Really, Build Three?

Well

Been fiddling some more with the PSU I made for the FT1000MP I acquired back here:

http://g0mgx.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/another-one-really.html

I've been using some halogen bulbs as test loads for the 13.8V PSU (they are 38W so at 13.8V that's a current pull of 38/13.8 or 2 3/4 Amps. As the FT1000 requires about 2 3/4 Amps for the 13.8V line that seemed just perfect to me!

I wasn't happy with the voltage drop I was seeing in the 723 based regulator under load, I also was far from impressed with the fact that I managed to destroy 2 of these 723 regulator IC's during my testing, I suspect some very suspect ebay sold components!

I've remade the regulator board using a L200C regulator I found in my component stock, it's quite a nifty device with similar current protection as the 723. Here's the new board:

Stuck in the same box I put the first one:

I had a very quick play in the RTTY Makrothen contest today, I only worked about 35 stations - mainly as a set up and config test for the JARTS test next weekend which I will be participating in. Here's the obligatory log as a map:

Young Florrie Cat hasn't been helping much:

Fun though, egh?

What a Pickle!

Well,

You will remember the FT-1000MP Mark 5 that I acquired back here:

http://g0mgx.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/another-one-really.html

I've now built the 13.8V part of the PSU and have tested the receiver. All is not well! Here's the PSU so far:

I ended up using some pass transistors that I found in my junk box; they have been mounted on an old CPU heatsync:

Now, this radio is completely deaf in the main RX but working fine in the SUB RX, I've got it in bits:

What a pickle!

Another one, Really?

Well,

Some of you may remember the radio I bought a while ago on a "definitely no warranty implied, given or otherwise" basis back here:

http://g0mgx.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/theres-life-in-old-dog.html

Well, that radio ended up with my chum Vince, G0ORC, he has added some filters and uses it from time to time and enjoys the radio very much.

Well, it just so happens that I have found another one, this time rather than the PSU being broken, this one doesn't have a PSU at all! When I brought this home I had no idea if it worked or was a complete pile of junk:

So it's a 2003 FT1000 MP Mark 5 (200W) with a missing PSU! I've connected 13.8V to the appropriate place on the back connector and the radio lights up and makes all the expected noises, I've also had a look inside and it looks very clean and tidy.

To be friends with this radio, I've ordered one of these from ebay to provide me with the 30V rails needed for the PA:

This is 28V rated at 500W, I've also built a 13.8V 5A ish PSU today for the other power requirements of the radio:

This is based on a transformer I found in the clearance pile in Maplin a few years ago for £5. There's a 723 linear regulator feeding a 2N2053 then a pair of 2N3055s:

I'll have to wait for the SMPS from ebay to complete this project, but I'm off back to A71 land next week so hopefully it should be here when I return.

Florrie cat isn't overly impressed and is currently asleep in a US Postal Services box:

Fun, egh?

Where do the knots come from?

Well,

I've been checking some wiring today; there's a great deal of it in my shack and it's always in a spectacular knot!

I saw some SWR movement during the XE contest at the weekend and thought it was worth investigating... as normal I have found a PL-259 connector soldered in the most appalling way possible - I suspect this may be the culprit so it has been duly replaced.

Whilst I was doing this I decided to draw a diagram of what is connected to what -  was getting in a bit of a muddle, so here it is:

So at least I have a known reference point to look back at now.

Not very exiting, is it?

The Old Dog is Up and Running

Well,

Following my last post about the FT-1000MP Mark V I found, I've managed to purchase a SMPS from eBay. This PSU has 2 x 15V @ 15A and 2 x 14V @ 15A; as SMPS are good in series it wasn't hard to manufacture a replacement for the FP-29!

It even fits in the FP-29 case!

The radio is working FB:

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the radio itself. The PSU is a bit noisy and running a little warm - I will keep my eyes open for an alternative, in the meantime I'll stick it up on a shelf and run the cable to the radio.

I want to use this instead of the IC-7410 I have here, it will be employed for AFSK type digital modes mainly - and as a second radio to my FT-5000 RTTY contest machine!

Not bad, egh?

There's life in the old dog....

Well,

That "sold without warranty given or otherwise implied" FT-1000MP Mark-V that I picked up from Lam Communications, as I showed last time, the power supply was all sorts of broken.

However, today I've stuck 13.8V in the appropriate place for the radio, and that seems to spring into life quite nicely:

The PSU provides the 13.8V to the receiver and other parts of the radio, the 30V supply is just for the linear amplifier MOSFETS, so the radio won't transmit right now. I've taken the bottom off the radio - mainly to investigate if I had been lucky enough to inherit any of the optional filters - alas not:

but the radio does look very clean and tidy.

So, I'm now on the look out for a SMPS with about 28V output at 15A for the PA, this will have to be at, what us radio hams refer to as, "the right price", but something will turn up soon I'm sure.

Good though, egh?