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1965 VW Radio

Dougnkaren

Sep 6, 2012
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Sep 6, 2012
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I have a 6V VW beetle I am putting a new radio in. The radio requires 12V so I bought an amplifier which takes the 6V to 12V for the radio. It was designed for this exact operation so I can keep the rest of the car 12V. The device comes with one output wire but the radio comes with 2 input wires. One (yellow) for, I assume, keeping the clock and stations set. The other (RED) is for powering the radio itself. The radio suggests a switched RED wire from the ignition. Since I have a 6 volt system I want to put a toggle switch in the dash so she can just flip the power on after starting the car. I have a small 6amp 125 volt ac switch I want to use. I know about the arcing caused during the switching. But, does a radio cause that big of an arc or do you all think the ac switch can hold up to something like a radio switched on? I seen some places talking about using a cap and diode for protection but those were in higher amp circuits. What do you all think/recommend?
Thanks, Doug
 

Harald Kapp

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Nov 17, 2011
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Your switch should be fine without additional measures.
If you want to be completely on the save side look up the DC ratings of the switch in its datasheet.
 

Dougnkaren

Sep 6, 2012
2
Joined
Sep 6, 2012
Messages
2
Thanks

Thanks Harald! I didn't think it would make a difference under such a small load but after reading some other online articles I thought I'd ask the experts. It has no datasheet with it. I bought it at a RadioShack a long time ago. I looked for a make and model on the side but the only thing there was a "C" a large backwards R"U" then a little "us" and a 55. But thank you all the same. Best Regards, Doug
 
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