Power Supply/Source Makes a HUGE difference in the output of Stryker Radios, 655,955,447,497

[@megamind2289]

I run a Meanwell 15v 100amp power supply on my Stryker 955 and I've found that 14.2v is the sweet spot. If I run the voltage higher I can squeeze a few more watts out but after 14.2v it seems to start to pick up more noise in the receive. 14.2v or less and the receive stays nice and clean.

[@GustavoGomez-kk7ob]

Super very well said , that will lay disputes to rest thanks 😊

[@GobblerK5_2WR080]

Very good info and excellent presentation of how the lack of voltage will give you different results.

[@cg1288]

Had this same radio for 4 or 5 yrs now. No problems ever. This info is correct. I use the voltage meter on the radio. If it gets too low, eventually the radio will just shut down. The 1st time it happened, I thought he'll! Found out by running my apu or having the truck running it shows a constant 14.2 or 14.1 volts and I have no problem whatsoever.

[@TheLonesometoad]

Also, the factory power cords are anemic. Build a 10AWG power wire and find far less voltage drop at the radio.

[@richb.4374]

Here's a guy who gets it! You can't make good power output if your power cord is lame and can't pass any current.

[@earnieb5318]

Another point...some power sources have very poor temp compensators so ambient temp really affects output. Also, most supplies do not have sensing capabilities so the power supply cannot adjust itself for voltage drops with longer leads. Better supplies with sensing capabilities will adjust themselves to compensate for drops and have terminals to connect sensing leads.

[@Rooster_Radio]

Good points

[@estebanq1000]

Very true on those radios and ,that goes on the amplifiers too ,a good power supply with adjustable voltage is good too have with good high amps ,will make a very big difference, i just experience that ,thank you rooster for the information that will help many people

[@monstersdoexist]

Thank You Rooster for showing this. I have argued so many times with the locals about Voltage vs Meters vs Real World Watts. I run a BIRD 43 at my antenna and dummy load and also see a small difference when switching between those due to the different impedance, even though my SWR is pretty much flat on the antenna. DOSY Meters can bring up a whole new argument and I tend to stay away from them.

[@Rooster_Radio]

Glad I could help. The customer who bought the 655 just wasted $20 shipping a radio back that worked perfectly. He revealed to me earlier that his power supply was also running at 13.8v vs 14.5 that I test at. It's likely that the combo of different watt meter, lesser power cord, lower voltage equated to his low power reading, but like many cases in the radio business, he automatically assumed something was wrong with the radio instead of taking into consideration why he might be seeing less power

[@bionicrooster5762]

Been waiting for you to do a video on this. Connex will do the same thing. Volts makes a difference on output.

[@markr9895]

I run my 955 at 15.5 volts since the first time I turned it on. My radio builder told me that’s where I would get the best performance. My MFJ meter shows 106 max watts out on SSB. I use Megawatt power supplies.

[@fuelsquezzer2000]

Yep hard to understand if you don't know Strykers... Folks don't understand when I yell them don't feed a Stryker off the supplied 10 amp wire on big trucks... Id say it was a slow death coming...

[@Dallas-Rife-UDX-347-Tennessee]

Lots of variables . The biggest overlooked and unknown to customers is when they get it home do they have : Nulled main coax Nulled jumpers Perfect SWR Almost no reflect An accurate meter Good power supply at 14.5 volts • there is the difference in wattage• in my experience anyway On almost every radio/amp bench on KZbin , there is a dummy load being used , and that creates the best numbers like it’s supposed to . To recreate that the conditions need to be nearly perfect

[@hazmathauler4536]

Great demo Rooster 🙌🏻👍🏻.

[@TM-gv6zv]

Also some of the brand new vehicles are running what is it called adaptive charging systems. That means on average really getting between 12.5 and 12.8 volts average. The only time it goes up that's if it's a heavy load or the battery is under a heavy load. Other than that it's standard 12.5 to 12.8 V

[@Rooster_Radio]

Again good point

[@dereklea1183]

I prefer to read the voltage at the connection point of the DC power cable where it attaches to the radio with a volt meter. I believe that would be a more honest view of the amount of voltage the radio is getting. We all know about voltage drop vs. gauge of the power cable and it’s length. I’ve noticed differences in voltage drop based on manufacturer, quality of wire, etc. and that’s why I measure voltage at the connection source. I check the battery voltage when the engine isn’t running and when the engine is idling. Also, if this customer used the factory Stryker DC cable, what type of connectors did he use to attach to the power source and, were they crimped vs. soldered? Piss poor cheap connectors from Harbor Freight, or any other inexpensive connectors, might not transfer current adequately and if not crimped/soldered correctly that could affect current transfer also. I say this because I worked for a Motorola two way radio shop several years ago. The county did a huge upgrade on their radios and our shop had to replace about 1,500(?) mobile radios. Some only required a simple swap of the detachable head units and radio body as the remaining cabling was identical as supplied with the new radios. What we found out was that the new radios required the DC cable that came with them instead of using the DC cable that was originally installed with the older radios. The radio DC connection was identical so we assumed the DC cable was adequate. The length of the cable was identical and the gauge was identical… to the naked eye. When we attempted to power on the radios they would make a blip noise and go into error mode. They wouldn’t power on if the engine wasn’t running, they had to have at least 13 VDC to power on. If the engine wasn’t running the radio was getting about 12 VDC as measured at the battery so the voltage was even less at the radio/DC connection. We examined the old DC cable vs. the new one and found that the new one had slightly more copper strands thus making the gauge larger. The external vinyl covering was exactly the same diameter as the old wiring and it was labeled as being the same gauge size. These DC cables were supplied by Motorola with the $3,000 radio so we assumed the cable was quality and identical. These expensive radios couldn’t power up with less than 12.5 VDC because of the amount of power required for the POST new radios perform. They voltage sensitive until after POST power up. Your radio is only as good as the DC power you feed it, with quality cables, clean power, quality DC connectors, quality antenna connectors, quality coax and quality antenna. Any one of those in the chain that isn’t the best you can provide then you get out of it what you put into it. Take note of what high end auto stereo installers use when making DC and audio connections. They definitely don’t use anything from Harbor Freight or any other cheap source. We’ve all heard the old saying, you get what you pay for.

[@J.A_52259]

Thank you.

[@rodlink6258]

Good reveal. An up converter is 1 cure

[@frankducharmejr.9231]

That's very informative thank you

[@renatoperez2761]

Good morning 73s from the south border.. have a question ❓ how much will it cost a Stryker 955 tuned up?

[@davefrazier3433]

RCI's do the same, more so the N2/N4 and the newer ones with at least 100watt or more potential. Also with power supplies most sold aren't continuous duty cycle so they trickle down a volt to a volt and a half after the initial outrush. You can look at transformer and see how its tagged to tell. Note: Most transformer builders use Intermittent Duty Cycle. Even the likes of Astron. In fact most Iron core xformeres are intermittent unless its a lab quality supply.

[@efrenmoran8098]

I’m looking at a ranger with 150watts to run in my tractor. With a stock power hook up in the tractor how much power will the radio output? Should I do a straight battery hookup instead? Will I get the full 150?

[@JayP7.62]

Yeah the voltage has a lot to do with it. That and the customer may be reading the wattage to his antenna and not a 50 ohm dummy load also. I know my car runs between 13.8v and 14.2v. So when I ordered my radio and watched the video of it showing 70 bird and 120 pep I knew it was going to do less in my car. Because of voltage and my antenna. With my voltage my Anytone 6666 does just over 60 bird and about 115 watts.

[@spudrubble]

I realize this is an old video but I noticed this same thing with the RM Italy 503 amp. 12.5 v to 14.5v there is an output difference.

[@ironhead320]

I know mine has uneven output lower on ch20 and above thinking of try a new power supply

[@rccustoms307]

Just to save some time. The power supply won’t fix that issue. The radio needs aligned. Over time things can change, or if someone was turning something they didn’t know about.

[@ironhead320]

@@rccustoms307 I though about that too maybe I'll send it somewhere to get checked

[@rccustoms307]

No problem. Just wanted you to save some money

[@larrybeers8935]

Why not show the voltage on the front of radio- can be used as average?

[@seanfoley7097]

Should I even install this in my vehicle

[@ehayes5217]

If u were using an older 955 as I am (not the newer version), what voltage setting would u use?

[@rccustoms307]

15v with the stock cord. Because of the voltage drop

[@generac43]

good to know.

[@jswope6007]

Wonder if the RMS changed as well? i run 15.3 on my 955

[@Rooster_Radio]

Without a doubt, obviously not as drastic

[@jeremyshiver6055]

I got the 655

[@richb.4374]

Biggest problem I see here is the crappy power cable to the radio. That thin power cable can't handle the current that radio needs to make full power. I think this is why you're seeing such a radical change in power just from a couple of volts difference.

[@Rooster_Radio]

You don't think 12 gauge wire can handle less than 10 amps of current? Probably closer to 7 amps.

[@richb.4374]

@@Rooster_Radio The math doesn't add up. 7 amps at 15 volts is only 105 watts DC input to the radio. How could it do close to 100 watts output with just barely over 100 watts input? Most rigs or amps I've seen in the past 50 years need a little over double their rated output power in DC input to produce it. So, for this radio to do about 100 watts output, you need a little over 200 watts DC input..which at 15 volts would be around 15 amps. I still think the power cord is inadequate for the current load. It would be an interesting test to try swapping a 10 gauge power cord to this radio and see it come to life.

[@Rooster_Radio]

@@richb.4374 nothing is exact in RF, or radios at least. You can have two Radios producing the exact same amount of peak or PEP output and draw significantly less or more current. The average power has greater weight on how much current a radio draws over the PEP. The power cord has a lot less to do with drastic output change relevant to voltage than you are insinuating. "Old school" traditional transistor radios don't vary in power like this, with the same power cord. It's more because the mosfets respond more drastically to voltage changes than a traditional transistor/bipolar transistor.

[@richb.4374]

@@Rooster_Radio You do have a point about the Mosfets. They're totally different animals than transistors. Apparently, these newer radios like to be volted up a bit.

[@msthickness75]

Hi there tha radio for sell

[@jeremyshiver6055]

Mine runs 14.2