It may be using a supercap in lieu of a memory cell.

Do you have the service manual?  

If not, sign up on http://www.mods.dk/ for the one free download per day or whatever.  

"supercap" is a huge capacitance that can store enough power to keep a 3V or 5V DC data line running almost as long as a memory cell because it gets charged up from the LI battery.  Typically like 1 Farad or so.  This is neat technology, a decade or two ago a 1 Farad cap would have had to be the size of a van or schoolbus, man...  

If all else fails, locate the Vcc pin for logic pwr on the microprocessor itself or the programmable memory chip if it is separate, and short that quickly to gnd.  


HTH,


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Bill makes a good point about the memory battery, see if you can program some memory channels and see if they stick overnight.  


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Those guys are correct about what constitutes "QRP" power levels, was thinking too much about the last contest (DOH!).  

I think there really is a power definition for QRPp though, no?  Or a limit where anything above is considered to be QRP and anything below is QRPp but hey, I suffer from CRS.  

"This is W...  no, that's not it anymore, um, N..., uh-uh, K3, nope, uh, lemme check the desk plate and I'll sign off... "


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Two really good and experienced CW ops using QSK, one can send a single dit while the other is transmitting and get a rpt of the last bit of info sent.  That was the old days.  Likely came from more commercial ops with ham tickets I think.  

That advice to send a long dash comes from bug keying, with keyer try sending a string of dashes, you just might be surprised how many ops will be able to hear it today.  If nothing else they will stop, thinking it is some lid tunin' up on 'em.  


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>>>The only place I am allowed to mount an antenna is on the patio rail. This will but the antenna about 4 feet from the ground. The top of the antenna will clear the patio above by about 6 inches. That patio is metal and supported on metal 4x4's at each corner. I wasn't sure if the jpole would work good in these conditions. <<<<

A 2 meter mobile vertical of any kind, really, would be less obtrusive than a jpole's height and likely do the same or better job in under these existing conditions.  

The metal patio *should* provide as much ground counterpoise as a car or truck, maybe even more from the description of the amount of metal mass that would be in that patio.  

Just try to mount the mobile whip in a way in which it has at least 19" of metal directly underneath it, like clamp it vertically to the railing or the like.  

Back in the 70s/80s there were plenty of articles describing how to convert the common and ubiquitous CB mobile loaded antennas to 2 meters, involved trimming the whip length and altering the loading coil in the base.  These function as well as the new store bought 2 meter antennas.  I tried to find an online repro of one of those howtos and came up blank.  Old QSTs, 73s, CQ mags from the area, maybe in the local library as microfilm, should cough up plenty of articles if you are inclined.  

Otherwise, just purchase a 2 meter mobile vertical outright and follow the above.  

Remember, at 4 feet above ground you will be about in the same situation as the average mobile.  That's not shabby for local repeater hitting and the occasional simplex comm.  

A 2 meter vertical single loop is easy to build and might function well, too.  Search the web, plenty of info on that one around.  Simple, cost effective and you can use magnet wire to really make it hide.


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BTW a good way to isolate a relay with intermittant contacts is to simply put the rig into operation where that relay is suspect and then tap on the relay itself with a common wood pencil, eraser side, or a wood spudger.  If operation is intermittant and in time with yer taps, suspect the contacts.  

A good source for wood spudgers for the test bench is the local Chinese restaurant.  Bamboo chopsticks.  Carve the ends into the different needed shapes, a bit of heat from the heatshrink gun will temper the wooden tips to a longer lasting hardness, just like with old wooden arrows when we were kids.  


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Don't drill any holes in the PCB.  It very well could be a multilevel board with internal traces inside the substrate.  Besides, that's a dirty thang to do.  

There *may* be a bit of adhesive between relay and board, depending upon assembly and population methods at the factory.  

Important part is to thoroughly desolder the pins from the reverse side, getting all the solder out of the thru holes, which are likely plated through.  Adding more new solder, with its flux, is the way to start.  Solder sucker plus solder wick and patience, along with willingness to go back, jack, and do it again, add more new solder and get it all out of there for each pin.  

X-acto type knife, carefully, from topside, wedge underneath old relay housing and gently try to pry it up off of the board.  You may have to place the board such that you can get to both sides simultaneously at this point, heating pins on the backside with the iron while prying on the frontside underneath the device with the knife.  

Good quality regulated temperature iron is highly desirable here.  

When done and the new relay is soldered in, clean up the residual flux with a bit of alcohol and a lint free swab.  Sometimes flux can become conductive over time, especially in RF circuits.  Flux is still often organic compound, bacteria and all can change its properties, so clean it off, both after the removal and after the replacement.  

Take yer time, don't rush, never force things and you should be fine.  


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>>>My conundrum is powering a station with a linear amp<<<<

And we get replies about 7A power supplies.  

Delco 100+ amp alternator w/ internal regulator shock mounted on a welded up chassis being driven by an AC moter and belt, in a purpose built little doghouse outside the house.  They can spin either direction, doesn't matter.  

Rebuilt forklift battery bank.

Simple (to me anyway) DC window comparator circuit to control the motor start relay, set to kick in when bat voltage drop is around 11.8 or 11.9 IIRC, not critical.  


key up yer amp, I don't care.

Put a brick on it.


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Delco 100+ amp alternator shock mounted on a welded up chassis being driven by an AC moter and belt, in a purpose built little doghouse outside the house.  

Rebuilt forklift battery bank.  


key up, I don't care.  



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"468" and not 469, of course.  #$@! typos.  

This board should have at least a half hour editor for posters on it...  

PIMF


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I see a gamma match device on the main dipole, leading me to believe it is indeed a transmitting antenna and not a RV receive antenna.  

14" dipole length would be a bit long for the 440 ham bands, I should think.  

Our band is 420 - 450.  

Ye Olde Dipole formula is 469/freq. (MHz) yielding the length of halfwave in feet.  

At 420 that comes out to 1.1143 feet, at 450 it would be 1.04 feet.  

14" exactly calculates to about 288 MHz.  

My bet is that you have a very well built gummint antenna, likely designed for military use.  

There are formulas for trimming the elements down to use on 440, or you could likely use it on 220 with little to no modification.  

I click again and see that you also have a downdraft carburetor in dire need of rebuild (grin).  I use an old out of service dishwasher in the garage to clean 'em up first, inside a window screen "bag" with plenty of common dishwasher soap, which degreases and cleans an old carburetor unbelievably well, then I put 'em on the bench and disassemble, rebuild kit in hand.  Don't use the family dishwasher for this, okay?  



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That would be a good "front panel" cleaning.  

"Front End" to a radio man would describe the first and if there, second RF amplification sections of the receiver part of the rig, located electrically just after the antenna jack.  


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The 1/2" or 3/4" short length of common copper plumbing pipe, laid horizontally across the back of the operating bench or "installed" just behind it, can make a good station ground point for star grounding all your rigs and associated equipment.  

Flattened coax braid or store boughten tinned flat braid between each piece and attached to that pipe with common SS hose clamps works very well.  

This can be cost effective as compared to finding copper plate these days -- and has a lot of mass to it.  Might be important if you are running QRO.

Plywood backing board and screws at the 100W level might be okay, if you keep an eye on it, I'd prefer drill through and use bolts and star washers.  


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C'mon, guys, THINK.  

RG-59 was purpose designed for the VHF/UHF/Cable TV bands.  


Loss per foot, it blows away most if not all of the "HF" coax designs of around the same diameter hands down.  

RG-59 = 4.7 - ~7.9dB per 100 feet.  

Check the specs for RG8X, RG-58, etc. at 400 megs.

RG8X = 7.5 - 8.3 db per 100 feet.

RG-58 = 8.3 - 10.5 db per 100 feet.  

These values are slightly different for different manufacturers, different lots even, but the trend as to which among 'em would be the loss leader is readily apparent.  

Which means that a LONGER run of RG59 should be possible, not the other way around.  
 

For this purpose, the RG59 can do the job without breaking the bank, we are talking a jpole here, not EME or weak signal with a beam at 100' in the air and legal limit amp.  



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A poorly designed ("economical") switcher might even be radiating on the AC powerline side, too.  

But routers are getting ridiculously cheap, probably the better bet is follow the recommendations already posted here on brands and models that other hams have found to not be troublesome.  


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