Honestly? It's a mess!

Well,

I've been boxing the components for the 70MHz linear amplifier that I have been making:

http://g0mgx.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/testing-times-for-my-linear-project.html

today. The control software is still very much under development, but in my usual build a bit, test a bit fashion, I need everything to be wired to the Arduino processor board now so I can make progress.

All in all, here's the list of separate bits I've ended up with:

• Linear brick and heatsync
• 48V SMPS Power Supply
• 9-0-9 transformer for DC supplies
• Fan for cooling
• Veroboard containing the ancillary electronics for the Arduino relay and fan control plus the DC regulators for the +24, +12 and +9 rails
• Low pass output filter
• Arduino
• LCD display
• Directional coupler for output forward and reflected power reading
• **huge** coax relay for the output switching
• input attenuator
• small coax relay for input switching
• Current shunt

So all together there is a lot more than I bargained for!

Here's what it looks like today:

and I have to confess that this is one big mess that I hadn't set out to make. It should work OK, but the "junk box" style of part sourcing has resulted in some really bigger than needed bits....

Florrie cat's not been helping much today:

 

Progress, though, egh?