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Thread: Feeling disheartened and ham radio culture shocked

  1. #21
    Orca Whisperer W3WN's Avatar
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    Considering the circumstances, better (for you) to use the new supply and dispose of the old one.

    Under normal circumstances, I'd suggest bringing the old one to a club meeting or equivalent, give it away to someone, with full disclosure: the understanding that as far as you know, it is not working correctly and needs repair. But these are not normal times that we live in, so if you feel better just recycling it, then that's the right thing to do.
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  2. #22
    'Grumpy old bastid' kb2vxa's Avatar
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    Well, once again I witnessed another battle in The War of the Sexes. (;->) It's a rare woman who will tighten a bolt, the love of my life was a rare woman who dove right in getting down and dirty with her car and home. Now because of a loose terminal bolt the county recycling center will get scrap steel price for a perfectly good PSU.

    Sue, that's a pretty PSU, but unfortunately only able to run one 50W 2M rig. My Icom IC706Mk2G 100W HF+6M, 50W 2M, 25W 70cM rig required quite a few more amps and that sort of rig would suit your license perfectly. A mag loop is a small but powerful HF antenna for the home QTH, mobile operation unfortunately suffers with today's plastic cars and computer systems that don't like RF. Once upon a time Biscuit installed his rig in his truck, when he keyed the mic the electronic dash went nuts and the engine died. Considering his mental state it was a match made in...

    Speaking of Biscuit, he gave me a 60A 12V regulated Tripp Lite supply that became the centerpiece of my station when I had one, Scott has my station and test equipment now.

    HRO in Newark, DE didn't go downhill, it fell off a cliff when the ham holding the franchise sold out and two ham salesmen left. Now it's like old Rat Shack where you have questions, we have blank stares. It used to be worth the trip to shop the store, now you're better off knowing what to buy and ordering on line. Shopping the store was fun, they had a "try to buy" table with rigs switched to rooftop antennas and in the center was an HF triband beam and rotor on a tripod. I got a laugh out of one of the 2M mobile rigs that had a "potato mic". It was the clumsiest thing I'd seen, the size and shape of a sweet potato covered with buttons. OK, now where's the hole you talk into?

    Last but not least, here in NJ we can tell the skin color and where a person is from by how they pronounce Nerk, Noke, Newerk, Newark. In that Delaware college town they pronounce it correctly, New ark! As near as anyone can tell Oldark is buried in ice atop Mt. Ararat.
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  3. #23
    Fertility Shaman KB2SFH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kb2vxa View Post
    Well, once again I witnessed another battle in The War of the Sexes. (;->) It's a rare woman who will tighten a bolt, the love of my life was a rare woman who dove right in getting down and dirty with her car and home. Now because of a loose terminal bolt the county recycling center will get scrap steel price for a perfectly good PSU.

    Sue, that's a pretty PSU, but unfortunately only able to run one 50W 2M rig. My Icom IC706Mk2G 100W HF+6M, 50W 2M, 25W 70cM rig required quite a few more amps and that sort of rig would suit your license perfectly. A mag loop is a small but powerful HF antenna for the home QTH, mobile operation unfortunately suffers with today's plastic cars and computer systems that don't like RF. Once upon a time Biscuit installed his rig in his truck, when he keyed the mic the electronic dash went nuts and the engine died. Considering his mental state it was a match made in...

    Speaking of Biscuit, he gave me a 60A 12V regulated Tripp Lite supply that became the centerpiece of my station when I had one, Scott has my station and test equipment now.

    HRO in Newark, DE didn't go downhill, it fell off a cliff when the ham holding the franchise sold out and two ham salesmen left. Now it's like old Rat Shack where you have questions, we have blank stares. It used to be worth the trip to shop the store, now you're better off knowing what to buy and ordering on line. Shopping the store was fun, they had a "try to buy" table with rigs switched to rooftop antennas and in the center was an HF triband beam and rotor on a tripod. I got a laugh out of one of the 2M mobile rigs that had a "potato mic". It was the clumsiest thing I'd seen, the size and shape of a sweet potato covered with buttons. OK, now where's the hole you talk into?

    Last but not least, here in NJ we can tell the skin color and where a person is from by how they pronounce Nerk, Noke, Newerk, Newark. In that Delaware college town they pronounce it correctly, New ark! As near as anyone can tell Oldark is buried in ice atop Mt. Ararat.
    OK. I really didn't want to be bothered with fixing the tripplite or having someone fix it, it doesn't suit my needs anymore and it was a constant reminder of the biscuithead and a toxic relationship. I'm most likely just going to run the ht on cig lighter plug with mag mount antenna on roof as my mobile set up for now and a mobile rig, power supply and magmount on window sill as a base for now. Not much different than what I had back in Cranford. As for the newer cars I'm not too concerned and what happened to biscuithead in the truck I think he overloaded or wired something wrong to have that happen, he was rather cocky in his knowledge of how to wire and connect things. This new power supply I ordered from HRO because it had a better price than Gigaparts where I saw it and was in the accessories section of the Yaesu rigs I have my eye on and they wouldn't recommend it if it couldn't support the rigs. I copied and pasted the specs here which are suitable for me, I won't be running multiple radios at the same time on it and I am not power hungry in getting my signal out, as long as it is a decent signal i leave well enough alone.

    Yaesu FP-1030A Linear 25A Power Supply w/Meters
    The Yaesu FP-1030A is a high-quality, Regulated DC Power Supply specifically designed for use with DC powered radio equipment. The FP-1030A provides 13.8 Volts DC at up to 25 Amps (continuous duty).
    Overload Protection
    A current foldback circuit is utilized to prevent damage to the unit from excessive current drain. An "Overload" indicator becomes illuminated when an overload condition exists.
    High RFI lmmunity
    The FP-1030A is specifically designed for use with radio communication equipment. It therefore includes extensive filtering to provide high immunity from erratic operation which might be caused by Radio Frequency interference (RFl).
    Multiple DC Output connections
    Besides the two pairs of (6A) snap-in DC connections and the (25A) screw-on DC outputerminal, the FP-1030A features a cigar-lighter type DC output jack for radio equipment equipped with a hatching cigarlighter plug.
    First licensed October 31, 1994 as No Code Technician
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  4. #24
    Administrator ad4mg's Avatar
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    Sue... that PS will run a 50 watt VHF mobile rig just fine. They usually draw about 12 amps @ 13.5 volts. It will also easily power most 100 watt HF rigs, as they draw about 20 amps @ 13.5 volts. The HT will offer a very light load.

    Being a linear power supply, the unit will likely be fairly heavy, but you don't have to worry about RF hash from a switching power supply. Most well made switchers are pretty quiet RF wise, but a cheap unit will pitch a bitch on HF frequencies especially.

    I had a 50 watt 2 meter rig and my IC-751 on an Astron RS-35M-AP power supply. Since both rigs were dedicated to voice and/or CW, I could only transmit on one at a time. Never saw the amp meter go above 19 amps.

    That Astron was a beast. I have several, but the I bought 35 amp unit when I first got my license in 1992. It still works perfectly!
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  5. #25
    Fertility Shaman KB2SFH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ad4mg View Post
    Sue... that PS will run a 50 watt VHF mobile rig just fine. They usually draw about 12 amps @ 13.5 volts. It will also easily power most 100 watt HF rigs, as they draw about 20 amps @ 13.5 volts. The HT will offer a very light load.

    Being a linear power supply, the unit will likely be fairly heavy, but you don't have to worry about RF hash from a switching power supply. Most well made switchers are pretty quiet RF wise, but a cheap unit will pitch a bitch on HF frequencies especially.

    I had a 50 watt 2 meter rig and my IC-751 on an Astron RS-35M-AP power supply. Since both rigs were dedicated to voice and/or CW, I could only transmit on one at a time. Never saw the amp meter go above 19 amps.

    That Astron was a beast. I have several, but the I bought 35 amp unit when I first got my license in 1992. It still works perfectly!
    The tripplite was really heavy too and the weight of the new one I ordered is 20 lbs so I can manage it. It is due to be delivered this weekend, so I will go check the mailroom downstairs tomorrow and pick up my packages on a rolling cart all in one trip as I have other things (radio and non radio items) I am expecting this weekend.
    First licensed October 31, 1994 as No Code Technician
    Upgraded to General in April, 2006 WITH CODE
    Upgraded to EXTRA written on May 12, 2007

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  6. #26
    'Grumpy old bastid' kb2vxa's Avatar
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    Tripp Lite PSUs are heavy because they are linear type, the transformer steps down the 60Hz mains voltage to about 24VAC, then it's rectified and goes through pass transistors in a 12VDC regulator circuit. Your new one is a switching supply that operates at a much higher frequency so the transformer needs less iron and is lighter. Right, a well designed supply is quiet even at HF. My Biscuit supply weighed a ton, you would pop a gasket trying to lift it being mostly Heavy Metal, a Lead Zeppelin, not L.E.D. Zeppelin.

    Cookie Cranium had every right to be cocky about mobile installations, he had years of experience under his belt with CB, HF, and VHF rigs. The reason why the truck system went nuts was because electronic dash instruments and engine computers were very RF sensitive when they first came out. It soon became moot when companies forbade connecting anything to the wiring thanks to illegal CB installations getting companies heavy fines from the FCC. Thanks to Field Engineers inspecting and busting at weigh stations, and busting truck stop sales of illegal CB gear and golden screwdrivers illegally monkeying with frequency determining elements and power output circuits hearing truckers at the bottom of 10M complaining about the "beepers" became a thing of the past.

    I'm not too keen on cig lighter plugs, they don't make good contact and anything more than an HT causes them to overheat and often melt. A mag mount on the car roof is fine as long as there's a 5/8 wave antenna on it, but you'll soon find out that 5W doesn't cut the muster unless you're pretty close in or you're on a WW (wide wide) repeater. Things get worse using that sort of setup at home, don't forget you'll be highly directional favoring the direction the window faces. Also a metal sill or railing severely distorts the pattern with major lobes following the direction of the metal and they're blocked by the building wall. You'll need some power and/or pretty fair altitude to help overcome such shortcomings, I had a rather lengthy conversation with Gordon West about it when he visited New York and put on his blazing pickle demonstration at a Metropuke meeting. I wish I could remember the window antenna he was using at his Manhattan hotel room, a gamma match fed folding aluminium square that put out one hell of a signal fed by his HT. Your building isn't nearly as high, but you'd likely do pretty good feeding one with 50W. Maybe somebody reading this can help me with this one? Maybe get those Disraeli Gears turning...........

    L.E.D. Zeppelin.jpg
    "The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you."
    Neil deGrasse Tyson

    73 de Warren KB2VXA
    Station powered by atomic energy, operator powered by natural gas.

  7. #27
    Fertility Shaman KB2SFH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kb2vxa View Post
    Tripp Lite PSUs are heavy because they are linear type, the transformer steps down the 60Hz mains voltage to about 24VAC, then it's rectified and goes through pass transistors in a 12VDC regulator circuit. Your new one is a switching supply that operates at a much higher frequency so the transformer needs less iron and is lighter. Right, a well designed supply is quiet even at HF. My Biscuit supply weighed a ton, you would pop a gasket trying to lift it being mostly Heavy Metal, a Lead Zeppelin, not L.E.D. Zeppelin.

    Cookie Cranium had every right to be cocky about mobile installations, he had years of experience under his belt with CB, HF, and VHF rigs. The reason why the truck system went nuts was because electronic dash instruments and engine computers were very RF sensitive when they first came out. It soon became moot when companies forbade connecting anything to the wiring thanks to illegal CB installations getting companies heavy fines from the FCC. Thanks to Field Engineers inspecting and busting at weigh stations, and busting truck stop sales of illegal CB gear and golden screwdrivers illegally monkeying with frequency determining elements and power output circuits hearing truckers at the bottom of 10M complaining about the "beepers" became a thing of the past.

    I'm not too keen on cig lighter plugs, they don't make good contact and anything more than an HT causes them to overheat and often melt. A mag mount on the car roof is fine as long as there's a 5/8 wave antenna on it, but you'll soon find out that 5W doesn't cut the muster unless you're pretty close in or you're on a WW (wide wide) repeater. Things get worse using that sort of setup at home, don't forget you'll be highly directional favoring the direction the window faces. Also a metal sill or railing severely distorts the pattern with major lobes following the direction of the metal and they're blocked by the building wall. You'll need some power and/or pretty fair altitude to help overcome such shortcomings, I had a rather lengthy conversation with Gordon West about it when he visited New York and put on his blazing pickle demonstration at a Metropuke meeting. I wish I could remember the window antenna he was using at his Manhattan hotel room, a gamma match fed folding aluminium square that put out one hell of a signal fed by his HT. Your building isn't nearly as high, but you'd likely do pretty good feeding one with 50W. Maybe somebody reading this can help me with this one? Maybe get those Disraeli Gears turning...........

    L.E.D. Zeppelin.jpg
    I'm trying the best I can with my limitations here and you just keep putting everything I am buying or doing down every time you post to me. I'm sorry I started investing in new equipment. I should have stayed a paper ham and stayed out of the hobby and off the air.
    First licensed October 31, 1994 as No Code Technician
    Upgraded to General in April, 2006 WITH CODE
    Upgraded to EXTRA written on May 12, 2007

    ARRL Life Member

    73 DE KB2SFH
    (5 WPM EXTRA AND PROUD OF IT!!!)
    BE PROUD OF YOUR CALL SIGN, YOU EARNED IT!!!





  8. #28
    "Usual Suspect" WZ7U's Avatar
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    Something is off with Warren.....

    Like that post was...
    Moving on, my posts are not helpful

  9. #29
    'Grumpy old bastid' kb2vxa's Avatar
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    Nothing is off with me nor am I putting anything down, only pointing out lower expected results and showing how an expert, Gordon West did it better. Sue knows all about Gordo, his radio school, and study manuals. IIRC she was present during his presentation. What is off is Sue's taking it all wrong. Now if you read over the thread about getting a Johnson Thunderbolt on the air you'll see how my constructive criticism of a few points were taken THE RIGHT WAY as intended. As a result the amp is purring right along and the owner is right pleased with it and pleased with ME, the only one who helped him.
    "The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you."
    Neil deGrasse Tyson

    73 de Warren KB2VXA
    Station powered by atomic energy, operator powered by natural gas.

  10. #30
    "Usual Suspect" WZ7U's Avatar
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    Ok man, whatever. Instead of reflection, you sound like an addict defending your choices.

    Like that post was...
    Moving on, my posts are not helpful

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