Piccie of FT2000D at home.

[PA5COR]

Promissed a picture of the setup at home.
Working like a dandy, modulation all over the place glowing reports, some can't believe it is the FT 2000 D :mrgreen:

[N8YX]

Looks good.

I need to clean my shack up and get a few pics of the new (to me) gear which is in the lineup - including that four-foot row of Icoms. :shock:

[PA5COR]

Still need to clean up the cabinet of cabling and stuff, but that can be done tomorrow.
Needs a new strip with white leds on the edge of the cabinet to light up softly the front of the 2000, so that the lettering is better visible, i mostly sit here in the room with low lights on, and it can use the soft white light.

The strip that is on there now was as wide as the FT 847......

Waiting for your pictures :)

[ki4itv]

Sweet!!
Real shame it'll only see 160m. ;):lol:

[NQ6U]

Piece o' junk. You shoulda bought one of these instead:

http://www.radioing.com/museum/swan350.jpg

You'd at least stay a lot busier, trying to keep it on frequency...

[W2NAP]

you can send that 847 over here!

[PA5COR]

Just sold the spare FT 847 to a good friend, the old one is spare here.
With the FT100 i keep 3 HF/VHF/UHF radio's here.

And that new fangled Swan is too much learning curve for me :)

And no, i work all bands 160 - 70 cm's ;)
But indeed mostly `160......

[W2NAP]

i just have 20,15,10 and 2. (70cm with the ht)

ts430 only working hf i have. and i cant hear well with it (nothing wrong with rig i just cant hear with it.) my 450 is dead

[KG4CGC]

Piece o' junk. You shoulda bought one of these instead:

http://www.radioing.com/museum/swan350.jpg

You'd at least stay a lot busier, trying to keep it on frequency...I remember seeing a couple of those old black and white radios as part of a display in an Asheville vintage clothes shop. Thank god they didn't do anything stupid like trying to colorize them.

[KK4AMI]

Wow, that is an impressive outfit. I'll bet all those giant meters draw at least an amp of power. I'd like to take a picture of my setup, but one Alinco DX-70 sitting on a desk looks pretty much like the clock radio on my nightstand.:drool:

[PA5COR]

Made the 20 inch strip and behind that in 45 degree angles some pcb on which the led strip was mounted LM 317 and potentiometer i can regulate the light on the transceiver and EQplus.
The strip gives warm white light lighting up the lettering quite nice.
Folding the strip around the 90 degree angle pcb was easy, the front of the 2000 D is now quite visible and the writing as well.

[NQ6U]

Nice idea, Cor. I like to keep my shack dimly lit and use point lighting as well, but don't the LEDs shine up into your eyes?

[PA5COR]

The pcb is 1 1/4 inch wide and you always look at the back keeping the leds hidden behind it, the light shines only on the 2000 D and the strip was folded back to shine on the EQ plus, needs a piccie when it is dark, these were made when the sun still was shining.

One reason to make the leds dimmable from off to full blast... i can read a book from the indirect light then....

Mostly i have just one or 2 Led lamps on, 6 watts each comparable with 60 watt light.
Keeps the room dimly lit, and this lets me regulate the front of the transceiver from dark, to brightly lit and the lights down actually indirectly light the keyboard of the laptop i always use ;)

Still messy here, need to redo the cabling and clean up here, but this was just an idea to share.
The strip leds use 250 mA on 13.8 volt when fully lit, and the LM 317 regulates the strip from dark to full brightness.

Scrounging the junkbox for a decent KNOB is next ;)

[PA5COR]

Created artificially "night" brightest setting LED's

[NQ6U]

Looks great, Cor. I may copy that myself. What value current-limiting resistor did you use?

[PA5COR]

The strip comes in any length, per 3 LEDS you can cut the strip and use them each LED has an 150 Ohm resistor embedded in the plastic clear cover, each strip or any length of strip with sets of 3 Leds can be connected to 13.8 volts.
I used 18 leds, 12 shining to the transceiver and 6 shining down on the EQplus and P.A.

Normal separate white leds have 3.6 volts voltage drop on it's own, if they are 20 mA types ( there are different ones up to 100 mA's or more with multiple chips in one housing) limit the curent to 10 - 16 mA.
That will considerably lengthen the lifespan and lumens output, without you will notice a drop in light output.
In my hallway i used the housebell transformer to feed ( after rectifying and buffering) a bunch of white 100 mA leds 24/7, replaced them after 5 years for a now cheapo Led light from our D.I.Y shop, but the leds were as bright as the first day limited on 50 mA.

Simple calculation ( law of Ohm) calculates for a 20 mA white led:
voltage drop led 3.6 volts, leaves 10.2 volt to drop.
Use 560 Ohm, that is just a tad more 10.2 volt drop.
If you want the Leds to live very long, use 820 Ohm to 1 K Ohm.( 1 K = 10 mA)
Even with 1/2 the normal current the light is very bright and the lifespan almost indefinately.
While soldering leds, keep the legs close to the leds cool, i use a adapted tweezer with copper ends that will keep the wire cool.
Cool the leds, leave room for air currents to cool the leds, specially the high current ones.
http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz
Led resistor calculator for the lazy ones

Long story:
Most LEDs have their characteristics specified at a current of 20 mA. If you want really good reliability and you are not certain you don't have worse-than-average heat conductivity in your mounting, heat buildup in wherever you mount them, voltage/current variations, etc. then design for 15 milliamps.

Now for how to make 15 milliamps flow through the LED:
First you need to know the LED voltage drop. It is safe enough to assume 1.7 volts for non-high-brightness red, 1.9 volts for high-brightness, high-efficiency and low-current red, and 2 volts for orange and yellow, and 2.1 volts for green. Assume 3.4 volts for bright white, bright non-yellowish green, and most blue types. Assume 3.8 volts (updated 3/22/2008) for 430 nM bright blue types such as Everbright and Radio Shack. Design for 12 milliamps for the 3.4 volt types and 10 milliamps for the 430 nM blue.

Those 2.6 and 2.8 volt figures for many green, yellow, orange and some red LEDs are not typical voltage but some maximum during production sample testing, above which they are considered defective. Typical voltage is 1.9 volts for red, 2 volts for orange and yellow and 2.1 volts for green even if you see a 2.6-2.8 volt figure.
You can design for higher current if you are adventurous or you know you will have a good lack of heat buildup. In such a case, design for 25 mA for the types with voltage near 2 volts, 18 mA for the 3.4 volt types, and 15 mA for the 430 nM blue.

Meet or exceed the maximum rated current of the LED only under favorable conditions of lack of heat buildup. Some LED current ratings assume some really favorable test conditions - such as being surrounded by air no warmer than 25 degrees Celsius and some decent thermal conduction from where the leads are mounted. Running the LED at specified laboratory conditions used for maximum current rating will make it lose half its light output after rated life expectancy (100,000 hours, often 10,000 for white) - optimistically!

You can use somewhat higher currents if you heat-sink the leads and/or can tolerate much shorter life expectancy.
Next, know your supply voltage. It should be well above the LED voltage for reliable, stable LED operation. Use at least 3 volts for the lower voltage types, 4.5 volts for the 3.4 volt types, and 5 volts for the 430 nM blue.
The voltage in most cars is 14 volts while the alternator is successfully charging the battery. A well-charged 12 volt lead-acid battery has 12.6 volts with a light load discharging it. Many "wall wart" DC power supplies provide much higher voltage than specified (often 10% above nominal or .6 volt above nominal, whichever is higher, and maybe more) if the load is light, so you need to measure them with a light load that draws maybe 10-20 milliamps.

The next step is to divide the dropped voltage (supply voltage minus LED voltage) by the LED current to get the value of the dropping resistor. If you divide volts by amps, you get the resistor value in ohms. If you divide volts by milliamps, you get the resistor value in kilo-ohms or k.
Example: 6 volt supply, 3.4 volt LED, 12 milliamps. Subtract the 3.4 volt LED voltage from the 6 volt supply voltage to get a difference (which is across the "dropping resistor") of 2.6 volts. Divide 2.6 by .012. This gives 217 ohms. The nearest standard resistor value is 220 ohms.

If you want to operate the 3.4 volt LED from a 6 volt power supply at the LED's "typical" current of 20 mA, then 2.6 divided by .02 yields a resistor value of 130 ohms. The next higher popular standard value is 150 ohms.
If you want to run a typical 3.4 volt LED from a 6 volt supply at its maximum rated current of 30 mA, then divide 2.6 by .03. This indicates 87 ohms. The next higher popular standard resistor value is 100 ohms. Please beware that I consider the 30 mA rating for 3.2-3.5 volt LEDs to be optimistic.

One more thing to do is to check the resistor wattage. Multiply the dropped voltage by the LED current to get the wattage being dissipated in the resistor. Example: 2.6 volts times .03 amp (30 milliamps) is .078 watt. For good reliability, I recommend not exceeding 60 percent of the wattage rating of the resistor. A 1/4 watt resistor can easily handle .078 watt. In case you need a more powerful resistor, there are 1/2 watt resistors widely available in the popular values.

You can put LEDs in series with only one resistor for the whole series string. Add up the voltages of all the LEDs in the series string. This should not exceed 80 percent of the supply voltage if you want good stability and predictable current consumption. The "dropped voltage" will then be the supply voltage minus the total voltage of the LEDs in the series string.
Do not put LEDs in parallel with each other. Although this usually works, this is often not reliable. LEDs become more conductive as they warm up, which may lead to unstable current distribution through paralleled LEDs. LEDs in parallel need their own individual dropping resistors. Series strings can be paralleled if each string has its own dropping resistor.

;)

[W2NAP]

going to have to make a video of you with the ft-2000 in action. and post it on youtube

[NQ6U]

Thanks for the short course in LEDs, Cor!

[WØTKX]

I sold LOTS of LED's at RadioSnack when i worked there, because I could help 'em buy the correct current limiting resistor(s). Very popular with some of the XBox gamers, they'd drill holes in the case and customize them. Weird, but whatever sells the parts, eh?

One of the coolest was a guy that bought 35 eas of bright yellow and bright blue, he put them on his custom Honda Super Magna.

[Jerry]

If the FT 2000 WAS SUCH A GOOD RADIO - you wouldn't need the amplifier in the picture.

I worked the world with 100 watts or less.

[N8YX]

If the FT 2000 WAS SUCH A GOOD RADIO - you wouldn't need the amplifier in the picture.

I worked the world with 100 watts or less.
I've worked DXCC on 10M with an HR-2510 and a quarter-wave bumper-mount whip but I can guarantee you're not going to duplicate that feat on 160M during the summertime.

Of course, if one had a full-size 160M yagi such as the one at OH8X, a barefoot transceiver would be all one needs to effectively work the band.

People seem to forget that some areas of continental Europe aren't conducive to putting up massive aerials for the lower bands. For that matter, neither are certain locations within the U.S. An amplifier definitely helps here.

[K7SGJ]

Not everyone is blessed with your talents. Besides, if that is what he wants, and he can afford it, why not? I'm sure many have done more with less, does that make them better? I don't think so. That's also why they make Fords, Chevy's, and Ferrari's.

[NQ6U]

Jerry, your ignorance is showing once again. Let me explain something to you: when it comes to any modern rig, which radio you use has very little to do with your ability to work DX. It's all in the antenna.

[PA5COR]

I worked with the FT 847 and 2 watts on 10 meters all USA but then we had real sunspots ;)

See the antenna section and what i build as antenna's, i maximised these first, then went for the last improvement that does the least, the radio.
We're not rich, but i can spend some on my hobby, be it sportshooting or ham radio, doing the odd job repair or just use money from what we make as wages.
And yes, 100 watts is enough to work the world as my qsl cards prove or even less with 5 watts.
The Heathkit actually came here in a mess, it was a restauraation object that ran out of hand, new tube, and most components replaced.
Selling it would not cover the costs, but then i had lots of fun bringing it back to life and as new.

Mostly used on 160 where our friends from the USA run 1500 watt.
Is it a good radio? better as my Ft 847, is it the best? no.
But then i don't have 14 K euro to waste on that, nor do i have the real estate to put up some serious antenna's that belong to that kind of radio.
I have a family to take care of, that is my main interest, not the hobby's.




PA5COR (http://www.qrz.com/db/PA5COR)
1850.0
29 Aug 23:04
N0DX (http://www.qrz.com/db/N0DX)
Any dx on fone?



From the cluster yesterday, running 200 watt barefoot into the inverted L

[N7YA]

Jerry, your ignorance is showing once again. Let me explain something to you: when it comes to any modern rig, which radio you use has very little to do with your ability to work DX. It's all in the antenna.

Its largely in the antenna, but mostly in the skill of the op, his ears and patience. Rig quality, while nice, is back in the pack.

Cor, doesnt your arm get tired reaching up when tuning? I have to have my rig at deck level for those long hours, yikes! Great looking set-up, by the way.

[PA5COR]

I might be a couch potato, but for working the controls of the set i will do the extra step ;)
It's at eye hight, so I'm looking directly at the front of the set, and my hand can rest on the newfangled lightning bar while the fingers twirl the knob(s) :)

Now you understand my work at the inverted L of 77 feet high and all that copper wire dug in and above the ground.
Europe is easy on 160, the USA in winter as Canada is almost daily in SSB with a little help of the cndx.

CW would be a laugh, but why go the easy way? LOL, i like a challenge.
Living on the edge of the (small 35K people) city i have more noise as i would have living on a farm or away from the civilised world.
One reason to change to the much more rewarding noise and qrm fighting additions on the FT 2000D.

Our legal limit is 400 watts, the Heathkit SB-1000 will do that with ease and last my lifetime with the refurbished inside including new tube and soft start.

Simply said, i use the power needed to make a reliable qso, not less not more.
It won't be a (financial) problem building another 2 Kw amp, but i have no need for one.

If i want things the easy way i would have kept myself to 20 meters and up, where making worldwide contacts is easy, been there, done that, got the Qsl cards to prove it.

I like 160 meters and the people there, we got nothing to prove, always ready to help out with tips to improve the set up, and generally the old style ham atmosphere, where people need to build their own stuff, including antenna's end there still is a challenge.

Looks like i became one of the old crowd, next i will be complaining about my health in all sordid details...:shock: oh no, that is 75/80 meters phew....:mrgreen:

[N8YX]

Waiting for your pictures :)

I took a few this afternoon. The latest incarnation, as it were.

First up is the "multiplier" position - 'DSG usually camps out here when I can get her in the radio room. IC-751A, R-71A, PS-30, IC-2KL and AT-500 on bottom. Royce 642 SSB/AM CB, R/S MURS rig, Kenwood TM-321 and two FT-726Rs (which between them cover HF, 6, 2, 430 and 440) in middle row. Top row are a few Drake MS-7 speakers, a couple Pro-2042 scanners, an AT-100 and the IC-745 which makes up the dedicated 10/12m SSB spot. The '751A/R-71A pair primarily see use on 75-20M or on 10-15M during contests.

4605

[N8YX]

Next up - the leftmost SO2R spot. Bottom is a TS-940S/R-5000 pair with a couple of SP-820 speakers which are shared with other gear in the lineup.Timewave DSP-599zx and Drake CW-75 handle noise reduction and Morse operation, while an ARB-704 allows all the gear to simultaneously switch between RX and TX.

An AT-200 tuner (soon to be replaced with a Drake CS-7) acts as more of antenna switch than a tuner but the SM-220 next to it is very useful. To the right of that is an IC-R7000 and to its right is yet another R-71A. On top is the IC-745 and its companion R-70; when I'm not on our local 10M hangout these are pressed into service doing ute monitoring from 25-30MHz. Next to the R-70 is a Pro-2035 with an OS-535 board fitted. An MFJ 1026 noise canceller (used with the R-71A below it) and a Pro-2096 APCO-25 capable wideband receiver finish up this section.

4606

[N8YX]

Rightmost SO2R spot.With the exception of the AT-230 which switches a couple A-D DX-SWL slopers to the middle R-71A, the layout mirrors the left position. A Shuttle micro-ATX computer handles remote control and data-comms operations for the '940/'5000 pair, the Timewave unit and both of the Icom receivers visible in the picture. The keyboard and screens for it are located about 3ft to the right, where I'm typing this reply.

The entire right side of the SO2R setup can be operated from anywhere on my LAN.

4607

[N8YX]

A follow-on:

I have enough Icom, Yaesu and Royce gear stashed away to completely duplicate the 'multiplier' spot on the far right side of the console and will do so when we get a place with a long basement. Another Shuttle awaits its spot controlling the left-most '940 and we're going to buy an additional pair to run the Icom setups.

When I get the space to accommodate them, a pair of THL-2.5fx amps and the attendant auto-tuners will be added to the '940 lineups, along with computer-selected bandpass filters.

[K7SGJ]

Jesus Christ, no wonder my house lights keep dimming.

[W2NAP]

im still waiting for that vid of you using that 2000.

[PA5COR]

Will be some time, just from bed, tired like h*ll, it was 05.15 before i dropped in bed....night time qso running a bit out of hand...

[N8YX]

Jesus Christ, no wonder my house lights keep dimming.
Eventually, everything that can be run off solar and wind power will be.

When Ike came through and knocked out power around here in 2008 I had to run a lot of the stuff off batteries. It was amazing how quiet that was compared to AC power. Most of the homes in the area still had AC service, so the slop that I (wasn't) hearing appears to be local to my residence and is ingressing on the mains.

Not shown in the left picture is an Astron VS-50. It powers all of the station receivers, the keyers, ARB704s, the scanners, meter backlighting, the Timewave units, the IF-232 interfaces, the MURS rig, the TM-321 and the IC-745. A pair of Powerpole distribution blocks distribute the juice. I am going to connect battery backup systems and automatic switchover devices to them in the future.

[PA5COR]

^ Good job, my compliments...;)

[N7YA]

Eventually, everything that can be run off solar and wind power will be.

When Ike came through and knocked out power around here in 2008 I had to run a lot of the stuff off batteries. It was amazing how quiet that was compared to AC power. Most of the homes in the area still had AC service, so the slop that I (wasn't) hearing appears to be local to my residence and is ingressing on the mains.

Not shown in the left picture is an Astron VS-50. It powers all of the station receivers, the keyers, ARB704s, the scanners, meter backlighting, the Timewave units, the IF-232 interfaces, the MURS rig, the TM-321 and the IC-745. A pair of Powerpole distribution blocks distribute the juice. I am going to connect battery backup systems and automatic switchover devices to them in the future.


I commend you for this! I would eventually like to run my home entirely off natural sources. It can be done. :clap:

I think it will be more acceptable once we move to Maine, Nevada kinda has its head up its own ass on that subject.

[N8YX]

I commend you for this! I would eventually like to run my home entirely off natural sources. It can be done. :clap:

I think it will be more acceptable once we move to Maine, Nevada kinda has its head up its own ass on that subject.

I don't think I can run the entire home off 12V (motors and other 120/220AC inductive devices being the bugaboo) but everything else I can I will.

At present there's no good place to put up a windmill - I am going to build a set of four per plans in an old Make magazine. At 2.6kW each, they should give me about 10kW peak charging output. The thought is to run the juice into a combination of float and deep-cycle batteries - an array which is configured for 14v rather than 12v. (That'll result in better linearity for the solid-state ham rig PA sections; I can always run a dedicated 12v bus if it proves too hard to regulate.)

Augmenting the windmills will be a couple of solar panels. Peak output from them will be ~5% over average consumption rates so the batteries will always be positively charged.

[N7YA]

Well, i dont think i can run the whole house on natural sources either, but i can dream. If anything, i would like to knock the power grid dependence down quite a bit once we get a spot of land to do that on. Sounds like you got a good bead on things in that department, good man!

[W2NAP]

here if you dont have a line from the power company and a meter in. you cant live there. they will condemn the house.

so sadly here you cant just outfit your house with solar and tell the city to stick there power bill up there ass

[N7YA]

Yep, somebody want to tell me how free we are again?

[N8YX]

You can always sell power back to the grid.

The sword cuts both ways.

[N7YA]

Not in this state you cant!

[N8YX]

Not in this state you cant!
Que?

[N7YA]

Que?


I said, "not in this state you cant!"


....but it appears i am wrong. We are one of the 42 states that do. There are still 8 holdouts, it seems, and i thought we were one of them. Ok, my bad.

http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/index.cfm?getRE=1?re=undefined&ee=1&spv=0&st=0&srp=1&state=NV