John,

Well, I use a Power Station (12vdc battery pack) in my car. I mounted my Yaesu
FT-1500M to it, put the charging cord into the cigarette lighter, and it works
fine. Plus, I can remove the battery pack and rig within 60 seconds for theft
deterence. I run the rig up to 50 watts out but generally at 25.

73s,

Evan

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 06:19:00 -0700, Keyboard In The Wilderness wrote:

Mobile power. It is tempting to use the cigarette lighter plug for 12 Volts
to power the mobile radio and this may work for low power units, but it is
always best to run two heavy gage wires through the firewall and directly to
the battery via fuses in both lines. Don't use the chassis as a ground

While I agree, I'm looking for a portable solution to use in the 'yl's
vehicle so I can run a decent rig without drilling. I figure 10-20W is
adequate (I think the 1/4 wave antenna I have allocated for this use is
only rated at 20W anyhow). In a small temporary installation like this I
think using the lighter plug is good enough.

Of course while on the topic, What's the best way to connect to today's
side terminal batteries? I'd like to go from the battery's +/- in *my*
vehicle to a small fuse block where I can tie in before coming through the
firewall. Unfortunately I don't do a lot of auto wiring and firewall
drilling!

thanks!

--
John LeMay
kc2kth
Senior Technical Manager
NJMC | http://www.njmc.com | Phone 732-557-4848
Specializing in Microsoft and Unix based solutions

I wonder how one might be able to use a 1-3 farad capacitor to operate a 100
watt HF radio with better regulation and higher average current on SSB.. The
big audio amps use this technique effectively.


"Keyboard In The Wilderness" wrote in message
news:nhL%a.4824$S_.966@fed1read01...
John FYI -- from a recommended book:
Mobile power. It is tempting to use the cigarette lighter plug for 12
Volts
to power the mobile radio and this may work for low power units, but it is
always best to run two heavy gage wires through the firewall and directly
to
the battery via fuses in both lines. Don't use the chassis as a ground
return, ground loop problems and noise pickup may occur, run both + and -
lines to the battery. FM mobile transceivers with 50 W of output power can
draw up to 10-12 Amperes of current at 12 Volts. Most cigarette lighter
plugs cannot handle these high currents. Operating a 50 W mobile
transceiver
from the cigarette lighter plug may cause permanent damage to vehicle's
electrical system, and can also be a fire hazard. You can probably operate
a
6 W handheld transceiver from the cigarette lighter plug, but not a higher
wattage radio.
============================================
"John LeMay" wrote in message
news
I recently purchased a used rig and along with it came a nice cigar
lighter adapter that terminated in two "lugs" with screw on caps for
attaching the power cable of the rig. There is no cord on this adapter
itself. Anyone know where I can find a couple more of these? They seem
ideal for running moderate powered mobile rigs ( 50W ).

thanks!

--
John LeMay
kc2kth
Senior Technical Manager
NJMC | http://www.njmc.com | Phone 732-557-4848
Specializing in Microsoft and Unix based solutions

On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 01:35:11 GMT, AGRAY6 wrote:
I wonder how one might be able to use a 1-3 farad capacitor to operate a 100
watt HF radio with better regulation and higher average current on SSB.. The
big audio amps use this technique effectively.

The big audio amps need very short pulses of power, and they combine
the large capacitor with the heavy gauge wires mentioned:

"Keyboard In The Wilderness" wrote in message
news:nhL%a.4824$S_.966@fed1read01...
John FYI -- from a recommended book:
always best to run two heavy gage wires ... directly to the battery

Perhaps a capacitor would be helpful if doing CW rather than any
modulated carrier scheme with its longer power demands, but most
radios seem to have sufficient capacitance if your power wiring
is sufficient to meet their average high demand.

sdb

--
| Sylvan Butler | Not speaking for Hewlett-Packard | sbutler-boi.hp.com |
| Watch out for my e-mail address. Thank UCE. change ^ to @ |
It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral
busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his
cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our
own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval
of their consciences. -- C. S. Lewis

On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 01:35:11 GMT, AGRAY6 wrote:
I wonder how one might be able to use a 1-3 farad capacitor to operate a 100
watt HF radio with better regulation and higher average current on SSB.. The
big audio amps use this technique effectively.

The big audio amps need very short pulses of power, and they combine
the large capacitor with the heavy gauge wires mentioned:

"Keyboard In The Wilderness" wrote in message
news:nhL%a.4824$S_.966@fed1read01...
John FYI -- from a recommended book:
always best to run two heavy gage wires ... directly to the battery

Perhaps a capacitor would be helpful if doing CW rather than any
modulated carrier scheme with its longer power demands, but most
radios seem to have sufficient capacitance if your power wiring
is sufficient to meet their average high demand.

sdb

--
| Sylvan Butler | Not speaking for Hewlett-Packard | sbutler-boi.hp.com |
| Watch out for my e-mail address. Thank UCE. change ^ to @ |
It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral
busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his
cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our
own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval
of their consciences. -- C. S. Lewis

I wonder how one might be able to use a 1-3 farad capacitor to operate a 100
watt HF radio with better regulation and higher average current on SSB.. The
big audio amps use this technique effectively.


"Keyboard In The Wilderness" wrote in message
news:nhL%a.4824$S_.966@fed1read01...
John FYI -- from a recommended book:
Mobile power. It is tempting to use the cigarette lighter plug for 12
Volts
to power the mobile radio and this may work for low power units, but it is
always best to run two heavy gage wires through the firewall and directly
to
the battery via fuses in both lines. Don't use the chassis as a ground
return, ground loop problems and noise pickup may occur, run both + and -
lines to the battery. FM mobile transceivers with 50 W of output power can
draw up to 10-12 Amperes of current at 12 Volts. Most cigarette lighter
plugs cannot handle these high currents. Operating a 50 W mobile
transceiver
from the cigarette lighter plug may cause permanent damage to vehicle's
electrical system, and can also be a fire hazard. You can probably operate
a
6 W handheld transceiver from the cigarette lighter plug, but not a higher
wattage radio.
============================================
"John LeMay" wrote in message
news
I recently purchased a used rig and along with it came a nice cigar
lighter adapter that terminated in two "lugs" with screw on caps for
attaching the power cable of the rig. There is no cord on this adapter
itself. Anyone know where I can find a couple more of these? They seem
ideal for running moderate powered mobile rigs ( 50W ).

thanks!

--
John LeMay
kc2kth
Senior Technical Manager
NJMC | http://www.njmc.com | Phone 732-557-4848
Specializing in Microsoft and Unix based solutions

John FYI -- from a recommended book:
Mobile power. It is tempting to use the cigarette lighter plug for 12 Volts
to power the mobile radio and this may work for low power units, but it is
always best to run two heavy gage wires through the firewall and directly to
the battery via fuses in both lines. Don't use the chassis as a ground
return, ground loop problems and noise pickup may occur, run both + and -
lines to the battery. FM mobile transceivers with 50 W of output power can
draw up to 10-12 Amperes of current at 12 Volts. Most cigarette lighter
plugs cannot handle these high currents. Operating a 50 W mobile transceiver
from the cigarette lighter plug may cause permanent damage to vehicle's
electrical system, and can also be a fire hazard. You can probably operate a
6 W handheld transceiver from the cigarette lighter plug, but not a higher
wattage radio.
============================================
"John LeMay" wrote in message
news
I recently purchased a used rig and along with it came a nice cigar
lighter adapter that terminated in two "lugs" with screw on caps for
attaching the power cable of the rig. There is no cord on this adapter
itself. Anyone know where I can find a couple more of these? They seem
ideal for running moderate powered mobile rigs ( 50W ).

thanks!

--
John LeMay
kc2kth
Senior Technical Manager
NJMC | http://www.njmc.com | Phone 732-557-4848
Specializing in Microsoft and Unix based solutions