N8KDV wrote:

RadioGuy wrote:

Peter wrote in message
. cable.rogers.com...
I have a question about this radio.
If I plug the AC jack in the wall and I have the 12 volt connection hooked
up to a battery as a power failure backup will it damage the radio? Is
there
an internal switch to protect it from both sources being connected at the
same time?

Thanks

Pierre

Shouldn't be any problem... Drake told me years back to put a big battery on
those terminals to act as back-up power supply for my R8B. Down here in the
lightning capital of the US we routinely pull the plugs, antennas and
grounds from our gear to keep it from getting damaged by lightning
discharges. The @#!&*# Drake R8B does not have any internal power back-up
so to keep from having to reset the clock every time the plug is pulled an
external power supply is needed. The current draw on battery during standby
is about 0.64 amp so size a battery accordingly. Why Drake couldn't have
put an internal back-up battery for the clock escapes me---then again, the
R8B is a half-baked receiver anyway!

RG

Half-baked?

Steve goes for the bait.


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HFguy wrote:

N8KDV wrote:

RadioGuy wrote:

Peter wrote in message
. cable.rogers.com...
I have a question about this radio.
If I plug the AC jack in the wall and I have the 12 volt connection hooked
up to a battery as a power failure backup will it damage the radio? Is
there
an internal switch to protect it from both sources being connected at the
same time?

Thanks

Pierre

Shouldn't be any problem... Drake told me years back to put a big battery on
those terminals to act as back-up power supply for my R8B. Down here in the
lightning capital of the US we routinely pull the plugs, antennas and
grounds from our gear to keep it from getting damaged by lightning
discharges. The @#!&*# Drake R8B does not have any internal power back-up
so to keep from having to reset the clock every time the plug is pulled an
external power supply is needed. The current draw on battery during standby
is about 0.64 amp so size a battery accordingly. Why Drake couldn't have
put an internal back-up battery for the clock escapes me---then again, the
R8B is a half-baked receiver anyway!

RG

Half-baked?

Steve goes for the bait.

Hee Hee, perhaps it was YOU who went for my bait? Something to consider!

Steve
Holland, MI
Drake R7, R8 and R8B

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm

N8KDV wrote in message
...


RadioGuy wrote:

Peter wrote in message
. cable.rogers.com...
I have a question about this radio.
If I plug the AC jack in the wall and I have the 12 volt connection
hooked
up to a battery as a power failure backup will it damage the radio? Is
there
an internal switch to protect it from both sources being connected at
the
same time?

Thanks

Pierre

Shouldn't be any problem... Drake told me years back to put a big
battery on
those terminals to act as back-up power supply for my R8B. Down here in
the
lightning capital of the US we routinely pull the plugs, antennas and
grounds from our gear to keep it from getting damaged by lightning
discharges. The @#!&*# Drake R8B does not have any internal power
back-up
so to keep from having to reset the clock every time the plug is pulled
an
external power supply is needed. The current draw on battery during
standby
is about 0.64 amp so size a battery accordingly. Why Drake couldn't
have
put an internal back-up battery for the clock escapes me---then again,
the
R8B is a half-baked receiver anyway!

RG

Half-baked?

Steve
Holland, MI
Drake R7, R8 and R8B

Drake... When you care enough to listen with the best!

Hi Steve, I've been away for awhile... happy to see you are still here; lots
of folks have left it seems.

Yea... halfbaked... you know me... remember that long thread years back
where we picked at the R8B? I still haven't changed my mind about it! My
R8B gets a serious workout; it's on everyday and sometimes all day too.
Over the years since I had it little glitches keep coming up. I've reached
the point where it might be a cheaper to trade it in on a new one instead of
sending it back to Drake for repair---labor was $70.00/hour a couple of
years ago, maybe more now. Besides, every time it comes back there is a new
ding here and there.

Problems I notice now is drifting of the notch, passband control has slowly
moved off center, some crystal must have drifted off frequency as I get a
beat when it should be zero beat in LSB and USB mode during exalted carrier
reception and a quirk that comes and goes---It take a couple of three
seconds to get audio after the receiver is turned on and sometimes I have to
crank the audio gain way up to get it to go. I just don't feel exicited
about trouble shooting it myself.

BTW, I guess it's been a year since I did a clean job on the
encoder/switch. Everything is running fine. I am really beginning to think
its the grease that the encoder/switch is packed with that is the problem
with the premature failing of the control that folks are experiencing---you
might have read my analysis a year ago. I cleaned mine with DeoxIT and
lightly lubed it with CaiLube---that's after I cleaned all the grease out of
it.

Best Regards,

RG

RadioGuy wrote:

N8KDV wrote in message
...


RadioGuy wrote:

Peter wrote in message
. cable.rogers.com...
I have a question about this radio.
If I plug the AC jack in the wall and I have the 12 volt connection
hooked
up to a battery as a power failure backup will it damage the radio? Is
there
an internal switch to protect it from both sources being connected at
the
same time?

Thanks

Pierre

Shouldn't be any problem... Drake told me years back to put a big
battery on
those terminals to act as back-up power supply for my R8B. Down here in
the
lightning capital of the US we routinely pull the plugs, antennas and
grounds from our gear to keep it from getting damaged by lightning
discharges. The @#!&*# Drake R8B does not have any internal power
back-up
so to keep from having to reset the clock every time the plug is pulled
an
external power supply is needed. The current draw on battery during
standby
is about 0.64 amp so size a battery accordingly. Why Drake couldn't
have
put an internal back-up battery for the clock escapes me---then again,
the
R8B is a half-baked receiver anyway!

RG

Half-baked?

Steve
Holland, MI
Drake R7, R8 and R8B

Drake... When you care enough to listen with the best!

Hi Steve, I've been away for awhile... happy to see you are still here; lots
of folks have left it seems.

Yea... halfbaked... you know me... remember that long thread years back
where we picked at the R8B? I still haven't changed my mind about it! My
R8B gets a serious workout; it's on everyday and sometimes all day too.
Over the years since I had it little glitches keep coming up. I've reached
the point where it might be a cheaper to trade it in on a new one instead of
sending it back to Drake for repair---labor was $70.00/hour a couple of
years ago, maybe more now. Besides, every time it comes back there is a new
ding here and there.

Problems I notice now is drifting of the notch, passband control has slowly
moved off center, some crystal must have drifted off frequency as I get a
beat when it should be zero beat in LSB and USB mode during exalted carrier
reception and a quirk that comes and goes---It take a couple of three
seconds to get audio after the receiver is turned on and sometimes I have to
crank the audio gain way up to get it to go. I just don't feel exicited
about trouble shooting it myself.

BTW, I guess it's been a year since I did a clean job on the
encoder/switch. Everything is running fine. I am really beginning to think
its the grease that the encoder/switch is packed with that is the problem
with the premature failing of the control that folks are experiencing---you
might have read my analysis a year ago. I cleaned mine with DeoxIT and
lightly lubed it with CaiLube---that's after I cleaned all the grease out of
it.

Best Regards,

RG

I have yet to experience the problems you've had so far, except for the rotary
encoder problem. I had cleaned mine out and it worked ok for quite some time,
but the problem is back. It only ever manifested itself when tuning down in
frequency. It doesn't bother me too much as I enter a lot of stuff via the
keypad, and if I tune slowly down in frequency it will not jump.

One thing I did not do the last time was use the CaiLube, I suppose I should
order some up, and re-do the process.

Steve
Holland, MI
Drake R7, R8 and R8B

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm

N8KDV wrote:

RadioGuy wrote:

N8KDV wrote in message
...


RadioGuy wrote:

Peter wrote in message
. cable.rogers.com...
I have a question about this radio.
If I plug the AC jack in the wall and I have the 12 volt connection
hooked
up to a battery as a power failure backup will it damage the radio? Is
there
an internal switch to protect it from both sources being connected at
the
same time?

Thanks

Pierre

Shouldn't be any problem... Drake told me years back to put a big
battery on
those terminals to act as back-up power supply for my R8B. Down here in
the
lightning capital of the US we routinely pull the plugs, antennas and
grounds from our gear to keep it from getting damaged by lightning
discharges. The @#!&*# Drake R8B does not have any internal power
back-up
so to keep from having to reset the clock every time the plug is pulled
an
external power supply is needed. The current draw on battery during
standby
is about 0.64 amp so size a battery accordingly. Why Drake couldn't
have
put an internal back-up battery for the clock escapes me---then again,
the
R8B is a half-baked receiver anyway!

RG

Half-baked?

Steve
Holland, MI
Drake R7, R8 and R8B

Drake... When you care enough to listen with the best!

Hi Steve, I've been away for awhile... happy to see you are still here; lots
of folks have left it seems.

Yea... halfbaked... you know me... remember that long thread years back
where we picked at the R8B? I still haven't changed my mind about it! My
R8B gets a serious workout; it's on everyday and sometimes all day too.
Over the years since I had it little glitches keep coming up. I've reached
the point where it might be a cheaper to trade it in on a new one instead of
sending it back to Drake for repair---labor was $70.00/hour a couple of
years ago, maybe more now. Besides, every time it comes back there is a new
ding here and there.

Problems I notice now is drifting of the notch, passband control has slowly
moved off center, some crystal must have drifted off frequency as I get a
beat when it should be zero beat in LSB and USB mode during exalted carrier
reception and a quirk that comes and goes---It take a couple of three
seconds to get audio after the receiver is turned on and sometimes I have to
crank the audio gain way up to get it to go. I just don't feel exicited
about trouble shooting it myself.

BTW, I guess it's been a year since I did a clean job on the
encoder/switch. Everything is running fine. I am really beginning to think
its the grease that the encoder/switch is packed with that is the problem
with the premature failing of the control that folks are experiencing---you
might have read my analysis a year ago. I cleaned mine with DeoxIT and
lightly lubed it with CaiLube---that's after I cleaned all the grease out of
it.

Best Regards,

RG

I have yet to experience the problems you've had so far, except for the rotary
encoder problem. I had cleaned mine out and it worked ok for quite some time,
but the problem is back. It only ever manifested itself when tuning down in
frequency. It doesn't bother me too much as I enter a lot of stuff via the
keypad, and if I tune slowly down in frequency it will not jump.

One thing I did not do the last time was use the CaiLube, I suppose I should
order some up, and re-do the process.

A question: Which particular type of CaiLube did you use? The 5% solution or the
100%?



Steve
Holland, MI
Drake R7, R8 and R8B

http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm

RadioGuy wrote:

Hi Steve, I've been away for awhile... happy to see you are still here; lots
of folks have left it seems.

Yea... halfbaked... you know me... remember that long thread years back
where we picked at the R8B? I still haven't changed my mind about it! My
R8B gets a serious workout; it's on everyday and sometimes all day too.
Over the years since I had it little glitches keep coming up. I've reached
the point where it might be a cheaper to trade it in on a new one instead of
sending it back to Drake for repair---labor was $70.00/hour a couple of
years ago, maybe more now. Besides, every time it comes back there is a new
ding here and there.

Problems I notice now is drifting of the notch, passband control has slowly
moved off center, some crystal must have drifted off frequency as I get a
beat when it should be zero beat in LSB and USB mode during exalted carrier
reception and a quirk that comes and goes---It take a couple of three
seconds to get audio after the receiver is turned on and sometimes I have to
crank the audio gain way up to get it to go. I just don't feel exicited
about trouble shooting it myself.

BTW, I guess it's been a year since I did a clean job on the
encoder/switch. Everything is running fine. I am really beginning to think
its the grease that the encoder/switch is packed with that is the problem
with the premature failing of the control that folks are experiencing---you
might have read my analysis a year ago. I cleaned mine with DeoxIT and
lightly lubed it with CaiLube---that's after I cleaned all the grease out of
it.

Best Regards,

RG

My R8B has been quite reliable except for the notorious encoder wheel
too. I agree that the factory lube seems to be the problem. After
thoroughly cleaning it and relubing with 'Super-Lube' (a synthetic
grease) I've had no further problems with the encoder for over a year
now. Do you power your R8B with AC or DC? I use a 12-V regulated supply.
The radio is usually on all day and most of the evening. It runs quite
cool on DC. How old is yours? Mine was made in late 2000.


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-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

starman wrote in message
...
RadioGuy wrote:

Hi Steve, I've been away for awhile... happy to see you are still here;
lots
of folks have left it seems.

Yea... halfbaked... you know me... remember that long thread years back
where we picked at the R8B? I still haven't changed my mind about it!
My
R8B gets a serious workout; it's on everyday and sometimes all day too.
Over the years since I had it little glitches keep coming up. I've
reached
the point where it might be a cheaper to trade it in on a new one
instead of
sending it back to Drake for repair---labor was $70.00/hour a couple of
years ago, maybe more now. Besides, every time it comes back there is a
new
ding here and there.

Problems I notice now is drifting of the notch, passband control has
slowly
moved off center, some crystal must have drifted off frequency as I get
a
beat when it should be zero beat in LSB and USB mode during exalted
carrier
reception and a quirk that comes and goes---It take a couple of three
seconds to get audio after the receiver is turned on and sometimes I
have to
crank the audio gain way up to get it to go. I just don't feel exicited
about trouble shooting it myself.

BTW, I guess it's been a year since I did a clean job on the
encoder/switch. Everything is running fine. I am really beginning to
think
its the grease that the encoder/switch is packed with that is the
problem
with the premature failing of the control that folks are
experiencing---you
might have read my analysis a year ago. I cleaned mine with DeoxIT and
lightly lubed it with CaiLube---that's after I cleaned all the grease
out of
it.

Best Regards,

RG

My R8B has been quite reliable except for the notorious encoder wheel
too. I agree that the factory lube seems to be the problem. After
thoroughly cleaning it and relubing with 'Super-Lube' (a synthetic
grease) I've had no further problems with the encoder for over a year
now. Do you power your R8B with AC or DC? I use a 12-V regulated supply.
The radio is usually on all day and most of the evening. It runs quite
cool on DC. How old is yours? Mine was made in late 2000.

Howdy Starman, I remember swapping email with you; I've been away for
awhile.

My R8B was bought back in January,1998. If I remember how to read the
serial number mine was made in 1997.

I run the receiver off the mains but use battery when we loose power (which
is often in summer during the monsoon).

RG

i notice that my receiver gets very warm just being plugged in and not
turned on is this normal?
would running it on a dc power supply make it run cooler and possibly less
static or noise from the mains supply?
to run it on dc would a computer power supply work???
if not could someone suggest a power supply that would work?

thanks
charles foster

chuck wrote:

i notice that my receiver gets very warm just being plugged in and not
turned on is this normal?
would running it on a dc power supply make it run cooler and possibly less
static or noise from the mains supply?
to run it on dc would a computer power supply work???
if not could someone suggest a power supply that would work?

thanks
charles foster

It's very cool on 12v, in fact you can then stack things on the R8B.

Whether your 12v supply gets hot instead is a matter of what kind of
supply you get. Switching supplies run cool mostly, but some also generate
birdies. I happen to use an Astron SS-18 and it's okay. I also run about 30
12v devices on it like active antennas, DSPs and ANC-4's, rather than having
a proliferation of wall warts for them.

Be sure to fuse the 12v output at the supply; it can burn up wires very
easily at the rated current of the supply, in case of a short in one of the
tiny wires at your end.

With wall-warts the internal resistance is enough to prevent fires; not so
with a real power supply.
--
Ron Hardin


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

"chuck" wrote in message
...
i notice that my receiver gets very warm just being plugged in and not
turned on is this normal?

Yes, that is heat from the transformer, supply circuits and the display
drivers.

would running it on a dc power supply make it run cooler and possibly less
static or noise from the mains supply?

An external supply will move much of the heat generation out of the radio so
it will run cooler. However, there may be no technical need to do so.

If the external supply is quieter or has better filtering of line noise it
may help. Other factors may mask any benefits. If your noise is dominated by
noise coming in the antenna, a different power supply may not help. If the
dominant noise is coming from the mains, then a noise filtering outlet strip
may help. You have to look at yoour entire system to determine where money
is best spent.


to run it on dc would a computer power supply work???

No, that would be a bad choice. PC supplies are well regulated on 5 and 3.3
volt outputs but may have no regulation on the 12 volt outputs. They are
also switching supplies and can generate a lot of noise. They also do not
work well, perhap at all, without a proper load on the lower voltage
outputs.

if not could someone suggest a power supply that would work?

Look in the radio's manual for the supply requirements. ( 11-16 volts at 2
amps ) Look for a regulated supply that is rated for a voltage in the
required range and one that can supply 3-4 amps.

You don't want to buy a supply rated at 2 amps as that means it may be
running near 100% capacity and may have poorer regulation and a shorter
life. More amps (higher current) is not a problem as long as the radio
provides the supply's stated minimum load. Insufficient load can mean poor
regulation.

Personally, I use a Tripplite PR-3/UL supply for my R-8B. Did I do this for
heat? No. Did I do it because the internal supply had noise? No. I did it
because the accessory that sits on top of the Drake did work better with an
external supply. Since I had the supply anyway, I also connected it to the
reciever. I also needed one less 110V outlet as a result.


thanks
charles foster




Ham radio suppliers will have supplies for radios. Usually they will have
something for transmitters that can supply many amps. They generally have
some suitable for receivers.

However the radio has vents for heat dissipation and a lot of surface area
to dissipate heat. As long as you don't cover the radio and block the
airflow around it you shouldn't have problems even if it is a bit warm. (Or
a lot warm as this radio tends to be.)


craigm