Does anybody know where I can get info about making your own morse key? I want to try it myself, but there seems to be no info about it.

Please, help!

73 de Thijs, PE1RLN

You both have a point, but...

First I have to say that I am a student and don't have a lot of money to spend, so for me it is important to know what to buy, otherwise if it isn't good, I'll have to sell it and lose money...

For that reason I enter the internet and go looking for reviews, reports, specs and pictures. Everywhere.

My last example is the Kenwood TM-v7 I wanted to buy. People said it was a great thing, but I had to see it first. Kenwood just gave spec's and always the same picture. Here at Eham.net I found real reviews with experiences of previous users.

Now that was what I needed: real info about the quality and the possibilities of the rig, not just a few things that no-one can verify.

I bought it because of the info on other pages. If I wouldn't have found other info, I wouldn't have bought it.

Another thing I wanted to buy was a GPS-receiver. Guys, take a look at the Garmin site! They really know how to sell stuff and they also tell you how to use it, have online manuals and product-references. That is what people are looking for!

So, to get info about a rig (I am thinking about buying the ft-817...) you shouldn't go to the manufacturer but to sites like this. Here you can find the real thing about it.

Prices vary from country to country. In Holland you have to pay taxes for everything you buy. I wanted an Elecraft K2 (great site too) but it is just too expensive! I can go on vacation to America for a month, buy it over there, aseemble it there and fly back with it and still have money left!

So you both have a point. Sites are awful. Prices simply cannot be displayed.

Shame.

73!

Those Powerpole Connectors indeed look very good and rugged. I think the great advantage is that you can use both 15 and 30 A connectors with eachother because of the same size.

I will have a look where I can get them in Holland and I will surely use them.

Another idea I had, regarding the XLR-plugs is the 3rd wire in it. I think of using it as a voltage detector because the voltage will drop during transmission, this wire can be used to adjust the powersupply, just as it does internal. A friend said that I would have to carry the - pole too, but with all the antennas and stuff connected to eachother, that part of the supply has a very low resistance.

You can even use the 3rd pole for the + so that the negative current can flow all over the antennas and stuff (what it eventually will do in any case).

So, the current is devided by 2 when using the XLR.

I tried the normal 2-wire idea with the XLR and it works very good and I don't suffer from loose contacts.

Thanks for your replies!

I hope there will come more ideas for the 12V power distibution, a problem everyone has.

73!

Thijs, PE1RLN

look at www.mods.dk

He has the solutions, directly from Kenwood.

Have fun!

Thijs, PE1RLN
Brunssum, The Netherlands

You are absolutley right about that!

However, I am using this system for rather low-power equipment such as a 50W VHF/UHF transceiver, HF-receiver, frequencycounter and all that kind of stuff.

For a high-power trx I would use a separate powersupply. A friend of mine has a 20A supply, just for his HF-rig and it works fine.

This system is sufficient for the low-power applications as I mentioned. It is always possible to change from connector, but the XLR, which is meant for audio, works fine up to 10 Amps, just as you said. The connectors are rugged, so they make a fine one and are always to get from your local store.

The option of the speaker-chassis parts is also a good option, especially when you get different trx from amateurs and want to test them for a quicky.

So, this topic is actually meant to let people say what they use as their power-connection. Maybe other learn from it and get good ideas.

Hope you like it!

73 de Thijs, PE1RLN
Brunssum, The Netherlands

Does anybody have experience with DSP-software? I like to put my audio into the computer and filter it with some sort of DSP software. Than I want to connect it to the speaker. Does anybody know wether this exists and where I can find it?

Thijs Has, PE1RLN, The Netherlands

look at www.powerportstore.com

They have some carryingcases that hold a powersupply. Looks very nice and is built for your radio too!

While being an amateur for a few years now, I had a lot of trouble with connecting my equipment to the supply every time. It is always hard to get the wire back into place, so I decided that it was enough.

I invented the XLR-plug. No, I didn't invent the plug itself, but the idea of using it for the powersupply. The plug has 3 wires, so you can use 2 of them that are on the outside of the plug.

I made a couple of chassis-parts into boxes on the wall, so that I can connect all my rigs and stuff to my powersupply, without bothering about the wires. Also extensioncables are easy to make.

I ues it a lot and would ike to know if other amateurs will use it too.

73 de Thijs, PE1RLN, The Netherlands

When the output impedance of the rig isn't 50 Ohms, the SWR will never be right. This may happen when PI filter is broken or something.

I have read numerous articles about Yaesu's bad service. Maybe they'll change...

73 and good luck!