The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay The Radio Bench 12 v radio in 6 v truck help please

I’m installing a new 12 v radio Into my 47 Chevy 3800. I have the 6 v to 12 v converter. Couple of questions: first, it calls for one connection to be to a switched 12v source and another to a constant 12 v source. Typically the switched source would be the ignition switch which of course on this truck is the original 6 volt. Do I need to add a switch on the dash for this 12 volt source, or is there a way around it?
Question 2: does the on/off switch on the radio not serve the same purpose as this switched source? In other words, can I just hook up the radio to constant 12 volt and turn it off and on at the radio? Or does this delete the memory function every time I turn it on and off? Thanks much for any advice! David

The 12V switched source would be what lets the radio play, so it turns on when the ignition is turned on (if the radio switch is on). The constant power 12V source would be what keeps the preset stations in memory, although not all radios lose them when power is cut.

You could accomplish that with your single converter by adding a relay to the ignition switched 6V circuit that closes when key is on to power the switched 12V. Pull two wires off the converter (12V side), running one to the constant 12V input and the other thru the relay to the switched 12V input on the radio.

If you didn't wire it that way, but just sent constant power to both 12V inputs, you'd have to turn off the radio every time you shut off the truck. I think it's mainly a convenience thing.

Thank you sir! So if I want to combine the ignition and the constant 12v source together, I’ll just need to turn the radio off each time? That’s fine with me. Thanks again for the information! David

I don't know if you want to leave a 6 to 12 volt converter powered up to maintain your radio presets. That might turn out to be too much of a drain on your 12 volt battery.

Radio brand is custom autosound concours series and it does have a clock