Been there...done that.

In my case it just took a few ferrite clamp ons from All Electronics.  The switching supply was "dirty".  Even the metal enclosure didn't do much to attenuate the problem, but the ferrites took care of it.

Also found that the dimmer function wouldn't work without using an expensive Leviton solid state switch/dimmer unit.

Also...BEWARE...the heat from the 20W halogen bulbs will char the wood cabinet bottoms.  I run mine at half power. 

Mal (NC4L) had that problem and we discussed various methods of resolution.  I believe he had to install some .01 bypass caps inside one or more of the alarm remote keypad housings.  That resolved the problem.

You might want to e-mail him and inquire.

73

Howard Walker
KI4VEO

I know the pros and cons of each.  At least I think I do.  But I want some additional thoughts.

Tuned Input - Most recommend an input Q of 2 to 5 with a tube output tank circuit Q around 12 to 15.  Moderate input bandwidth and will attenuate/eliminate VHF parasitics from damaging solid state transceiver finals.  If the rig has an autotuner in use then the auto tuner will usually protect the finals.  With tube output rigs, like the older Yaesu, this isn't of paramount importance since the output tank circuit will offer a safety margin.

Swamping Resistor Input - Broadband, but an input Q of ZERO.  The Dentron amps made great use of the resistive input but used a circuit (FL-1 designation) as a method of quelching VHF parsitics.  However, Dentron made external bandswitched tuners (CM-1 and CM-2) to use between the transceiver and the amplifier.  This would seem somewhat futile as the tuned input is placed before the swamping resistor.

Was the real move to tuned inputs for stability and protection of solid state transceiver finals, or just another selling point for an amp?

So, what are your thoughts and observations?

I quit using the commercial vinyl "punch out" window line and roll my own using insulated stranded wire and PEX pipe to fabricate the spreaders.  I found too many impedance differences between brands and VSWR excursions between wet and dry line.  One winter of heavy snowfall on the window line was enough to convince me that there had to be a better way.  Open air is the best dielectric.   

Regarding a twist - I go with a full 360 about every 6 to 10 feet. And use some .080 to .095 ROUND string trimmer line as a traveler support for long horizontal runs since my feedline is a bit heavy, compared to the commercial stuff.  My PEX spacers are spaced on the line about every 18 inches, but every 2 feet would work fine.

I think the theory to the twist is to fully expose both feed lines to nearby objects and reduce the chance of the resulting feedline imbalance as the wire makes its way to your antenna.  A good quality tuner balun will also reduce the chance of a created imbalance at the source.

Just my thoughts and personal observations on this.

If you decide to make some open wire feedline I will be glad to e-mail you a chart supplied to me by L.B. Cebik (W4RNL - SK).  That was a fellow that REALLY knew antennas.  We had numerous e-mail discussions.
The chart shows insulated wire gauges from AWG 8 thru AWG 16 and the resulting impedance of their spacing.  If there is enough interest, I might try to post the chart and pictures of the PEX spacers in the article section of eHAM.

Be warned, it is labor intensive work, but the results are worth the effort.

73
Howard Walker
KI4VEO 

STUF -

Great for use on all sorts of connectors used in hostile environments.

http://www.mjsales.net/items.asp?FamilyID=503&this_Cat1ID=266&Cat2ID=34&Cat3ID=28

Give Skycraft a call.  They don't have all their stuff on their web site.  Give them your required enclosure dimensions.

http://www.skycraftsurplus.com/projectboxesinstrumentcases.aspx

Perhaps I should have spelled out my need in greater depth.  I had some RFI in the shack which was activating the relays in my Mastech power supply.  It only happened on 40M with the Heathkit SB-1000 amplifier in line and active.

I ascertained the RFI was not being coupled to the AC line, therefore the problem was radiated...and the most common culprit is...(wait for it)...COMMON MODE.  Ferrite clamp-on chokes for the AC line would not have worked, and just to be sure, I tried a few of HIGH QUALITY...and I was correct.

Having a 25 foot length of some quality RG-8X with PL-259's installed, I might add, and numerous empty Folgers cans, I decided to try my hand at fabricating a common mode choke.
The choke was inserted between the amp output connector and the input to my Yaesu FC-102 T type tuner.  It solved the problem.

Was it required?...I suppose not.  I was just getting tired of hearing the Mastech relays clicking when I was in QSO on 40M and using my amp.

FYI - I prefer wire loop antennas (the odd and even harmonic use thing) and make my own open wire feedline using L.B. Cebik's impedance chart/spreadsheet - very accurate.

Feel free to question my sanity amongst yourselves.  But, by all means, try building this choke to see how really good it is.

And the 3 periods I often use when writing...are an "ellipsis."  Time to pause and allow the metronome to insert an extra beat or two.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis

Use some sheet teflon.

I made one up from a 25 foot length of RG-8X closely wound on a Plastic Folger's coffee container.  A few holes for tywraps at the top and bottom of the winding to secure it and checked it with my MFJ-259B.

I don't recall just what the impedance was on 80M but it sure works well. 

I have 3 loops and love 'em - an 80M horizontal delta, a 80M inverted vertical delta, and my pride and joy - a free floating (nylon pulleys in all 3 corners) 560 foot horizontal delta at 85 feet.

If your trees are too close together, think outside the box.  Way back when, I really wanted a loop for 160M, so I installed an insulator in the center of all 3 sides of my 1st delta loop and hung some 450 ohm open wire feedline on the insulators.  Soldered a jumper on the bottom of the open wire line and soldered the upper end across the insulator.  40 feet down and 40 feet up is 80 feet added in the space of a 6 inch insulator.  Times 3 is 240 feet + the original 280 feet of the delta = 520 feet - just into the 160M ballpark.

I home brew my 450 and 600 ohm feedline using AWG12 or 14 and PEX pipe for spacers.  Currently have about 200 feet of AWG12 going out to the 560 ft loop and it is working very well.  The signals are ALWAYS at least 6db better on the big loop.  It was worth all the hard work.

I use a Balun Designs 4:1 remote balun outside the shack window but plan to use the internal 4:1 in my Heathkit SA-2060A

Next, we move on to the counterpoise part of the experiment.

Fabricate your own open wire feedline.  I've made my own for years and it of better quality than the plastic window type.  Any home improvement stores in your area?  Some 1/4 or 3/8 inch PEX tubing for spacers and AWG 14 or 16 stranded wire make for some really good open wire line.

This hobby is not for the faint of heart.  We HAMs are scroungers and builders.  We think outside the box and often use an unconventional approach to solve problems.

I tend to agree with the concensus of the replies here.  Find a local Elmer to assist you.

But of course...we are not all unkempt, heathens here. 

While bollard style lights are pleasing to the eye and provide the best lighting for pathways and driveways, not many folks use them because of the price...depending on the design, and the materials used, they can be many hundreds of dollars each.

In the snowy northern climates, it is an exercise in futility to place a short landscape light next to a driveway...they just get buried in snow and spend several months hibernating.

My driveway is quite long and the cost for the bollards would have "broken the bank."  So I opted to fabricate the posts myself and only purchased the lamp heads from the commercial source.

It turned out nicely.  The dimmer control was an afterthought.  With 12 watt bulbs, running at full intensity, my neighbor commented that it made my driveway appear to be a landing strip.  Without missing a beat, I told him that the aliens needed a well illuminated place to land their ship and provided me the instructions (via my HAM radio, of course) on how to construct it.   

While I have used some of the standard methods of putting up wire antennas, I have had my greatest success with the pneumatic tennis ball launcher.

I have not had any problems with my landscape lighting.  I use a Toro unit, no CPU or  mechanical timer - it is configurable for dusk-to-dawn or time increments of 2 hours (2, 4, 6, etc).  The Toro directly sources power for my walkway lights (12 - 7 watt lamps) and I also use it to drive a solid state relay which switches in a transformer to control a couple of small flood lights.  Lighting for my driveway is done from the same solid state relay feeding 120 VAC to an AC dimmer control for the driveway bollard lights.

I've had no problems with RFI from the system, possibly due to a mix of luck and using TRIACS for control.  It has been my experience that SCR's generate the most RFI problems, while TRIACS don't seem to do so.

However, I do have some bi-fold closet doors which switch on closet lighting, that "flickers" when I am using my Heathkit SB-1000 above 500 watts.  I suspect the wiring to be the cause of the problem there.   

Examine the bolts and nuts securing the transformer to the chassis.  They may have loosened and are allowing the transformer to "vibrate" against the chassis.  Tightening the mounting hardware will quiet things down.

My Heathkit SB-1000 suffered from transformer core laminations vibration.  If this is your problem, tighten up the bolts holding the core pieces together - probably 4 bolts with nuts.  That may help or solve the problem.

If not, loosen the bolts again, ensure the top and sides of the laminated core is clean, and brush on some varnish or urethane, wait a few minutes and retighten the bolts and allow it to dry overnight.  This step will usually work when all else fails to quite the transformer.

This may go without saying, but make sure the unit is disconnected from the AC and the power supply caps are discharged.  Don't wantcha getting zapped.