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| Pee'd off and possibly out of pocket.; Linear amp vs PSU | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Tuesday, 8. November 2011, 21:58 (1,446 Views) | |
| The Munch Box | Tuesday, 8. November 2011, 21:58 Post #1 |
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163 Charlie Tango 026
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Hi folks, I bought an amp from a forum member, it's a Midland 747b, (100w FM/AM & 200w on SSB/CW). Not knowing much about amperage etc, I powered the amp from an 8amp peak PSU and my rig from a 3amp PSU. When I put the amp in inline and turned it on, my signal strength went down! I did notice after fault finding that the 'relay' in the amp was only 'clicking' on channels 27 to 40! I was told that I needed a lot more amperage in order for the amp to work correctly. £90 later and I am now the owner of what I can only describe as lovely looking bit of kit, a PS30SWII 30amp PSU. It looks really nice. Has it sorted my problem? What do you think?!!! I've tried it with my Audioline 341 and it still only clicks on Ch's 27 to 40. I tried it with my new tti 550 and it didn't click at all and then I tried my CB Master 2040 AM rig and it didn't click at all! All the setting on the PSU and amp are in the correct places, the rigs weren't on Low Power either! The needle on the PSU didn't move about 2amps! I'm thinking that the amp is duff! Any advances on that?!! Kind regards, Karl. |
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| Black Spirit | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 10:37 Post #2 |
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Not trying to make you sound dumb or anything, But you have got it connected the right way round havnt you, Patchlead from radio into TRX [or similar] and antenna plugged into ANT socket. Bit odd that it only works from 27-40 though, If the amp say had a duff final then the output would be lower or none at all, The relay should still click over. Double check its the right way round, Check the patchlead. |
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| The Munch Box | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 12:09 Post #3 |
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163 Charlie Tango 026
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Lol, Ant goes to the antenna and Trx goes to the rig! I can still talk with it all set up and linear on but my signal gets worse at the Rx'ing station. Even with the linear inline but turned off, my signal is worse, (I put that down to there being an extra connection in the set up). Someone esle has told me that they have a linear which works fine but doesn't click at all between Rx and Tx. |
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| Pigeon | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 12:22 Post #4 |
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163 Charlie Tango 014
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it could be your swr is high or patchlead to long or a duff patchlead. |
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| The Munch Box | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 14:47 Post #5 |
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163 Charlie Tango 026
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Patch lead is just over a foot long, checked SWR, Ref doesn't move the needle at all. Have followed the instructions which came with it so am happy its set up correctly. Patch lead allows me to TX and RX with the amp inline so I'm taking it that it works. It has been suggested that the 'finals' in the amp have gone. I don't know what they are but from looking inside the amp there isn't much that looks like it could be fixed/replaced. I'm thinking its fubar'd! |
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| Pigeon | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 17:28 Post #6 |
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163 Charlie Tango 014
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i dont think it would work from 27 to 40 if it was the outputs.you say your swr meter needle does not move at all.are you sure it works .are you testing your swr with the same patchlead as the one you had on the amp just trying to help you but it should rx the same if its on or off. does sound like a duff lead. |
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| Tezza01 | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 18:51 Post #7 |
26 Charlie Tango 571
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check amp fm/am ssb switch is in correct position for frequency your using |
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| The Munch Box | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 19:05 Post #8 |
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163 Charlie Tango 026
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Patch lead is the same lead as I use for the amp and SWR Mtr. I'm guessing it works because I 'get out' with it. Ok so the signal strength at the Rx station isn't as good as just having the Antenna straight into the rig......................and the more I type the more I'm thinking, (hoping) that the patch lead is the denominator in all this! I can't get a new patch lead until Friday though. It has been suggested that my rigs may not have sufficient power to trip the amp at the time of Tx'ing. I'm not sure I go with that one the more I think about it. I've just moved house and I'm not able to get to my multi meter or I'd check the lead. C'mon Friday!!!! Some good replies coming back though, it's making me think of things in different ways which is good. Cheers all. |
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| The Munch Box | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 19:51 Post #9 |
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163 Charlie Tango 026
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Right, I've delved into the garage and retrieved my multi meter. I don't think I've done this wrong but I'm sure you'll all tell me other wise, (I hope you will)! I tested centre to centre and there was no continuity, checked outer to outer and there was continuity. Checked centre to outer and there was no continuity. So, it's leaning more towards the patch lead. Am I wrong? |
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| Scottydog | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 20:04 Post #10 |
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26 Charlie Tango 441
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Sure is, should have continuity solder probably loose on plug sounds like you have found the fault. |
![]() http://www.sunderlandusedoil.co.uk 26CT441@charlietango.co.uk Member of H.A.R.C. (Houghton le Spring amateur radio club) Member of N.E.A.R.S (North East Amateur Radio Society) | |
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| Lowflyer | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 20:13 Post #11 |
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108 Charlie Tango 036
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Agreed with Scottydog. Just hope nothing else has broken due to tx'ing with no load. Check your swr before you do any test with an amp in line. |
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108CT036 "Some People are so Poor, all they have is Money!" UNIQUE CHARLIE TANGO UK FM CONTACTS - 74 Stations Worldwide -----> LIVE BROADCAST ON USTREAM <----- | |
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| The Munch Box | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 20:35 Post #12 |
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163 Charlie Tango 026
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Ok, so lets recap here. I just want to be sure of something. I've just paid £90 for PSU when a £2.50 patch lead was to blame? Good, I thought so. Glad I didn't waste any money!! To be honest, I did need a bigger PSU too. Will be soldering my little heart out tomorrow morning! |
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| Lowflyer | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 20:37 Post #13 |
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108 Charlie Tango 036
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You've not wasted any money on the PSU Karl, the one you were using was not able to provide the current your linear will need. |
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108CT036 "Some People are so Poor, all they have is Money!" UNIQUE CHARLIE TANGO UK FM CONTACTS - 74 Stations Worldwide -----> LIVE BROADCAST ON USTREAM <----- | |
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| Pigeon | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 21:31 Post #14 |
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163 Charlie Tango 014
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remember soon as the lead is fixed check your swr first all the best good luck. |
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| The Munch Box | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 22:08 Post #15 |
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163 Charlie Tango 026
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I'm on crutches at the moment there's not much I can do if the SWR is out!!! |
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| Radio Pixie | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 22:18 Post #16 |
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26 Charlie Tango 052
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Won't make any difference. The AM/SSB switch on an amp is purely to add a delay on the RF sensitive relay circuit for SSB use. Since FM/AM is a carrier mode, the RF is detected and flicks the relay circuit to allow the amp to be driven by the transmitter. SSB isn't a carrier mode, the power is in the speech peaks and the relay circuit has to deal with these fluctuations. So a capacitor is added to the circuit to prevent the relay continously clicking on and off with the speech peaks. The mode switch doesn't change the characteristic of the amp, just changes the response time of the relay. Edited by Radio Pixie, Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 22:20.
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73 from Dave the Pixie 26CT052 - G7OPC - CB & Ham Radioaficionado
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| Pigeon | Wednesday, 9. November 2011, 23:27 Post #17 |
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163 Charlie Tango 014
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also do a test on your antenna coax just to be safe.and if your swr is way out dont use the burner or it will have a short life fingers crossed for you good luck. |
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| The Munch Box | Thursday, 10. November 2011, 13:07 Post #18 |
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163 Charlie Tango 026
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Woop woop..................he's only gone and done it Woop Woop!! It was the darn patch lead folks. All done now and the amp is drawing 6amp and 'clicks' through all UK FM 40. Had a flick through the channels and came in on the side of a guy called Dave, callsign DC45 who was on North Hill in Somerset near Minehead/Maidenhead, (always get those two confused and can't be bothered to Google it)! He said I was coming through at 5 & 9 and when I turned the amp off I was 5 & 6! Chuffed to bits. I'll try my AM rig once I've stopped doing cartwheels round the dining room and I'll post the results just in case anyone is interested. I checked my SWR and where as the needle didn't go all the way over when I turned the calibration knob, now it does what its supposed to. SWR on Ch1, Ch20 & Ch40 saw the needle go as far as the first mark on the meter so all well there. I'll get another patch lead tomorrow and put the SWR Mtr inline with the amp and see what readings I'm getting there. Many many thanks for all those who have replied on both here and through PM's. It just goes to show what a fantastic forum this is and that there are some great people around who are more than willing to share both knowledge and experierences. Will be posting a question on the forum in a minute or so, 'Why do they call the different bands by metres i.e. 2m, 10m 11m etc? I'm sure it doesn't come from the size of antenna needed to work them!!! If you know the answer, could you PM it to me please? We'll leave this thread die off after I post the AM rig results. Cheers all. |
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| Scottydog | Thursday, 10. November 2011, 13:20 Post #19 |
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26 Charlie Tango 441
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Nice one, always check the obvious first as its usually something easy to sort and usually costs nowt! SD
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![]() http://www.sunderlandusedoil.co.uk 26CT441@charlietango.co.uk Member of H.A.R.C. (Houghton le Spring amateur radio club) Member of N.E.A.R.S (North East Amateur Radio Society) | |
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| The Munch Box | Thursday, 10. November 2011, 13:31 Post #20 |
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163 Charlie Tango 026
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It did cost nowt mate. Just a bit of my time to reterminate the patch lead. I dug around the garage to find my mutli meter and checked the lead as I said. So chuffed and then to get a QSO across to Somerset where I was trying to get to last week was great. Thing is, he still heard me when I turned the amp off so if I didn't have the amp inline the other week, I'd have reached Somerset on just 4w but the patch lead was letting me down. |
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