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Thread: Feeling disheartened and ham radio culture shocked

  1. #11
    Fertility Shaman KB2SFH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kb2vxa View Post
    I loved that girlfriend pictured, the one Mike hit on, the Azden not so much. I see your point, if you shave your har everybody can see it. (ducking) Getting your finances in order is FAR more important than giving some poor house plant RF burns. While I'm thinking of RF burns, I came up with a twist on an old T shirt slogan, "real radios glow in the dark". How about "12 volts is for wimps, real radios can KILL you."? A stupid design error could have killed me, I forgot a safety interlock relay in a transmitter I built and it nearly burned my left arm off............
    I don't keep houseplants because I don't have a green thumb and can't even keep an air fern alive. Well I guess I am a wimp because I am a 12 volter which leads me to my next question. What size spade crimp connectors do I need that will fit the poles to the tripplite PR-25? to get a portable setup back together in the apartment so I can get onto repeaters that haven't gone to these new modes yet. here is a sample pic of the connector type I want, I just don't know what size to order.
    p.s. sorry about you almost burning your arm off, but if you had you could have saved face telling people I whacked your arm off in an Italian rage.
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  2. #12
    Administrator N8YX's Avatar
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    Have an AutoZone, Advance Auto or similar auto-parts supply near you?

    Walk in and buy a crimp connector assortment pack. The type shown above is good for 22-18GA wire, and most of these assortments have a few different sizes of those that cover all the way from 22 up to 10 (and even 8) gauge wire. Widths are pretty much standard across the series, so they'll fit almost any barrier strip you'll encounter.
    "Everyone wants to be an AM Gangsta until it's time to start doing AM Gangsta shit."

  3. #13
    Administrator ad4mg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KB2SFH View Post
    What size spade crimp connectors do I need that will fit the poles to the tripplite PR-25? to get a portable setup back together in the apartment so I can get onto repeaters that haven't gone to these new modes yet. here is a sample pic of the connector type I want, I just don't know what size to order.
    Susan,
    That's a spade connector, and you need to size it for the studded connections on the back of the power supply. A photo I'm looking at leads me to believe the studs are either 1/4" or 5/16" in diameter.

    Equally important is the proper size crimp-on connector for the gauge of wire you will use. This is a 25 amp supply, and is quite capable of frying wire that is too small. The connectors in your pic are color coded for 22-18 ga wire, WAY too small for this amount of current. Here is a color code chart for the connectors:

    Screenshot at 2043_02-14.png

    Wire gauge is determined by considering how long the length of the wire run is and the amount of current (amps) it can safely handle. For a modest load, say 8-10 amps, and a 12' run of wire, 10 ga is suggested, but you could probably use 12 ga, or even 14 ga, but certainly no smaller.

    A thermal wire gauge chart can be found here: https://dcthermal.com/wire-guidecharts/

    It is very conservative on current capacity... it will point you to very large wire for the application.

    I ran a 5 watt HT, TNC, and cooling fan on 14ga wire (15' long) for years without an issue. I used the Blue color coded connectors... the Yellow ones were a bit large for 14ga wire.

    Hope that helps!
    QAnon / GOP Republicans mentally lack the necessary intelligence to even tell a decent lie (Ex: A cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic pedophiles run a global child sex trafficking ring and conspired against former President Dotard dRUMPf during his term in office... Jewish space lasers, etc.). What in the hell makes anyone believe these melon heads can actually govern?

  4. #14
    Fertility Shaman KB2SFH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by N8YX View Post
    Have an AutoZone, Advance Auto or similar auto-parts supply near you?

    Walk in and buy a crimp connector assortment pack. The type shown above is good for 22-18GA wire, and most of these assortments have a few different sizes of those that cover all the way from 22 up to 10 (and even 8) gauge wire. Widths are pretty much standard across the series, so they'll fit almost any barrier strip you'll encounter.

    I have one of those kits with the crimper but am out of the connectors I need as those were used and fell off my wires and got lost and stuck with other connectors of no use to me
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  5. #15
    Fertility Shaman KB2SFH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ad4mg View Post
    Susan,
    That's a spade connector, and you need to size it for the studded connections on the back of the power supply. A photo I'm looking at leads me to believe the studs are either 1/4" or 5/16" in diameter.

    Equally important is the proper size crimp-on connector for the gauge of wire you will use. This is a 25 amp supply, and is quite capable of frying wire that is too small. The connectors in your pic are color coded for 22-18 ga wire, WAY too small for this amount of current. Here is a color code chart for the connectors:

    Screenshot at 2043_02-14.png

    Wire gauge is determined by considering how long the length of the wire run is and the amount of current (amps) it can safely handle. For a modest load, say 8-10 amps, and a 12' run of wire, 10 ga is suggested, but you could probably use 12 ga, or even 14 ga, but certainly no smaller.

    A thermal wire gauge chart can be found here: https://dcthermal.com/wire-guidecharts/

    It is very conservative on current capacity... it will point you to very large wire for the application.

    I ran a 5 watt HT, TNC, and cooling fan on 14ga wire (15' long) for years without an issue. I used the Blue color coded connectors... the Yellow ones were a bit large for 14ga wire.

    Hope that helps!
    The blue ones sound familiar and they were good for the ht but I also want to run my mobile on it as well so I guess it would be safe to order both blues and reds?
    First licensed October 31, 1994 as No Code Technician
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  6. #16
    'Grumpy old bastid' kb2vxa's Avatar
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    See how helpful these people are? That's why this is my favorite web site. Unless you have gorilla grip you need a double action crimp tool so they're on tight. I soldered mine to seal the deal, a tight electrical connection is insurance against resistance heating and melted insulation. ASSuming you have neither my many years of experience and specialized tools that double action tool may be a bit pricey, but such is the price of insurance. I just took a quick look at the web, it tells us Home Despot is your best bet, take an on line peek and order what you need saving the risk of going there under present conditions.

    Plastic plants are for people with brown thumbs and plastic being a good insulator it won't suffer RF burns. I'd rather suffer the slings and arrows of fellow hams wagging "you should know better" fingers than involve you in my misery. That's akin to those phonetics Jim and I used, you know the ones I keep secret. All of you will roll with laughter at my RF burn adventure at a pirate AM radio station.

    I got the idea from the chief engineer of a 500W local AM station drawing a "singing arc" off the antenna tuning unit with needle nose pliers. The pirate transmitter was a Johnson Valiant with the cover off and a fan blowing on it, an AM transmitter made for ICAS (Intermittent Commercial & Amateur Service) doesn't like CCS (Continuous Commercial Service). Wax had previously melted and ran out of the modulation transformer, the 866 mercury vapor HV rectifier tubes look cool, but with blobs of liwuid mercury condensed on the windy side I'm surprised they didn't flash over and destroy themselves. BTW the arm roaster I built was designed for CCS if you get my drift. Now to the point, I drew an arc off the tank coil with needle nose pliers too, but hadn't noticed a pinhole in the insulation on the handle, YYYOOOWWWWWWW!!!!! Now where did the pliers go? We searched the room, no pliers, 100W couldn't have vaporized them, a mystery. I came back for another guest DJ spot a couple of weeks later and <clink> there they were at my feet. Looking up we saw a small hole in the ceiling, mystery solved. Now ho ahead and laugh!

    Johnson Valiant inside.jpg
    "The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you."
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  7. #17
    Fertility Shaman KB2SFH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kb2vxa View Post
    See how helpful these people are? That's why this is my favorite web site. Unless you have gorilla grip you need a double action crimp tool so they're on tight. I soldered mine to seal the deal, a tight electrical connection is insurance against resistance heating and melted insulation. ASSuming you have neither my many years of experience and specialized tools that double action tool may be a bit pricey, but such is the price of insurance. I just took a quick look at the web, it tells us Home Despot is your best bet, take an on line peek and order what you need saving the risk of going there under present conditions.

    Plastic plants are for people with brown thumbs and plastic being a good insulator it won't suffer RF burns. I'd rather suffer the slings and arrows of fellow hams wagging "you should know better" fingers than involve you in my misery. That's akin to those phonetics Jim and I used, you know the ones I keep secret. All of you will roll with laughter at my RF burn adventure at a pirate AM radio station.

    I got the idea from the chief engineer of a 500W local AM station drawing a "singing arc" off the antenna tuning unit with needle nose pliers. The pirate transmitter was a Johnson Valiant with the cover off and a fan blowing on it, an AM transmitter made for ICAS (Intermittent Commercial & Amateur Service) doesn't like CCS (Continuous Commercial Service). Wax had previously melted and ran out of the modulation transformer, the 866 mercury vapor HV rectifier tubes look cool, but with blobs of liwuid mercury condensed on the windy side I'm surprised they didn't flash over and destroy themselves. BTW the arm roaster I built was designed for CCS if you get my drift. Now to the point, I drew an arc off the tank coil with needle nose pliers too, but hadn't noticed a pinhole in the insulation on the handle, YYYOOOWWWWWWW!!!!! Now where did the pliers go? We searched the room, no pliers, 100W couldn't have vaporized them, a mystery. I came back for another guest DJ spot a couple of weeks later and <clink> there they were at my feet. Looking up we saw a small hole in the ceiling, mystery solved. Now ho ahead and laugh!

    Johnson Valiant inside.jpg
    I think I'm not going to be needing the connectors as I have my eye on a newer power supply by Yaesu which will go hand in hand with the equipment I am planning on. This was a gift from the biscuithead in my early days so I am going to put it up for sale for pickup only, I am not about to pay all that money to ship it, it is too heavy.
    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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    BE PROUD OF YOUR CALL SIGN, YOU EARNED IT!!!





  8. #18
    Fertility Shaman KB2SFH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by KB2SFH View Post
    I think I'm not going to be needing the connectors as I have my eye on a newer power supply by Yaesu which will go hand in hand with the equipment I am planning on. This was a gift from the biscuithead in my early days so I am going to put it up for sale for pickup only, I am not about to pay all that money to ship it, it is too heavy.

    So anyhoo, I just ordered the new power supply from Yaesu that is much more updated with ways to connect and also has the connector terminals. Last night I wired up my mobile to my old one, one wire had the connector to the one terminal and the other wire I wrapped around the bare copper to the other terminal that I noticed was very loose and wobbly and tightened it because I wanted to test it to make sure it was ok before I listed it for sale or as a trade in. I was about to plug in and turn on the power supply when I had this really bad feeling of warning in my head come over me not to because I felt it would blow out my entire electrical in my apartment or catch on fire. I listened to that warning in my head and didn't take the chance. I am tossing the old supply out today.
    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!!!





  9. #19
    'Grumpy old bastid' kb2vxa's Avatar
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    Twisting some song lyrics:
    The night the lights went out in Rahway.
    That's the night Sue smoked an innocent supply..........

    Scardy cat, it should have a primary fuse, or at least you have a breaker panel in tour apartment. Pickup only ties you down, I'd weigh it and get a shipping price. Then price the unit accordingly for "free shipping" or scare the customer off by making it X + shipping. Oh, instead of putting heavy metal in with household garbage I'd take a trip down Leesville Ave. to the back end of Avenel and if the junk yards are still there toss it over a fence.

    On edit after Google Maps Street View gave me a virtual tour of another of my old stomping grounds I found that very fence. You can take the same tour without ever leaving your apartment. Heading down Leesville toward Avenel look for Leesville Auto (wreckers) on the left, stop. Look across the street and you'll see a fence with a big NO TRESPASSING sign that those looking to steal a wreck (;->) had better heed or get ripped to shreds by the meanest junk yard dogs one would NEVER want to meet. That's where I got a practically new carburetor for my '73 Chevy Impala for a whopping $10 as long as I took it off the 350CID engine taken from a late wreck. I swapped it out for the one that failed two rebuilds, the car started right up, and after a quick tweak I tossed the old one over the fence and drove away.

    Ah, just me musing some stuff nobody really cares about, and BTW Muse is one fabulous English rock band!
    Last edited by kb2vxa; 02-26-2021 at 09:09 AM.
    "The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you."
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    73 de Warren KB2VXA
    Station powered by atomic energy, operator powered by natural gas.

  10. #20
    Fertility Shaman KB2SFH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kb2vxa View Post
    Twisting some song lyrics:
    The night the lights went out in Rahway.
    That's the night Sue smoked an innocent supply..........

    Scardy cat, it should have a primary fuse, or at least you have a breaker panel in tour apartment. Pickup only ties you down, I'd weigh it and get a shipping price. Then price the unit accordingly for "free shipping" or scare the customer off by making it X + shipping. Oh, instead of putting heavy metal in with household garbage I'd take a trip down Leesville Ave. to the back end of Avenel and if the junk yards are still there toss it over a fence.

    On edit after Google Maps Street View gave me a virtual tour of another of my old stomping grounds I found that very fence. You can take the same tour without ever leaving your apartment. Heading down Leesville toward Avenel look for Leesville Auto (wreckers) on the left, stop. Look across the street and you'll see a fence with a big NO TRESPASSING sign that those looking to steal a wreck (;->) had better heed or get ripped to shreds by the meanest junk yard dogs one would NEVER want to meet. That's where I got a practically new carburetor for my '73 Chevy Impala for a whopping $10 as long as I took it off the 350CID engine taken from a late wreck. I swapped it out for the one that failed two rebuilds, the car started right up, and after a quick tweak I tossed the old one over the fence and drove away.

    Ah, just me musing some stuff nobody really cares about, and BTW Muse is one fabulous English rock band!
    I already dumped it in the trash and recycle room last night, it was still there this morning. It's no loss to me as I never paid for it, biscuithead gave it to me for a gift and the one terminal pole was really loose. The new supply I ordered is much nicer with more features, I ordered it yesterday from HRO and it was shipped less than 30 minutes later and I think it will arrive by Sunday latest.
    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!!!





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