Open Roads Radio forum for Ham, Amateur Radio and RV camping - View Single Post

w7wv · 04-08-2008, 02:42 PM

I ran HF mobile for a time with IC-706 series radios and High Sierra screwdrivers. I never had a problem but we were not at the bottom of the solar cycle at the time either.
I had both the 1500 and 1800 series of antennas and have not personally used the SideKick.
Are you running this rig in an RV? If so I would think DC power requirements are going to be a concern. Even a smaller amp will draw lots of DC power as you most likely know. I would not personally want to put that kid of a draw on my RV batteries.
Most people I know who ran amps HF used the solid state amps. And many of those kept the transmissions short or ran additional means of supplying current to the amps.
This is from the manual on the Ameritron ALS-500~~

The ALS-500M uses two pairs of 2SC2879 transistors operating at 13.8 volts nominal in a push-pull output configuration.
High quality RF components combine with load fault sensing, temperature protection, and one switch frequency selection to
make this one of the simplest and easiest to operate amplifiers today. The ALS-500M operates on 13.8 Vdc electrical systems
and draws a peak current of 80 amperes at full output.

That kind of current draw is very hard on batteries in an RV if that's the way you are set up. For the amount of signal level you will gain with 500 watts I am not sure it's worth all the trouble.

I have run a number of amps at home but having 120v or 220v available makes a big difference. And at the price of gas today I would not want to think about running a genset for a couple of "S" units.

Not trying to tell you what to do, but to me for the overall expense and what you will get out of it the whole thing mobile is just not worth it to me.

Now as to your low signal the other parties are reporting. I assume your mic gain is set and you are observing your ALC? I always pushed the ALC on the meter on ICOMs I had in the past pretty hard without a reported problem.

I assume your tuning indication is good after tuning the screwdriver to your desired freq?
Is your antenna mounted up so that the element is not along side the coach (again assuming RV here). I have run into a number of RVers that mount screwdrivers and other antennas on the side of their coaches and then find the performance is not what they expected.
I have been told "but the coach is fiberglass" only to find and show the owner that the coach has metal framing like mine does under that fiberglass causing problems for the antenna.
And is your antenna ground properly bonded to the ground on your RV? I know High Sierra recommends their braid but I have used plain old plumber's tape as a great substitute. You know, the stuff they used to hang pipes with? If you look you can even find it in hardware stores copper plated steel which I prefer. I learned that trick from a 52 year ham friend that is now an SK.
Not an expert here, but I did work an antenna shop and on radio gear for the Navy as a civilian and been playing with this stuff for awhile.
Just trying to give you some ideas for improving your signal.
Semper Fi in your sig? I was Army 66-72. Radio operator and instructor.

04-08-2008, 02:42 PM	#4
w7wv Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: SE AZ Posts: 239	I ran HF mobile for a time with IC-706 series radios and High Sierra screwdrivers. I never had a problem but we were not at the bottom of the solar cycle at the time either. I had both the 1500 and 1800 series of antennas and have not personally used the SideKick. Are you running this rig in an RV? If so I would think DC power requirements are going to be a concern. Even a smaller amp will draw lots of DC power as you most likely know. I would not personally want to put that kid of a draw on my RV batteries. Most people I know who ran amps HF used the solid state amps. And many of those kept the transmissions short or ran additional means of supplying current to the amps. This is from the manual on the Ameritron ALS-500~~ The ALS-500M uses two pairs of 2SC2879 transistors operating at 13.8 volts nominal in a push-pull output configuration. High quality RF components combine with load fault sensing, temperature protection, and one switch frequency selection to make this one of the simplest and easiest to operate amplifiers today. The ALS-500M operates on 13.8 Vdc electrical systems and draws a peak current of 80 amperes at full output. That kind of current draw is very hard on batteries in an RV if that's the way you are set up. For the amount of signal level you will gain with 500 watts I am not sure it's worth all the trouble. I have run a number of amps at home but having 120v or 220v available makes a big difference. And at the price of gas today I would not want to think about running a genset for a couple of "S" units. Not trying to tell you what to do, but to me for the overall expense and what you will get out of it the whole thing mobile is just not worth it to me. Now as to your low signal the other parties are reporting. I assume your mic gain is set and you are observing your ALC? I always pushed the ALC on the meter on ICOMs I had in the past pretty hard without a reported problem. I assume your tuning indication is good after tuning the screwdriver to your desired freq? Is your antenna mounted up so that the element is not along side the coach (again assuming RV here). I have run into a number of RVers that mount screwdrivers and other antennas on the side of their coaches and then find the performance is not what they expected. I have been told "but the coach is fiberglass" only to find and show the owner that the coach has metal framing like mine does under that fiberglass causing problems for the antenna. And is your antenna ground properly bonded to the ground on your RV? I know High Sierra recommends their braid but I have used plain old plumber's tape as a great substitute. You know, the stuff they used to hang pipes with? If you look you can even find it in hardware stores copper plated steel which I prefer. I learned that trick from a 52 year ham friend that is now an SK. Not an expert here, but I did work an antenna shop and on radio gear for the Navy as a civilian and been playing with this stuff for awhile. Just trying to give you some ideas for improving your signal. Semper Fi in your sig? I was Army 66-72. Radio operator and instructor.