Actually that is the very same radio I have used on RTTY and PSK and a little SSTV. SSTV was at full power but PSK was about 50 watts. No issue but I wasn't contesting or slamming the ALC either.
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MARS Radio volunteering
- Thread starter Dale Ferrier
- Start date
Actually that is the very same radio I have used on RTTY and PSK and a little SSTV. SSTV was at full power but PSK was about 50 watts. No issue but I wasn't contesting or slamming the ALC either.
Running Olivia 8-500 on my Kenwood TS 590. the finals gets hot really quick, even when running just 30 watts. The fan comes on after about 2 minutes of transmit. I haven't ever had the fan come on running 100 watts phone except when operating a contest for long periods of time - like an hour or two.
I was running a NBEMS net one night, in the middle of a bad snowstorm, and had turned my power down to 20 watts on 80 meters.
Out of the noise came a signal from England, and his signal report was favorable.
I doubt if I could have talked to him running 100 watts phone - on that particular night, at that time of night. I'm not against digital modes, I just don't like impersonal contacts.
There is a lot more to life then just giving everyone a 5 9 9 signal report and bragging about my station / equipment.
Compared to D-Star or APRS - at least a person running FSK or Olivia or RTTY - is actually doing something, not just sending out a beacon and looking at a map to see where they had traveled. I don't think that it was ever supposed to be used as a LOJAC type of car tracking program..
Oh I agree with you about the impersonallity of digital modes. I was into them a little bit more as a new thing to try. I downloaded MMSSTV and MMRTTY and later Digipan for PSK-31. I may eventually do some more but it just isn't my thing. I prefer to hear my contacts voice and use SSB almost exclusively with a little AM on 80m just to keep it interesting. the fan did come on the FT-857D but it never did get real hot but like i said I never pushed it hard. I don't even like to push any of my gear too hard. My Kenwood TS-820S runs very nicely on SSB at 100 watts and a little compression but not much. The day will come when I have an amp and I will let that do all the work and let my transmitter loaf along.I have gathered pretty much all the parts for an amp and now just need the time to start gluing it all together. LOL Maybe this winter I can get it started. I just have too many irons in the fire.
An amplifier might help on 75 meters, but other then that, amplifiers are only ever needed when all other attempts at using a more efficient antenna fails.
I think you already have what you need with the Kenwood TS 820S - a very capable transceiver, one of the best receives of anything they ever made - before the 590 came along and knocked it off it's throne!
My problem is antenna height, not power.
If I could get a 75M dipole 100' in the air, I wouldn't need an amplifier!
Well that depends on your interests I guess. An amp on 80/160m is most certainly an asset but if you want to chase the serious DX especially DXpeditions then it becomes almost necessary in order to compete in a pile-up regardless of the antenna used. My propagation zone usually include the USA north-east where I have VERY stiff competition into Africa and I cannot even think of competing with stateside stations into the Pacific area. Been running 100 watts since I was licensed over 25 years ago and completely understand what 100 watts and even a three element tribander at 40 feet will do but the time has come to up the ante a little. I have a new Explorer-14 assembled on the ground right now with 40m kit to allow operation on four bands and a three element A3WS to add 12 and 17m. The Ex-14 will be at about 64 feet and the A3WS at about 70 feet. Not bad height and while not superb antennas they are quite capable all the same. I hope to get them up in the next few weeks. I have a cabinet and all power supply components for the amp most of which were gleaned from commercial AM or FM broadcast transmitters. The plate xmfr is about 80 pounds itself. The tube of choice is a 3CX3000A7 since I have several broadcast pulls and all the components to make it work including filament xmfr, socket, blower with air vane switch, and ridiculously over rated rectifiers and a nice pair of Jennings vacuum variable capacitors for the output network. When completed it should have one of the lowest weight to watts ratios ever. LOL Do I NEED it? No, like I said been doing this for 25+ years already. Will it be used? YES but only during pile-ups or when a bit of extra power is needed on 75 or 160m. Hitting the Pacific from Nova Scotia on 75m is pretty much impossible with just 100 watts. Been there, tried that, got the lumps to prove it. Will I feel pride and satisfaction in building it and making it work? YOU BETCHA!! I don't expect to finish it (or even get it started) for some time but I see it as therapy for when the bands are dead. My wife just sees it as the workings of an evil scientist making yet another lethal device.
You are absolutely right, however, I am surrounded by power lines here, and can't get a dipole antenna higher than 30' without touching them, or coming close to touching them if something fell down in a storm. I'm in the north east also.Well that depends on your interests I guess. An amp on 80/160m is most certainly an asset but if you want to chase the serious DX especially DXpeditions then it becomes almost necessary in order to compete in a pile-up regardless of the antenna used. My propagation zone usually include the USA north-east where I have VERY stiff competition into Africa and I cannot even think of competing with stateside stations into the Pacific area. Been running 100 watts since I was licensed over 25 years ago and completely understand what 100 watts and even a three element tribander at 40 feet will do but the time has come to up the ante a little. I have a new Explorer-14 assembled on the ground right now with 40m kit to allow operation on four bands and a three element A3WS to add 12 and 17m. The Ex-14 will be at about 64 feet and the A3WS at about 70 feet. Not bad height and while not superb antennas they are quite capable all the same. I hope to get them up in the next few weeks. I have a cabinet and all power supply components for the amp most of which were gleaned from commercial AM or FM broadcast transmitters. The plate xmfr is about 80 pounds itself. The tube of choice is a 3CX3000A7 since I have several broadcast pulls and all the components to make it work including filament xmfr, socket, blower with air vane switch, and ridiculously over rated rectifiers and a nice pair of Jennings vacuum variable capacitors for the output network. When completed it should have one of the lowest weight to watts ratios ever. LOL Do I NEED it? No, like I said been doing this for 25+ years already. Will it be used? YES but only during pile-ups or when a bit of extra power is needed on 75 or 160m. Hitting the Pacific from Nova Scotia on 75m is pretty much impossible with just 100 watts. Been there, tried that, got the lumps to prove it. Will I feel pride and satisfaction in building it and making it work? YOU BETCHA!! I don't expect to finish it (or even get it started) for some time but I see it as therapy for when the bands are dead. My wife just sees it as the workings of an evil scientist making yet another lethal device.
I bought a couple of semi decent amplifiers, didn't have to spend a lot of money to get them, but in some ways I wish I never would have bought them.
I realize if I want to talk on 75 or 160 that I need to put up a decent antenna, but I have computer equipment here that seems to crash when I try to use amplifiers, so I nixed that idea and I don't worry so much about how far I can talk anymore.
I do have several decent beam antennas, just never have the help when I try to dig the hole to put one up. I recently traded one of my beams for a used TA 34 with 40 m element. It's a monster.
The ground is hard, the gas company had to use a jackhammer attached to the front end of a backhoe just to dig a trench 3 feet deep to put the gas line in, and it shook the whole house. It's the same reason why the coal company chose the town as a place to put in a coal - deep mine 130 years ago.
I could move up to my dad's house, but then I would have to sell my house and put that money into dad's house just to make it livable.
I can't see putting $100,000 into a $10,000 house.
I would never have enough money in my lifetime to build a new house or purchase a double wide and put it on a foundation.
That is why 6, 10, 20, 40 meters is so alluring to me.
Thanks for sharing your QTH info with me.
I would have thought that you would have already had a Lightning Jerker set up in place already the way to seem to know it all - about radio..
I had a 40 foot tower with a six element 6m home made Yagi, a Cushcraft A3S tribander, and an eleven element 2m yagi as well as an inverted L for years, Several years ago the tribander was destroyed in a wind and ice storm. The tower was about 40 years old at that point and was getting unsafe. I decided that when the yagi had to come down the tower would as well and proceeded to stash cash for a new installation. A couple years ago I acquired a new 64 foot Trylon Titan T-500 series tower, Explorer-14 with QK-710 40m kit, an A3WS three element yagi for 12/17m and a pair of 13B2 yagis for 2m SSB. I also got a new Yeasu G-2800DXA rotator and an Ameritron RCS-10 remote coaxial switch. Due to personal injury from a badly torn thigh muscle and later considering building onto the house installation was delayed two years until now. Hopefully I get the antennas up before winter sets in. As for my knowledge of radio, I started in radio when I was 14 years old. That was 39 years ago. I have had my amateur ticket for over 27 years and I worked in the engineering department of a commercial AM/FM broadcasting network trying to keep over 4 million dollars worth of assets on the air one way or another.
Have you ever stood in the parking lot, holding a rake above your head after the tower fell down? I have. Did you ever climb the tower when the tower crew said it was too icy, I did that too.. I know where you are coming from. I only know of one person left that will still climb a tower. A local start up company tried to hire college kids, they have a 95% turn over rate.. The days of commercial broadcast radio is coming to an end.I had a 40 foot tower with a six element 6m home made Yagi, a Cushcraft A3S tribander, and an eleven element 2m yagi as well as an inverted L for years, Several years ago the tribander was destroyed in a wind and ice storm. The tower was about 40 years old at that point and was getting unsafe. I decided that when the yagi had to come down the tower would as well and proceeded to stash cash for a new installation. A couple years ago I acquired a new 64 foot Trylon Titan T-500 series tower, Explorer-14 with QK-710 40m kit, an A3WS three element yagi for 12/17m and a pair of 13B2 yagis for 2m SSB. I also got a new Yeasu G-2800DXA rotator and an Ameritron RCS-10 remote coaxial switch. Due to personal injury from a badly torn thigh muscle and later considering building onto the house installation was delayed two years until now. Hopefully I get the antennas up before winter sets in. As for my knowledge of radio, I started in radio when I was 14 years old. That was 39 years ago. I have had my amateur ticket for over 27 years and I worked in the engineering department of a commercial AM/FM broadcasting network trying to keep over 4 million dollars worth of assets on the air one way or another.
The neat thing is - now they have bucket trucks that can go 300' in the air. just don't get stuck in the bucket when it is below 20*F outside.
I heard of a crew that was stuck in a bucket for 7 hours, while they waited for another 300' boom truck to come get them down!
The equipment you have is way out of my league.
I would be proud just to have a Green Heron antenna rotor control..
Don't know about down there but here in Canada we have safety laws that preclude untrained people from climbing commercial towers. You have to have an approved rigging course for safety reasons. We hired riggers to climb and build/erect towers and install antennas, change tower lamps etc. Any station engineer climbing a couple hundred foot tower without proper training or gear is trying to be a hero, a stupid hero mind you. I cannot imagine the liabilities if someone was to get hurt or killed climbing unauthorized. What someone does in a private installation setting is a different matter. As for the 300 foot bucket trucks, I would like to see one try and get into about 95% of the broadcast installations around. FM sites are on mountain tops which are usually quite rugged and AM sites are located in open fields which often are far too soft for heavy equipment. Besides that a rigging crew is cheaper than renting one of those behemoths. Commercial broadcast radio is far from dying up here. It has declined since the 80's but it is far from dead. The USA deregulated it long before we did up here and I am appalled at the condition some sites are in down there and the level of technical service they get. Some of those AM stations down there would be yanked off the air up here for non-compliance due to degradation of their ground systems affecting their patterns. As for my gear, it was purchased all within a couple months but it took about two years to save up the money for it but it was when I had no vehicle payments so I was able to channel that money into a new tower and antennas fund. I threw all the money on the bed one time and gave the wife an ultimatum. I told here there was enough there to send both of us to Jamaica for two weeks. It was either that or I started calling equipment suppliers the following day. The rest is history. Back then she had no desire whatsoever to head south. She finally gave in two years ago and having finally seen the error in her ways is now is hooked on it. Looks like no more new ham gear for a while.
I was referring to your statement "A local start up company tried to hire college kids, they have a 95% turn over rate."
Also I didn't think NATE was open to individuals, just companies. You must own your own company then? Either way being a member of NATE does not mean everyone that is a member is qualified to climb. Consulting firms etc can be members.