I have a 25 watt Tait VHF rig in my mobile. It seems not to be getting
enough current. The rig is run straight to the
battery thru fuses, but still "chatters" when keyed. Antenna seems to be
OK. I've tried everything I know about and I am out of ideas. Care to take
a stab at it?
BTW, my IC706 is run to the battery, 50 watts on VHF,
and 100 on HF, and it doesn't even blink--same route,
fused at the battery.

TNX
\

Jerry
K4KWH

In article ,
says...

I have a 25 watt Tait VHF rig in my mobile. It seems not to be getting
enough current. The rig is run straight to the
battery thru fuses, but still "chatters" when keyed. Antenna seems to be

snip

How's your grounding?

Have you actually tried to check your antenna using a thruline
wattmeter, checking both forward and reflected power?

"Seems to be" is iffy at best when it comes to antennas and
transmitters. Don't guess. Know. Check it with the right test gear. If
you don't own a wattmeter, you could probably borrow one or find one on
Ebay.

73 de KC7GR

--
Dr. Anton Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t c&o&m
"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (Red Green)

In article ,
says...

I have a 25 watt Tait VHF rig in my mobile. It seems not to be getting
enough current. The rig is run straight to the
battery thru fuses, but still "chatters" when keyed. Antenna seems to be

snip

How's your grounding?

Have you actually tried to check your antenna using a thruline
wattmeter, checking both forward and reflected power?

"Seems to be" is iffy at best when it comes to antennas and
transmitters. Don't guess. Know. Check it with the right test gear. If
you don't own a wattmeter, you could probably borrow one or find one on
Ebay.

73 de KC7GR

--
Dr. Anton Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, KC7GR)
kyrrin a/t bluefeathertech d-o=t c&o&m
"Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati" (Red Green)

Jerry wrote:
I have a 25 watt Tait VHF rig in my mobile. It seems not to be getting
enough current. The rig is run straight to the
battery thru fuses, but still "chatters" when keyed. Antenna seems to be
OK. I've tried everything I know about and I am out of ideas. Care to take
a stab at it?
BTW, my IC706 is run to the battery, 50 watts on VHF,
and 100 on HF, and it doesn't even blink--same route,
fused at the battery.

I would check the fuse holders and the fuses. You may possibly have
some corrosion or oxidation on the fuse contacts. i have seen fuses that
looked OK, but the link inside had vibrated loose and was barely making
contact inside the fuse itself. Check and clean the lugs that connect
the rig to the power source. You mention the radio is connected direct
to the battery through fuses. Sounds like you are running positive AND
negative leads directly to the battery, which is good. I would check
continuity on your ground lead. You may think you have it run directly
to the battery but in reality, for whatever reason, you lost that ground
lead and are actually taking your negative lead off of your antenna
shield or via the radio mounting bracket and chassis (which is NOT a
good way to do it). Also, if you can remove the radio, put it on a test
bench to see if it does it there, that will tell you whether the problem
is internal within the radio, or external within the power and antenna
system.

Andy
WD4KDN



--
More people died at Chappaquiddick than have been killed by my guns.

Jerry wrote:
I have a 25 watt Tait VHF rig in my mobile. It seems not to be getting
enough current. The rig is run straight to the
battery thru fuses, but still "chatters" when keyed. Antenna seems to be
OK. I've tried everything I know about and I am out of ideas. Care to take
a stab at it?
BTW, my IC706 is run to the battery, 50 watts on VHF,
and 100 on HF, and it doesn't even blink--same route,
fused at the battery.

I would check the fuse holders and the fuses. You may possibly have
some corrosion or oxidation on the fuse contacts. i have seen fuses that
looked OK, but the link inside had vibrated loose and was barely making
contact inside the fuse itself. Check and clean the lugs that connect
the rig to the power source. You mention the radio is connected direct
to the battery through fuses. Sounds like you are running positive AND
negative leads directly to the battery, which is good. I would check
continuity on your ground lead. You may think you have it run directly
to the battery but in reality, for whatever reason, you lost that ground
lead and are actually taking your negative lead off of your antenna
shield or via the radio mounting bracket and chassis (which is NOT a
good way to do it). Also, if you can remove the radio, put it on a test
bench to see if it does it there, that will tell you whether the problem
is internal within the radio, or external within the power and antenna
system.

Andy
WD4KDN



--
More people died at Chappaquiddick than have been killed by my guns.