Payne, I use a quick-and-dirty way of reducing radio output into my amp which is probably condemned by the aristocracy of CB but it works for me.
I use a resistor device on the radio’s incoming 12VDC feed to reduce the voltage to an actual ~12VDC instead of the vehicle’s normal ~14VDC, or whatever it happens to be.
In my case, I have installed 32 feet (actually 64′ +/- combo) of 22 gauge copper wire in the 12VDC feed line to the radio. Via calculations and actual multimeter testing, this supplies about 1.06 ohms to the feed line, which reduces the feed voltage to my 1.7 amp radio to a nominal ~12VDC, which of course varies a bit depending on the actual system voltage of the vehicle at any given time.
Via this crude-but-it-works method, I’ve measured the radio’s actual output to the amp at about two watts, compared to the nominal four allowed by law.
With this configuration, my little KL203P is outputting about 40 watts on trucker’s 19, which for me is a sweet spot. It is easy on the amp and keeps it cool, and is great for on-road communications.
In answer to the question, why not just buy a resistor? The answer is, cause I had the wire and didn’t have the resistor.
The 32′ of two-way copper wire is light and easy to coil up and zip-tie in place. Of course, it is properly protected with a properly sized fuse.
I’m not recommending anybody try this themselves, I’m just responding to the posed question. This is “my” solution to keeping an amp happy without taking the case off the radio and fiddling with the insides. I’m sure it is not approved by the techs; at least, I have not read of anybody else using this “external” approach to amp nirvana. But it made me happy.
