proving the usefulness of any cap? Or just for car audio? Any capacitor, i'd walk off with that money. Caps are plenty useful in other applications... actually necessary in some. Most electronics equipment has a bunch of little capacitors, one blows and the thing doesn't work. DVD Players, Computer motherboards, etc... |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 9087 Registered: Dec-03 | don't be a shmuck. read the rules of the challenge. |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 3834 Registered: Nov-04 | FYI: Manufactures make most money/profit from capacitor and monster cable sales. There's a big reason for it. It's much easier to fool consumers with those 2 products. You can ask any newbie and they'll tell you "caps can solve all your power problem" and "monster cables will improve your SQ instantly". If you go way back into the past, people used to argue about the world being flat. See how hard it is to break the myth/bad preception? |
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Silver Member Username: Mikechec9Chicago/atlanta Post Number: 662 Registered: May-05 | "Manufactures make most money/profit from capacitor and monster cable sales. There's a big reason for it. It's much easier to fool consumers with those 2 products. You can ask any newbie and they'll tell you "caps can solve all your power problem" and "monster cables will improve your SQ instantly". If you go way back into the past, people used to argue about the world being flat. See how hard it is to break the myth/bad preception?" as evidenced by this entire thread. however, i have an alternator on sale on ebay. if it doesn't sell, then i would be happy to donate it to science to kill this silly debate. if someone knowledgale would care to walk through some suggested procedures, that would be great. it's a 150 watt ford alternator. i have a 800-1600 a/b watt amplifier and a 800 watt class D amp. perhaps i can rent a generator to connect to the alt to the amps... i think it would be a helpful sticky for all forums to disprove the general supposed usefullness of caps. again i'm not very advanced in such things, but i catch on fast. so, any help and it has potential. i just have to wait to get back to atlanta to utilize the folks' garage. |
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Silver Member Username: ZacdavisBeloit, Wi Post Number: 211 Registered: Dec-03 | You guys are fukin ignorant if you truely believe caps are 100% useless. PERIOD PERIOD PERIOD PERIOD I, along with many other world renound competitors use caps for a reason. In daily driver setups they "CAN" stiffen the current flow to the battery in short bursts, you know, DUH!! like when the bass kicks. Obviously a cap will disipate rapidly so yes it will do nothing but create a draw in the system after its rc has been comsumed. USE YOUR FRICKEN HEAD NOW IT'S not rocket science, anyone who says caps serve absolutly no purpose in car audio is either ignorant or defiant. I could give two sh!ts less about wether or not they are used for the right reasons, in fact i agree they have been marketed in a manner of dishonesty. But truth be had, under the CORRECT circumstances CAPACITORS DO WORK. IF THEY DIDNT YOUR AMPLIFIER WOULDN'T HAVE ANY IN IT!!!!!!!! |
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Silver Member Username: Mikechec9Chicago/atlanta Post Number: 663 Registered: May-05 | i believe that the key word in ignorant is ignore. ignore >verb 1 disregard intentionally. 2 fail to consider (something significant). -ORIGIN Latin ignorare 'not know'. i believe that you have failed to consider that the usefulness of caps has already been mentioned here numerous times. i realize that the length of this thread can be a bit overwhealming to some, but i urge all those who respond to at least read prior responses first. e.g.,"with regards to filtering AC ripple, the cap will still provide a more constant voltage as well as reduce current demands of the amplifier/subs." -"I've said, NUMEROUS TIMES FOR THE ILLITERATE, that capacitors filter AC ripple, and smooth spikes in current demand.. READ THE ARTICLE I REFERENCE AT LEAST A DOZEN TIMES A WEEK on here to see it." -"a capacitor will reduce the response time for peak current demands between the alternator and amplifier, if and only if the alternator has enough current to maintain voltage rails, which means it is at or below the amount of current draw the alternator is capable of supplying. once the alternator is overdrawn, all bets are off. "Also, a capacitor works to filter AC ripple caused by the alternator itself. Remember an alternator as the name implies, generates AC voltage, which is then rectified into DC voltage by a "voltage regulator" bridge rectifier. The DC voltage regulator isn't perfect, so the DC voltage can have an effect called AC ripple which basically means there's a pulsting to the voltage that shouldn't be there. A filtering capacitor can smooth that out to give a more constant 12-16VDC voltage rail." whether or not you have disregarded intentionally, you have still failed to consider something significant. thus, you are the seemingly the ignorant one. so what, now, is the argument about? |
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Silver Member Username: LettoMilwaukee, WI Post Number: 174 Registered: Jun-05 | Hmm... well, I am a mechanical design engineer at Generac Power Systems, so, i definitely have access to a generator. You should send me that stuff, and I'll be glad to do the experiment :-) |
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Bronze Member Username: AcevolkovSpringfield, Missouri United Stated Post Number: 100 Registered: Jul-05 | lol *100th post* |
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Silver Member Username: FfxdevilarmsDubuque, Iowa United States Post Number: 949 Registered: Jul-04 | im shooting for 1000 very very soon. |
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