Spkr Ohm and Mast Questions

Corvette Forums Corvette Classifieds Gallery Corvette News Member List Search Sponsors
Forum FAQ Calendars Contact Us Corvette Recalls TSBs Corvette Timeslips Register Login

Spkr Ohm and Mast Questions

Printable Version

Corvette >> Corvette Models >> Corvette C3 Forum >> Spkr Ohm and Mast Questions

Page: [1]

Message

<< Older Topic Newer Topic >>

Spkr Ohm and Mast Questions - 1/5/2008 6:16:45 AM

dar322

Posts: 72
Joined: 8/15/2007
Status: offline

Okay, I've decided that the stereo system in my 78 isn't going to be state of art...so i went ahead and bought new grilles, brkts and original equipment spkrs for the back. now i find out these spkrs are 10 ohm. so, my question is with the radio. right now its an aftermarket but i will eventually replace it with either a new corvette radio or used. How's this ohm thing going to affect the system? not sure what the ohm thing means.

Another question i have is with the antenna mast. its a power antenna that i want to replace, but was wondering can i just unhook it at the antenna and replace the mast, or do i have to run new cables all the way to the radio? just wondering cause i'm currently replacing the interior carpeting.

any mast replacement suggestions?

thx for all your help.

Post #: 1

RE: Spkr Ohm and Mast Questions - 1/5/2008 7:18:06 AM

wrwalke

Posts: 385
Joined: 11/1/2005
Status: offline

The ohm rating refers to the resistance through the speaker. Some older speakers are 4 ohm, but most are 8-10 in my experience. *Most* stereos will work fine with different ohm rated speakers within reason, as they don't really care about the return voltage from the "-" side of the speaker line, and just send it filtered to ground. If your stereo is rated at 4 ohm, and you send it through 10 ohm speakers (more resistance), you will likely end up with less volume and some loss of fidelity (sound a bit flat), but not too bad. If your stereo is rated at 10, and you send it through 4, you might "overdrive" your speaker and have some distortion at louder volumes (depends alot on the return voltage circuit and just how fancy the stereo designers decided to get).

You can splice antenna wires, and they make kits that you can buy with the fittings/adapters you need. You'll lose some signal though. Since you are doing carpets anyway, I would run a new cable with the new antenna to keep signal strength higher and be safe.

As for which antenna... Depends on if you want it "correct" or not. :) If yes, you would want a perfect copy or stock part. If no, then just keep an eye on the db's that the antennas are rated for. A couple extra db of signal strength makes a big difference. Nothing really high tech about whip style antenna's, the correct length and material will suck up signals for you. Cheaper ones work as well as more expensive ones. Make sure you check out the quality of the plating and coatings though so it doesn't look like it came off of a ford fiesta after a couple years...

bill.

(in reply to dar322)

Post #: 2