
Originally Posted by
blade4638
are your amps' power supplies regulated or unregulated?
if regulated, then power output is same for a particular range of input power (meaning, above values are ok). if unregulated, this means if the amp gets more than 12.5v, its output power will also increase (by how much, it depends on the amp). if needed, assume 14.4v power input on the amps.
to make things easier, i will omit efficiency in calculations...
(a) power = voltage x current
(b) current = power/voltage
1. using (b) above, determine how much current is needed by your system (all powered components) assuming voltage is 12.5v.
2. to the total amperes you get in (1), add 20% as a safety precaution so you don't max out your wires' current-carrying capacity.
3. check what gauge is capable of carrying the amount of current you got in (2). make sure you consider also the cable length as it will have an effect (higher gauge for longer cable runs, lower gauge for shorter runs).
don't skimp on your power cables. you will only get rated power if enough of it reaches the amps c",)
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