You are correct sir! The 500 watt unit has two FETS (2 X 250 watts)
while the 1500 wattt units have six devices for 6 X 250 watts = 1500
watts. There is also a 1000 watt unit that you have, with 4 X devices.
The only thing needed to make them "good" is a harmonic filter and a
robust protection circuit to protect it from hamster mistakes. I
documented my actions in the Northeast VHF Conference and Microwave
Update Proceedings for 2023. I think the writeup will be in the CSVHFS
Conference book later in July or August.
I made up a 500 watt unit to use with a 12 volt PV/battery system at my
shack and was very pleased with the results. It consumes 48 volts at 23
amps. It puts out a bit over 500 watts with about 50% efficiency.
Dave K1WHS
On 4/24/2023 5:59 PM, k3sk@buckwalter.co wrote:
Dave,
I am curious about your Larcans as you mentioned 500W and 1500W units. I wasn't aware
there were 500W versions. Mine has 4 devices and with 25W drive I get just over 800
watts output, so I always assumed it was a 1KW unit. I've found very little info in
things to be done to them for 222MHz other than what Terry W8ZN has published. I run
mine at 50V and what ever the "stock" bias voltage was/is.
Are the 1500W units 6 devices and 500W only 2 of them?
de K3SK
-----Original Message-----
From: David Olean <k1whs@metrocast.net>
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2023 9:44 AM
To: Paul N1BUG FN55mf <paul@n1bug.com>; vhfcontesting@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Why are no VE1s on 222?
Hi folks,
I realize that any action on a VHF band is now a labor of love and not a source
of instant gratification. There is no getting around it. You cannot justify
getting on any band based on the economics of it either. Back a few years ago,
old yagis were freely given away or hauled to the dump. Today a corroded and
pitted 7 element 144 yagi will set you back $150. It is hard and I cringe every
time I have to purchase anything.
Our bands are under constant attack. Political leaders are not going to listen
to you or me. Their decisions are cash based and I see the writing on the wall
for ham radio. If we are not using the bands they will be gobbled up whenever
there is a buck to be made. My approach is to try as hard as I can to justify
the allocation. That requires regular activity and, unfortunately, it demands
that you put together a very good station so that you can be heard. It also
demands commitment.
The only way to get noticed on 222 from the hinterlands is to have meteor
scatter, aurora, or EME capability. I was discouraged with the lack of any
activity on 222 MHz here, and decided to do something about it. It is not easy.
During the big March aurora, I could have been having a ball on 50 MHz with my
1.5 KW amp and antenna, but I stayed on
222.100 CW calling CQ in hopes of attracting attention. I only worked a few
stations, but I did work some, and I heard N4PZ in Chicago very well. It was a
bummer that we could not complete, but I did send in a report to the CQ and QST
VHF editors so that maybe someone will get out of their comfort zone and try
something a bit more difficult the next time.
W1GHZ has a nice 222 MHz transverter PC board available. When he mentioned it
to me, I decided that I would try to make one as I am a good candidate at 78
years of age and tremors in my right hand.
Apparently Mouser has the parts list and ordering is a snap, plus I am learning
the ins and outs of surface mount work. I hope to use my toaster oven to reflow
the solder paste. I have already built up 12 W6PQL surface mount directional
couplers the old fashioned way with tweezers or toothpicks. It was a struggle
with shaky hands, but I did succeed and I am proud that I never lost a part. A
few flew off on the bench, but I found them! I will report back when the
transverter project is completed. WW1M is helping me with that project.
I checked the amplifier pallet status here and there are three 500 watt amp
pallets and 11 of the 1500 watt units. It would be nice to plop a
1500 watt unit down in New Brunswick or PEI, or Nova Scotia. I started ripping
apart the first of the 1500 watt units yesterday with some metal work and am
hoping to have a bunch of them done by mid summer. They will go to homes where
there is scant activity. VE1 and VE9 do qualify!! I sure miss working Bernie,
VE1UT, guys in FN95 on VHF.
Paul, I hope you get the upper hand with the exhaustion issues. I miss the big
signal out of FN55! K1PXE is the voice of Milford, but N1BUG IS the voice of
Milo for sure!
To finance my ham radio habit, I have been selling off old vacuum tubes on
EBay. Who knew? Ruggedized 6SN7s go for $100. Anything that says Western
Electric is expensive. My old stash of 417As is a gold mine.
Two or three audiophool tubes will finance a UHF transverter.
Dave K1WHS
On 4/21/2023 6:43 AM, Paul N1BUG FN55mf wrote:
Hi Mike and all,
I have never seen 222 gear for sale at swap meets or the like here
either unless you count the very beat up, broken CushCraft yagi (11
elements?) I found at Hosstraders/Deerfield back in the late 1990s. I
rescued that poor thing from ending up at the scrap yard for $10 which
was probably more than I should have paid but after replacing several
elements that were snapped in half I had a lot of QSOs with it.
Admittedly I haven't been to any in a few years but used to go to most
of them. I did find a Microwave Modules transverter on Craigslist New
Hampshire in 2016 or 2017 and managed to find a way to obtain it with
lots of help from the VHF community. It is now for sale, but I suspect
shipping to Canada would cost enough to make it pretty uninteresting.
Activity here in Maine is down for the same reasons. Some have gone
silent key, some have given up as QSOs have become harder and fewer.
I'm trying to avoid joining either group for a while longer!
Sadly I am getting more and more discouraged with VHF. I want to love
it like I used to but the relationship has faded.
I am still struggling with chronic fatigue (more like chronic
exhaustion) and have not managed to be on for a single 222 Activity
Night in many months. I tried extra hard for the 222 Sprint but it was
a no go.
VHF contests are a real slog here now. If I run for 24 hours the 2
meter QSO rate runs around one per hour. I imagine that's probably
more than the VE1/VE9 guys got back in the VHF heyday. If so I don't
know what kept you guys interested! I have a much more capable station
now than I did back when 70 to 100 QSOs was the norm. Obviously 222
and 432 QSOs are fewer in number.
Bill seems to do well from FN54 but I think superior QTH plays a big
role in that. Being 50 miles closer to most of the stations probably
doesn't hurt either.
I don't want to give up, but I don't know how to put the fun back in
it. Back in the day there was EME to take up the slack and keep the
spiders blown out of the HV (literally! Yikes!) but now there's not
that and stuff just gathers dust. The bald eagles enjoy sitting on the
2m antenna as it is the highest lookout spot around by some 30 feet
and they have a nest nearby.
I am reminded of something Dave, W5UN (SK) told me when I tried
returning to 2 meter EME in the early 2000s. He said the bloom came
off the rose some years before that in terms of activity. I would say
the same of VHF terrestrial activity now, at least in terms of what
can be worked from here.
Sorry about the long winded commentary.
73,
Paul N1BUG
On 4/20/23 19:57, Mike Smith VE9AA wrote:
Dave asked, so here's one possible explanation.
Probably at one time there were 1 or 2 VE1's(Ve9's as well) on 222
but the reasons are likely many why there is little to none now.
Equipment is more expensive in Canada as a rule and not as plentiful
on the
used market, especially out East where
there are way less of us guys (especially now). For example, I have
never,
in the last 45yrs, ever seen a used 222MHz rig or transverter at a
swap shop
or on our local Internet (or Telnet/Packet back in the day), swapshops.
Never, as in not even once!
(If I had, I would've bought one by now.even if only to give Dave,
Bill/DY
and Paul/BUG a Tuesday night Q, hi hi)
There used to be a healthy (for our area) amount of guys on 144MHz CW
and
SSB and a few also on 6m and 70cm, but the truth of the matter is
most of
them are now SK. When I came on the VHF CW/SSB scene around 1988 I
was one
of the youngest VHF allmode guys around(I had already been on HF CW for
10yrs prior to that-since 14yrs old). Fast forward 35yrs, and I am
now 59
and all those guys who were active or mentors are long since SK. Back
in the
late 80's/early 90's I could count on around 12-13VE QSO's on 2m in a
VHF
contest and I could always get WA1T and sometimes K1WHS to hear us
"off the
back" so now, for me to be QRV in a VHF contest on legacy modes means
working several Maine and NH stations for an entire weekends worth of
work..and virtually nobody in VE1/VE9/VY2...so I simply don't bother
most of
the time.
Even the VHF repeaters, their sysops and packet networks have mostly all
gone silent so many don't even have FM equipment (or antennas), let
alone
all-mode gear.
So it's a bit of a convoluted answer but a lot of it is the fact
there just
weren't/aren't a lot of hams here to begin with and what there were are
largely no more, sadly. (or if they are still alive, have moved QTH..for
example, VE9CB once very active on HF and VHF is now VE3KG, who I
think is
QRV on 222MHz from his place in Eastern Ontario.)
Sorry for the long winded reply Dave !
-Mike
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