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Thread: Heath HD-1234 Connected two radios to one antenna

  1. #1
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    Heath HD-1234 Connected two radios to one antenna

    I'm thinking YES on this but, I wanted to be sure. I have a Heath HD-1234 coax switch. I want to connect two radios to one antenna. Is this ok? I have the manual and, it shows using two switches to connect multiple radios to multiple antennas. It is rated for 1000 watts. See attached photo. I'll connect the antenna to "C".
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  2. #2
    Pope Carlo l NQ6U's Avatar
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    It's risky. Given the sensitivity of modern radios and the isolation on most of those switches, you could end up blowing out the front end on your receiver(s). Better to build a patch panel.
    All the world’s a stage, but obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.

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    Master Navigator K4PIH's Avatar
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    Ditto on the patch panel. Not enought isolation to keep harmful levels of rf from one radio getting into another.
    "Don't put it on the plate if you can't eat it!"

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    "Usual Suspect" WZ7U's Avatar
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    Boy, I'm glad you asked first. Imagine how mad you would've been

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

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    Orca Whisperer kf0rt's Avatar
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    The HD-1234 grounds all unselected SO-239's. As long as the switch is grounded, shouldn't he be okay?

  6. #6
    Pope Carlo l NQ6U's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kf0rt View Post
    The HD-1234 grounds all unselected SO-239's. As long as the switch is grounded, shouldn't he be okay?
    Theoretically, yes, but it's a DC ground for lightning protection/static bleed-off and we all know that the behavior of AC at radio frequencies often does not conform to what one expects in a DC circuit. It might work just fine; on the other hand, it might not. IMHO, it's not worth risking the front end of a receiver.
    Last edited by NQ6U; 12-27-2016 at 05:05 PM.
    All the world’s a stage, but obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.

  7. #7
    Orca Whisperer kf0rt's Avatar
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    Good point, though I guess I've never seen a problem with it in practice. Best not to risk it.

    And heya, Carlo!

  8. #8
    Administrator N8YX's Avatar
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    The one way you might safely get away with this - assuming the antenna is a multibander - is to use bandpass filters at the antenna connector of each transceiver, with a band-stop filter at each port of the switch assembly. The stop filters are tuned to the "opposite" frequency range, much like a set of duplexers in a repeater system.

    If you substitute a power combiner and pass/stop filters, you could eliminate the switch altogether and use both radios at the same time...assuming different operating ranges for each.
    "Everyone wants to be an AM Gangsta until it's time to start doing AM Gangsta shit."

  9. #9
    Pope Carlo l NQ6U's Avatar
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    I've heard of people doing it without any problems but I've also heard otherwise so I guess it's a roll of the dice. You pay your money and you take your chances, I just think that the cost of crapping out is too high.

    And heya right back at you Rob. How's your own fine self?
    All the world’s a stage, but obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.

  10. #10
    Whacker Knot WØTKX's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kf0rt View Post
    Good point, though I guess I've never seen a problem with it in practice. Best not to risk it.

    And heya, Carlo!
    Be seeing you,camera boyo!

    "Where would we be without the agitators of the world to attach the electrodes
    of knowledge to the nipples of ignorance?" ~ Professor "Dick" Soloman



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