Its a 25A continuous supply, 35A surge. You could probably actually transmit on the FT950 on CW/SSB and the 2m at the same time if the 2m was running no more than 10W.

If you have RFI in your shack, you've not set your antennas up properly, particularly in regards to a RF ground. Verticals need a RF ground otherwise your co-ax becomes it. The ground lug on the back of radio equipment is to cater for the incompetent.

The only time I've had RF in my shack is when there's been a problem. I've used verticals and dipoles, both resonant and non-resonant.

Or even better, as impedance of co-ax is defined by the ratio of the diameter of the outer of the inner core to the inner of the braid, just use a tape measure and the formula required..

impedance = (138 / e^(1/2)) * log (D/d)

e = dielectric constant (1 for air).
d = diameter of center conductor
D = INNER diameter of cable shield (braid0

I'm wondering if the engine ground strap isn't up to much or its been killed by the new alternator. Its OK getting a 100 Amp alternator but you also have to make sure everything else is capable of 100A as well and that also includes not only the big thick red cable coming out of the alternator/regulator but also the engine ground strap.

And you should be measuring at the antenna as close to the feedpoint as possible with the shortest length of co-ax you can get away with. Co-ax losses can hide a poorly tuned antenna.

OK, firstly the equaliser. You access it using the Kenwood ARCP-590 radio control software (free from Kenwood) on your computer.

SSB ALC....it is not limited way back. It is limited when you exceed the ALC region. In regards to the meter reading, they do do a full 100W on SSB despite the meter showing 50W. The problem is the internal meter as well as nearly all external power meters, cannot react fast enough to the changes in SSB power on speech so show an "average". My TS480HX is the same - only shows just over 100W. If you get a PEAK HOLD meter, as you talk over a few seconds, the power will increase to 100W on the meter. Because of the way it is designed, it goes up to the peak and holds it - I have verified this personally. Its the only correct way to measure SSB without putting a constant tone into the mike input. Next time you get access to a 590, whistle at a constant tone into the microphone - you'll see it show 100W as the SSB output is steady due to the tone and amplitude.

Fan dipoles are not compromise antennas. You could put a wire on for 40m and it would double up on 15m.

The TS590 has an 18 band graphic equaliser and you can create your own profile with the Kenwood software. You can make it sound like anything you want however I've found HB1 good for DX and HB2 for ragchew suit me best. The stock mike is OK but couple it up to a Heil with a HC-6 insert and it really shines. I'd forget the Kenwood MC-60 if my experience of using one on it was anything to go by.

There are no "what should I adjust it to" settings as everyones voice and shack is different so you need to adjust it to suit you. As usual, any adjustments should be made into a dummy load with you listening to a second receiver.

Yep, its a similar idea that people use to add 12m and 17m to Hustler antennas. The basic way it works is that like on a fan dipole, RF will always take the path of least resistance. The 4BTV basically looks like a large resistor to the RF when you're on 80m so it goes up the wire you've added instead.

There will be coupling with the 4BTV that'll skew the pattern a bit but it is a very small price to pay for cheaply adding 80m.

Certainly in my opinion, your way is a far better way of getting 80m rather than buying a 5BTV as you get a lot more bandwidth and it will be far more efficient. You may want to add 17m the same way or build a 17m trap into the 80m wire you've added.

Another here for halfwave dipoles. Cheap to build, work well and don't need a tuner unlike a G5RV. You will find using a G5RV with a manual tuner a frustrating experience after a while. Going on your PSU thread, you're a bit short on cash. The money you save on a tuner would go a long way towards a PSU.

I've seen cheap ones at rallies/hamfests where the insulator looks like its made of wood! There is also a massive difference in the quality of the threaded collars and the coating on them, the cheap ones being hard to get a good solder connection when you solder the braid.

To call it an "Amateur Transceiver" is a bit of a cheek but it does do 10m. The newest would be over 20 years old now so to get one in the condition of yours is astounding.

If you want to flip it and make a bit of cash, I could imagine the CB fraternity going nuts over it.

If I've read the manual correctly, putting WIDE in should do 1-1 and 2-1. What difference does 2-1 make or should it make?

Installing the antenna properly would have probably cured both. If you've got RF from the rig getting into the audio, you've got grounding issues. So was it magmount or lip mount?

I have never used anything smaller than a 5" magmount so have never had anything fall off. I used a 5" magmount with CB antennas without incidence for nearly 20 years, covering in excess of 100,000 miles per year with several years in excess of 150,000 miles a year in all conditions. I used a Little Tarheel II with 60" whip with a triple magmount and did 80+MPH into headwinds again with no incident.

Nowadays I drill holes but sometimes when vehicle hopping, I'll still use a 5" magmount with a dualbander. I wouldn't use a hamstick with a single magmount and if I were to ever use a 3" mag, I'd not want anything more than a 1/4 wave 2m whip on it.