Starting the truck with the rig turned on

[srd84]

I try not to do this, but at work, I'm in and out of the vehicle alot and a couple of times I have forgotten and started the truck (F-150) with my FT-857 turned on. It has "a direct fused connection to the battery with heavy gauge wire" just like it says in the manual and on the Tech test. Presumably a fuse would blow or something internal to the rig would stop any hazardous currents or voltages from damaging the rig....right?
I hope.


Steve
KJ4LAZ

 

[Thayne]

It would only cause a dip in the voltage (while starting) and would not hurt the radio, especially since it is coming directly from the Bat.

 

[kb0nly]

It's good operating practice to have it turned off while cranking the engine. The way i look at the auto manufacturers have the vehicle setup so that the stereo turns off while cranking, along with just about everything else that is an accessory, so i might as well follow that. There is also the danger of a voltage spike, not just a voltage drop. There is a lot of reading material on the subject online about transients while cranking the engine, read up on it i won't quote anything in particular here.

Just do what i do, use the stereo or another ignition switched power source in the fuse panel to power a relay inline with the power lead to your radio, then it follows the ignition. It won't on while cranking, you can never forget to shut it off when you shut off the car, etc.. And if you really want a simple double pole double throw switch can be put inline with the switched source to power the relay from a constant source if you want to use the radio without the ignition on.