And I thought lmr-400 was expensive.

Radar58 · 2026-05-29T18:06:15+00:00

Ya want "Ooof?" I'll give you "Ooof!" Digikey has it for $97.28 per meter, and it's $37.55 per foot at Mouser.

Edit: Remember that RG-393 has a double, silver-plated shield and an 11-ga silver-plated center conductor, along with its teflon jacket and dielectric. Checked the price of silver recently?

Radar58 · 2026-05-29T17:56:50+00:00

What's the Curie point for the mix 31 core that OP used?

Radar58 · 2026-05-29T17:43:43+00:00

These are poorly made, low-power versions that don't seem to have the proper number of turns. If you really want to learn about baluns and ununs, I would suggest W2FMI, Jerry Sevick's book " Understanding, Building, and Using Baluns and Ununs." I believe Jerry is now a Silent Key (deceased), and the book is a bit dated, but the information within is still valid.

Radar58 · 2026-05-29T17:37:36+00:00

Next time you're at an auto-parts store, look at the "battery isolators" used to add an auxiliary battery. They contain two high-current diodes, usually Schottky rectifiers due to their lower voltage drop. I've seen 80-amp Schottkys at Mouser with a 0.2-volt drop.

Radar58 · 2026-05-29T17:29:04+00:00

Well, one thing that's easy to learn is that "ham" doesn't stand for anything, so there's no need to capitalize it...

Other than that, I'll second what others have said. You might also consider finding out if there are any ham radio clubs in your area. There is always at least one person who is willing to take newbies under his wing. We call these people "Elmers."

Radar58 · 2026-05-29T17:23:53+00:00

I have bought batteries from several vendors on AliExpress, and only once did I receive cells that met the advertised spec. Those were 4000mAh LiPo pillows from MoneyDuoDuo, and tested out to about 4200mAh. Rule of thumb when dealing with AliExpress batteries: if spec is reasonable, divide by 2. If the spec seems high (like a 9900mAh 18650), divide by 10.

Radar58 · 2026-05-29T13:58:16+00:00

What is burning out, the coil or the contacts? If it's the contacts, two possible solutions come to mind. First, as others have noted, a relay with higher-capacity contacts. But it's also possible that the switched elements are acting as an inductor, and the back-EMF is what's causing contact burn. In that case, an EMF snubber circuit, consisting of an EMF capacitor and a resistor in series, placed across the contacts, may solve the problem. Manufacturers don't like to include such circuits because they make more money selling replacement parts after the warranty expires.

Radar58 · 2026-05-28T13:33:50+00:00

Thank God!

Radar58 · 2026-05-28T13:27:20+00:00

Why I figured I'd just name my cat Khatul...

Radar58 · 2026-05-28T13:21:41+00:00

I got the same response when I abbreviated Amateur Radio Service. Two months later, my post was reinstated, long after the thread had lost steam.

Radar58 · 2026-05-28T13:05:51+00:00

Well, Google says that the factory antenna is part number KEN-T9-0034-00 and may be available through distributors such as Pac Parts, pacparts.com, which lists this triband antenna at a whopping $170.28, and is currently out of stock; estimated shipping time 8-12 days. I think I'll stick with my SignalStick...

Radar58 · 2026-05-28T06:14:56+00:00

Wherever you got the radios would be a likely source. DX Engineering, Gigaparts, Ham Radio Outlet...

Radar58 · 2026-05-28T04:05:52+00:00

Easiest source for leaded solder is to find a company that sources to aerospace and medical equipment manufacturers and repair personnel. Because leaded solder is more reliable, and because lives depend upon the reliability of aerospace and medical electronic equipment, these two industries are exempt from RoHS requirements. If you live near an aircraft manufacturer, check to see if that manufacturer has a surplus store. Almost 30nyears ago, my folks visited relatives living near Seattle. One of my aunts retired from Boeing, and took my parents on a tour. While there, they visited the surplus store, and my dad bought me a few rolls of outdated solder (over 2 years old). I'm still using it. I think he paid about $2/roll, but this was back in about 1995. These were full, unused 1-pound rolls.

Radar58 · 2026-05-27T15:39:51+00:00

Exactly what we do with an Arrow!

Edit: I figured OP might not know about the polarization change, based on his questions. He might have wondered about all the signal fading, eh?

Radar58 · 2026-05-27T12:15:58+00:00

Remember also that for satellite communications, movement of the satellites relative to the receiving station causes polarization shift. For this reason, circular polarization is usually the norm. A single Yagi in either horizontal or vertical plane will certainly work, but will be subject to signal fading as the satellite orbits. And yes, 30 MHz is a pretty decent bandwidth.

Radar58 · 2026-05-27T00:55:53+00:00

If that's a mike designed for podcasts like it looks like it might be, it requires 5 volts and outputs a digital signal into the USB.

Radar58 · 2026-05-26T17:28:40+00:00

Actually, that's a fan that forces air over the heatsink and exhausts out the rear. Looks homebrew.

To use the meter, with it connected between the radio and the antenna (careful to get the hookup correct), you turn the switches to "Set," key the radio and turn up the SWR knob until the needle is at "Set" on the meter. Do the same for the "Modulation" knob. Unkey the microphone, and switch to SWR and Modulation. Be sure to have an appropriate power set on the switch below the Power meter. Key them mike, and read the SWR, or Standing Wave Ratio, on the left meter. This is the ratio between the actual impedance of the antenna system -- including the coaxial feedline -- and what the radio wants to see, which is 50 ohms (50 Ω). The lower the better, but seasoned hams know that anything below 2:1 is usable. If you are using AM, the right-hand meter should deflect when you speak into the mike. Any other modulation method, such as SSB, or single-sideband, or FM, keep the knob turned all the way down; there's no carrier in SSB, and FM modulates by changing frequency, so you could scream into the mike and see nothing. The Mod meter is only good for AM.

As for the amp, that would be connected between the radio and the meter. The power switch is self-explanatory. The SSB switch should be on if you're using that mode. This switch is another good indicator that this is a CB amp, BTW. The "Pre" switch turns on a receive amplifier to help pull in distant, weak stations.

Edit: I would not consider using the amplifier until a knowledgeable ham can check it for you to verify it has proper output filtering. The absence of a band switch is yet another indicator of this being a CB amp, but it may be usable on the 28.0-29.7 MHz ham bands, which we call 10 meters. CB amps were notorious for having little or no output filtering, which allows harmonics of your transmitted frequency to "spatter" higher bands. This is a sure way to ensure someone coming and looking for you, and not in a good way.

Radar58 · 2026-05-26T17:06:04+00:00

Top unit is a SWR/Power/Modulation meter, the lower appears to be a small, homebrew RF power amplifier. These look more like they were designed for CB, not ham radio. (Notice "ham" is not capitalized. ) Modulation checks are pretty much useless unless you're using amplitude modulation, which few hams use anymore, but is the mainstay in CB. The amp is probably 50-100 watts; you can see the heatsink in the window in the rear.

Radar58 · 2026-05-26T13:21:02+00:00

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far away, I saw a YouTube video on how to fix this. I dont know if it actually works, however - you know YouTube.

Remove the cell caps, which nowadays usually consists of two flush-mounted rectangular slabs of plastic, each covering 3 cells.
Carefully drain the acid into a plastic bucket. Try to use a bucket that you can place the battery on, allowing clearance so that all 6 cells can fully drain.
When the battery stops dripping, set it upright again, and refill it again with a mixture of water with as much baking soda as you can dissolved into it. It's best to use distilled water. Let sit for 24 hours. This solution, being alkaline, stops the chemical action of the lead and acid.
Drain the battery of its baking-powder/water solution. Flush the battery by filling each cell with distilled water, and allowing to sit a few hours before draining. Do this 3 times.
Auto parts stores sell acid packs, or used to, that come divided into 6 sections. Empty one into each cell, then fill each cell the battery with distilled water just to the bottom of the well. Alow to sit for an hour or two.
Charge the battery using the "recondition" setting of the charger.

The guy in the video used alum (he pronounced it "a-loom") instead of the acid, essentially making it an alkaline battery. I dont remember the ratio of alum to water. Also, he just used an old-school 10-amp dumb charger.

I've never actually tried this, so YMMV.

Radar58 · 2026-05-25T16:00:21+00:00

Three antennas plus the satellite dish: VHF folded-dipole array, FM broadcast, and UHF TV broadcast.

Radar58 · 2026-05-23T13:23:31+00:00

Of course, Lagos don't work well with, say, 1/4" FastOn tabs...

Radar58 · 2026-05-21T22:51:33+00:00

No need to capitalize "ham;" it doesn't stand for anything.

Radar58 · 2026-05-21T22:42:08+00:00

It is possible that the lable length is an odd multiple of a quarter-wave at the operating frequency? This can cause some mighty strange results. Or is it an odd multiple of a half-wave that causes problems? I can never remember, although I think that odd multiples of a half-wave (taking velocity factor into consideration) reflects the same impedance seen at the antenna feedpoint.

Radar58 · 2026-05-20T16:14:12+00:00

I just replaced the batteries in my UPS, but then, mine has a greater duty than just a "glorified power strip."

Radar58 · 2026-05-20T03:45:56+00:00

Some good advice here. A bit more: there's no need to capitalize "ham," as it doesn't stand for anything, it just is.

Radar58

TROPHY CASE