QRZ! Ham Radio 5/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 5.iso/digests/equip/940298.txt

Internet Message Format | 1994-11-14 | 13KB

Date: Tue, 23 Aug 94 04:30:21 PDT
From: Ham-Equip Mailing List and Newsgroup <[e-mail]>
Errors-To: [e-mail]
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Precedence: Bulk
Subject: Ham-Equip Digest V94 #298
To: Ham-Equip


Ham-Equip Digest            Tue, 23 Aug 94       Volume 94 : Issue  298

Today's Topics:
                     Do artificial grounds work?
                    FT-530 current draw ? (2 msgs)
                 Opinions on TS50 vs TS450 (or FT890)
             Power Source for HT in Wilderness?? (2 msgs)
                        Radio shops in Toronto
            Replacing bandswitch on BTI-2000 AMP (advice?)
                       What is an ICOM IC-03N?
                  Yaseu FT470 like/dislike comments?

Send Replies or notes for publication to: <[e-mail]>
Send subscription requests to: <[e-mail]>
Problems you can't solve otherwise to [e-mail].

Archives of past issues of the Ham-Equip Digest are available
(by FTP only) from UCSD.Edu in directory "mailarchives/ham-equip".

We trust that readers are intelligent enough to realize that all text
herein consists of personal comments and does not represent the official
policies or positions of any party.  Your mileage may vary.  So there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 19:38:54 GMT
From: agate!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uhog.mit.edu!news.kei.com!yeshua.marcam.com!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!csusac!csus.edu!netcom.com!markeh.slip.netcom.com!@ihnp4.ucsd.edu
Subject: Do artificial grounds work?
To: [e-mail]

Well, I have one of the MFJ Artificial Grounds, and I think it works. I had
a problem with rf getting into my recievers audio and mike circuits at QRO
power levels. And I have a real ground ( a long copper rod, driven into the
ground immediately below my location, about 10 feet down).

The art. gnd. seems to reduce the problem. I had to add more than one
radial in my room before it seemed very effective. I suppose that possibly
cutting tuned radials to the bands would have been just as effective
without the MFJ box, but thats more like real work :-)

The result is enough improvement to make the problem tolerable on some
bands, and non-existent on others.

73  Mark  KM6FM



In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (hamilton on BIX)
wrote:

>
> The claims in the MFJ ads for their artificial grounds sound interesting
> and the cost is not prohibitive if they really work.  But I notice these
> units keep showing up over and over again, for sale in rec.radio.swap.
> This makes me suspicious there are a lot of folks who get drawn in by
> the ads but decide they don't really work well enough to bother with.
> I don't have one, but have considered getting one.  I just don't want
> to waste my money.  Comments, please?
>
> Regards,
> Doug Hamilton    KD1UJ    [e-mail]    Ph 508-358-5715
> Hamilton Laboratories, 13 Old Farm Road, Wayland, MA  01778-3117, USA

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 23:16:37 GMT
From: vigra.com!news.vigra.com![e-mail]
Subject: FT-530 current draw ?
To: [e-mail]

-=> On Mon, 22 Aug 1994 16:10:00 GMT, [e-mail] (Denis Robert, ve2ilf) said:

> Could an ft-530 owner please tell me what the current draw is in the
> following modes ?

I checked mine when I got it, but I lost the sheet where I wrote it
all down.  I can give you some idea from memory, but consider them
approximations.  Best advice would be to get a good power supply with
a nice current meter and do your own measurements for the cases you're
interested in.

> power off:

What power source are you using?  I did all my measurements from the
power jack.  If you have a battery connected, the radio will always
draw current to charge it.  I recall this being about 60 mA with the
radio off.  Current draw with no battery is almost none, just a few mA
to run a regulator and the clock.

> power on (single band - no batt saver):

Not much different from dual-band standby.

> power on (single band - with batt saver):

See dual-band.

> power on (dual band   - no batt saver):

This was around 110 mA, both bands on standby.  It goes up if they're
receiving and the volume is cranked up, of course.

> power on (dual band   - with batt saver):

The most remarkable thing was how drastic the savings were with the Rx
power saver.  I now use the ABS setting all the time when I run off
batteries.  Basically, when you set the Rx interval to non-zero, it
polls the receiver that often instead of constantly.

When it says 1.2 seconds, it means it!  You can see the current meter
give a very short pulse ever 1.2 seconds.  In between, it draws almost
nothing (forgot exactly how much).  I was also pleased to see that ABS
takes quite a while to get down to that slow a poll rate.  This means
you won't miss the first word of a transmission unless there hasn't
been any activity for many minutes.

I wish it would autmatically disable all power saving features (and
auto-power off) when it's on 12v DC, though.  I'm almost always in an
unlimited-power environment when running 12v through the jack.

> TX on VHF:
> TX on UHF:

Both were about 1.1 amps draw at 12v on high-power (5W).
Surprisingly, UHF draws just slightly less than VHF at all transmit
powers.  I dunno why.  I didn't check the Tx power saver since I think
it's hokey and frequently confused.  I checked the Low power settings,
but I don't remember the specific current draw.  I should check again.

1.1 Amps was the maximum draw.  It took this from about 11 volts on up
to 16 volts, where I stopped (maximum rating).

As I dropped below 11 volts, it drew less and less current, right down
to 5.6 volts, where it powered down.

That's most of what I remember.  It was good enough to give me an idea
of what to expect and plan for as far as current draw.  If there is
sufficient interest, I can do more measurements and post a chart or
something.

Happy Hacking!
-Steve


Steve Haehnichen                 Vigra, Inc.  San Diego, CA
[e-mail]                  [phone] x116   Fax: [phone]

------------------------------

Date: 22 Aug 1994 20:37:23 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!sdd.hp.com!col.hp.com!fc.hp.com![e-mail]
Subject: FT-530 current draw ?
To: [e-mail]

I can give you part of the picture for single band 2M operation.  The
last measurement (70 mA) is equivalent to no battery saver mode, the
comments following detail the ABS mode.  TX with 5 watts draws about
1.5A.

   Signal received (squelch open), volume at a reasonable level:    ~105 mA
   Signal received (squelch open), volume at quiet level:             90 mA
   Signal received, paging mode on (squelch closed until code recvd): 80 mA
 * No signal,       paging mode on (squelch always closed):           70 mA
 * No signal,       non-paging,    squelch closed                     70 mA

In the last 2 modes (the * modes), the "smart" battery saver very
quickly drops it to 60 mA; within a minute or so it's down to
~30 and at 2 minutes its down to around 20.


-Paul C.  KG0CZ

------------------------------

Date: 22 Aug 1994 21:23:48 GMT
From: pa.dec.com!oleum.zso.dec.com![e-mail]
Subject: Opinions on TS50 vs TS450 (or FT890)
To: [e-mail]

    Hi ,

    I`m considering buying a TS50. I have however two others on my list
    the TS450SAT and FT890AT. I like the TS50 because of its size, and since
    a lot of my HF work is mobile, size and ease of installation is
    important. I really want to know how it performs as a base station HF
    rig also. I am not a real DX chaser or a CW operator.

    Since I can find no reviews on the TS50 - the internet is the next best
    thing ??

    Any comments on the TS450/Ft890 as mobiles or base stations woul also
    be very welcome.

    Thanks

    Robin

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 10:26:45 GMT
From: news.sprintlink.net!demon!betanews.demon.net![e-mail]
Subject: Power Source for HT in Wilderness??
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]>, Charles W. McMullen writes:

> Buy the battery carrier pack and take a bunch of alkaline cells with you.

> Alkalines last much longer than Ni-Cads and, when they go dead, you just
pop
> them out and stuff in a new set.  You can buy a big pile of alkalines for

> the cost of a solar charger.

What do you suggest is done with the dead batteries whilst out in the
Wilderness Chuck?  Carry them home for safe disposal?  I guess you have a
typical North American attitude to the environment...

Yves Remedios

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 10:18:39 GMT
From: news.sprintlink.net!demon!betanews.demon.net![e-mail]
Subject: Power Source for HT in Wilderness??
To: [e-mail]

We have a good source of dryfit batteries that appear at Hamfest stalls in
the UK.  Typically, these batteries have been taken out of alarm systems on
periodic services.  They are small lead/acid batteries where the
electrolite is in gel form so they are sealed units.  I usually buy the 12v
7ah type and I paid UKP 2.50 for the last one.  They are ideal for portable
operation.

The only complication is the method of charging.  They need a constant
voltage charger to prevent them from gassing.  There are circuits around.
Car chargers are not suitable.

I use the batteries to run my HT and my cellular phone.  The cell phone
runs for a week on one charge.  I have rigged up the terminals of the
battery to a cigarette lighter socket and plug my portable equipment into
that setup.

Yves Remedios

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 23:22:03 GMT
From: psinntp!isc-newsserver!ultb![e-mail]
Subject: Radio shops in Toronto
To: [e-mail]

What areas of the world ARE full 800Mhz range scanners allowed out of
the box?  Does Canada sell 800Mhz Celular scanners?

--
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Rochester Institute of Technology              Chris A. Peskin  |
|  Electrical Engineering                                          |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 19:26:41 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!nic-nac.CSU.net!charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu!csusac!csus.edu!netcom.com![e-mail]
Subject: Replacing bandswitch on BTI-2000 AMP (advice?)
To: [e-mail]

I'm trying to resurrect an old BTI ("Brad Thompson Industries") 2000 amp;
it's a 3-1000Z in a floor mount console for 80-10. The bandswitch was
destroyed (toasty brown color). Anyway, presuming I can't get exact
replacement parts, the complication is this: the front panel bandswitch
drives two pulleys; one drives the input network selection, and the other
drives the output tank coil tap selection. Even _if_ I can find a rotary
switch with enough insulating power, I'm not sure if it would have the same
rotational angle between positions. I'm open to any suggestions!

73 Dave WB0GAZ [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 13:53:41 -0500
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!library.ucla.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!newsfeed.ksu.ksu.edu!moe.ksu.ksu.edu!usenet.uc.twsu.edu![e-mail]
Subject: What is an ICOM IC-03N?
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Doug Faunt N6TQS 510-655-8604) writes:
>From: [e-mail] (Doug Faunt N6TQS 510-655-8604)
>Subject: What is an ICOM IC-03N?
>Date: Sat, 20 Aug 1994 23:22:56 GMT

>I saw one of these today, and was told it was a UHF radio.  It looked
>just like a 02AT from a short distance.  Any information out there
>about them?
>73, doug

Hi Doug,

IC-03N is a HT sold in Japan, and the freq range is between 430-440MHz.
Also, IC-02N is for 2m band (144-146MHz).


Yuichi W0/JR0EFE

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 22 Aug 1994 10:00:06 GMT
From: news.sprintlink.net!demon!betanews.demon.net![e-mail]
Subject: Yaseu FT470 like/dislike comments?
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
writes:

> On Thursday I was at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco and happened to
stop in
> at one of the ripoff "will sell anything to anyone" no-name electronic
stores
> there.  I found a FT-470 and asked the salesman how much it was.  He told
me it
> was _only_ $530.  Ha!  I said nothing but broke out in laughter and
walked out.

Sounds like the average ham store in the UK!

Yves Remedios

------------------------------

End of Ham-Equip Digest V94 #298
******************************