Ok, I confess.  I own a Texas Star Outcom OPA 202, powerful wide band 160 watt AM!  As I previously confessed to in another message thread.  

It's not plugged in, not connected to anything, gathering dust.
 Uh, excuse me.  Gotta go, there's loud knocking at the door.

Uh, oh.  

Roger, understood, thanks.

If it were to be an acronym (this seems hokie). E.L.M.E.R.
Extra-class Licensees Make Expert Radio-operators
Extra-class Licensees are Making Expert Radio-operators
Extensive Learning Makes Extra-class Radio-operators

Not suggesting implementing any of the above, expert opinions
are appreciated.

73s
Jack
SCUBA and SCBA

Hi,
A small dealer told me that demand for his HF products is way up (attributed to the demise of the CW requirement).  Assuming a mass migration to HF, and entry of CB'ers and others (who were previously "turned off" by cw), it seems prudent to look toward investment opportunities.  

A quick look around reveals that the big 3 are listed; Yaesu Musen is on the Tokyo stock exch., Kenwood and Icom are listed OTC.  

Kenwood KNWCF.PK (Other OTC)
Kenwood TKT.F (Frankfurt)
Yaesu Musen 6821 (Tokyo)
Icom ICOIF.PK (OTC)

The question becomes, "what other manufacturers (and even large dealerships) are likely to go public (IPO)"?
73's

Hi,
I have to use a blackberry cellphone in my job.  When the BB passes data to/from the cell phone tower, really nasty RFI is spewed into any nearby audio circuit.  The audible sound is an obnoxious mosquito buzzing sound.  The buzzing overrides all FT817 audio unless I turn the BB off or move it more than 20 ft away from the FT817.

It isn't just the FT817, it's most anything with an audio circuit - car radios, table radios, stereos, you name it.  

A blackberry expert told me today that the new models still cause the RFI and that the manufacturer (RIM of Canada) has absolutely no intention of fixing the problem.  

The issue is being discusses at the Blackberry forums website
http://www.blackberryforums.com/hardware-accessories/7813-7290-making-nearby-speakers-buzz.html
In posting this here, it isn't my intent to cause redundancy, since the issue is being worked (but not resolved) on the other website.  Because it does interfere with amateur radio, I raise the issue here.

Why isn't the FCC nailing these guys.  Any FCC staff members reading this?

Hi, what does the acronym ELMER stand for?  Is it something like,
Extra-class Licensee M___ E___ R___
The Dxing.com website only gives the definition as,
"elmer - a mentor; an experienced operator who tutors newer operators."

73

Thanks for enlightening me.

Hi Allen,

Underwater Linear, yeah, sounds good.

 I can place it on a reef or something, photograph it, send the photo to a magazine.

I probably won't leave it in Davy Jones' Locker 'cause toxins might eventually get released as the sea water causes components to degrade over time.  

Thanks for the idea!
Jack

Hi,
How good is the use of a light bulb for a dummy load?

73/Jack

Hi Gary,

I didn't mean to say "beat up,"  I got cautioned by everyone I told about the amp; - cautioned not to use it.  

I have found some excellent kits out there (in addition to Ramsey kits); although I may wind up going the FT-897 route before the Yaesu sale price expires end of April.  

73/Jack

Hi Gary
Hi Allen

The amp was in a box of parts and radios I bought real cheap, all I wanted was an SWR bridge and the rest of the stuff was incl in the deal.  Also got a 50 watt Pierce Simpson radio that caught on fire when I plugged it in.  Wierd, so I took it outside, opened it up, plugged it in again and a coil was smoking and burning up.  Strange.  

I could either give the amp to a CBer or use it for parts, or just gut out the case and use the case for a project.

The inside is rough looking, looks like the rosin seeped out from the solder joints.  It powers up ok, but I really don't plan to hard wire a FT817 to it; no telling what it might blow back thru the coax.  It'll probably look real nice under a CB'ers dash board.  

Not just here, but the more I tell people about it, the more I get beat up; so i guess I better qualify what I say/write about.

73,
Jack

Dang!!!!  Bummer!  What a let-down!!!!

 Fortunately I didn't pay much.  Guess I could build a homebrew linear and gut the Texas Star case and use the case.  Or, I could just sell it to a trucker, maybe.  

Sheesh, maybe I could house a spark-gap transmitter in the case.

Will the FCC ever legalize (properly built) QRP linears, or will things just stay this way forever?

Well, thanks for replying, even though the news is less than favorable.
Guess I better go lick my wounds.

Suggestions?  

Recently acquired a Outcom OPA-202 wideband linear amp at a "swap meet."  I have yet to put it in service, meanwhile I'd appreciate hearing from any other OPA-101 or OPA-202 users.  

The OPA-202:
20 amps
Driving power AM 1 thru 7.5 watts, SSB 2-25 watts.
Freq Range 7 thru 30 mhz.
Output choices:
4 watts in - SSB: 30, 60, and 180 watts out
4 watts in - AM: 100 and 160 watts out

If I have to get a low pass filter, I will, but I could just use it mobile and not worry about filtering the output.
Maybe it already is filtered, I dunno for sure.

73

This posting probably also belongs in the antenna forum.

Advisory:

If you are using a Yaesu FT-817, the Miracle Whip antenna, and the BHI/W4RT Radio Mate Keypad (intended for the 817, FT-857, and FT-897), you don't want to make the same mistake I did.

The FT-817 Mini-Din 8 jack is located too close to the SO-239 antenna connector to allow the Miracle Whip and the Radio Mate to be used together.  The proximity of the Miracle Whip causes the Radio mate's male Mini-Din 8 connector to bind, or push away at an angle.  This causes Radio Mate's power pin to disconnect, and it could cause damage to other pins.  

Easy Fix:  Extend the Miracle Whip connector further out from the FT-817.  I added a double male PL-259, and a double-female (SO-239) between the Miracle Whip and the FT-817.

Given the popularity of the Miracle Whip, the Radio Mate manufacturer (BHI) should have provided a warning in their owners manual.  Since this may apply to other things plugged into the accessory mini-din 8 port, perhaps the Miracle Whip manufacturer should also provide a warning (that the Miracle Whip partially blocks the mini-din 8 port).

W4RT is aware of the problem; I sent 'em an email yesterday.

73,
Jack

Keywords: Miracle Whip, Radio Mate, BHI, Mini-Din 8, BHI, W4RT, Accessory Connector.

Hi Tom,

What were your experiences using the KL-203 on 15, 12, 10 meters prior to building the low-pass filters, insofar as any inappropriate transmissions to adjacent frequencies (if any) or any harmonic interference with anything around?  

The filters described on the CCI website look great; did you "combine" filter kits for multiple bands, and if so how did you do that?  My inclination would be to build one per desired band and hook it to the linear output when the time comes to use it.  

Are the filters necessary for all bands that the KL-203 covers?  If not, which bands require low pass filters?

Does the KL-203 affect FT-817 receiver performance in any way?  

Thanks much for your most informative message.  I have one on order, it should arrive in however long it takes for customs to inspect it.  

Cheers