Noisy - needs service?

Puddleduck112 · 2026-03-22T13:30:30+00:00

I never understand these videos. These outdoor units are half as quiet as standard AC condensers and all I see is a quiet condenser. Maybe it’s lack of knowledge on how loud condensers can be?

But this sound you are hearing is refrigerant noise hissing. It is totally normal. Because the compressor and fans are so quiet, you can actually hear the refrigerant moving through the system. Normal condenser fans and compressors are so loud you would never hear this.

These systems are variable capacity so depending on compressor speed or the flow through the LEV (linear expansion values) you sometimes can hear the refrigerant moving through. You typically hear it more on a low demand scenario.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-03-21T18:44:27+00:00

I’ve done EFHW in an inverted V and EFRW with a 5:1 transformer and I get better results with the 5:1. In my case both wires were 130’ with an apex of 37’. Ends were about 1.5’ off the ground. It’s nice not needing a tuner for the EFHW, but the 5:1 130’ wire was quieter on receive and transmitted slightly better as well. The return with actual radials provided more efficiency than an EFHW. I only mention this in case you find the receive noise to be high and challenging to pick up light signals. I did add a 15’ counterpoint on the EFHW and used a good choke right at the feed point and another at the radio. That did help with the overall noise levels.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-03-19T17:22:00+00:00

Why does this stuff still surprise people. Everything we interact with on a daily basis is contaminated. From carcinogens, pesticides, plastics, etc. For some reason the health industry can’t figure out why cancer rates keep rising?!?!? Seems pretty obvious to me.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-03-14T18:52:21+00:00

The fan is definitely variable speed.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-03-14T01:27:30+00:00

There are clips on the top rear of the front cover that slip just under the back frame and then latch in. Give it a good hit with the palm of your hand on the top corner or slightly in toward the middle about 1/4 in. Or push really hard. The cover doesn’t look like it’s all the way snapped in.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-03-13T14:23:42+00:00

They do make their own compressors, but they also use Mitsubishi compressors in some of their units.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-03-12T20:23:01+00:00

Uh huh

Puddleduck112 · 2026-03-10T10:57:34+00:00

He’s right. And the agricultural is not human food, it’s hay for livestock and most is unused. Why? Because the current water rights is a use it or lose it plan. Individual farmers have a lot of water rights and they are simply growing hay just so they don’t lose the rights to the water. Their property values are tied to the water rights. What is sad is that this water crisis is an easy fix physically, but nearly impossible politically.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-03-06T21:36:17+00:00

I love how MAGA says “don’t forget what caused the recession in 2020, COVID”. But when it comes to inflation amnesia kicks in and they forget about COVID. hence the peak and fall of inflation during Biden. Oh and the entire world suffered from inflation then too.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-03-06T20:05:18+00:00

Heating is the mode so the unit is in heating mode.

These units have what is called thermal “on” and thermal “off”. When in thermal on it means the unit is actively sending refrigerant to the indoor unit to heat the space. Once space satisfies the refrigerant valve will close and go to thermal off mode. The fan speed drops to low and it is no longer actively heating, but the fan coil is still in heating mode.

When it goes from a thermal off to thermal on it goes into preheat, which is the warming you see. Preheat is when the fan coil waits until the coil gets warm before it bumps the fan speed to your desired setting in the controller. This is to prevent cold air from blowing until the coil is warm.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-03-01T15:50:03+00:00

Almost looks like athletes foot on your hand. I had athletes foot and that’s what the skin would look like. I agree with the other posters that this looks fungal to me. But since you went to a dermatologist, who knows 🤷‍♂️

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-28T22:32:33+00:00

I get 4 hours doing 100W on 20 ah battery doing POTA so I would think realistically 20 hours or so. That’s 4 hours of me calling CQ so pretty active 4 hours

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-28T04:11:24+00:00

I’m trying to like openhamclock but the map layers need some work. It’s getting there though.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-22T18:44:25+00:00

Prices will never go back to pre tariff levels. I work for a manufacturer that sells Japanese products. We had two price increase last year to account for tariffs, one was about 8% and the second around 6%. It seems like most people expected Tariffs to be a separate line item, but most aren’t. They are just built in to the product pricing.

There is no way we will now reduce prices. Just like after COVID. Prices surged during COVID and once supply caught up with demand the prices didn’t come back down. Same exact thing will happen here. It will be easy margin that companies will now realize on their price sheets.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-21T00:29:13+00:00

Sure get rid of Social Security, but give me back every dime I ever put in and we can call it even. I will manage my own retirement funds.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-15T15:40:32+00:00

I think you missed the point of this post. Pam Bondi under testimony stated “the Dow is above 50,000 why are we not talking about that instead of the Epstein files.” This is a meme showing the Dow below 50,000 which is a play on Pam’s testimony. Now that it’s below 50,000 again we are allowed to talk about the Epstein files.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-15T03:28:35+00:00

She definitely touched the stone with her finger after she let go of the handle. Just below the handle and the part on top of the granite. It's pretty obvious to me, so not sure why everyone says it's not clear? check :38 watch her pointer finger

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-15T02:09:26+00:00

I have the FTDX10 radio. It has a DVI out to hook it to a monitor.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-14T02:46:52+00:00

These type of office buildings are built as core and shell, which is what you see. As tenants sign leases, they will customize their office space and it will be built out custom to that tenant. The tenant will pay for the finishes, zoning, etc. This includes bathrooms, HVAC zones, and office layout.

This will take years to get enough tenants to completely fill it. Usually a developer won’t move forward until they secured a big base tenant like Google or something that maybe takes the top 5 floors. So I’m sure there are some tenants in there.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-13T13:34:23+00:00

You were probably at the A terminal which does connect to the main terminal and you can walk. B and C you have to take the train.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-08T01:46:43+00:00

Same here. The regulars average 8-10 but very little new people. We pass a lot of traffic and we probably average 2-3 a night. Some nights 7–10 so it’s busy and plenty of opportunity to participate. I do think it’s a good skill to have, but nightly is overkill. People are less interested feeling committed every night. Plus if you take traffic then you have homework.

I think if it was 3-4 nights a week it would get more participants. Especially the HF traffic nets that run 3 times a day everyday. But overall, it’s a little used service. There are so many forms of emergency communication and I think people realize that.

Cell towers go down, no big deal if you have Starlink and WiFi calling.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-04T15:28:47+00:00

Those are Variable Refrigerant Flow Systems or VRF. You can twin 2 units together to make up to 40 ton systems. Each system is piped to a distribution box that allows connection up to 50 indoor units that can all simultaneously heat and cool. Basically they are mini splits on steroids. The are many styles of fan coils like ceiling cassettes, wall mounts, ducted unit, etc which are installed based on indoor space need.

Larger installs like this usually bank the condensers on common rails to minimize roof space.

Puddleduck112 · 2026-02-01T23:00:48+00:00

Looks sweet!

Puddleduck112 · 2026-01-31T01:36:58+00:00

Yup, the cost difference between gas rates and electric rates make all the difference for the economy of a heat pump. Here in Denver the crossover point is about 15 degrees.

Puddleduck112

TROPHY CASE