splitting the 12 v. trigger signal

Posted by: nomoneybutgoodsound

splitting the 12 v. trigger signal - 05/30/07 12:12 AM

Has anyone heard of splitting the 12 volt trigger out of a 970? The 970 has only 1 - 12 volt trigger. I plan to use two amps one for the front channels and the other for the surround speakers. I of course want to have the amps come on with the 970. Does anyone know if I can split the 12 volt signal? Any comments would greatly be appreciated.
Posted by: psyprof1

Re: splitting the 12 v. trigger signal - 05/30/07 02:26 AM

On some amps the 12v trigger signal can be daisy-chained from one amp to another. I think the Outlaw 220 monoblocks do this and some of the other Outlaw amps might too. I'd be wary of splitting the trigger signal - if you connect the two amps in series each will get only 6 volts - insufficient - and in parallel each gets only half of however many milliamps the 970 puts out, which might also be insufficient. Others here probably know more than I.
Posted by: gonk

Re: splitting the 12 v. trigger signal - 05/30/07 02:30 AM

When the M200 first came out, there was some discussion of being able to daisy-chain a single trigger output, and I think it was considered reliable for two or three in series. You can split the signal, but the amps will each see 12v at a reduced current when the trigger is on - whether that reduced current is enough to trigger them will depend on the amp. Unfortunately, by the time that I had more than one trigger-equipped amp I had moved to using a power conditioner/surge protector with a trigger and switched outlets (which I use now to power up the 7500, both M200's, and the LFM-1). You might ask Outlaw what the voltage will be after splitting (assuming nobody else chimes in with that specific value first) and then run that value past the manufacturer of the two amps you are planning to use to find out if it is sufficient.
Posted by: nomoneybutgoodsound

Re: splitting the 12 v. trigger signal - 05/30/07 02:44 AM

If I am not mistaken we both have the same surge protector - Belkin PF 60. So I could use that 12 volt trigger but I am not sure on just how to "trigger" the 12 volts. Presently I have the 970 plugged into the surger protector. I thought of using the non existent 120 volt output but as mentioned, it is non existent on the 970. Thank you for such a quick reply. I have a few days before the new amp arrives. To think that I bought a new amp to alleviate the headroom concerns only to come up with a new concern. What a great hobby! Hopefully these concerns will not end.
Posted by: gonk

Re: splitting the 12 v. trigger signal - 05/30/07 03:01 AM

If you have the PF60, you can connect the 970's trigger to the 12V trigger on the PF60 (right next to the little 120V trigger connection, labeled "DC IN"), plug the amps into the two high-current outlets (bank 6, labeled "AMP1" and "AMP2"), and set the dip switches so that only that bank is triggered (I set 1 through 5 to "always on" and 6 to "switched" and gave bank 6 a delay). You'll also need to push the "REMOTE" button on the front panel to turn the remote trigger feature on.
Posted by: nomoneybutgoodsound

Re: splitting the 12 v. trigger signal - 06/01/07 03:29 AM

Tried using the PF 60 to turn on the 7075. I guess my house wiring is a little different from yours. It kind of turned on "hard" instead of "soft" when using the 12 volt trigger. No damage though. Thank you for the suggestion. I emailed ATI and "Mike" replied indicating that all ATI amps only need 5 Ma to turn on. I then phoned Outlaw (today) and they said the 970 puts out 50 Ma, more than enough to "trigger" two external sources like amps.